Mercedes R Class

Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, and Audi announced details of their Takata inflator recalls, and the campaigns affect nearly 1.7 million vehicles in the US.

A Mercedes exec believes that the company could produce more SUV variants, and he thinks that the idea behind the R-Class might be one worth giving another chance.

To prove that the minivan has never truly deserved to be relegated to soccer mom status, we've compiled a list of some of the coolest minivans to ever hit the market.

The R-Class may be produced in the US, but though it's not available here any more, it hasn't been killed off entirely. It's still available in China, but now Mercedes has awarded the manufacturing contract to AM General in South Bend, IN.

It happens every year. We bid adieu to some cars and trucks that will be missed, and say good riddance to others wondering how they stayed around so long. Whether they're being killed off for slow sales or due to a new product coming along to replace them, the list of vehicles being discontinued after 2012 is surprisingly long and diverse.

After years of lackluster sales, Mercedes-Benz is finally pulling the plug on the company's R-Class, at least as far as sales in the United States go. The vehicle will continue to be manufactured at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Tuscaloosa, Alabama and exported to markets around the globe.

Where there are winners, there are inevitably losers. Last year was exceedingly kind to big pickups, sprawling family sedans and SUVs, but not every model came out of 2011 with big sales figures. We took the time to dig through the low-selling models of the past 12 months to find out which vehicles produced throughout the year were the biggest duds. Since we aren't interested in how few

Nearly 7,000 Mercedes-Benz vehicles are being recalled for potentially leaky fuel filters. Included under the recall are diesel (read: Bluetec) versions of the 2011 E-Class, GL-Class, M-Class, and R-Cl

Tornadoes are wreaking havoc in the southern United States, causing Mercedes-Benz and Toyota to put the brakes on production at each of their respective Alabama manufacturing facilities. Mercedes-Benz builds GL-Class, M-Class and Jeff Glucker

2011 Mercedes-Benz R-Class – Click above for high-res image gallery

2011 Mercedes-Benz R-Class – Click above for high-res image gallery

2011 Mercedes-Benz R-Class - Click above for high-res image gallery

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2011 Mercedes-Benz R-Class – Click above for high-res image gallery

2010 Lincoln MKZ - Click above for a high-res image gallery

The R-Class won a design award, went on tour with the Rolling Stones, was dropped in price, and still sold so poorly that Jonathon Ramsey

After selling only 18,168 samples of their R-Class in 2007, even after dropping the base price by $5,000, Mercedes will try taking the uber-wagon downmarket in 2008.