Modern-Day Dinosaurs

Scrolling through Facebook today I came across a posting from Mercedes-Benz's official page. The post was a photo of the new GL63 AMG, set to go on sale in early 2013. Now the GL is a relatively new Mercedes-Benz model; it's only been in production for a few years. The GL is Mercedes' first full-sized SUV, and up until now, the trim options did not include an AMG tuned version.

Photo courtesy of Mercedes-Benz

Heading back towards the point of this article though, I really struggle to understand the point of making a vehicle like this today. Indeed, the figures are extremely impressive. 550hp. 560 lb ft of torque. 0-60 in just 4.9 seconds (faster than a Ferrari 348, mind you). Sadly, though, some equally shocking figures include a curb weight of nearly 6,000 pounds, an estimated price tag of well-over $100,000, and an estimated fuel economy that barely creeps out of the single digits, surely ending up there if you choose to exploit much of the twin turbo V8's grunt.

Photo courtesy of Mercedes-Benz

And all of this got me thinking, with gas climbing ever-closer to the $4 a gallon mark, why do cars like this still exist? I mean, what's the point?

Photo courtesy of Land Rover International

Let's take a look at a couple more examples, starting with the Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid. Now, one may think, and this is what GM wants them to think, that because "hybrid" is attached, that this vehicle is going to be something that's reasonable. Truth is, the Tahoe hybrid is just a normal 6.0 V8 Tahoe with a small electrical engine, stop-start, and some shouty hybrid stickers on the side. What all of this returns you is a measly 15 miles per gallon in the city and 22 on the highway; only a few miles more than the base model, which is also about ten grand cheaper.

Photo courtesy of General Motors

Going back to performance SUVs like the Mercedes, we have the Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8. While it doesn't carry Chrysler group's mammoth V10, there is still little practicality to be found, especially when you consider the massive improvements made to the current base models in regards to fuel efficiency.

Photo courtesy of John Neff at autoblog.com

Now, it may seem to you that I'm having a downer on the sport utility as it's come to be. In truth, however, there are many automakers who have been making great strides as of late in regards to making more efficient and practical sport utility vehicles. 

Photo courtesy of Chris Shunk at autoblog.com

Ford is an excellent example. While they continue to make the mammoth Expedition, they have completely reworked the Explorer; the SUV that disputably started it all. The new Explorer is already offered with a 3.5l V6, but for 2012, they also began including a turbocharged 2.0l inline four, which returns 20 mpg in the city and 28 on the highway; a vast improvement over the outgoing model, which had a thirsty 4.0.

Photo courtesy of Zach Bowman at autoblog.com

While the SRT8 is still alive and well, the new Jeep Grand Cherokee V6 and the accompanying Dodge Durango have undergone a monumental change, along with the majority of the current Chrysler group lineup. Both vehicles can come with the 3.6l V6, which produces a stout 290 horsepower, while returning the same sort of numbers as the aforementioned Explorer.

Photo courtesy of Chris Paukert at autoblog.com

However impressive their performance figures may be, SUVs like the GL63 and the Jeep SRT8 simply don't make sense today, especially when so many viable alternatives exist. Looking towards the future, I wonder how vehicles like this could do anything but become extinct.

Photo courtesy of Mercedes-Benz