I have thought of the ford V8 and tranny swap as well as sum others but i also like the drivability of the car now and really don't want to change the weight with a cast iron block thats why the mercedes V8 is nice. Yes a bit heavier buy not bad compared to an american engine. The hemi can be bought as a crate engine from your local dealer i just don't really care for it and i'm sure the new 6.1L will be available soon enough. I've owned a few of european cars from a 300 hp VW GTI to a BMW 540i and the Crossfire is by far my favorite and all thanks to Mercedes. I cant wait to see if dodge will make the move and start putting mercedes diesels in their trucks but thats another topic.