1995: A Split Personality Benz
It seems like Mercedes-Benz’s model range in the 1990’s was far reaching. From a bite-sized city car, then a front-drive minivan, and of course their first family oriented SUV. Alabama’s new corporate citizen, Mercedes-Benz, crossed a few strands of DNA with their new cross-breed off-roader. The AAV (for “all-activity vehicle”), a four-wheel-drive passenger vehicle to be built at their new assembly plant in Vance, Alabama. The AAV, er’ SUV was a unique blend: part conventional minivan and part sport-utility vehicle. The SUV built for European drivers would have optional engines out of the gate, but most would be equipped with a 3.2-liter version of Mercedes’ family of V-6 engines, linked to a four-speed automatic transmission. In 1995 the company hoped to keep the price down to about $30,000 and to sell upwards of 70,000 annually.
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