The Grand Tour

Would Jeremy Clarkson Approve of this Mercedes Pick-up Truck?

Remember when Jeremy Clarkson and James May raced across Canada to save a freezing Richard Hammond? They used good ol’ American trucks like the Ford Velociraptor, but imagine if Clarkson was able to use an AMG Merc? Imagine the POWER!

Mercedes Benz just revealed their new X-Class pick-up truck and the truck world is buzzing on both sides of the fence whether it’s a smart move or not. (You can already imagine Clarkson making fun of the truck as he does with calling Porsche 911s, glorified VW beetles!)

Before you think of how amazing the innovation is here, let’s remind you that Mercedes and Group Renault Nissan have been working very closely for the past few years. Case in point, the Mercedes GLA and Infiniti QX30. Both raised hatchbacks the MFA platform and a lot of similar design cues as see here:

That’s right! Mercedes definitely helped Nissan out with the hatchback, so you’d have to figure that Nissan owes Mercedes one.

So, here it is, the Nissan Navara, er, Mercedes X-Class (Hi BMW), which has been re-nosed to target the European market, specifically the high end executives who want more power and size . . . . think Jeremy Clarkson the executive!

Considering that the luxury pickup truck market died in 2013 with the Escalade EXT, I don’t think Mercedes is going to succeed in the American market, especially if word gets out that this is a re-badged Nissan, but if they stick to the European market, they have shown that their transport van group can win them over.

Overall, what do you think?

In the mean time, have fun watching the Top Gear episode of the Richard Hammond rescue mission:

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