In a bid to court more buyers, Mercedes-Benz will further lower the price of the R class crossover and add a two-wheel drive edition.

The 2008 model year will see the addition of the R320, a two-wheel drive offering with a base price of $42,675, about $2,500 cheaper than existing models.

The R500 and AMG R63, both V8 models have been dropped from the Mercedes line. The remaining R350 and the diesel R320CDI are six cylinders.

The R320CDI now has the distinction of being the most expensive offering in the R class at $46,175, which is actually an increase from the 2007 price of $44,775.

These changes come on the heels of $5,000 price cuts to the R class line for 2007 and represent a further bid by Mercedes to refine their target audience.

When the R class was introduced in October 2005 (with the least expensive model selling for $48,000), the company expected the crossover to appeal to parents whose children had flown the nest leaving them with some spare cash.

In reality, however, buyers for the R class still represent families with children who are easily turned away by a $50,000 price tag and who simply don't need V8 performance.

Last year in the United States Mercedes sold only 18,168 vehicles from the R class. Executives are hopeful that by repricing and restructuring the line, those numbers will improve. They are not, however, willing to make a concrete forecast of projected R class sales.

The R class could face stiff competition in 2008 from BMW, which plans to introduce a similar vehicle, the X6.