Giving Class War a New Look

2007 Mercedes-Benz GL-Class SUV

CALISTOGA, Calif.

I don't do mud baths, and I'm not crazy about spas. I didn't come to this resort town for a massage. I came to drive. There are many good roads in this part of the Napa Valley -- twisting, winding passages abutted by vineyards and other wine-country beauty. They invite exploration.

I took the bait, the 2007 Mercedes-Benz GL-Class sport-utility vehicle.

I would've preferred something smaller, tighter, lighter, maybe a two-seat roadster or a hot sports coupe. But that isn't the way the car business works.

It's all about selling, going after the most lucrative parts of the market. And the bottom line is that full-size sport-utility vehicles, despite recent news about declining sales in that segment, still constitute the best chance for Mercedes-Benz and other car companies to make money.

That is why Mercedes-Benz, General Motors Corp., Nissan Motor Co. and their rivals are rolling out new SUVs or improving old models.

That is why the putative stalwarts of environmental responsibility, Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co., are doing the same thing. It's all about money. Selling eco-altruism wins public relations points. But the big rigs haul in the cash.

The trick is to grab as much of the loot as possible before the market goes away.

GM, with its new 380-horsepower GMC Yukon, is taking the beauty-and-beast approach, combining raw muscle with traditional body-on-frame ruggedness and an exquisitely appointed interior.

But in its hustle, Mercedes-Benz is emphasizing the flow, employing sophisticated technology and a high-strength, relatively lightweight steel unitized body to give panache to what essentially is another big off-road truck.

There is an interesting bit of marketing psychology going on here. GMC truck buyers are people who generally use their trucks the way the God of Good Old Boys intended that trucks be used -- to haul, tow and get dirty. At GMC, toughness is a priority, and luxury has until recently been little more than an afterthought.

In the United States, Mercedes-Benz truck people are mostly poseurs. I mean no offense. I'm just telling it like it is.

America's Mercedes-Benz truck owners are different from those in places such as Africa and South America, where people tend to view and use trucks pretty much the way GMC truck owners see and use them in the United States.

The stateside Mercedes-Benz truck fans like the idea of a truck. But they don't really want one. They mostly want image -- an outdoorsy, granola earthiness accented by a badge of affluence. The Mercedes-Benz star does just fine.

In summary, for Mercedes-Benz's U.S. truck buyers, toughness and ruggedness are optional. Luxury is mandatory.

That is why GM introduced its 2007 GMC Yukon line in the land of Georgia pines and why Mercedes-Benz rolled out its rival GL-Class here in the paradise of zinfandel wines. Both companies are playing to their chosen psychographic markets, and both, judging from initial drives of their vehicles, are likely to be successful.

I reviewed the new Yukon in this column last week. I upset some Mercedes-Benz people by suggesting that, dollar for dollar, the Yukon is a better value than the GL-Class. Leaving aside psychographics -- the self-perception, overall mental disposition and social aspirations of the prospective buyer -- I stand by that assessment.

But the reality is that my assessment is flawed, because the automobile business is an emotional affair, and psychographics influence the success or failure of its products. It's more accurate to say that GMC and Mercedes-Benz truck buyers are different people.

They are red state vs. blue state, certainly in attitude, if not location. They are hoot-and-holler good old boys versus preppy bluebloods from the right side of the tracks. One drinks beer. The other sips wine. The GMC Yukon is for the former. The 335-horsepower, all-wheel-drive GL-Class with its standard stitched pleather (vinyl "leather") instrument panel and optional off-road package is for the latter. Together, the two vehicles are motorized proof of class warfare in the United States.