Yeah, cup holder is quite an issue for German cars in general. I've been living there for a long time and it seems to me like a cultural matter. Germans do not tend to eat and trink a lot while driving.
I always had German cars over there: a Beetle, 3 Opel Record, 2 Audi, a BMW 633CSi, 3 MB but cannot remember ever having a decent cup holder.

I recall a time even in movie theaters there were no cup holders at the seats like in the USA. You yourselves are the cup holders .
Perhaps they are catching up with the Amis (German abbrev. for Americans) now.

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1996 E320 since 1/16/08, 171K miles as of Feb 2011

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1989 300CE - R.I.P. Dec 29 2007
Other MBs (sold): 1992 300E-24 - 1979 350SLC - 1984 230E - 1990 300CE