I think I want to get one of the last solid axle front and rear trucks left these days. I love to offroad and may need to fabricate a few things, but I tnhink the G500 will be a sweet offroad truck. Look out Jeeps!!!

No more Commander?

Nope, the Commander is almost gone. The independent suspension front end killed it from being a "project" car the way the G500 will be. i am already planning all the mods...

What mods you planning, Jangy?

Sounds interesting!

Wheels/Tires:
Potentially new rims (to keep the stocks as spares)
Goodyear MT/R tires

Custom Make:
Skid Plates: One under the engine, one under the tranny, and one under the rear tank.
Rock Rails along both sides to protect the panels on logs, etc.

Front bumper will be modified to house a wench

Cages all around

Navigation replaced with DVD driven one
Rear Camera added
Rear lift gate open close added
Rear seat entertainment added

Any other ideas?

u should wait for the facelift with bixenons. Oh wait it will have the 7g.

Exactly. One, I am not a very patient person and from what I hear it will be ages before the "next" G comes out. IF the new G had updated NAV, etc then I'd consider the 7g again. Xenons mean nothing to me, so having the current tranny over the 7g is a no-brainer.

i want a 'g' too except the g55 is ten times better with the side exhaust...does anyone know if the 500 can modded to look like that..

Rear door you mean, the G-Class doesn't use a lift gate.

Sorry, yes rear door. The unit being installed was from a lift gate.

That exhaust will only hurt you if what you want to do is offroad. The G55 is a sick beast in itself, but the lowered ride height, ridiculous amounts of power, and side exhaust definitely downgrade its offroading prowess.

If Jangy wants to go in the direction of rock sliders, skidplates, and cages, I'm guessing he could just save his change and go for a regular G500.

You have it exactly right. I will definitely be adding all you just said and removing the running boards as is. Even if I go G55, I will likely mod the exhaust to clear. Either way it will get new springs, etc. so which it has OEM is irrelevent. I already have an E55, so the 55K isn't a novelty I want. Other than that, the low end TQ wouldn't exactly hurt.

Why is it so hard to find one to buy? Jeez having such a hard time finding one at a dealer that isn't an ars.

jangy, the "facelift" will have DVD nav....

Are you sure? When is the dvd nav coming? I heard there would be no changes until '08

I need to get the real deal about this G. The rumors are killing me. I don't want the 7g or the xenons, but I would wait for the dvd nav.

The 2007 G-Class does NOT have an updated COMAND system with DVD Nav. That might come in the 2008 model along with other interior upgrades and new engines but there are no details available yet.

The G55 is an awesome off-road vehicle, and I would take one over a G500 any day. The only drawback is the side exhausts, but the ride height is only fractionally lower in the front and the extra torque and power is a major bonus for many types of off-road situations. This is especially true in the desert where power-to-weight ratio is very important.

there is no 07 G-class yet. It is coming with xenon, updated nav, and 7g. This was posted in a press release a while ago...

MB press says otherwise. They do not mention model years, but the only changes for the '07 are Xenon and 7g - NO DVD nav.

Please post a better source if you have one.

..............I wouldn't give up the power of a G55 for fear of the side exhausts. If the side exhausts that is otherwise loved by most causes you a problem, just take the car to a any muffler shop and for a few bucks, they will chop it off and route it to whereever you wish.

Ted

Geez I feel like I am in a court case... where is your evidence? Here!

http://www.emercedesbenz.com/Aug06/2...el_Lineup.html

Dude, i'm not doubting yoiu. i have just always heard different. Sorry.

The 2007 G-Class has the same CD-ROM based COMAND system as the previous year. Only newer COMAND models support DVD-ROM based maps, and fitting those would have required a new dash setup which is not part of the 2007 updates. The article you've quoted above is not a DC press release and the same website has a dedicated article on the 2007 G-Class which does NOT mention DVD based nav:

http://www.emercedesbenz.com/Jun06/2..._GL_Class.html

Better yet, one of my friends in Dubai has just taken delivery of a 2007 G55 Kompressor with the new 500HP engine and it still has the same CD-ROM based COMAND system that his previous G55 had.

If you still don't believe me, check out the German Mercedes-Benz website which has all the specs:

http://www.mercedes-benz.de/content/...s-country.html

You'll see that the G-Class is still coming with the COMAND APS that it's had for the past six years, not the newer COMAND system you see in all the other models that are DVD-ROM based. As I said before, perhaps the interior will get an upgrade in 2008 and thus make it possible for the newer electronics to be included.

we still only have 06 G-classes here. Just because it is like that there doesn't mean it is the same here. The DVD NAV will arrive in CY2007.

JimmyG that Emercedes article u posted about the future G was posted in June. This MBUSA release was posted in late August... also the article you posted was focused for ROW not USA.

I hear I can order a US spec g500 in white. Can anyone verify that. Also, are there any other options that I can get that are normally not US spec?

Other than some orange and red side markers, there are no differences between US and "ROW" versions of the G-Class. The US G-Class will get new electronics or equipment only at the same time or after they are available everywhere else...as has always been the case with the G-Class since its official launch in the US.

CY2007 will most likely translate to MY2008 for ROW, which is what I was suggesting is likely to happen if your information is correct regarding the updated COMAND system. The issue is that the current COMAND in the G-Class uses the D2B interface, whereas the updated DVD based COMAND uses a MOST infrastructure requiring re-wiring and upgrading all other electronic components. Fitting the new COMAND module might also require re-working of some dash panels which is also non-trivial.