You think you know, but you have no idea. This is the true story of when Mercedes-Benz stopped making toys and started getting real with the GL 550. A bit dramatic, maybe- but MB's top of the line SUV is no joke. They were looking to tap into the market that is dominated by Range Rovers, Navigators, and Escalades- but instead they blew the door wide open.
Even with the photo stretched you feel the presence of the GL550
The GL 550 is just as big as its competitors in the SUV market, yet it still handles like its luxury sedans brothers and coupe sisters. Mercedes-Benz says that this is a result of the GL 550 being the only full-sized SUV to have been built with what they call uni-body construction. This special type of construction is supposed to make the car ride smoother, handle better, and weigh less than a comparable full-sized SUV. I have no idea what this uni-body business is all about, but I have to say that what ever it is, it works.
The GL 550 is a little less flashy than its competitors, due to its design being more rounded. It doesn't look massive from the outside, however 7 people can fit comfortably in it. And if that last row is necessary, just push a button, because the third row powers up and down automatically. And tell whoever complains about getting into the backseat to stop complaining and enjoy the car's second sunroof, which is conveniently located over the third row.
The car has it all for everyone: Standard leather, premium audio, and a trendy look from the front for the flashy crowd; eight airbags, heated front and middle row seats, and a built in first aid kit for the soccer moms.
The GL 550 is worth your time and then some, and this Karma Karma Karma Karma Karma car is certainly a chameleon. Figure out what you want it to say about you and visit Sears to test-drive both luxury and power.
CW. The Road Rakette
OK, Road Rake. Let me help out with the technical stuff.
Unit body construction is a way to put cars together, but what the heck does it mean?
First, what it aint. Think of a standard American made pig boat, I mean SUV, like a bed frame:
- Two long parallel rails (the frame rails) shaped to hold the body, mirror images of each other, curved and formed to hold the big stuff - rear axle, engine (the motor mounts attach more or less to the frame rails), transmisher, with cross members at various points. The floor pans, body and the rest of the car is bolted or welded to the two frame rails. Most pickup trucks of any size, and real trucks use frame rails, and these vehicles are essentially bolted onto the frame at assembly. Some dinosaurs like the Crown Vic, the very last Caprice Classic, etc from GM and Ford used full frame construction. It was common from the model T through the late 80's on the biggest things GM and Ford made.
- Unit Body construction is a different deal. The major body components (roof, pillars, floor pan, engine compartment "walls" ) are designed welded and bolted together without the benefit of two frame rails. The rigidity of the vehicle comes from the design and "unitized" assembly of the "unit body". In effect your roof, door frames, floor etc add structural rigidity to the assembly.
Sometimes this is helped by "sub frames" (smaller, less than full length frame rails) particularly if the unit body car holds a big honking powerplant, like , say a 70's vintage Chrysler Newport with a 383 or 440 cube V-8. Maybe today's Chargers and 300's have sub frames tied to their unit bodies. I dunno - my days of crawling under cars are behind me.
Ironically, the old independent Chrysler Corp went Unit Body many many decades before their Daimler Benz days. Maybe as far back as the 40's. (Even I am not that old, but raking leaves makes me feel like it). Littler stuff from GM and Ford (Pinto's, Camaro's Firebirds, Corvairs, all Mustangs since the Dawn of Pony Car Time) were unit body from the get go, back into the early 60's. Domestic front wheel drive cars have just about all been unit body since the 80's. (Taurus, Bonneville, Buick Pork Avenue, etc)
Most imports from around the world have been unit body, for generations, maybe because of their higher gas prices and lack of cheap steel.
There is a point in size, load capacity and potential "flex" where conventional wisdom says a frame is required. True of heavy real trucks and semis.....That's why "conventional" wisdom has said Pickup Truck = Heavy Load Capacity = Full Frame. ergo, if the domestic SUV is derived from F150's and other US pickups....well, there's your full frame. It is a little fun to see some clown, or clownette in an Escalade and realize that underneath its the same as the Chevy pickup driven by the guy who mows their lawn.
If Mercedes makes a 3/4 ton pickup, I haven't seen it (but if they do, I know it will show up in your driveway, Road Rake) so they are therefore not bound by the cost and design paradigms of Generic Motors and Ford when the build a big ol SUV.
Other than that, I have nothing to say.
Grumpy Neighbor Guy
Grumpy Neighbor Guy you are right. This post was written by my Rakette, not I.
But now you have a several hundred word impromtu treatise on unit bodies, full frames, the history of Chrysler going back to the days of the Airflow, Newport, Dart, Volare and Corboba, and more.
Plus, a valuable lesson - when the words "I don't know what that means" appear in a blog.....the next words you may type can be " I'm sorry I ever brought it up" with answers like mine.
And isn't that what makes the blogoshpere great?
GNG