The Mercedes-Benz R63 AMG Is What Really Happened To The Conversion Van

"Margin Of Error" (marginoferror)
10/16/2015 at 16:55 • Filed to: LETTERS TO DOUG

Hello everyone, and welcome to Letters to Marvin , your weekly Oppo column wherein someone submits a letter to Douglas DeMuro, and then Marvin responds with helpful, reasonable advice that makes the world a better place.

Today’s question to Douglas was quite ambiguous; whatever happened to the conversion van.

The idea behind the conversion van was to take a delivery van and make it a saloon with a ladder at the back, next to a spare wheel hidden behind a ford/chevy/GMC/doge cover. The interior featured generous carpeting, rotating seats and a minibar.

Conversion vans went out of fashion after too many pedophiles, rapists and other creepy dudes became fond of them. They then disappeared for a while until the Germans revived them.

Oh Yes, the Germans really took the conversion van to the next level. They took a minvan, installed a supercar engine in it and installed enough luxury shit in the cabin to make an Ethihad A-380 first class cabin to crash out of shame.

Vertical side windows ? Eff that, the Germans will give you a Panoramic roof as large as the Toronto Skydome, complemented with LCD screens everywhere, massaging seats and climate control.

So, back to today’s letter to Douglas.

Whathever really happened to the conversion van ?

Well, it became an R63 AMG.

Marvin Oliver Eubanks is a freelance writer, essayist, automobile historian and civil aviation Guru. Follow him on Twitter !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

DISCUSSION (100)

TheHondaBro > Margin Of Error
10/16/2015 at 17:36

The R class was a luxurious minivan built on a bespoke chassis. It wasn’t really a conversion van.

Look at variants of the Daimler Sprinter. THOSE are conversion vans.

Kinja'd!!!

Margin Of Error > TheHondaBro
10/16/2015 at 17:40

They have shitty engine doe

TheHondaBro > Margin Of Error
10/16/2015 at 17:45

Big engine does not a conversion van make.

Margin Of Error > TheHondaBro
10/16/2015 at 18:15

Learjet interior does

WhiskeyGolf > Margin Of Error
10/16/2015 at 19:22

Could you or would you take an R63 to a track day?

Margin Of Error > WhiskeyGolf
10/16/2015 at 19:58

Definitely

krhodes1 > Margin Of Error
10/16/2015 at 21:39

How fast do you need to go in a living room? You will spill your drinks.

Ornery Duck Is Always The Answer > Margin Of Error
10/16/2015 at 21:40

Ah, the R63, the only Mercedes vehicle I’d consider buying. (To be perfectly honest, I wouldn't say no to a C63 if anyone is offering).

PatBateman > Margin Of Error
10/16/2015 at 21:45

Negative. It became this:

Kinja'd!!!

Source: I used to own one.

Battery Tender Unnecessary > Margin Of Error
10/16/2015 at 21:45

THE rarest AMG sold in the US past decade. Way rarer than any Black Series.

RichardNixon72 > Margin Of Error
10/16/2015 at 21:46

The R-Class in general currently exists only as the dilapidated misshapen 134k-mile Airmatic failure $6900 ACV piece of shit it always was underneath that sheath of burl walnut and inop pano glass.

At the very least, the skeeziest rapiest conversion van generally runs under its own power and doesn’t drag its ass when its unladen...More than can be said for the worse Mercedes Pacifica.

The Crazy Kanuck; RIP Oppositelock > Margin Of Error
10/16/2015 at 21:46

Don’t care. Still want a R63 AMG. There is one for $25000 close by, an it is very tempting. I still have to pay off my Sonic before buying a rare “SUV”.

http://www.autotrader.ca/a/Mercedes-Ben…

Kinja'd!!!

TheHondaBro > Battery Tender Unnecessary
10/16/2015 at 21:52

Weren’t there less than 100 sold in the states?

Drzhivago138 > Margin Of Error
10/16/2015 at 22:06

I would still argue no, this isn’t the new conversion van, because an important aspect of the conversion van was that they were normally owned by blue-collar salt-of-the-earth Middle America types.

Evan, Pope Of Jalopnik by Self-Appointment > WhiskeyGolf
10/16/2015 at 22:18

Yes

Evan, Pope Of Jalopnik by Self-Appointment > The Crazy Kanuck; RIP Oppositelock
10/16/2015 at 22:19

Just do it, you won’t regret it. The 6.2 will consume your soul, and you will love it.

RalphieDC > Margin Of Error
10/16/2015 at 22:23

Kinja'd!!!

500dollarvan > Margin Of Error
10/16/2015 at 22:30

The $500 Van is very excited about all the van content on jalopnik this week. I’m currently reading this article while sitting on my van’s toilet.

The Crazy Kanuck; RIP Oppositelock > Evan, Pope Of Jalopnik by Self-Appointment
10/16/2015 at 22:37

The fuel costs and insurance are what would worry me, I can barely afford a poverty spec chevy sonic.

E92M3 > Margin Of Error
10/16/2015 at 22:44

How come Doug doesn’t answer his own questions anymore?

pacenotes > Margin Of Error
10/16/2015 at 22:52

Ford Transit Connect, Ram Promaster City and the Chevy City Express are going to be the new mini conversion vans.

Margin Of Error > PatBateman
10/16/2015 at 23:05

LOL

Margin Of Error > RichardNixon72
10/16/2015 at 23:06

Better buy a P71

Steve in Manhattan > Margin Of Error
10/16/2015 at 23:09

Cannot fault you here ...

loonatic112358 > TheHondaBro
10/16/2015 at 23:10

So is this a conversion?

http://www.airstream.com/touring-coache…

Driving_Impaired > Margin Of Error
10/16/2015 at 23:27

Kinja'd!!!

Quad exhaust and a diffuser on a minivan?? Yesssssssssssssssssssss!!!!!!

wlb50 > Margin Of Error
10/16/2015 at 23:28

I don’t think they are making the R Class anymore . It was an ML with a bulbous body. Funny thing, at least to me, was their decision to offer an AMG version of every model they offered.

The R Class was funny enough with a 500 hp engine, but the G Wagon? Like turbocharging a a 5,500 lb brick.

Battery Tender Unnecessary > TheHondaBro
10/16/2015 at 23:31

The only made it the 2007 model year and the official sales number reported was 39 cars. They had to be ordered with a firm deposit, no dealer stock. The last two I saw for sale were at exotic car dealerships in NC and OH.

kayldera > Margin Of Error
10/16/2015 at 23:33

Ah, the R class... My dad got conned into buying one of those because the salesman convinced him that it was just a roomy SUV.... Now he takes offense at people calling it an expensive van and always complains about the cost of stuff that keeps breaking on it. It is also a giant PITA to maneuver in an Euro-style urban environment. Bless his heart.

desertdog5051 > Margin Of Error
10/16/2015 at 23:36

Nothing personal, Margin/Marvin, but you missed that by a mile.

Margin Of Error > desertdog5051
10/16/2015 at 23:39

What do you mean ?

Doug DeMuro > Margin Of Error
10/16/2015 at 23:43

I saw an R63 AMG getting on the Bay Bridge in Oakland three months ago. It was the first one I had seen in years.

I was in the car with a group of people, so what was I going to do? Freak out over some dull-colored Mercedes-Benz minivan?

So I kept it to myself until right now.

corwinlw > Margin Of Error
10/16/2015 at 23:48

I will never get enough of your logo.

Margin Of Error > corwinlw
10/16/2015 at 23:49

ahtnks!

ColMussstard > RichardNixon72
10/17/2015 at 00:00

My parents own an R500 at about that mileage, yea we replaced all the airmatic struts but other than that it’s fine. My dad has done a few other things with the taillights and something low cost but labor intensive in the engine bay but nothing else, it’s been a surprisingly nice car for the past 7 years we’ve had it

desertdog5051 > Margin Of Error
10/17/2015 at 00:02

The conversion van (I used to do them) was put out of business by the minivan. Rotten gas mileage, etc. was mostly the reason.

Those people did not like the minivan because they were too small and did not serve the same purpose.

Those same people who wanted a full size, luzurious, van migrated to small RV’s. If you were serious about comfort.

It was a limited market at best.

The SUV/CUV is not an equal comparison. It is built to move people in the front and cargo (groceries and bags of sand) in the rear. It does none of the things a full size conversion van does. You can’t sit up and move around in them or pack all the things needed for a several week/month road trip and still have a place to sleep.

TheHondaBro > Margin Of Error
10/17/2015 at 00:04

You don’t seem to understand what a conversion van is. The R-Class is on a bespoke chassis, meaning it isn’t based on any other platform. For it to be a conversion van, it has to be a cargo van converted for different uses, such as a luxury cruise van, or a passenger van. It does not necessarily have to have a powerful engine either. The R-Class was built as a luxury minivan from the get-go. It was not a cargo van converted into a luxury MPV.

A friend back in California has a Ford E-Series conversion van because he has a large family. It’s a cargo van converted into an MPV.

You should try doing a little more research next time.

Margin Of Error > TheHondaBro
10/17/2015 at 00:05

The R63 AMG is a conversion minivan.

TheHondaBro > Margin Of Error
10/17/2015 at 00:08

It’s a minivan with a big engine. That’s it.

Have Jeep, will travel. > Margin Of Error
10/17/2015 at 00:11

No. R Class isn’t the new conversion van. How old are some of you? That’s still the SUV. Back in the 80s and early 90s, Middle America types and large families with some money had them. If you didn’t have a good paying job, you had a regular passenger van or a mini van. Then the SUV came along. So the Escalade would probably be the new “conversion van”, loaded with leather, entertainment, more money than a Suburban or Tahoe.

willmederski > Margin Of Error
10/17/2015 at 00:16

the V6 diesel isn’t the worst.

but the I5 of the T1N gen was certainly the best.

just drove one 2400 miles healing a 32’ airstream. got 13-14mpg.

unloaded it will get 25-27mpg. that’s good in my book for something you can fit half of an apartment in.

willmederski > TheHondaBro
10/17/2015 at 00:18

agreed.

going to have to say what people (including myself) are doing with sprinters and the Ford / Fiat equivalents are where the conversion van market is today.

TheHondaBro > Battery Tender Unnecessary
10/17/2015 at 00:19

39 bought new, and probably 12,000 looking to buy one used.

Bafangool > Driving_Impaired
10/17/2015 at 00:44

Love the “ROAR” license plate as well.

B6FTW > Margin Of Error
10/17/2015 at 01:01

A wise man once said of the VW Vanagon that “it’s not a slow car, it’s a fast house.” While a Vanagon is not a conversion van, I feel that his sentiment applies here. Conversion vans are fast houses, whereas minivans are people-haulers. The R63 is a people-hauler, the Sprinter conversions are the modern day fast houses. The ability to sleep comfortably in a seat designed to be a bed is key.

Matthew Keyser > Margin Of Error
10/17/2015 at 02:00

Oddly enough, the AM General Plant which made Sir DeMuro’s precious Hummer as well as all other Military/H1/H2 Hummers is just down the road from me. When they pulled out of the market, that plant began making handicapped accessible vans up until recently when Mercedes moved in.

That plant now builds the R-Class which is still being sold in China.

zziro > Margin Of Error
10/17/2015 at 02:03

Kinja'd!!!

They’re in Asia.

onhold > pacenotes
10/17/2015 at 02:30

Yes, the point behind the van was to have a “rolling room.” A German crossover doesn’t come close to that. However, a Tansit? That’s shit is bigger than many people’s apartment.

Impulsoren > 500dollarvan
10/17/2015 at 02:34

I drove my $500 van today, to pick up a new TV at best buy.

Canajun_eh > Ornery Duck Is Always The Answer
10/17/2015 at 03:01

Im not offering, but if you get an R63 we can talk swap.

Beju > onhold
10/17/2015 at 03:03

He wrote Transit Connect, the little one used by urban florists and dog walkers.

200 Touring > PatBateman
10/17/2015 at 03:27

I agree with this, as well as with the pervs, pedos, and rapists theories.

drock905 > Margin Of Error
10/17/2015 at 04:05

If it doesn’t have a seat that turns into a bed it’s not a conversion can

Der Untergeher > Margin Of Error
10/17/2015 at 04:12

Right company, wrong car and absolutely wrong take on. Mercedes brought real conversion vans back

Kinja'd!!!

Oh and it is available with an tuned v8, so stop being snappy and start being an informed car journalist. At the moment you only try to blew comments to the size of articles....

Flavien Vidal > Drzhivago138
10/17/2015 at 06:35

It’s the very normal and regular gentrification of conversion vans....

350Zed > Ornery Duck Is Always The Answer
10/17/2015 at 06:40

I do have a C63, and I've always thought an R63 to match would be bad-ass... But good luck finding an R63 for sale anywhere.

CALUSA > Margin Of Error
10/17/2015 at 06:57

But it’s not a van.

Plompy Lfeata > Margin Of Error
10/17/2015 at 07:15

youre dumb

blasds78 > E92M3
10/17/2015 at 07:27

He did. He said Honda replaced it with their minivan.

ztatum > Margin Of Error
10/17/2015 at 07:50

Are you kidding me? The conversion van is alive and well. The Mercedes/Dodge Sprinter can be converted to limitless configurations, from learjet-like luxury to stripped out cargo hauler.

Captain_Spadaro > Margin Of Error
10/17/2015 at 08:06

Only 100 were made, IIRC (or made it to US shores, I can never remember which).

zehojuxuc > Margin Of Error
10/17/2015 at 08:15

Start working at home with Google! It’s by-far the best job I’ve had. Last Wednesday I got a brand new BMW since getting a check for $6474 this - 4 weeks past. I began this 8-months ago and immediately was bringing home at least $77 per hour. I work through this link, go to tech tab for work detail.

+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+ http://www.buzznews99.com

onhold > Beju
10/17/2015 at 08:16

Oh. My bad.

Devon lost his burner, understands electric cars don't require front grilles > Margin Of Error
10/17/2015 at 08:36

Kinja'd!!!

Counterpoint, the ultimate conversion van is the Toyota Century, since the back of the passenger seat has a hole for passenger legs to go through.

mdensch > Margin Of Error
10/17/2015 at 09:27

So where’s the shag carpeting? Where’s the garish crushed velour upholstery? Where’s the track lighting?

Outta here with your bloated Benz, that ain’t no conversion van.

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > Drzhivago138
10/17/2015 at 09:56

... With a love for shag carpet

Dest > Drzhivago138
10/17/2015 at 10:13

Read this as salt-of-the-middle-earth types.

Drakkon- Most Glorious and Upright Person of Genius > TheHondaBro
10/17/2015 at 10:25

Chevy 350. With a slight bit of lifter tick under load.

Seriously, I think even Ford and Dodge may have put Chevy 350s in their vans just for the hellavit

Drakkon- Most Glorious and Upright Person of Genius > Margin Of Error
10/17/2015 at 10:31

I have to disagree. Since this is the internet, I must hatefully and venomously disagree but either way...

The R63 is a big fast super car of a van built to a very high quality.

The Mid-American conversation van was literally sawzalled and stapled together in Indiana. Questionable running board mounting methods, wheel arches made of vacuum formed recycled soda bottles, 7year old surplus televisions built into the center console that required you to put your VCR on the floor next to it so the guys in the back could watch nearly black &white porn on the fishing trip.

Even back in the day, conversion vans were not known for quality.

The R63 is the modern tycoon’s private Pullman car.

Joe The Drummer > desertdog5051
10/17/2015 at 10:56

The SUV is not the evolution of the conversion van. It’s the evolution of the station wagon, cross-bred with Broncos or Suburbans.

Zaskarx > Dest
10/17/2015 at 11:25

I could see Sam Gamgee rolling around in an ‘86 Chevy van decked out with over the top pin striping and royal blue crushed velvet captain’s chairs.

Margin Of Error > Doug DeMuro
10/17/2015 at 11:41

This is what you should buy as your next car!

Margin Of Error > Matthew Keyser
10/17/2015 at 11:44

Really ?

that’s interesting

JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder! > Drzhivago138
10/17/2015 at 11:51

These things depreciate just like those vans though

I eat snow > Margin Of Error
10/17/2015 at 12:03

The r63 was such a huge success that mercedes decided to stop selling it.

mad.anthony > Ornery Duck Is Always The Answer
10/17/2015 at 12:07

I’d take a Metris. Or a G-wagen.

mad.anthony > B6FTW
10/17/2015 at 12:10

The Vanagon Westfalia is literally a conversion van - Westfalia was an independent company that did the camper conversions. TIL that they are now owned by Mercedes (and don’t do VW conversions anymore):

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westfalia

Unspiek Baron Bodissey > Margin Of Error
10/17/2015 at 13:57

Can’t walk in the R63 like in a true van. I mean it’s gorgeous but a van it ain’t.

B6FTW > mad.anthony
10/17/2015 at 14:05

Good point. The syncro 4WD versions were converted by Steyr-Puch in Austria, so the syncro Westies are kind of super conversion vans, having to go to 3 separate plants in two countries before completion.

Drzhivago138 > Zaskarx
10/17/2015 at 14:07

I’m sure more than one mid-’70s Dodge Sportsman has had a LotR mural on the side.

anon95821 > Ornery Duck Is Always The Answer
10/17/2015 at 14:57

The seats are amazing. Best seats I have ever had outside of my past volvos.

venivelovici > Margin Of Error
10/17/2015 at 15:03

Kinja'd!!!

I think the conversion van is alive and well but in a different Merc product.

TheHondaBro > zziro
10/17/2015 at 15:33

Hnnnnggg!!!

R Henry > Margin Of Error
10/17/2015 at 18:28

A conversion van provides enough room for a mobile orgy. The Merc does not.

truebeliever > Margin Of Error
10/17/2015 at 21:08

looks like a Chrysler Pacifica R/T

dorkbutt > Margin Of Error
10/17/2015 at 21:21

I think a diy conversion/camper van would actually be a pretty fun project, especially with all the vans these days. You’ve still got the Ford Econoline, but now we also have the Transit, Sprinter, and all those crazy Nissans. If I had a place to park one, I would totally do it. I’d go all out pimp my ride style.

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > Margin Of Error
10/17/2015 at 21:32

P71? I want a P27, preferably a 1986.

dtg11 - is probably on an adventure with Clifford > Ornery Duck Is Always The Answer
10/17/2015 at 21:59

HERESY! BURN THE HERETIC!!

GrauGeist > Margin Of Error
10/17/2015 at 23:06

Having a R500, it’s nice enough, but it’s not leather everywhere. There’s a lot of hard plastic that you can find.

Plus, the W251 platform itself is none too solid. Still, if you can afford a R63, I guess you can afford the upkeep.

R171 > Battery Tender Unnecessary
10/18/2015 at 01:47

Some guy drives one around my area. It’s like seeing a unicorn

Ape Tit for $400 > Zaskarx
10/18/2015 at 03:13

Bombadil had one with some totally sweet airbrushing of Goldberry’s bewbage hanging out

Driving_Impaired > Battery Tender Unnecessary
10/18/2015 at 09:35

currently a whopping ZERO up for sale in the entire country right now. ( cars.com/autotrader/autotempest )

vc-10 > Margin Of Error
10/18/2015 at 12:49

I’d say this is closer to the modern conversion van from Mercedes, seeing as it is, well, a van with a luxurious interior. This is the new V-Class, loved by ‘executive’ taxi services, normally found idling outside airports.

Kinja'd!!!

vdubyajohn > Margin Of Error
10/18/2015 at 15:22

Not a conversion van, per se, but it was the MB Pacifica.

Jeepkiller > Margin Of Error
10/18/2015 at 15:51

Remembers to search craigslist for previa all trac..

Battles > 500dollarvan
10/18/2015 at 17:50

I don’t have a £500 van, I have a £499 Benz E320 estate for van duties.
A £500 van would have been dogshit, everything worn out. The only thing I can’t get in the back of the £499 Benz is my motorbike.
Just back from a 300 mile round trip to pick up a laser cutter, very relaxing trip. Sometimes it’s better than a van.

James W > Margin Of Error
10/18/2015 at 21:21

How much do you want for your Skyline? Also, I think your next vehicle should be a 80’s - 90’s Porsche C4. Winter in Philly is on the way and it would be a great story on an very iconic car. Plus, you will not loose money when you sell it. Let me know what you want for the Skyline though please.

500dollarvan > Battles
10/18/2015 at 22:33

Yes, but is not even close to as ridiculous as our little van. Unless you add a hood scoop!

Satoshi "Zipang" Katsura > Margin Of Error
10/19/2015 at 01:47

Once again, this has to be one of the sloppiest articles to happen. That is not a conversion van by a mile.

Ash78, voting early and often > Dest
10/19/2015 at 08:55

One does not simply walk into a Mercedes dealership and find an R63.

Not in 2009 and definitely not today.