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I don’t do mud baths, and I’m not crazy about spas. I didn’t come to this resort town for a massage. I came to drive. There are many good roads in this part of the Napa Valley — twisting, winding passages abutted by vineyards and other wine-country beauty. They invite exploration.

I took the bait, the 2007 Mercedes-Benz GL-Class sport-utility vehicle.

I would’ve preferred something smaller, tighter, lighter, maybe a two-seat roadster or a hot sports coupe. But that isn’t the way the car business works.

It’s all about selling, going after the most lucrative parts of the market. And the bottom line is that full-size sport-utility vehicles, despite recent news about declining sales in that segment, still constitute the best chance for Mercedes-Benz and other car companies to make money.

That is why Mercedes-Benz, General Motors Corp., Nissan Motor Co. and their rivals are rolling out new SUVs or improving old models.

That is why the putative stalwarts of environmental responsibility, Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co., are doing the same thing. It’s all about money. Selling eco-altruism wins public relations points. But the big rigs haul in the cash.

The trick is to grab as much of the loot as possible before the market goes away.

GM, with its new 380-horsepower GMC Yukon, is taking the beauty-and-beast approach, combining raw muscle with traditional body-on-frame ruggedness and an exquisitely appointed interior.

But in its hustle, Mercedes-Benz is emphasizing the flow, employing sophisticated technology and a high-strength, relatively lightweight steel unitized body to give panache to what essentially is another big off-road truck.

There is an interesting bit of marketing psychology going on here. GMC truck buyers are people who generally use their trucks the way the God of Good Old Boys intended that trucks be used — to haul, tow and get dirty. At GMC, toughness is a priority, and luxury has until recently been little more than an afterthought.

In the United States, Mercedes-Benz truck people are mostly poseurs. I mean no offense. I’m just telling it like it is.

America’s Mercedes-Benz truck owners are different from those in places such as Africa and South America, where people tend to view and use trucks pretty much the way GMC truck owners see and use them in the United States.

The stateside Mercedes-Benz truck fans like the idea of a truck. But they don’t really want one. They mostly want image — an outdoorsy, granola earthiness accented by a badge of affluence. The Mercedes-Benz star does just fine.

In summary, for Mercedes-Benz’s U.S. truck buyers, toughness and ruggedness are optional. Luxury is mandatory.

That is why GM introduced its 2007 GMC Yukon line in the land of Georgia pines and why Mercedes-Benz rolled out its rival GL-Class here in the paradise of zinfandel wines. Both companies are playing to their chosen psychographic markets, and both, judging from initial drives of their vehicles, are likely to be successful.

I reviewed the new Yukon in this column last week. I upset some Mercedes-Benz people by suggesting that, dollar for dollar, the Yukon is a better value than the GL-Class. Leaving aside psychographics — the self-perception, overall mental disposition and social aspirations of the prospective buyer — I stand by that assessment.

But the reality is that my assessment is flawed, because the automobile business is an emotional affair, and psychographics influence the success or failure of its products. It’s more accurate to say that GMC and Mercedes-Benz truck buyers are different people.

They are red state vs. blue state, certainly in attitude, if not location. They are hoot-and-holler good old boys versus preppy bluebloods from the right side of the tracks. One drinks beer. The other sips wine. The GMC Yukon is for the former. The 335-horsepower, all-wheel-drive GL-Class with its standard stitched pleather (vinyl “leather”) instrument panel and optional off-road package is for the latter. Together, the two vehicles are motorized proof of class warfare in the United States.

Nuts & Bolts 2007 Mercedes-Benz GL-Class SUV

Reality check: The GL-Class, slotted between the midsize Mercedes-Benz M-Class SUVs and the enormously proportioned and priced Mercedes-Benz G-Class, could come under tough pricing pressure from the 2007 GMC and Cadillac sport-utility vehicles offered by General Motors. The GM group offers more power, as much utility and luxury, and as much safety as the new GL-Class at a lower price.

Head-turning quotient: It’s hard to ignore a big vehicle wearing a Mercedes-Benz badge. It also helps that the GL-Class, a work of sculpted muscularity, is attractive.

Ride, acceleration and handling: The GL-Class rides and handles with the comfort and ease of a Mercedes-Benz S-Class sedan. Acceleration is good, meaning that the GL-Class moves from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 7.4 seconds.

Body style/layout: The GL-Class is a front-engine, all-wheel-drive, full-size, four-door luxury sport-utility vehicle with a tailgate.

Engine/transmission: The GL-Class comes with a sophisticated aluminum 4.6-liter, 32-valve V-8 that develops 335 horsepower at 6,000 revolutions per minute and 339 foot-pounds of torque from 2,700 to 5,000 rpm. It’s mated to a seven-speed automatic transmission that can be shifted manually.

Capacities: The GL-Class has seating for up to seven. Maximum cargo capacity is 83.3 cubic feet with second- and third-row seats down and 14 cubic feet with those seats up. Fuel capacity is 26.4 gallons of recommended premium unleaded gasoline.

Mileage: I averaged 20 miles per gallon in 317 miles of highway driving.

Safety: The GL-Class has variable deployment (based on the severity of a frontal crash and the weight and position of occupants) air bags for the driver and front passenger, side air bags for second- and third-row passengers, and head curtain air bags covering all three rows. A “D-Ring” steel unitized skeleton forms a rigid passenger safety cell. Four-wheel antilock disc brakes, traction and stability control are standard.

Price: The GL-Class goes on sale in April. Prices will start at about $50,000. There will be options aplenty, including an off-road package with a two-speed transfer case and center and rear locking differentials; Bi-Xenon headlamps with an active cornering feature; and Mercedes-Benz “Distronic,” which keeps the GL-Class a safe distance behind a leading vehicle, among others.

Purse-strings note: Compare with 2007 Cadillac Escalade, 2007 GMC Yukon Denali and Range Rover 4.4 HSE.