Overall, Mercedes describes the Viano Activity as having ''American style combined with European dimensions and dynamism.''
According to Mercedes, the Viano Activity ''combines professional, day-to-day and recreational driving -- ideal for sporty, active people who require a spacious and practical, multi-functional vehicle.''
On top of all that, the Viano Activity has a large sunroof and a window in the rear of the cab that opens.
As for the fourth Porsche model, the German firm is being cagey, but the betting is that it will be a luxury-performance sedan aimed right at the heart of profitable models from Audi, BMW and Mercedes.
Porsche will likely announce the decision on the fourth model next year, which would mean 2007 or 2008 before it's on the road. There's a good chance Porsche will do what it did with its Cayenne SUV and the VW Touareg and find a partner to share the development and production costs, but if nothing turns up it will go ahead on its own.
The W8 from VW was supposed to be a much bigger deal with customers than it ever was, so not many people will miss it. Indeed, sales so far this year are only a fraction of VW's original projections.
Most observers ascribe the W8's failure in the marketplace to its cost, since it retails for more than $55,000 in Canada. The general thinking is that that's simply too much money for a Volkswagen in the minds of most buyers, a theory that works even better on the VW Phaeton luxury sedan, which is an even bigger and costlier mistake than the W8.
