At the risk of losing the only automotive niche that’s currently unfilled to Lexus, Mercedes-Benz started work on their own luxury car-based pickup as soon as they saw our post. MB chose to start with their smaller E-class vehicle as opposed their largest sedan, like Lexus is doing, in order to gain price advantage over the Lexus. While similar, there is much more to Mercedes-Benz’s approach to the design of this pickup than just a smaller-sized vehicle. As opposed to starting with a sedan, MB brilliantly chose to start with the E-class wagon. This gave the company an outlined tailgate area and a flatter loading floor. The wagon also comes with the self-leveling AIRMATIC rear suspension, which allows for increased payload and towing while retaining the refined ride that Mercedes-Benz cars are known for. Like the Lexus, the Mercedes will retain all the interior luxuries of its sedan cousin. The rear seat of each vehicle will also remain unaltered, further removing any compromises which may be found in a typical pickup. Where Lexus will use its beefy V8, Merc will do what Merc does best, and drop their 2.1L turbodiesel-4 under the hood. While it has only 195 hp, the compression-ignition powerplant delivers 369 lb-ft between 1,600-1,800 rpm. That is a proper pickup truck engine, my friends. The added benefit is increased fuel mile, which should be slightly below the sedan’s 27mpg city and 38mpg on the highway. The engine will be mated exclusively to a 7-speed automatic transmission and 4MATIC all-wheel drive system. Again, it’s a spoof but yes, these vehicles do exist. It is not a photoshop! They are most likely being converted to hearse duty for basketball players.
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