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Monster dwarfs SUV field
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February 21, 2001: 4:33 p.m. ET
DaimlerChrysler to offer 20-foot-long, nearly 10-foot-high Unimog here in '02
By Staff Writer Chris Isidore
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - DaimlerChrysler is preparing to offer a new vehicle to the U.S. market that not only dwarfs existing passenger vehicles, it could carry most of them in its bed.
It also carries a price tag that towers over most, but not all, sport/utility vehicles -- an expected base list price of $84,000.
The Unimog is being offered as a true utility vehicle, aimed mostly at fire departments or business use. It will be sold through Freightliner, the company's commercial vehicle company that is a leading seller of heavy trucks in the U.S. market. But company officials said they also see it being sold to a limited number of individual consumers, such as ranchers. It expects to offer the German import for sale in the U.S. market in February 2002.
 At 20-feet long the Unimog is more than a foot longer than the Ford Excursion, the longest sport/utility vehicle now on the market. It is nearly as wide as the Hummer, the military vehicle made by AM General Corp. now being sold for civilian use through a marketing agreement with General Motors Corp. But the way it truly towers over other products on the market is its height -- at 9 feet, 5 inches, it is nearly three feet taller than the Excursion. The driver and two passengers must climb three steps to reach the cab and they sit about six feet above the ground.
"It's going to be a real specialty-use vehicle," said Debi Nicholson, spokeswoman for Freightliner. "It's a large vehicle. It's generally not going to be a private-use type of vehicle. It won't fit in garages for the most part."
Still there is probably a market for the Unimog among private customers, said Jason Knapp, analyst with Autodata Inc.
"I think it's an exotic vehicle, viewed by some along the same line as Ferrari. Some will purchase it to get a reaction on the road," he said. "Initially, everyone wants what's new to the market and interesting. There are also those with a legitimate business need for it. Since they're looking to sell only a small number, I'm sure they'll reach those sales levels."
But Knapp said the real growth in SUV sales in the future is probably in the smaller SUVs and the hybrids between the SUVs and other vehicles. He said that concerns about fuel prices and the drivability of the larger SUVs is depressing some sales, such as the Excursion, which has not done as well as expected.
"I think there comes a point where buyers want to sacrifice the drivability of a vehicle only so much," said Knapp.
Safety concerns have also been raised with the recall reports of at least 148 deaths tied primarily to the best selling SUV, the Ford Explorer, and the Firestone tires it used. The problem highlighted a higher likelihood of the top-heavy SUVs to rollover in single-vehicle accidents.
The Unimog is likely to get only 10 miles per gallon using diesel fuel. Its curb weight of 12,500 pounds will ban it from some roads and bridges, and will be nearly 200 percent heavier than the Ford Explorer, the best-selling SUV. In addition it will have a 6-ton payload.
A European model of the Unimog has a crew cab option, but Nicholson said for now the U.S. version will only have a bench seat for two passengers in the front next to an air-ride seat for the driver. But the company is looking to give it the appointments that might make it attractive to the U.S. buyers used to creature comforts.
"You can spec it with CD players and all the amenities you want," she said.
The Hummer is the vehicle most similar to the Unimog. SUVs like the Excursion, no matter the size, are primarily passenger vehicles, holding as many as nine people. The Hummer has a limited passenger capacity, with only four bucket seats. 
The base price for a Unimog is less than the $94,529 list price for a Hummer 4-door wagon. GM sold 900 of the different Hummer versions last year, an increase of 16 percent from 1999 sales. Of those sales, 481 were its top-line wagon. AM General sold about 4,000 of the military version of the vehicle, the Humvee, last year.
GM and AM General are planning to introduce a somewhat smaller Hummer next year, the H2, and it announced plans Wednesday to start the hiring process for a new Indiana plant to build the H2. The H2 will be somewhat narrower than the current Hummer, the H1, as well as not quite as high.
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Even the H1 is relatively short in length, only 15 feet, 4.5 inches, which makes it four inches shorter than the Toyota Camry, the U.S.'s best-selling car. Despite being smaller than the current version, the H2 will hold at least five passengers rather than the current four, and likely will have an option for a third bench seat for additional passengers.
"We're looking to build a family of vehicles," said Heather Hall, a GM spokeswoman. As to the entry of the Unimog to the U.S. market, Hall said, "We welcome the competition, but we think we have a very strong product."
Shares of DaimlerChrysler (DCX: Research, Estimates) gained 37 cents to $51.66 in trading Wednesday. 
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