On Fri, Jul 5, 2013 at 6:13 AM, Peter Frederick <psf...@earthlink.net>wrote:
> Benz used this designation system along with chassis design numbers from > the origin of the company I think until the 2000s, when some genius decided > people were too stupid to tell what the S was for (or SL) and started > calling the large sedans "S Class", the mid sized ones "E Class" and the > small ones "C Class". > > The 1994 model year was when the Great Renaming took place and the current "Class" system was established. The 190E (whose model number had never reflected its displacement anyway in the USA where we never got the 1.9-liter gas four) was replaced by the C220, the 300E became the E320, the 300SE became the S320, and so on. It seems clear in hindsight (to me, at least) that the marketeers were trying to make M-B cars more directly comparable to Lexus and Infiniti, both of whose badges lineups originally used a strict letter-number system where the letter indicated body style and the number was engine size (ES300, Q45, and so on). Alex _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com For new and used parts go to www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
