SPRINTING AHEAD: What to Expect from Mercedes’ Next-Generation Full-Size Van. “The last time Mercedes-Benz rolled out an all-new Sprinter, George W. Bush was in the White House and Saddam Hussein was still alive. The space shuttle was flying, a diesel had just won the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the first time, and a solvent General Motors was churning out Pontiacs, Saturns, and Hummers. In other words, the arrival of a new Sprinter is hardly what you might call a common event.”

One of my former students had triplets in LA, and moved back to Knoxville shortly after they were born. They didn’t want them on a plane exposed to germs, so they rented a fancy custom Sprinter van and drove it more or less nonstop (with help from in-laws) to Knoxville in 3 days. She said to her surprise she came away loving that van instead of hating it.