E300 spudders with white smoke till warmed up

[smacmoyle]

My 98 E300 has developed a problem that seems to be getting a little worse as the temperatures get lower in NJ. It starts fine, I let it warm up for a short bit then take off down the road and when i hit a slight hill I push the pedal to request more power and it is like I am not doing anything. The engine does not respond, I keep pushing the pedal and then she wakes up and belches out white smoke and takes off. It does this for a few minutes then it performs perfectly for the rest of the day. It has 107,000 miles on it. I have only put 7000 miles on it. It happened only a few times in the summer and I didnt give it much thought. White smoke suggests to me to be injectors ??? can any one offer some insight ? Tranny shifts firm and fine, engine has good power after its done acting up. I think I will invest in manuals.

Scott