00:00 Not since the 1950s has Mercedes-Benz made a world debut at the New York Auto Show, so
00:16 they took this opportunity to unveil an entirely new type of vehicle to the Mercedes lineup.
00:21 For the 2006 model year, the R-Class Sport Tourer combines the attributes of an SUV,
00:28 sedan, wagon, and dare we say it, a minivan.
00:32 A similar vehicle is already in the Daimler Chrysler family, that being the Chrysler Pacifica,
00:37 but this R-Class has a 10-inch longer wheelbase and is 1,000 pounds heavier than the Pacifica.
00:44 While at first glance this new model may resemble the current M-Class SUV, Mercedes Vice President
00:49 of Marketing, Michelle Cervantes, says this isn't just another sport utility.
00:53 "Well, with the R-Class, it's certainly something that you need to drive.
00:58 You get a car-like drive more than an SUV drive.
01:01 With all the space and versatility and room for people as well.
01:05 The other nice thing is it seats six adults comfortably.
01:08 So you've got two plus two plus two, which is very nice versus the M-Class which seats
01:13 five.
01:14 And then the nice part is because the second and the third row fold down, if you need the
01:19 cargo capacity to do other things, you've got that versatility."
01:23 Mercedes calls the design "Dynamic Space," designed to appeal to American buyers.
01:28 Two versions of the U.S.-built R-Class will be offered, the 3.5-liter, 268-horsepower
01:35 R350 V6 and the 302-horsepower, 5-liter R500 V8.
01:41 Each will have standard 4MATIC all-wheel drive and a 7-speed automatic transmission.
01:47 A small, collar-mounted shift stock replaces a console-mounted shift lever and wheel-mounted
01:53 touch-shift buttons permit manual gear changes.
01:56 We'll look for the 2006 Mercedes-Benz R-Class Sport Tourer in showrooms in the fall of 2005,
02:03 with a base price starting at just under $50,000.
02:07 From the 2005 New York Auto Show, this is John Mathias from Motor Trend.
02:11 [MUSIC PLAYING]
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