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AD&P; > June 2014 > NOTABLE 10 The 2014 Mercedes Sprinter If past is prologue, then when it comes to commercial vehicles, Mercedes has experience in spaces. (Yes, you read that right: "Mercedes" and "commercial vehicles.") According to Berhard Glaser, vice president and managing director, Commercial Vans, Mercedes-Benz USA, the "Motor Truck" from Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft of 1896 was the world's frst truck. Today, he says, Daimler is "the world's largest manufacturer of commercial vehicles." It is worth pointing out, however, that in addition to the brand with the three-pointed star, the company also owns Freightliner. One of the increasingly popular types of vehicles nowadays is one that Mercedes has solid experience in for American applications. In 2001, it introduced the Sprinter van into the U.S. market, the cargo van that could be confgured to carry stuf as well as people. This frst-generation product was initially sold under the Freightliner brand (which continues through today). Then in 2003, thanks to the so-called "merger of equals," DaimlerChrysler started selling the Sprinter with the Dodge moniker (back then, the Dodge logo was the ram's head, which is now used for the Ram brand. Which we'll get to in a moment.) A second generation Sprinter was introduced in 2006. Although Daimler sold Chrysler in 2007 (to Cerberus), Dodge Sprinters continued until 2010, when the Sprinter could be chosen as a Mercedes or a Freightliner. For 2014, there is a new Sprinter. What's interesting to note is that within the past few years, cargo vehicles with this hood-and-high-box architecture have become more pervasive, with Ford ofering the Transit lineup, Nissan the NV family, GM the City Express (which is built by Nissan for GM), and Ram the ProMaster lineup (based on the Fiat Ducato platform, and carrying a Ram badge like the Sprinter of yore). The Mercedes Sprinter and the Freightliner Sprinter, Antje Williams, department manager, Sprinter Brand Management, Mercedes-Benz USA, acknowledges, are mechanically the same vehicle. The diference, primarily, is the front grille. Period. Glaser says that there are a variety of reasons why a customer might opt for one brand over the other, such as whether there is a feet- based association with a given dealer (which might be the case with a commercial customer who runs Freightliners) or a country club that might want to get a Sprinter confgured as a passenger van and so would prefer the Mercedes badge. There are two big changes for the 2014 Sprinter. One is under the hood. One is based on an array of sensors (although this one is optional). The Sprinter in the U.S. market has been diesel-only (using the Mercedes BlueTEC diesel, which means that there is a diesel-exhaust fuid injection system that puts urea into the exhaust so that nitrogen oxides are turned into nitrogen and water in a catalytic converter) since 2010. This is still the case, with the introduction of a new standard diesel engine: this a 161-hp, 266 lb-ft, 2.1-liter, four-cylinder turbodiesel. This is mated to a seven-speed automatic transmission—which, according to Mercedes, makes it the only van in the world to be so equipped. (The other available engine is a carryover, a 188-hp, 325 lb-ft, 3.0-liter V6 turbodiesel that is mated to a fve-speed automatic.) t The 2014 Sprinter is available in crew, passenger, cargo, cab chassis, and minibus variants. The standard powertrain is a 161-hp four-cylinder turbodiesel and a seven-speed automatic. 0614ADP Notable.indd 10 5/21/2014 12:54:23 PM