And they are surprised it didn’t work? Please…

Not surprising. If Mercedes wasn’t really sure what it was supposed to be, how did they expect their customers to fare any better?

People no longer buy SOMETHING because of a name class identity is important. By the way Daimler what was the R Class? Just curious.

…it was a rebadged Pacifica

it was hideous and overpriced! who would want this besides some poser status-seeker soccer moms who dont know how stupid it is until everyone tells them

That’s my favorite, non-sports-car, Merc. Until they come out with a real minivan, that is.

who want want any mercedes besides some status seeking poser?

It was the answer to the question that no one was asking. Really breakthrough design usually is. Sometimes they resonate, like the Chrysler minivans when they were launched, and sometimes they don’t, like the R-Class, Aztec, and Pacifica.

We’ll be reading this same article about the Dodge Journey in a year

How many models did M-B have in 1990 like 8. Now they have 14 not including AMG models.
Note BMW has added a couple models but did not follow M-B into every and all markets.
This is where Toyota is going wrong now too (besides the horrific styling) they have 8 SUV models (best guess)models alone and they are adding another just announced. Not to mention the Lexus clones.
At some point your just stealing sales from other models while carrying the extra costs of building multi models.

They were hawking a utilitarian vehicle to a population demographic that simply does not need utilitarian vehicles. Working class ppl who need utilitarian vehicles are not going to have the cash to buy the brand. $20,000 for larger more useful Kia Sedona or $45,000 for a cramped Mercedes? That is like a no brainer unless you are in the top 25% of income earners.

DeansterTJ – unfortunately that’s the only way it looks good – totally triciked out. The base R350 with stock wheels in Iridium silver looks pathetic. And that is what you will see on a daily basis. I was kind of excited by the initial images of the R before it was released. The reality was quite different. I’m glad they learned their lesson. Anywho the R still did a job of moving units. BMW has been roughly 20k units behind MB in the last few years. Without the R you could argue that BMW would have passsed MB in over all sales.

Germans need to realise this SUV culture sux, leave it with americans…
If you need an SUV buy Japanese.

I did not see gangsters driving R class, but I saw a lot of them pimping out G wagons (at least in Newark).
Benz displayed complete learning disability with R-class. It took them more time to learn anything then for Jerry kids speak into microphone. Before R-class, there was a fiasco called Pacifica. Did they called it a success? Or someone suspected that R-class looks any better?
The only excuse for R-class I see as one with 3L diesel. You cant another vehicle with decent (for its bulk) driving dynamics.

“Not for every company.” Pretty much sums it up.

Mercedes (non-AMG cars) is almost as boring as Toyota, and if it people were actually capable of looking past brand image and the 3 pointed star, nobody would touch those overpriced cars with a 10 foot pole.

I think Mercedes has probably the ugliest range of cars from any prestige brand and a lot of more lowly brands for that matter. So many of their cars look Korean to me and they have lost their strength and statesmaness that they once had. Not to mention they seem to be filling every niche within a niche thats going. The interiors are pretty awful and their reliability is nowhere near as good as it used to be.

Not to mention that GLK is probably the single most ugly vehicle that has been launched in the last 5 years.

It looks like a hearse. Good riddance.

If a “replacement” for the R turns out to be a “totally different vehicle,” it’s not really a “replacement,” is it? They could “replace” the R with a two-door FWD hatch that competes with the Impreza, but that’s not a “replacement.”

What a stupid concept this was. There was no market for it.

fugly car to begin with.

If it wasn’t so heavy and drinks a lot of gas, maybe people would still check it out.

I think the concept wasn’t totally off. I mean, which minivan are affluent families supposed to buy? Town and Country? Odyssey? Come on…

BTW this isn’t an SUV vs. minivan argument. Some people simply prefer minivans to luxury SUV’s.

The problem is with the execution. It should have been lighter and priced lower than the ML. When it first came out it was only a 6-seater. Why get a vehicle that many considered ugly just to get one more seating capacity?

the problem wasnt the concept or the niche they headed for, it was the looks imo.

then again, the pacifica failed, too (which looked amazingly good to me… pity they dont sell them in europe… id be 1st to get one!)

Pacifica was to rich for a Chrysler showroom and the cross-fire went after customers of image who could not swallow the Chrysler name.

I wonder if there would have been a market for the R-class if they actually made it a minivan. There are plenty of soccer moms on the nice side of town, if they actually made the R-class with the practicality of minivans, they might have had something.

Of course, that wouldn’t make it any more desirable to the LLN crowd….

Oh, and Rover3500 is wrong, BMW’s are clearly the ugliest luxury marque out there. That’s not to say all Mercs are winners. The GLK is bland, but the S-class and new C-class are anything but bland.

never thought the R-Class was pretty or useful anyway.

Proud owner of one of these. Wife loves it. With several kids, it proves greatly functional, huge on the inside, drives more like a car than an oversized SUV, best mileage of any people mover this size with a diesel. (Diesel was the added reason for purchase) Distinctive on the road, we have received nothing but positive comments thus far. Sad others do not feel this way. It will be interesting to see what is available next…