Truck or SUV?

Bravo30

Well-known member
I made the mistake of posting a short clip of my G “online” and called it a truck in the description. Terrible idea! One of the first comments was “it’s not a truck”. I looked into it a bit and the word “truck” has a very broad definition but basically it comes down to weigh and frame. Anything that’s over 8,500 on a truck frame is a TRUCK. I’ve always though of the G as truck because of the frame, axles, weight etc


So what is it, truck or suv?

980B2085-319C-479B-BD37-75BE0A91F0EB.jpeg
 

mog

Kodiak Buckaroo
According to Mercedes-Benz, it is an SUV

SUV.jpg
They do sell 'trucks' in other markets that look like this.
truck.jpg

BTW - Mercedes even refers to the G-wagon AMG63 6x6 that weighs 4,105 kg (9,050 lb) and does have a short bed in back as an 'SUV'
 
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Bravo30

Well-known member
Per Wikipedia, looks like the government classifies SUV’s as light trucks and they’re listed as light trucks in industry production statistics as well.



Government regulations

In the United States, many government regulations simply have categories for "off-highway vehicles" which are loosely defined and often result in SUVs (along with pick-up trucks and minivans) being classified as light trucks.[3][15] For example, Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) regulations previously included "permit greater cargo-carrying capacity than passenger carrying volume" in the definition for trucks, resulting in SUVs being classified as light trucks.[16]

This classification as trucks allowed SUVs to be regulated less strictly than passenger cars under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act for fuel economy, and the Clean Air Act for emissions.[17]However, from 2004 onwards, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) began to hold sport utility vehicles to the same tailpipe emissions standards as cars.[18] In 2011, the CAFE regulations were changed to classify small, two-wheel drive SUVs as passenger cars.[19]

However, the licensing and traffic enforcement regulations in the United States vary from state to state, and an SUV may be classified as a car in some states but as a truck in others.[20] For industry production statistics, SUVs are counted in the light truck product segment.[21]
 

mog

Kodiak Buckaroo
It is your vehicle, so call it whatever you want. But if you say "truck" to a non-car person, they are expecting something like this truck.jpg
And if you say "truck" to a car person, they will think you are somehow ashamed of having one of the world's most capably SUVs.
Probably your best solution is the 'Jeep' solution. People just say they have a "Jeep" with no need to describe the category it falls into, and that works*. So you can just use the pronoun G-Wagon.

*Unless it is a Gladiator, then more pronouns come into play ;)

If you said to me, "I have a Mercedes truck", I personally would expect something like this :unsure:
Mammut-RS1.jpg
 
You can call it whatever you want, some people even name their ride.

The wheels on that car remind me of the Vision wheels Bane model. This model is quite common in stores like 4WheelOnline.
 
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Yarjammer

Wellreadneck
It is both. It is more of a truck than many of the "trucks" out there... solid axles (except for the W463a), sh!tty gas mileage, body on frame, and a military heritage. If it has a bed, that just makes it a pickup truck. "SUV" was traditionally coined to describe a unibody.
 

mog

Kodiak Buckaroo
Wiith Mercedes releasing the rough-tough military B06, more clarification to the 'descriptive'.

Rough and tough - Station Wagon
Station Wagon.jpg

Luxury - SUV
SUV.jpg

That is just Mercedes (the manufacturer), so an owner/operator can certainly describe it however they like,
 

Dr. No

New member
I actually call mine "the Truckling", short for "Ugly Truckling" due to the way it looked when I first brought it home...UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_bcf.jpg
It looks much nicer now...
 

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