Mercedes Vision GLK FREESIDE & TOWNSIDE Concepts @ 2008 NAIAS

[andyvalencia]

Re: Mercedes-Benz Vision GLK FREESIDE Concept @ 2008 NAIAS

I know alot of people were complaining about the zebra opatter dashboard trim. so i went ahead and added some wood, sorry bout the chop it tourns out its hard to photoshow wood trim [image no longer available]

 

[Centurion]

Re: Mercedes-Benz Vision GLK FREESIDE Concept @ 2008 NAIAS

^^
Nice work. We need more photochoppers here at GCF.

 

[andyvalencia]

Re: Mercedes-Benz Vision GLK FREESIDE Concept @ 2008 NAIAS

Also madde an exterior chop of how i hope the production one looks!

 

[Yperion]

Re: Mercedes-Benz Vision GLK FREESIDE Concept @ 2008 NAIAS

In my opinion it looks good but i expected it even better. Anyway i bet it will be a great sale success.

 

[MoSs]

Re: Mercedes-Benz Vision GLK FREESIDE Concept @ 2008 NAIAS

wow looks nice , i really like it allot , even tho im not with the idea of a small SUV this car looks nice , its worthe it , its worthe being stupid lol

 

[Centurion]

Re: Mercedes-Benz Vision GLK FREESIDE Concept @ 2008 NAIAS

wow looks nice , i really like it allot , even tho im not with the idea of a small SUV this car looks nice , its worthe it , its worthe being stupid lol

I don't find the car to be stupid at all. It a great buy for those who want a more spacious C-class. Sure the estate might can swallow more or less the same amount of cargo, but the GLK has a lot more head room making the coupe more brighter and spacious.

 

[SDNR]

Re: Mercedes-Benz Vision GLK FREESIDE Concept @ 2008 NAIAS

I think it is terrible ...the M class has far more going for it.

 

[CorpusCallosum]

Re: Mercedes-Benz Vision GLK FREESIDE Concept @ 2008 NAIAS

The only thing i dont like the ruins the car for me is the random side line of the C Class.. The crease goes against the whole design as everywere else "boxy" so to speak. The line makes the car look weird and sems like it slopes down which ruins the total affect of the boxy design... remove that stupid stupid line and have a straight crease line and the car will look much much better IMO

 

[MoSs]

Re: Mercedes-Benz Vision GLK FREESIDE Concept @ 2008 NAIAS

I don't find the car to be stupid at all. It a great buy for those who want a more spacious C-class. Sure the estate might can swallow more or less the same amount of cargo, but the GLK has a lot more head room making the coupe more brighter and spacious.

dont get me wronge, i really like it , i really like the glk, its very exclusive design , and the interior is Sweet!! but i dont like the size of the small SUV's like the X3, i really hope the size of the GLK works !

 

[Merc1]

Re: Mercedes-Benz Vision GLK FREESIDE Concept @ 2008 NAIAS

I really hope the seat controls stay on the doors for production. Too many little signature MB cues are being phased out nowadays.

M

 

[martinbo]

Re: Mercedes-Benz Vision GLK FREESIDE Concept @ 2008 NAIAS

Scott27 mentions in another thread that there is no expected RHD version of the GLK? Anyone got more info on this?

I'd be gutted if this car didn't make the transition to RHD because I think it's a sensational take on the compact SUV theme. Less, nancy styling, more purposeful looking. A GLK 63 AMG would be awesome!

 

[Merc1]

Re: Mercedes-Benz Vision GLK FREESIDE Concept @ 2008 NAIAS

Mercedes-Benz will take the wraps off a new compact sport/utility model at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. The little ute we'll see in Detroit will be a concept called the Vision GLK Freeside. The production version bows at the Beijing show in April.

"All the compact SUVs look exactly the same," said Mercedes-Benz boss Dieter Zetsche, "and we wanted to be different." Mercedes definitely accomplished that. The GLK, codenamed X204, doesn't look like any other compact ute on the market; the edgy vehicle looks like a miniaturized Mercedes GL. At 180 inches long, the GLK is nearly two feet shorter than a GL.

The GLK rides on the new C-Class wagon platform, a car we won't get here. The GLK also uses the C-Class 4Matic all-wheel-drive system, splitting torque 40/60.

The car launches here in January 2009 and is set to compete with the BMW X3 and the Audi Q5. Two gasoline V6s (with 228 and 268 hp) will be available. Four- and six-cylinder diesels will be available in Europe; U.S. buyers will be offered a 224-hp CDI Bluetec. We also can hope for the mighty GLK63 AMG--likely to get a detuned AMG 6.2-liter V8 with the same 450 hp as the C63 AMG. Watch for that at the 2009 Detroit show.

The near-production Vision's five-seat interior looks funky, with white leather seats and black wood with white inlays.

This trucklet initially will be available only in left-hand-drive form, because of the driveshaft packaging. That means the GLK won't go to the United Kingdom, Australia or South Africa, at least initially. The word in Stuttgart is that a fix is on the way but probably not until 2010. Expect U.S. pricing to start at about $38,000.


Mercedes GLK Freeside: Itty-bitty Benz - AutoWeek Magazine


I've read this several places now so it is probably correct.


M

 

[SDNR]

Re: Mercedes-Benz Vision GLK FREESIDE Concept @ 2008 NAIAS

Less, nancy styling, more purposeful looking. A GLK 63 AMG would be awesome!

You've got to be kidding right?

This thing is the quintessence of style over substance Martin. It is essentially a piece of jewelery: a fashion accessory and a boutique shopping cart.

As for being less nancy

It makes its femtastic début in the Sex and The City film, lets face it Martin, this is the drag queen of SUVs.

Scott27 mentions in another thread that there is no expected RHD version of the GLK? Anyone got more info on this?

I'd be gutted if this car didn't make the transition to RHD because I think it's a sensational take on the compact SUV theme.

Well I would not be surprised if it is eventually offered in RHD form ...but it is patently obvious that the intended market is American women.

 

[cawimmer430]

Re: Mercedes-Benz Vision GLK FREESIDE Concept @ 2008 NAIAS

Those rims on the GLK in the photos just need to go. In my opinion it makes the car not look so nice.

These rims were much nicer - and the GLK also looked nicer with them.

 

[bum-man]

Re: Mercedes-Benz Vision GLK FREESIDE Concept @ 2008 NAIAS

I think these rims would look nice on the GLK as well.

 

[Omarus]

Re: Mercedes-Benz Vision GLK FREESIDE Concept @ 2008 NAIAS

I think it looks ugly and it reminds me Suzuki Vitara somewhat..

interior is very nice though...

 

[martinbo]

Re: Mercedes-Benz Vision GLK FREESIDE Concept @ 2008 NAIAS

You've got to be kidding right?

This thing is the quintessence of style over substance Martin. It is essentially a piece of jewelery: a fashion accessory and a boutique shopping cart.

As for being less nancy

Hmm, judging from emoticon usage I gather you're confused by my statement.
Here's the deal - no, I'm not kidding - too many SUV's that reach the market fail to capture the spirit of adventure that such a car ought to project. It's got something to do with the styling; curvy, slopey, swoopy design cues make the cars look less capable and distinctly urban. That's why I like the angular looks of a GL500 over its elongated blob-like competitor: the Audi Q7.

I'm a big fan of the robust character of the Land Rover products - they make no pretence of being ultra dynamic road burners yet retain the sense of purpose that instills a perception of competance in rural conditions.

VW's Tiguan is so decidedly soft-roader-ish that their print campaigns actively punt it as an urban SUV. Audi's Q5 will be the same story with a different badge.

This new GLK represents a refreshing take on the rugged SUV theme (I have no unrealistic expectations that this car's ultimate off-road ability will be limited but at least it looks the part) and it has enough of a pedigree from Mercedes to pull it off.

It makes its femtastic début in the Sex and The City film, lets face it Martin, this is the drag queen of SUVs.

Well I would not be surprised if it is eventually offered in RHD form ...but it is patently obvious that the intended market is American women.

Of course, more and more women are buying macho looking SUV's. I see more women in Land Rover Discos than men. Same goes for the GL. Just because women are the intended market doesn't mean that SUV's have to look soft.

In my family the SUV is driven solely by my wife during the week and used as the family car for weekends and holidays. I'd rather drive a car that looks like the GLK than say a Tiguan or a Q7.

 

[SDNR]

Re: Mercedes-Benz Vision GLK FREESIDE Concept @ 2008 NAIAS

Thanks for your reply Martin ...and I'm sure you will get a lot of thanks from the MB fans for your effort

Hmm, judging from emoticon usage I gather you're confused by my statement.
Here's the deal - no, I'm not kidding - too many SUV's that reach the market fail to capture the spirit of adventure that such a car ought to project.

Well I guess if a short trip down to the local shopping mall can be described as some kind of adventure then this thing will certainly fulfill its purpose.

It's got something to do with the styling; curvy, slopey, swoopy design cues make the cars look less capable and distinctly urban. That's why I like the angular looks of a GL500 over its elongated blob-like competitor: the Audi Q7.

I'm a big fan of the robust character of the Land Rover products - they make no pretence of being ultra dynamic road burners yet retain the sense of purpose that instills a perception of competance in rural conditions.

VW's Tiguan is so decidedly soft-roader-ish that their print campaigns actively punt it as an urban SUV. Audi's Q5 will be the same story with a different badge.

This new GLK represents a refreshing take on the rugged SUV theme (I have no unrealistic expectations that this car's ultimate off-road ability will be limited but at least it looks the part) and it has enough of a pedigree from Mercedes to pull it off.

yeah, I do get your point Martin.

Of course, more and more women are buying macho looking SUV's. I see more women in Land Rover Discos than men. Same goes for the GL. Just because women are the intended market doesn't mean that SUV's have to look soft.

In my family the SUV is driven solely by my wife during the week and used as the family car for weekends and holidays. I'd rather drive a car that looks like the GLK than say a Tiguan or a Q7.

my problem with the GLK is not its boxy looks (I like the look of the GL and G class) ....but that it is so over-embellished with decorative angles -- very un-Mercedes to my way of thinking. Bruno Sacco spent 30 years carefully distilling a design philosophy at Mercedes-Benz; under Peter Pfeiffer, Mercedes seems to have become more concerned with superfluous styling trends than with genuinely good design principles.

 

[EnI]

Re: Mercedes-Benz Vision GLK FREESIDE Concept @ 2008 NAIAS

^

x1

I have no problems with boxiness of new MBs. Such a design fits MB brand very well. I just don't get the neo-baroque-ish overdone styling ... now it seems done in angular / rectangular MB way. All those swollen angular panels and just too many lines. Lines everywhere. So much overdone styling. Outside & inside. I some dare to say BMW styling is overdone.

All the latest MB models are coming in boxy / angular edition: GL, C, GLK, also coming: new CLK & new E. They even made SL to looke more angular in the front. I guess S & CL were the last more rounded designs by MB. Now they seem are entering in angular / boxy phase. Yet ... sorry Marcus ... ODC is sticking out with the flame surfacing theme styling. Very non-MB. I Still don't know if that styling theme has an agenda at MB.

What I find interesting is the completely different approach to the future design language MB & BMW & Audi are heading. While MB & Audi are going even more superfluous in their styling themes (from simple to complex & overdone), while BMW is going into different direction: to the "reduced design" theme - with more simple & reduced lines & details (in numbers), but sharper (more visisable & exposed) then before. Kind a "zen luxury" design as described by AVH.

I find this intriguing because AVH said BMW went that way due they had analyzed the future trends in luxury goods design, and had found "reduced design" was to be considered as the most appealing design in the future.

Who is right & who is wrong? BMW - moving to the "zen luxury reduced design", or Audi (check out the new Q5, and the fascia of new / facelifted models) & even more MB - moving to more superfluous & overdone styling.

Somebody has misjudged the trends.


Or ... BMW are shifting the paradigm again: just to stand out more. Like current models stand out due being superfluously designed ... among other less expressive designs on the road, and now when others have started with overdone expressive design BMW is shifting back to more minimalistic approach. Making new generation BMW cars more exposed in the ocean of overdone designs on the road.



Let's wait & watch what's going to happen ...

 

[Centurion]

Re: Mercedes-Benz Vision GLK FREESIDE Concept @ 2008 NAIAS

^^
Audi is still going to be Audi in the coming 3-5 years with the typical understated design. The R8 is a odd one out and the A5 and A4 demonstrates that Audi isn't about to change their design philosophy anytime soon. Which is why they aren't selling as many cars as MB and BMW. Too simple and minimalistic designs.

MB's new models the C and GLK are not over done in anyway. The GLK does take some time to swallow but thanks to the classic utility type boxy shape it stands out amongst all the SUVs on the market trying to be coupes or look like sports cars/urban road cars.

It is back to basics and the GLK takes us back to the roots. MB has managed to design a car which is very functional but doesn't look boring. Functional but yet exciting looking, a winning concept. There's really not another car on the market on the market with the same utility shape as the GLK. MB have analyzed trends and predict that people will in the near future be tired of cars with compromised functionality for design. There are too many cars these days which are trying to look like coupes, new in the bunch are the Passat coupe, X6, Mazda 6, Panamera(on the way) and Jaguar X6, not to mention some of the new SUV with declining and roof line ans a soft rear.

The C-class is perfect and doesn't look a single bit overdone, it's sophisticated. Nothing to complain about at all.