R-Class: A Mercedes Minivan?

Recently, Mercedes Benz has redesigned their R-Class.  When it was first introduced in 2005, they branded it as a "grand sports tourer".  The R was anything but, and other SUV's the the company's fleet were winning sales.  The most popular SUV, the M-Class, was selling out the R-Class 9 to 1.  For every R-Class Mercedes was selling, they would be selling 9 M-Class SUV's.  Mercedes thought that the R had the potential to go somewhere, so when they sat down to redo it for the first time in 6 years (2nd generation) they decided that the problem with the car was in the design.  Customers thought that it looked too much like a Minivan then an SUV or- a tourer.  Imagine Mercedes selling a minivan... I cant!  They gave the 2011 a more aggressive style, by raising the hood and giving it a bigger nose.  With a virtually unchanged interior and same architecture, can Mercedes really pull off a success story with a new nose?  In America, people are not looking for a German minivan... thats what America is for.  Espically with MB's newest SUV which was launched in 2007, the GL, which is bigger and can accommodate the same number of bodies, Mercedes is sucking sales away from themselves by offering vehicles such as the R, M, and GL.  Many of them even have the same engine choices!  Therefore, it will be interesting to see what people say about the new R, and if it will still retain its name as the Mercedes minivan.