There has been a thread discussing coated steel in the bodies of MB's and some talk of the 210 not using galvanized steel. Body Engineering is my profession so I feel pretty confident in saying that I doubt that any new cars sold in the US today use uncoated steels in their exterior sheet metal components. Industry standard is that all sheet metal which has an interface to the outside elements is coated. There are generally two types of coatings , 'Galvanized' and 'Galvaneel' steel. I'm not a materials expert so I can't really comment on the differences. The coatings are applied to the steel before the parts are pressed. Bodies are not dipped in zinc. The real issue with the newer cars is the quality and quantity of the coatings which are applied. There was a big push in the 80's and early nineties to improve the corrosion performance of vehicles. There has been a more recent push to take cost out of the vehicle. Thus thinner coatings on the base sheet metal. I hope this adds clarity to the issue and not further confusion.
Ralph Wasserbaech
