I only use V rated tires, up to 240 km/h and whether you drive 250 km/h or 240 km/h makes no difference to the tire, I do not hope it's manufactured with such a small margin.

But if they only buy H-rated or so then it could be a problem.

The tires in the US are so cheap, I pay atleast twice as much as you do for the same tire. At least US$600 for one Michelin/Conti in 22 inch for the GL.

But seriously, how often do you get to drive the top-speed of your car? And hopefully those who do choose to drive it flat out, check their tires and so first.

I always take a look at the tires before driving in Germany on the Autobahn.
Learned it from my father, who has had a tire blowout going 270 km/h in his old s-600 and also one in his 993 carrera, due to two nails in each rear tire.

 

I don't specifically remember what tires my 1979 450SL had on it but I drove the car about 30,000 miles and sold it with the original tires. Probably never exceeded 75-85 mph in it. Maple Yellow with Camel interior...my wife just loved that car but she let me drive it to work the first day we had it. "Those were the day my friend...."

 

Mary is the other active female on this forum. As this is a car forum, I guess the natural inclination is to assume that all or at least most, members are male. I get it all the time on the Harley-Davidson forums I'm on. I guess girls don't ride Harley's.

 

"...anything but economy" is not really the issue:
The reason that the V8 diesel is not being offered in the U.S. is that there is no need to introduce a variant which would be lucky to achieve 4% of the GL share.

Of course a few will jump at this, (members of this forum included) but the thought of paying >$20K premium over the GL320 for a performance enhancement will not make sense to most.

 

We agree and "economy" is the point of your second paragraph and again I agree.

 

I think they were Michelin XWX and they were $149 each, which was stratospheric in the 1970s.

 

I will rise to the bait since I still don't understand what does MBUSA lose by offering another variant and charging a premium for it?

 

It costs beaucoup bucks to EPA certify a drivetrain, something like a 50K mile road test, etc.

Sales of GL and ML are very small and this engine/trans combination isn't going to sell at all in any other car.

All the V6 can get in a GL is 25mpg--20mpg isn't going to impress anyone ... in fact it's going to look a lot like a GL450

 

For once I tried driving sensible.
I averaged 25,5 mpg over a 150 miles drive, going 95 mph half the way and 75 mph the other half.
It's actually possible to get a good average...