V12 is available in Europe and Japan, and lots of other countries, but not North America?? Why they get all the goodies. CLK55, C55, S55, CL600. CL600 is not even available when CL-Class debuts in Dec... :(


A guy who wants all the goodies... :)
Andy Kuo
'92 400SE

Not to mention the GT-3 and the M5. I must admit, taking a back seat has never been a strong point of mine----Let's include the U.S. drivers in the mix, please.

The U.S. and Canada is the largest Mercedes market in the world, however we do not have the choice found in small countries like Japan and Great Britian. Daimler-Benz a.k.a. Daimler-Chrylser keeps the U.S. market with very little choice and options to remain "exclusive". Japan gets wide body E55 AMG's, Britain gets E-Class cars with Classis, Elegance and Avantgarde trim and C-Class cars have Classic, Espirit, Elegence and Sport-line trim. The E-Class Avantgarde trim comes with a factory lowered suspension and blue tinted glass . They have options of Blaupunkt stereos and CD players from the factory. The W220 S-Class comes in S320 long and the S430/S500 come in either long and short wheelbases. The E-Class is available in diesel models E200 CDI, E220 CDI, E270CDI and E320 CDI, the gas engines are E200, E240, E280, E320, E430 & E55 sedans plus wagons. The E-Class 4-Matics can be had with E280, E320 and E430 engines. The C-Class can be ordered as a C240 six cylinder, C180 4-banger and a C250 TurboDiesels. The new 6 speed tranny is an option we can not have here in North America.

Well, US and Canada combined may be a large market, however, if it's split into two, then Japan, Taiwan, HK has the largest market. MB sold 100,000 E-Class(range from 200E - 300E) in Taiwan in from 1993 to 1995(not to mention other models).

More information about the limited U.S. and Canada markets. I was browsing the BMW site for the UK. The 5 Series can be purchased as a 528i Sport (M5 Look-A-Like) and they also have a 3.5 liter V8 in a 535i and 535i Sport.

http://www.bmw.uk.co/model/5series/images/saloon528isport.gif

[This message has been edited by Kevin (edited 11-09-1999).]