mnje350

Man are these cars pricey in Europe. Gasoline, E350 Cabriolet, pretty well loaded, 79,900 Euros plus delivery. Thats about 114 Thousand USD by my calculations. Took a picture of the sticker for reference. Brand spank'n new in the Frankfurt area. I know it is all about marketing and positioning in given markets. I am glad I paid what I did in the good old USA.

By the way, this one's a beauty.

Anybody know what the " Blue Efficiency" reference relates to for the gasoline version of the European editions of these cars mean? It's in the second and slightly better in the third pix but barely ledgible because of my old camera. Not to be confused with Bluetec of the diesel version.

Just curious.

PS sorry about the lousy pix; my BlackBerry is old and tired.

listerone

Taxes...taxes...taxes.Europeans seem to love them (or at least European politicians do) and my hunch is that the price difference is the result of that fact.I recently saw a report indicated that in the UK (one of the lowest taxed countries in Europe) one in eight households didn't have a *single* member of that household that was gainfully employed.Welfare's big there and so are taxes.

Wig

For gasoline engines, I believe Blue Efficiency versions are direct injection and 'lean burn'.

mnje350

You are right on about the taxes. I think Denmark is even worse. I was talking with a business associate last week who lives there. A Camry runs 80,000 Euro. 5 series BMW wagon over 120,000.

Arrie

No my friend,

In Germany there is only the VAT (Value Added Tax) on cars. This is 19% I believe at this point.

Rest between sales price and manufacturing cost and sales effort is profit, which can be quite hefty.

Other European countries have heavy taxing on cars. The cars in general cost around the same in many countries but the difference is where the money goes to. In Germany it mostly goes to gar maker, in other countries in taxes.

Now, just think how much more money they make on a car that is sold for double price in Germany...

silberrosa

Blue efficiency on this car relates to direct injection. Some cars in europe have "lean burn" capability which is possible only with the high quality (low sulphur) content of the fuel they have. For USA, the blue efficiency label now appears on the CL550 which has the new direct injection motor. I would surmise this will come on other models as DI makes its way into the other models of the mb lineup. None will have lean burn since our fuel quality does not allow for this.

ImInPA

Keep in mind that the stickers in Europe include the dreaded 19% VAT. Aren't flat taxes fun???