Some new auto models arrive with lower prices

— -- One upside of a weak economy is showing up on the stickers of new cars: lower prices.

Automakers are cutting prices on selected 2010 models. In some cases, the all-new version of a vehicle may be introduced with a lower sticker price than the version it replaces.

Mercedes-Benz, for instance, cut the sticker price of the all-new version of its high-volume E350 midsize sedan by $3,300 to $49,475, including destination charges.

Rival Lexus cut the prices of the front- and all-wheel-drive versions of its RX 350 crossover by $700 for the new model year.

Nissan, meanwhile, announced that its updated compact Sentra sedan will be priced $130 to $1,080 lower, depending on the version.

Chrysler has gone furthest, cutting prices almost across the board for its aging lineup. Example: The 2010 Chrysler Town & Country minivan is $29,215, down $1,030 from the 2009 model.

The "manufacturer's suggested retail price" on the sticker is just that, a suggestion. The actual deal price results from bargaining between the dealer and customer.

Automakers aren't going into detail to explain cuts except to boil it down to one word: competition. With new car demand the lowest in decades, cutting prices can move slow sellers or generate buzz on updated models.

In its new E-Class, Mercedes added sleek new looks and, as standard equipment, an extra air bag and a system that alerts drivers if they appear to be falling asleep at the wheel. Yet the price was cut "to remain competitive," spokeswoman Larkin Hill says.

Toyota plans a cheaper version of the Prius, apparently aimed at holding off rival Honda Insight, a smaller and less expensive hybrid.

Sometimes a lower price isn't all it seems. General Motors lowered sticker prices for the new model year on just two vehicles — and in both cases, it was because of changes in the vehicles themselves.

The 2010 Chevrolet Equinox crossover, whose sticker price is down $1,825, to $23,185, has a thrifty four-cylinder base engine instead of the six-cylinder on the 2009, spokesman John McDonald says. The 2010 Cadillac SRX is smaller than the 2009, resulting in a price cut of $7,080 to $34,155, excluding destination charges.