After cutting the price of its R class by $5,000 last year, Mercedes-Benz has pushed the 2008 model crossover further downmarket.
Mercedes initially aimed the R class at affluent empty nesters. But the company has learned that most buyers are parents who want to haul families. Those buyers don't want the performance of a V-8 or a sticker price over $50,000.
It has taken Mercedes two model years to learn this lesson. That is likely to lead to some head scratching at BMW, a performance-oriented brand that is working on a similar vehicle, the X6, due in 2008.
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