Never mind that the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter was once badged as a serf-suitable Dodge. Mercedes, which took over distribution duties for the van in the U.S. in 2010, wants you to think of its star-clad behemoth as capable of decadent personnel carriage, as well. Benz has aligned itself with New York City’s Brilliant Vehicles to posh them out. Brilliant’s vans really are rather luxe, designed to cart well-heeled families from Manhattan to the Hamptons or corporate boards up and down the BosWash corridor. According to Brilliant founder Richard Fertig, “We’re introducing a new mode of travel we call ‘Private Motoring’ that often replaces air and rail transport.” (We’re pretty sure Karl Benz may have said something similar auf Deutsch in 1885. What’s “buckboard” in German, again?)
The chauffeur-driven vans feature an eight-speaker audio system, onboard Wi-Fi, color printers, stowable desks and a hands-free conference-call system for business, plus leather seating, refrigerators and built-in cabinets for pleasure. What’s more, the high-roof Sprinter allows those of NBA stature room to stand and move about. Brilliant’s also built three minibus versions of the concept, based on the 11-passenger Sprinter.
The leather draping procedure may even help banish any memories that these haulers were once lowly Dodges. If you take a scan of the press release for the Brilliant-fettled Sprinter, DaimlerChrysler was merely a bad dream brought on by too many sauerkraut-laden Coney dogs. “The Sprinter has been sold in the U.S. since 2001 by Freightliner, the leading manufacturer of medium and heavy-duty trucks in North America, and through select Mercedes-Benz dealers since 2010.” And while plenty of Ram’s-head-branded Sprinter owners told curious friends, “It’s really a Mercedes with a Dodge grille,” Schrempp’s folly seems to be a decade the three-pointed star’s flacks would rather forget.
Brilliant Vehicles currently offers its services in New York and Los Angeles. Meanwhile, Daimler Vans USA has nothing to do with Italianate Chrysler’s new Ram division and never has. Ja?
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