550 coupe/cab are September, yes. 350s are July.

 

Oh thanks a lot! Now I have optimism. That never works.

But I appreciate the re-enforcement. I have read the same thing elsewhere re July builds.

BTW, even though I'm not waiting for a W212, I've gained an incredible amount of important info. from the very knowledgeable folks who post in this thread. Much appreciated.

 

No it's not just you at all! Absolutely the same here and I suspect with many of us.

Geez, right now I'm waiting for a lousy DVR I ordered yesterday to come from Amazon. And, you guessed it, I'm on it every hour. It is fun!

"Tide me over" - LOL

 

uhhh do you mean turbocharged 4.6 V8 ?

 

I noticed that you returned to the e55 from an e63. What years were they and why did you do it? Did you miss the compressor as compared to naturally aspirated? Thanks. Ned.

 

+1

 

05 --- 07 63 -----back to 05

I love both cars about equally - though I think the 63 is a better balanced packaged.
I leased my 63 new for 3 years. When the lease was about to expire, I decided not to lease another or purchase mine outright simply because of higher cost.

The 55's had depreciated more by this time (of course) and I saw nothing wrong with driving a 55.
But the thing that made my decision the easiest - I was offered a great deal on a very-well maintained 55 from a close friend of mine. The car was perfect, had low mileage, some nice mods, all service history, and needed nothing but a new owner.
Also, the prior owner was trading in a 360 coupe for a 430 spyder and didn't want to come out of pocket with as much cash.
Being a private owner sale, I also benefited from lack of sales tax in the state I lived in at that time.

Absolutely nothing wrong with 63's, that's just how things worked out for me. My best friend recently bought a 63 after having a 55 and he literally thinks it's the best car on the planet.

E55:
Pro-
Supercharger whine, low end torque, mod-friendly. Stoplight racer. Dynamic seats available. Cheaper price as they are older, though still great cars.
Neg-
Silver-faced gauges, orion grey headliner, front end not as pointy/aggressive, no cornering fog lights. SBC brakes need to be disabled before opening caliper/messing w pads. Semi-rough gear engagement from tranny or when clutch pack engages.


E63:
Pro-
Cosmetic upgrades, not only front bumper but wheels/rear spoiler from factory, diff mirrors & tail-lights, different decklid - almost more importantly, the interior. Wood panel shifter surround, black-faced gauges, black headliner, better steering wheel, bigger shift paddles... most cars had more options, NEWER. Manual oil dipstick. SMOOTH 7-speed transmission, car drives much smoother/not nearly as jerky or rough as 55 when supercharger engages. If you drive clients around, a 63 is probably better. If you like the raw kick, 55 for sure.
Negative-
I won't list naturally aspirated as a negative because it is personal preference, but the high revving motor is definitely a different driving experience than 55... I don't mind the motor in the least - granted I don't love it but I certainly can't complain about the car (as soo many do here.) There is definitely plenty of low end torque, not only for daily driving but for city racing. Car not really engine mod friendly. You should drive each car differently really, in a different style.

Everybody acts like the two cars are soooo drastically different & I don't really feel that they are. A 63 is just a tweaked AMG e-class, not a newly restyled car! The 63 is definitely more refined & gentlemanly. The 55 more raw/boy-racer (as far as E-classes go that is lol.)
Now I do of course realize a lot of the cosmetic 63 items can be retro-fitted to 55 as well, which helps with my personal concerns.

 

^^^

A friend of mine has a 55 and I've driven it often. I agree with everything you said. But one thing I clearly noticed is the difference in steering feel. The 55 feels very numb and the chassis feels much less planted in the twisties. I know they did make a change with the steering rack in the 63. Back in 2007 the car magazines all commented on the difference.

Otherwise, yeah, the biggest difference is that one feels more civilized over the other. I personally prefer NA over FI motors due to throttle response (and the sound of a NA V-8.) I have two Porsches that are NA and use one of them on the track during DE events. But then again, I drive the 63 on the street, so I can see that when only driving on the street, the 55 provides more giggles with the SC 55 motor. I think the new 2012 E63 will sell well for that very reason. After all, the E Class is a street car and people want all the grunt at the low end of the rpms. Stop light to stop light power is what sells cars.

 

All sounds perfectly reasonable!! Good summary. I still enjoy driving my 2001 e55. I have the near full Kleeman mods with compressor, headers, ECU and LSD. Only 54,000 miles. While the newer toys are compelling, my $10,000 after market stereo of Jm Lab Utopia speakers, Zapco reference amps, Focal Subs and Pioneer Premier p7 and p9 head unit and processor keep me from moving on!! Thanks. Ned.

 

The German Mercedes website www.mercedes-benz.de has updated their configurator showing 2012 model. Airmatic is still shown as standard equipment for both rwd & awd E550.

The new E550 curb weight is 1940 kg (4268 lbs) which is 250 lbs heavier than the 2011 model . It is even heavier than 2012 CLS550

 

Unfortunately, I can't read German. But if it's true, MB Germany obviously have more brains than MBUSA....

 

MBUSA didn't want AIRMATIC in the E 550 for MY12 to reduce costs.

 

That's what I've been trying to tell people here.

The ROW gets different configurations while MBUSA simply decides what's in their best interest to sell here. And there are a lot of reasons why or why not, based often on internal issues that we don't know anything about. To speculate otherwise is just that, speculation.

 

Latest: E-Class sedans are released for production, so you can build them. E-Class coupes and cabs already have pricing released.

 

Is that weight for a 4Matic version compared to a 2011 E550 w/o 4Matic?

 

That was for the RWD E550. Curb weight for the 4MATIC E550 also increased by about 230 lbs. Must be the weight of the twin turbos with their accessories

 

Thanks, it's just one more reason I'm glad I ordered a 2011 E550.

 

still love the hockey stick LED's.........nobody else has that shape.....
to bad they won't be returning

 

According to Autoblog test http://www.autoblog.com/2011/05/12/2...-benz-e-class/ , the hockey stick LEDs are still there on the E550

 

Also on the German Mercedes website and while building a 2012 E550, it is still not possible to combine AMG 3 spoke steering wheel with lane tracking package

I thought this was supposed to be resolved for 2012, according to what Benz only mentioned http://www.benzonly.com/article30.aspx

 

Can you provide a link or source for the E-Class coupes and cabs pricing please?

They are still not up on the mbusa site nor did a google search reveal anything new.

I ordered my E350C in June without firm pricing, but the salesman said a large increase was not expected.

Thanks.

 

Autoblog is wrong. No more hockey stick LED's for any 2012 E-Class Sedans, Coupes or Cabs. At least in USA, I don't know about Europe. LED's will have straight line, which I actually like and I re-confirmed it. Hockey sticks looked a little "mickey-mouse" for Benz. It would looked better on Mitsubishi or Honda. That's my personal opinion. I liked the straight LED's better and almost got 2011 E350 Sedan Luxury with P2, just because of that.

Also, new E-Classes have new steering wheels - the same like CLS, so Driver Assist pckge will no longer depend on it.

 

2012 E350 Coupe MSRP will be raised by $950. Most options pricing will stay the same as 2011...

 

Thank you very much.

Since my above post my salesman did e mail me with the total price of the car I ordered, but he did not break it down and he's gone for the day. It was $550 more than it would have been for an '11.

This actually concurs with your price report, I believe.

Base is increased +$950.

Plus, I have heard elsewhere they reduced the P2 Package $400, in allowance for not being able to ship 6 disc changers due to supply problems, swapping instead for a single disc player.

Apologies to all for cluttering up the W212 forum with coupe talk.

 

Well, base MSRP of 2012 E350 Coupe is $49,800, which is $950 increase comparing to 2011. P2 package is the same price as 2011: $6,450. But you are right, they are short of some standard equipment at the time of 2012 models launch. So as result, you are probably getting some discount for missing options...