After looking at the photos, here's some of the areas the GL will have nipped and tucked. Firstly (and obviously), the front fog lights will note a revision, possibly with LED technology. The lower band of the headlights could see a revision as well, à la the new generation M-Class. Despite the lack of masking, new side mirrors are another notable change. And in the back, a modified rear bumper, a reshaped exhaust and slightly revised taillights are all present as well.

Several photos after the jump.

http://www.emercedesbenz.com/Sep08/0...ss_Emerge.html

Nice find. I think side mirrors are the same as what are on 09s. I do see that the car shot has Distronic or at least the cover for the Distronic radar.

New running board?

it looks like new headlight which may look like the one in new 09 ML. & new fog lights.

new Tail light without chrome strips. and also new exhaust pipe. See this Link for more photos.

Could you imagine if they brought that back?

After all we've heard about the poor sales of Distronic, surely they are not considering bringing this back. Or, would they???

Stop giving them ideas already, Stumble.

I am not so sure of that. They are definitely redesigning the tail light and that is why it is covered with the black camouflage. But the chrome strip really sets off GL's tail lights. Compare a GL's tail light with ML's and to me it seems GL's lights just "shine" a bit more.

Keep your hopes up Nish... Distronic is being installed on Canadian units but perhaps Distronic Plus could raise enough interest if offered as an option. It all deals with dollars, not the technology.

Surely Distronic sales are poor because the marketing and floor sales people don't understand it, and the great unwashed public has never experienced it. Why would you buy what you don;t understand? A luxury vehicle without the ability to monitor and follow traffic is not a true luxury car.

Partly true but $3100 was also enough to discourage most buyer from selecting this option.

We drive the 4-9 hours between SF Bay Area and Lake Tahoe twice a month , so it's hard enough to do this long slog where I know every bump and pothole without feeling like an automaton , usually arriving in a " deja vu " trance .
An automatic speed adjusting cruise control should be packaged with lane deviation warning technology, IMO , as I can see someone like me hypnotically drifting asleep and wafting into a canyon in the Sierras if my "luxury" car takes over more of my vigilant driving functions and leaves nothing for me to do but aim the steering wheel .

The taped thin horiz light in the front bumper is probably new LED daytime running light strip as seen on newest Audis and Porsche 997.2 , a welcome addition , as the current DRL set up that lights up the expensive to replace Xenon headlight bulbs is wasteful.

The second article indicated "and exhaust is changed, because of new engine variants."

What new engine variants are planned for the GL... Anyone know?

BlueTec would warrant a new exhaust???

To my eye the new exhaust seems to be more of a cosmetic change being flush with bumper and dual tip a la 550.

IMHO... In the commercial Audi ran several times during the Olympics for the A4, I think those new LED lights looked fantastic.

dmfick - I think lack of Distronic sales also has to do with $ as Jack points out. Most folks will give it up in a heartbeat to bring the price of the car down. And since they have never experienced it they have no idea what a great feature it is.

MKW - I can understand what you are saying. But, IMO, Distronic is an aid for the driver. It is not meant to "take over" as the driver. I'm in SoCal and trudge long distances too so I can empathize with "deja vu" trance. However, with Distronic, I'm not mentally wound up from the idiosyncrasies of morons who share the road with me. I am relaxed when I arrive and my foot is not hurting either

+ (a ridiculously large #).

Those LED light strips just add such a nice bling to the cars.

+1

It's like the lighted door sills in the GL. A complete waste of money, but such satisfaction when someone sees the GL for the first time at night. They always generate a positive comment.

if you see the 3rd picture in here it looks like they removed the chrome from tail lights...

nice new color.
Lets hope some new interior colors....

One of the " luxury " trends I see and welcome is the use of contrasting darker dashes and carpeting even when the seats are light grey or beige . Less reflection on the windshield and much easier upkeep of the floors . I hope they do that with the GL, as these " beasts of burden" get a tough life with snow,dirt,kiddy crud ,etc.
If that were the case last year , I might have gotten the GL's tan interior instead of black since all weather rubberized floor mats as I had in a prev ML with sand interior were only a partial solution , because the carpet near the throttle and door sill areas was always filthy .

+ (another ridiculously large number).

I saw a white S5 drive past me while I was in NY this past weekend and I couldn't take my eyes off of it (I wasn't driving!).

(slightly) If you watch the video of the McLaren SLR Roadster at Nürburgring - is it just me or between the turbo whine and the unbelievable exhaust bass, does it sound almost exactly like a racing P-51 Mustang?

I can't stop watching it. No, not true - I can't stop listening to it! Aaaa!

STP

There was a P51 fly -by at the Lake Tahoe Wooden Boat Concours last month . The pilot swooped down low and then climbed quickly up the lake basin - repeated several times - very cool. He bought it for a couple thousand at war surplus auction at the AFB near Sacramento in the 50s and restored it and now it's worth 7 figures !
Most woodies were rotted and being cut up as tables and wall decorations in restaurant bars and such in the 60s and early 70s- now restored survivors with provenance are in the high 6,low 7 figures .