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Mercedes-Benz pickup could come to US

Mercedes-Benz USA CEO Steve Cannon says the brand has until the end of the year to decide whether to bring its upcoming midsize pickup truck to the United States. "We said to Stuttgart, 'We are open, and let us assess the market.' If that leads to us saying 'green light,' then we will bring it," Cannon said to Automotive News. Mercedes-Benz Vans is leading the pickup's development, and the company's official announcement said the truck's intended markets are Latin America, South Africa, Australia and Europe. The vehicle is expected to launch by 2020. The company might take advantage of some of Nissan's truck expertise on the project, but that's not decided yet, according to Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn. However, if the Mercedes pickup makes it to the US, it wouldn't be the same utility-oriented model as for the rest of the world. Instead, Cannon indicates that the truck would be adapted to fill a more luxurious role in the lineup and wouldn't be limited to dealers that sell vans. "For a Mercedes-Benz household that has a lot of stuff or a lot of kids or they want to tow the boat - we could offer something to customers who are already luxury-predisposed," he said to Automotive News. Keep in mind none of this is set in stone, and Mercedes doesn't have to offer the model here because "officially it was approved without US volume," Cannon said to Automotive News. He thinks the truck would be a niche vehicle and sales might only be around 10,000 units a year. With pickups among the leading segments in transactions over $50,000 in the US, the market could still be the right fit for the traditionally high-end German brand. Related Video:

Mercedes-AMG chairman shoots down notion of LaFerrari-fighter

Mercedes-AMG chairman Tobias Moers took a sip of water and pondered the question. It was a loaded one: Would his company consider building a hyper car to rival extreme machines like the Porsche 918 and Ferrari LaFerrari? The short answer: not right now. "Unfortunately, if we find we should do something like that, there's no capacity – there's no engineering capacity to do that – in the near future. So there's no chance for us [to do that]," he told Autoblog in an interview at the Los Angeles Auto Show. AMG has capitalized on the rebounding global economy and strong demand for performance cars in the United States, China, and Europe, its most critical markets. It employs about 1,400 people, an astronomical leap from the 120 people who worked at AMG when Moers started in 1994. AMG also announced plans this week to increase V12 engine production due to high demand. Production will move from the AMG base in Affalterbach to another Daimler site in Mannheim, Germany. The switch will free up capacity for AMG to build more V8 engines in Affalterbach. Despite all of this growth, Moers said the company has priorities more pressing than a hypercar, like adding more extreme variants of its existing models. It also revealed the SL63 and SL65 AMG models this week in Los Angeles. "We're going to increase the family of the GT (shown above)," he said. "We're really busy with the next-generation E-Class, which will be the biggest step we've ever made from one generation E-Class to the next one regarding driving dynamics." Moers also says a supercar doesn't make financial sense for AMG, though halo cars are traditionally done for brand building, rather than the bottom line. "We're not coming to that point. I think a hypercar is always bad on a business case," he said. An AMG supercar is one of the industry's favorite rumors, and Moers admitted his customers are interested in the proposition. "In the recent past, I always thought like AMG ... is not in that level to be accepted in a hypercar, super, super, super sports car segment," he said. Talking with customers in all of our main markets, give[s] me a different view to that." Related Video:

Merecedes-Benz EQS, Ford Mustang Mach-E GT and Subaru Forester Wilderness | Autoblog Podcast #702

In this episode of the Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Senior Editor James Riswick. They've been driving some exciting new EVs, like the Ford Mustang Mach-E GT and the Mercedes-Benz EQS. They also discuss driving the new Subaru Forester Wilderness, as well as the perfectly agreeable Toyota Camry XSE Hybrid. James compares four big-name off-roaders — the Ford Bronco, Jeep Wrangler, Toyota 4Runner and Land Rover Defender — based on their ability to accommodate a big load of luggage. Next they reach into the mailbag for comments on the Genesis GV70, as well as a Spend My Money question about replacing a wrecked Subaru Ascent with another three-row SUV. Send us your questions for the Mailbag and Spend My Money at: Podcast@Autoblog.com. Autoblog Podcast #702 Get The Podcast Apple Podcasts – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes Spotify – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast on Spotify RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown What we're driving: 2022 Ford Mustang Mach-E GT 2022 Mercedes-Benz EQS 2022 Subaru Forester Wilderness 2022 Toyota Camry XSE Hybrid Luggage testing the off-roaders: Ford Bronco vs. Jeep Wrangler vs. Land Rover Defender vs. Toyota 4Runner  Mailbag: Thoughts on the Genesis GV70 Spend My Money: Three-row SUV to replace Subaru Ascent Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on Apple Podcasts Autoblog is now live on your smart speakers and voice assistants with the audio Autoblog Daily Digest. Say “Hey Google, play the news from Autoblog” or "Alexa, open Autoblog" to get your favorite car website in audio form every day. A narrator will take you through the biggest stories or break down one of our comprehensive test drives. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.