As pickup truck sales continue on a healthy climb upward, even Mercedes-Benz — a brand more identified with premium luxury and top-dollar sport — is getting in on the action. Although the company compared it to a cowboy hat, that iconic staple of the Old West and widely popular today, the truck isn't headed to the North American market (at least for now).
"Wow, this is finally happening? A Mercedes-Benz pickup is brought to life," said Dieter Zetsche, chairman of Daimler AG's Board of Management and head of Mercedes-Benz cars, at the X-Class' launch event in Capetown, South Africa. "I believe there is no other species of vehicles that has sparked as much creativity and emotions in humans as pickups."
The M-B pickup aims to be tough — "a reliable workhorse and companion out in the field, on the prairie, at construction sites and anywhere else," Zetsche noted, while offering passenger car comfort, refinement and advanced technology.
"It's a bit like a cowboy hat: reliable and protective at work during the day and stylish at a bar at night," he told the audience.
Watch video unveiling the new X-Class pickup: