Boy, I Wish You Guys Would Buy American!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! All You Guys Are Employed In The USA Right.... Some Thing You Can't Help But You Can Buy A American Auto.... Take It Easy On Me...

Jeff

rich, i drive an american made truck. i love america, but until they can build a truck that will holds it's value and have excellent safety ratings like a high end import, forget it. the residuals suck and so the the safety ratings on most american made anything. i am by NO means anti-american, but i do want my money's worth when i buy somthing. god bless america and help it improve it's quality control.

Dredge, If you can afford to look at MB, BMW, Acura, etc., you can surley stand the rather small hit your going to take buy going with an American brand...the quality and depreciation gaps are becoming very small. Both GM and Ford currently offer very competitive selections in the segment you are looking at.
I don't think you are anti American at all, I can appreciate that the Japs and Nazis have made us more competitive in the auto industry....Nobody has ever looked after the USA other than us, just look at how Germany is treating us recently....my father can tell you how the japs think of us. I thank the Lord that every decision I make isn't based on a few measely bucks.

Those choices seem limited to overpriced fritz or rice mobiles, and I taught it said SUV not glorified leathered up Soccer momed caravans. :D

Excursion, Subs, Yukon, Tahoe. If my family runs into anything at 60 MPH believe me I want the biggest heaviest gathering of steel possible around them not a female voice with a German accent telling them they messed up and are bleeding. Kinetic energy is on your side with them bad boys.
Head on between MB & Ex @60MPH which one you want to be in?:D:D:D

Just my misguided opinion, maybe.

If safety is your is your concern, wouldn't a body on frame design be safer? I believe your three choices are all unibodies. Put it this way; which vehicle would you rather be in when an Excursion crashes with an MDX, a Suburban against the BMW, an Expedition against the Mercedes?? Choice is easy for me.

Of the choices you listed I would choose the BMW X5 4.4. They are just about the best driving SUV I have ever been in. They handle the highway alot like the BMW 5 series. They had some electrical glitches in 2001 but I think most of the bugs have been worked out by now.

Just curious, why no Lexus LX 470 or the new GX 470? I don't think you can go wrong with either. Probably as good or maybe higher quality as the others you have listed. I'm not sure about safety but I would be suprised if it wasn't good.

Mike

My vote is for a H2 . But if you have to pick from the 3 I would pick the Acura.

back in the day they were trucks. the term SUV hadn't been invented yet. yes, i am very very very sad they are all soccer mom cars but, i'm buying it for a soccer mom. the MB has a body on frame chassis. does that make it a truck? no. does it make it better than the others? no. they are all going to unibodies soon, even landrover and range rover. what are you going to do? if you look at the residuals, it's more than a few bucks difference. if you look at safety ratings, it more than a few points difference. some of the american made SUV's are unacceptable by some safety organizations. sooo , what am i going to do? buy the best product for my money. everytime you buy a dodge, chrysler or jeep product the profits go to the germans. remember Daimler bought most of Chrysler.

i love america.

This is somwhat off the topic, but I got a brochure for the new Lexus GX the other day. The text on the first page goes like this"

How do you take a Cigarette boat from South Beach to San Diego in four days?
You're vacationing in South Beach and, during a benefit party, you agree to race your Cigarette boat in a fund-raising competition. However the race starts in four days in San Diego, How do you make the event in time? You simply haul your boat across the country with the new GX*, with a powerful 4.7 liter, four cam, 32 valve V8 engine, and arrive long before your crew."

Bottom of the page has a little line sketch of what looks like something in a Top Gun size. The asterisk after the "GX" takes you to the back cover, which states the towing capacity of 6500# which would allow you to tow only one Cigarette model - your race equipped 20' Son of a Gun...

america has towing capacity on the imports. you have to love that, but this truck will only tow the donzi and even then not often. it will be a soccer mom car.