Mercedes-Benz is hoping this gorgeous wine country rainbow casts a golden spell on sales of the new full size GL-Class SUV.
The Spies are on the road this week testing the new GL and the new Escalade.
We'll have full details and pics over the next few days but we don't want to tease you and leave you hanging.
So here's the full lowdown on the new Mercedes-Benz GL-series.
NAPA VALLEY, CA – Mercedes-Benz is rolling out the new GL-Class this week, and journalists are getting their first opportunity to test-drive the new SUV. Already offering the broadest and most diverse product portfolio in the automotive industry, Mercedes-Benz is launching its first large sport-utility vehicle. The highly successful auto company is poised to enter yet another market with the all-new GL-Class, a seven-seat luxury sport-utility that is being produced in the company’s Alabama plant along with the M-Class and R-Class.
It’s no coincidence that the new GL model designation echoes the already legendary Mercedes-Benz G-Class sport-utility. While the GL-Class SUV is built on an entirely new platform, the venerable G-Class is entering its 26th year of production and will continue to be marketed beside the new GL.
Mercedes-Benz Safety in a Premium SUV
The graceful body of the new GL-Class is 200 inches in length, 75.6 inches wide and 72.4 inches tall, boasting an aerodynamic drag coefficient of 0.37. Its steel unit body provides outstanding passive safety with a high-strength occupant cell protected by technologically advanced front and rear crumple zones that include new provisions to help reduce potential injuries to pedestrians and cyclists. The GL comes with two-stage front air bags for the driver and front passenger, side air bags in the front and 2nd-row seats, and curtain air bags that span all three rows of seats.
The new GL-Class arrives in the U.S. market with a 4.6-liter, four-valve-per-cylinder V8 engine producing 335-horsepower, a seven-speed automatic transmission and 4MATIC full-time four-wheel drive.
Click here to view the Mercedes-Benz GL-class launch documents
Also, don't forget to check out the 2006 Geneva motor show photo gallery...
Click here to view the 2006 Geneva auto show photo gallery