Spotted an E220 CDI in the wild. Yes TWO 20.
 

This was Thursday morning on the way to work through Lutz. The first thing I noticed was the trailer hitch. Then when we stopped at a light I noticed the badge said 220 instead of 320. There was also a little badge below the left tail light and another badge inset into the trim just aft of the front wheel. I couldn't get close enough for long enough to read the little badges. Also never got an opportunity to get close enough (safely) for a clear picture, but I'll attach what I got.

So is there some loophole that allows people to import Euro cars?

I wish!!! Would love a 4cyl eclass.

Weird, it does have a FL plate too... I wonder if its from Canada? Very cool!

The 220Cdi engine is amazing. Burnout level power and torque out of that teeny engine. Not to mention about 38mpg average!

Drive across Mexican border, swap VINs with a dead E320, register in a state without inspections, par-tay! Seems like a lot of effort for an E220, though. :cool:

I'd also black out the plate in your photo to protect the (possibly) guilty.

I checked the picture before I posted it. It's from my phone and the cars are far enough away that by the time you zoom in enough to read the plates, they are so pixelated that you can't read them anyway.

Ive driven a few W210 E220 CDI - those cars are crazy, they are completely dead off boost but as soon as you hit boost - 1800 rpms or something - they take off like a train. The little annoyance is the 4 cyl idle vibration in it.

My wife's uncle has one - it has done about 400,000 kms - the engine is good but the body work is terrible. It has the expected / standard door rot... but he's also got really strange rust bubbles (coming from underneath) on places on the car you'd never expect - like half way up the doors or waist height and above on the door pillars...

Ive seen that too on a W210, it was quite odd

Its just about impossible to import a modern car like that. That might have been a Mercedes test mule. The other possibility is someone drove it down from Canada, and its not really supposed to be here, no idea how they registered it.

After talking with a G importer anything after 1995 that's not 20 years old yet is like huge bucks, talking $50k or a lot more to import if its even possible.

That engine would have to be EPA emissions certified to be used on public roads, and since its not here there are not Mercedes parts to make it work, so you would have to spend huge $$$$$$ on a custom emissions system. Like six figures.

It would be a stretch for it to be from Canada. Our law is 15 years or older for any vehicle not manufactured to US/Canadian spec.

You can't import euro spec cars to Canada any easier than to the US... apart from the 15 year limit being lower than yours.

The only way I can see doing it would be either a VIN swap, which would be both expensive and problematic later on in the event of an insurance claim.... or simply falsified paperwork somehow pushed through by a cooperative and crooked customs broker.

Why does anyone care about these things? Your plate is a matter of public record.

With enough money you can import anything to the US. Might not be able to drive it much but you can do it.

To the OP Are you sure it was an E 220? Not a gasser C220?

Absolutely 100% certain. E220 CDI. I triple checked, and it had a pretty good sized soot stain on the back as well.

I'm even more curious since the Florida plate has been pointed out. Hadn't thought to look at that at the time.

Probably a Embassy/Consulate vehicle.