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Mercedes-Benz ML-Class
The Mercedes-Benz M-Class is a 4-door SUV with light off-road capability, first offered in 1997, and built in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama, USA. It marked a shift at Mercedes-Benz in becoming a global player; while it had plants outside Germany before, they merely built facsimiles of German models. In contrast, the M-Class was conceived with the American market in mind and built at an American factory. Despite early negative press about quality control, the M-Class became a huge sales success in the United States. In fact, only the C-Class and E-Class sell better in the US.
At launch, the M-Class was a technological 'tour de force'. It was the first SUV to feature stability control, a system designed to detect loss of control and instantaneously intervene with selective braking to bring the vehicle back on its intended course. This system is now hailed by safety experts, and studies have shown stability control and systems like it are capable of reducing single vehicle crashes by up to 30 percent. Furthermore, the M-Class boasted front and side-impact airbags with advanced occupant detection for the front passenger seat, which, combined with Mercedes' legendary safety structure, earned the M-Class the highest marks in insurance industry crash tests.
Initial quality was poor, and jokes about an "Alabama Mercedes" began to make the rounds. A road test on the British programme Top Gear revealed that the presenter, Jeremy Clarkson, could put his fingers into the gap below the rear lights and above the rear bumper. This improved over the years, especially after a mild facelift for 2002. However, owners are often unhappy with the car's quality - for example, the car was placed last out of 142 cars in the Top Gear Motoring Survey 2004. DaimlerChrysler spent US$600 million on improvements at the Alabama factory before launching the second-generation ML in 2005.
Major model variants have included the ML320, ML350, ML430, ML500 and ML55, along with the ML230 and the turbodiesel ML270 CDI and ML400 CDI in Europe. The ML55, or ML55 AMG, featured a V8 engine made by Aufrecht Melcher Grossaspach (AMG), modified body-work, and other performance features. Prices initially were around US$35,000 for the base model in the late 1990s. The ML350 replaced the ML320 as the base model in the United States a few years after its introduction by Mercedes-Benz.
The M-Class was Motor Trend magazine's Truck of the Year for 1998.
2006
The redesigned M-class (chassis name W164) was introduced to the public in April 2005 as a 2006 model after showing at the North American International Auto Show in January. It is almost entirely new, with a more sporting, aerodynamic look—the coefficient of drag is down to 0.34. Mercedes-Benz has also made the new M-class larger, measuring 150 mm longer than the first model. The M-Class was named "Best New Sport Utility Vehicle" in the 2006 Canadian Car of the Year awards.
Due to public knowledge of poor quality control at the Alabama factory, Mercedes-Benz extensively publicized the US$600 million spent to improve the factory. According to early automotive press reports, the 2006 M-Class vehicles demonstrate vast improvements in build quality.
The platform is shared with the new R-Class and G-Class, and is a unibody type rather than the body-on-frame used by the last M and G-Class vehicles.
New features in the 2006 M-Class include the 7G-TRONIC seven-speed transmission, optional Active Curve-Illuminating Bi-Xenon headlights which "steer" in the path of the vehicle, and an adjustable-height air suspension. The base price for the ML350 in the US is about US$40,000.
4-valve engines are replacing the previous 3-valve SOHC V6 and current 3-valve V8:
- ML350 - 3.5 L 4-valve V6, 200 kW (272 hp DIN) and 350 N·m (258 ft·lbf)
- ML500 - 5.0 L 3-valve V8, 215 kW (292 hp DIN) and 336 ft·lbf (455 N·m)
- ML450 - 4.6 L 4-valve V8, 325 hp (242 kW) and 370 ft·lbf (500 N·m)
- ML550 - 5.5 L 4-valve V8, 410 hp (306 kW) and 405 ft·lbf (550 N·m)
- ML63 AMG - 6.2 L 4-valve V8, 510 hp (347 kW)
- ML280 CDI - 3.0 L V6 Turbo Diesel, 140 kW (190 hp DIN) and 440 N·m (325 ft·lbf)
- ML320 CDI - 3.0 L V6 Turbo Diesel, 165 kW (224 hp DIN) and 510 N·m (376 ft·lbf)
- ML400 CDI - 4.0 L BiTurbo V8, 315 hp (235 kW) and 516 ft·lbf (700 N·m)
ML63 AMG
The AMG version of the W164, the ML63 AMG, was introduced at the 2006 North American International Auto Show as a 2007 model. It features a 6.2 L M156 V8 engine producing 503 hp (375 kW) and 465 ft·lbf (630 N·m) of torque. Mercedes-Benz's 7G-TRONIC seven-speed automatic transmission is standard.
