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2019 Mercedes-Benz G-Class vs big luxury off-roaders: How they compare on paper

During our first drive of the 2019 Mercedes-Benz G-Class, the all-new SUV's product manager was asked to identify competitors that might have been benchmarked in its development. The look on his face was about the same as if someone had asked him to recite King Lear in Klingon. As far as Andreas Hoeppel was concerned, the G 550 and AMG G 63 doesn't actually have a rival, or at least something the engineers and designers thought to compare it against. The G-Class is a G-Class, who cares what the other guys are doing? Well, in case you care, we figured we'd plug the new G-Class' specs into the old Autoblog Comparo Generator 3000 (TM) to see how the G 550 and AMG G 63 compare to the Range Rover and its mightiest SVAutobiography Dynamic model, plus the Lexus LX 570 and Bentley Bentayga V8. Frankly, Heir Hoeppel was onto something as each of these is wildly different. But, they do share some common elements: giant size and weight, ultra-lux interiors, and far more off-roading capability than other luxury SUVs offer and any of its owners are likely to ever utilize. Sad. So enjoy this trip down specification lane, and if you're still left hungry, you can always check out our Range Rover comparison or create your very own comparo. Off-Road Clearances and Capability All the fancy off-roading software and special cameras in the world won't do you a lick of good if your SUV is too close to the ground or has low-hanging body work that'll get easily ripped off. As such, check out each of these uber-SUV's ground clearance, approach and departure angles, and wading/fording depths. In this case, the Range Rover has an advantage due to its air suspension that can raise itself into an Off-Roading height that's a whopping 2 inches higher than the new G-Wagen. Sadly for itself, Lexus only provides figures for its air suspension when in normal height. It could match or surpass the Range Rover for all we know (but doubt it). As Land Rover does provide figures for the Range Rover's approach and departure angles in normal and Off-Road height, you can get an idea of just how much clearance the new G-Wagen has without any fancy (and expensive to fix) raising and lowering air suspension hardware. In fact, its departure angle is better than even the Range Rover's Off-Road height. Bentley doesn't provide any such information despite touting the Bentayga's surprising off-roading talents.

Jaguar appoints Joe Eberhardt as North American President

Jaguar Land Rover North America has appointed a new president, Joachim Eberhardt. The German exec, 50, had previously done stints at Chrysler Group, DaimlerChrysler UK, Mercedes-Benz USA and Daimler-Benz.
Eberhardt joins JLR NA in a good, but challenging time for the company. It's fresh off the launch of the Range Rover Sport and Jaguar F-Type, which have been subject to rave reviews, and its overall sales are up 21 percent over 2012. Still, as Automotive News points out, the two manufacturers face a fight to become the equal of A-list competitors like BMW and Mercedes in the eyes of consumers.
"Joe brings a proven industry track record and valuable global leadership experience in luxury sales, service and marketing. We look forward to Joe leading our North American team in working with our retail networks to further grow the business and better serve our customers," JLR's group sales operations director, Andy Goss, said.

Jaguar-Land Rover will use recycled waste to make parts for future models

Jaguar-Land Rover's future models will be partially made of junk. The company announced it's working on integrating a recycled material named Econyl into its manufacturing process in the coming years. Created in 2011 by Italy-based Aquafil, Econyl is a fiber made with a blend of recycled industrial plastics, fabric offcuts sourced from clothing manufacturers, and discarded fishing nets aimlessly floating around the ocean. It's more eco-friendly to produce than oil-based fibers, according to Jaguar, and it helps clean up the planet. Jaguar and Land Rover will use Econyl to make floor mats in the not-too-distant future. Neither company listed the models they'll put the material in, but it's reasonable to assume recycled floor mats will be available in the next-generation XJ, which will be electric, and the next-generation Range Rover. Both will be released in 2021. Eco-friendly materials are slowly but surely spreading across the luxury car segment. Jaguar already offers the I-Pace with a Kvadrat upholstery that combines regular wool and up to 53 recycled plastic bottles per car. Audi's fourth-generation A3 is optionally available with an upholstery made largely using recycled plastic bottles, and Volvo estimates at least 25% of the plastics in its cars will be recycled starting in 2025. Environmentalist organizations are putting an increasing amount of pressure on carmakers to deliver so-called vegan interiors. A group called EarthSight recently accused several companies (including Jaguar-Land Rover and BMW) of using leather from cattle raised on illegally logged lands in Paraguay. Representatives for the British company stressed they found no evidence to verify EarthSight's claims. Related Video: