And Mercedes is notorious for keeping secrets about their products... Even the Bosch US division (BOSCH supplies ALL of our operational electronics) doesn't know the specs or product information on this car, or the SLK because the German Headquarters has a privacy agreement with MB...

And I have a very senior Bosch US executive source that has to e-mail the German HQ because nothing is listed in their US computer product system...

It took me weeks to get simple answers like the injector specs for both versions of the Crossfire because they were not listed in the US system and Bosch had to request them from their German counterpart...

This is an excerpt from his latest e-mail...

"Derek,

There is a growing issue of all car companies withholding information to keep everyone tied to the dealership. Bosch has always been stingy with their information especially when it comes to performance. If they have any idea someone is looking to modify a factory product to do something other than exactly what it was produced for, they will completely shut down the flow of information. When it comes to Bosch U.S., we are less likely to get information from Bosch Germany than some of the Bosch customers in Germany. Looking at it from the outside we are the same company, but from the inside you would never know it. They treat us like a red-headed step-child."