Oh, man, that is SUH-WHEET!

Okay, so what would happen if, say, someone went up to Manitoba and ordered some macadamia colored heated and ventilated seats for their GL? And then went to self install them? I wonder ... could it be done?

Hmmm ...

STP

Salt meet open wound.

ROADTRIP!!!

I'm all over that one STP. That is, as long as Nish's open wound heals in time.

With the amount of salt being sprinkled so liberally around here these days, I doubt if those open wounds would heal anytime soon. And, don't forget, Ma Benz is still sharpening the sword for the final thrust

But, I have to say this is one roadtrip I would love to do if logistics work out.

Joyride, that looks like an exceptionally nice ride. Congrats and welcome. One other thing, in the pic of the dash, the buttons next to the hazard flasher button appear to be what I would think the off road package buttons would look like. Anyone know if I am correct here? I know it isn't available in US models, but maybe it is available north of the border.

Yes you can get ORP in Canada even on the GL550 but those next to the hazard light button are not ORP buttons I believe.

Me 'n my big, fat mouth.

The button to the right of the hazard button is the "Off-road driving program" switch which is standard on all GL models (without ORP).

The off-road driving program adjusts the engine power and shifting of the automatic transmission to be more suitable for the off-road use of the vehicle. In addition, the ABS, ESP®, and 4-ETS designed for off-road use are automatically activated. In the following situations you should switch to the off-road driving program:
- during off-road driving
- when crossing water (<20in)
- when towing up or down on steep gradients


If you have ORP then the button is the "LOW RANGE MODE" switch:

With LOW RANGE selected, the engine’s power delivery and the shifting behavior of the automatic transmission are adjusted. Furthermore, the ABS, the ESP®, and the 4-ETS functions especially adapted to off-road travel are activated.

LOW RANGE acts by raising the engine’s gear ratio. The vehicle travels at roughly third the speed compared to when in HIGH RANGE position, leading to an increase in the engine’s drive power.
In the following situations you should switch to the LOW RANGE mode:
- during off-road driving
- before driving through water
- when towing up or down on steep gradients

Did someone say Nappa leather and light birch? My wife didn't like the idea of light wood with the black interior but loved it when she saw it in person. The matte finish has a more contemporary look also. With Nappa leather, I believe the dash is actual leather, mine feels different from regular GLs and the stitching is a different color.

The Nappa leather isn't as grainy as the regular leather. I love the PE interior. I still drool whenever I see pictures of it.

Thank you.

And the professor gives another superb class to another uninformed student. Thank you.

That sounds like something that someone should tell the boys at MBUSA to allow it to be places on US models. Should not be a problem with tooling, sine the ORP already is available on Canadian models, right? Oh, wait, we have been through this already. well, nonetheless, a GL550 with the Napa leather, light birchwood, distronic, and ORP would be one very awesome vehicle. That it would.

Excuse me for the off-topic drift, but maybe SUV sales seem to be taking a bit of a hit lately. The GM plant in Arlington, TX has shut down for 3 weeks because of slow GM SUV sales. I know that there is a different type of buyer for GM vs. MB SUVs, but it could be a trend that affects the segment as a whole.

does the 08 GL550 Have the ventilated cooled seats?

Nope

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