I suspect that , over time , the Crossfire will have just as high resale value as the SLK it seems to be the perceived Chrysler poor quality syndrome... personally and it is personal, I dont think the new SLK is worth $50k when you can buy a Crossfire for around $28 there is almost no difference in performance ( I question anyone who can notice a few tenths of a second when driving in normal conditions)
The Crossfire is built on the same production line as the Porsche boxster, by Karmann and almost to the same build quality !! sure some of the parts which are virtually all Mercedes, are failing due to some very poor Mercedes quality control of late, but that is going to apply to the SLK too.
The SLK has some nice added features ie phone etc, 7 speed, but not $22k worth
Finally, the Crossfire design is way beyond anything Mercedes could even dream about..frankly, I'm glad they are only meant to sell 20,000 worldwide every year..makes it way more exclusive and enjoyable. - reminds me of the Morgan and its rarity.
and yes it is fun to drive...