gordongl450

I finally had the chance to have both trucks cleaned up at the same time to be able to take some pictures to share.

We picked them up the day before Thanksgiving. My wife drives the GL320 (Sand Beige) and I drive the ML320 (Iridium Silver).

Both have P2, iPOD, hitches and Vizualogic DVD systems. The GL has the 19 inch wheel package.

Both have the side step bars instead of the running boards. This was a tough decision. Our 2007 GL450 had neither running boards or side step bars. I wanted something on the 2008 trucks both for looks and for function.
I have never liked the running boards because I do not like the polka dot effect that gets reflected off of the bottom of the doors when you look at the trucks. That dot reflection drives me crazy. I also had concerns about keeping the metal around those rubber dots and all the rubber dots clean.

So I went with the side step bars. To be honest the side step bars are just ok. They look ok, especially with the metal front and rear skid plates. But they are difficult to use for function. The front rubber step seems to be too far forward to be in a position to use it to step in or out relative to the seat postion. Even for my wife who is shorter then I am. We both find ourselves stepping over them and not using them. It may still take some time getting used to them.

Anyway, we love the trucks and love the diesels. Both are getting 19 mpg around town and they are not even broken in yet.

cjh.

WOW. Both are gorgeous, but that Sand Beige looks stunning.
What was the color on the 450 you had before?

gordongl450

We had Desert Silver before. It was too bland in retrospect, although at the time we liked it. The Sand Beige is a better color, deeper and richer look.

oknish

Beautiful looking cars, gordon. I love that Sand Beige color but can't tell how different it is from Pewter. Any thoughts on the difference between those two colors?

cjh.

I can tell...beautiful difference in my opinion. The Pewter is more of a dark silver than it is a brown like the Sand Beige. From these pics, I can tell that Sand Beige is the color of my next GL.

oknish

Good eye, cjh. Now that you mention the difference, I can see it. And, yes, Sand Beige is a beautiful color.

Germancar1

Yeah that Sand Beige does look really good, reminds me of one of my favorite Benz colors from the 80's and early 90's "Desert Taupe". Now that was a color.

M

scottybdiving

Welcome to the "two-diesel family" club. We have both driven diesels for over 10 years now. Only one is an MB but if they made one that would pull a 5th wheel, I'm sure I would have one.

gordongl450

Scotty,

My parents used to have a 300D Turbo Diesel (late 1980's I can't remember the exact year). Straight 5 cylinder diesel. What a great car, it was built like a truck.

It was great until the turbo died. Then the car was slug.

I hope the techology in these CDI's is as good as I hope it is!??

LEOSOPHIE

Enjoy those diesels, spot crude hit $100.00 per barrel today! Wholesale gas is up another $.08 this morning.

JDT1

Yea, these are definitely two great looking vehicles. I know you're enjoying them. I agree 100% with your assessment of the side step bars vs. the running boards. I have an '08 black CDI, and would love to see pics of a black one w/side step bars before I make a final decision to buy them. If anyone has this combination or can provide a website where I might see pics, please provide. Thanks.

Nevada Jack

Beautiful lineup...the Sand Beige is a very nice color.

I prefer the PE running boards to the step bars but either look fine to me.

Nice pics...

tm4exc

The best MB color was smoke silver. It still looks wet after 10 years! Personal bias

scottybdiving

I wouldn't mind getting my hands on one of those.

My first diesel was a 1981 Toyota pickup. I believe it was a 2.2 L, non-turbo. It had very little power and I remember having to turn off the AC going up steep hills. At last count, it was headed to Guatamala with 180K miles.

After that it was the non-turbo 6.9 L and 7.3 L Ford Pickups before the Powerstroke. The turbos made all the difference in power. The non-turbos relied on 4.10 gears to achieve anything at all. I remember driving through Colorado in my '93 and the higher the elevation, the more smoke. At the top of the passes, it looked like a smoke screen from a James Bond movie.

The last 3 vehicles were all Powerstroke turbos until my current Duramax and GL 320. Bottom line is, all of my diesels have operated trouble free, with my work trucks exceeding 200K miles each. So far the Duramax is performing well but it has some big shoes to fill.

harkgar

In the October 2007 issue the Duramax was voted the best of 3 (Cummins, Powerstroke and Duramax) in their latest emission forms.

The magazine called it the "sports truck" of the bunch.

LEOSOPHIE

Scotty I have owned all of the diesels you mentioned including the Toyota turbo 2.4L which was a vast improvement. Some are still working on the ranch. You must be too young to have experienced the Oldsmobile converted gas engine. I was unfortunate eonugh to buy 5 chevy trucks before realizing what a pile they were. Most owners after failure of the diesel replaced the engines with 350 gas engines or junked them.

Nevada Jack

[QUOTE=scottybdiving;2583668]I wouldn't mind getting my hands on one of those.

I owned a 1985 300DTD and it was a absolute tank scotty. Solid as a rock and a great running wagon. Put a 125,000 miles on it before I traded it but what a fantastic machine it was...

I also am aware LEO of the Oldsmobile diesel. My neighbor had one and it was a disaster...they just converted the gas block to diesel and all hell broke loose. He had two or three engine replacements...can't remember what he did with it eventually.

scottybdiving

Unfortunately I'm not too young for GM's converted gas engine deal. Fortunately I didn't buy into one. However, many of them were converted back to gas engines and used for racing due to being 4-bolt mains and other HD aspects. I was recently schooled on the fact that they we not really converted gas engines, just happened to be 350 ci., but that was the consensus back then. Whatever they were, they destroyed the diesel engines reputation and it took many years to recover.

StevethePilot

My father had a Buick diesel sedan which I drove a few times. I recall one time in particular pulling out of a store and wondering if the semi at the light behind me was going to accelerate up the hill faster than I was and rear-end me. Oh, if more folks knew what a modern diesel was!!!!!

idiesel

We did the same thing. My have has the 2008 ML 320cdi and I have the 2008 GL 320cdi. We went with the running boards on both the cars because we liked the polka dots. Since we both liked the same color scheme both the cars are black exterior with tan interior. My wife loves her car. I on the other hand, just got some bad news from the service department. The GL only has 2500 miles and it already has a leaking oil valve. I'll write more about it as soon as I find the proper thread for the problem.