2007 Audi RS4 Safety Car

The Safety Car was a preview of the 2007 RS4. The RS4 would be Audi's high-performance sport-sedan. With a 420-horsepower 4.2-liter V8 engine with FSI® Direct Injection, a 6-speed manual transmission and the new asymmetric/dynamic quattro® all-wheel drive, the RS4 would have a 0-60 time of 4.8 seconds and a top speed of 155 miles per hour.

2006 Land Rover Range Rover

Land Rover's traditional flagship in 2006 was the V8-powered Range Rover, with a 305-horsepower 4.4-liter or a supercharged 400-horsepower 4.2-liter and with either engine featured a 6-speed automatic transmission, permanent four-wheel drive with 4-wheel electronic traction control, and a color, touch-screen for the DVD-based navigation system.

2006 Land Rover Range Rover Sport

New for 2006 was the Land Rover Range Rover Sport. Though its body panels made it resemble the full-size Range Rover, the Range Rover Sport was actually based off the LR3 chassis with the Range Rover's engine options of the 305-horsepower 4.4-liter V8 or a supercharged 400-horsepower 4.2-liter V8.

2006 Land Rover LR3

In addition to the temporary disappearance of the entry-level Freelander, the Land Rover line was also changed by the replacement of the Discovery with a new model. Introduced in 2005, the LR3 replaced the classic Discovery in the Land Rover line. The LR3 was powered by either a 216-horsepower 4.0-liter single overhead cam V6 engine or a 300-horsepower 4.4-liter double overhead cam V8, and with either engine features such as a 6-speed automatic transmission, permanent four-wheel drive with 4-wheel electronic traction control and seating for seven.

This LR3 is equipped with numerous Land Rover accessories, including Body Side Moldings, an A-Frame Protection Bar and, most significantly, the Day Tent, which assembles in 10 minutes and can stand alone or fit the LR3's tailgate open or closed.

2006 Mercedes-Benz E320 CDI

The big news for 2006 at Mercedes-Benz was the new E320 CDI, powered by a 201-horsepower 3.2-liter turbodiesel inline 6-cylinder engine, with a 0-60 miles per hour time of 6.6 seconds, fuel economy of 27 miles per gallon city or 37 miles per gallon highway and a range of up to 780 miles.

Of course, the diesel engine was nothing new to Mercedes-Benz; they introduced the first diesel-powered passenger car in 1936. But, it had been absent from the US market for a number of years.

Perhaps following the Volkswagen Jetta's lead, Mercedes-Benz now had the only diesel-powered luxury car available in America.

2006 Mercedes-Benz SL500

The traditional 2006 Mercedes-Benz SL500 was powered by a 302-horsepower 5.0-liter V8 engine. Also available was a 493-horsepower twin-turbo V12 in the SL600, and more powerful versions of both engines in the SL55 AMG and SL65 AMG.

Standard features included a Bose 6-CD changer, a DVD-based navigation system, heated seats and of course a one-touch power retractable hardtop.

2007 Mercedes-Benz S550

 

I wonder if the dealers were happy about Mercedes-Benz showing off the all-new 2007 S550 sedan, while they still had the 2006 models to get rid of, which looked very old-fashioned by comparison. And the improvements weren't just skin deep; the 2007 S550 was powered by a 382-horsepower 5.5-liter double overhead cam aluminum V8 engine, which beat the 2006 S500's 5.0-liter V8 by 80 horsepower.

Not surprisingly, the new model required 91-octane premium gasoline, but if you could afford a car that started at over $80,000 in 2006, you probably didn't have to worry about gas money.