Mercedes–Benz 2006 R–Class Grand Sports Tourer

When I saw a photo of this new Mercedes in a full–page color ad in yesterday's New York Times I immediately checked the date: nope, it wasn't April 1.

This abomination of automobile design wasn't a joke but, rather, the latest in a series of missteps by the once–great car company.

It starts at $48,775.

Find out more here.

Just do me one small favor: if you buy one and decide to stop by, please — park it out on the street instead of in my driveway.

What were they thinking in Stuttgart?

How many hundreds of millions of dollars were invested in creating this lead–pipe cinch of a disaster?