E55 KEV

I think this good news for potential E55 buyers. It shows that MBZ is holding the line on prices in the US. Competition is great.

The new CLK55 is $68,750 + $665 destination. The 2002 CLK55 was $68,450. That is an increase of about 0.44%!

The real increase if you compare to the 2002 is $1600, which is and increase about 2.3% because Xenon ($900) and Rear Sunshade ($400) are not standard.

They had to hold the line on the price because CLK55 is really in competition with the BMW M3 which cost a lot less.

JamE55

Where'd you get this info Kev from your dealer? Guess the price is a good deal but performance wise it's really not. From what i understand it's abot 400lbs more heavier and the HP increase is not that much.

E55 KEV

20 more HP over 2002. You can now build the CLK on www.mbusa.com with prices.

Any reason why the W209 CLK coupe is heavier than W208 CLK55?

Bones

JamE55- It was posted today on MBUSA's website. I believe www.mbusa.com. Does anyone know when the new CLK 55 is due in the US? I am under the impression that will be arriving in April, the same time the new E55 will be arriving. I am thinking the new E55 price will be out soon, maybe before the end of the year.

E55 KEV

Bones, shouldn't the CLK55 come in sooner than E55? The CLK55 is a 2003 model and the E55 will a 2004.

Bones

E55 KEV, i believe you are right. I thought I read on the CLK board that it will arive in April, but that would be pretty late for a 2003 model. We will just have to wait and see, but at least the price increase was marginal. Like you said, this seems to bode well for the new E55.

E55 KEV

The email subject line I received today from MBUSA said:

"The CLK55 AMG Coupe is here!"

JamE55

Was reading one of the W208 CLK55 AMG threads about it.

JamE55

Here it is check skidz1's reply on the bottom...

https://mbworld.org/forums/showthrea...4&pagenumber=2

Schiznick

right now. They were frozen until the pricing was released. I know that my dealer has one leaving the week of the 6th. Should start seeing them soon.....

Pierre32///AMG

Well, actually,
the '02 Curb Weight: 3,485 lb --- 342 hp --> 98.14 hp/lb
the '03 Curb Weight: 3,635 lb --- 362 hp --> 99.59 hp/lb

bye
Pierre32///AMG

///MB

Well it doesn't seem like the 2003 CLK55 is much more car than the 2002 CLK55.

However, the E55 will have the supercharged, much more desirable engine. So, I highly doubt the price increase will be anywhere near as low as the CLK55.

G1zm0

E55 is less expensive but more powerful and faster !!
Am I the only one that finds this weird ?

vraa

nope, i'm with you! lol

E55 KEV

For 2002 the C32 and SLK32 were faster and less expensive than ML55, E55, SL55, S55 & CL55. It's the weight.

allenjdmb

Do you really think that Daimler Chrsler is going to give you more for your money? Do you think they really would be in the mood to cut margins? Of course not! The only reason that you see this agressive pricing is because we are getting less. I know, I know here come the flames telling me how much more horsepower and tech the 211 E 55 has than the 210, and how much better the 209 55 will be than the previous one. I'm with you guys, performance is all good. But I guarantee you that internal cost is less on these cars because they are no longer built with the same precision, raw materials, and care that they once were. Their goal is to simply sell more units. Very, very few people at MBUSA or Daimler Chrysler gives a flip that it's faster to 100 or can generate more lateral G force.
This doesn't mean I won't buy a new 211 55 or any other new Benz; it's still sad to me. I know this is the world we live in, but I still yearn for a new Benz with the old world quality and workmanship, and the advances in the new technoogy. I know it's not going to happen.
Thru now. I'll get out of her so you guys can start flaming me.

amg55

Your whole diatribe is defensible, and I agree with all of it, except the part about MB not caring about performance.

Intrinsically, no they probably don't care about performance. But they are forced to play the game in order to fight for market share. Just like an airfare war. As BMW raises the bar on performance, MB must match, or exceed. Then BMW must raise again to reassert, etc.
BMW forces MB to care about performance and handling, and we should thank them for it. Were it not for BMW, I wouldn't be an MB owner. No AMG division and no way would I buy an MB.

All the rest of your comments about quality, craftsmanship, materials, etc are true and you won't find too many people who are familiar with old MB product from more than 10 years ago who will argue with you.
BUT, that said, an MB manufactured by 1980 standards, a W211 E500 for example, could well cost $90,000 in order to cover prod costs and generate profit. Then MB would price itself out of the market and out of business.

///MB

Are you talking about the old E55 or the new one coming out? If you're talking about the new W211 model, I thought it is going to be around 75K.