It's bigger than a minivan but smaller than a traditional motor home. It's the 20-foot-long Hymer Car 322, and the German coachbuilder is doing a market study at the convention to see whether the United States wants it.
The study is preliminary, cautions Dominik Hepe, Hymer project manager, but dealer interest so far is encouraging.
Connecting the dots could be easy. The Hymer is based on the Fiat Ducato commercial vehicle platform, which Chrysler builds in Saltillo, Mexico, as the Ram ProMaster. Taking that chassis and building a customized interior around it could give Hymer access to the U.S. market.
Hepe declined to comment on that but did say that the European version has not been through U.S. crash or emissions testing.
Evoking an Ikea display, the Hymer interior defies stereotypical plastic motor home accoutrement. It features up to four swivel seats and two beds in a compact layout. If it happens, the Hymer's targeted starting price is about $85,000.
German parent company Hymer AG, between Stuttgart and Munich, is a big player in the European camper-van market. Its NADA booth is 2153.
