Actually the W124 trunk design turned out to be a structural innovation that has been copied more than nearly any other feature on a Benz in a long time. The trunk lid comes down to the floor of the trunk, or about flush with the bumper, and does this without compromising the structural rigidity/torsional stiffness of the car. The tapered opening is a key to that structural innovation. All cars today with trunks that go down that deeply use this feature, although some, for styling reasons make the trunk lid and fender intersection look square by overlapping the trunklid and the fender structure.

The W201 and W124 share quite a few features of their designs that reflect the fact that their development was underway over the same time frame. The W124 went into production after the W201 by a few years, so it would be more accurate to say the W124 is a derivative of the W201 than to suggest the W201 is a smaller W124.

The two cars are aimed at different markets. The W201 was intended to bring MB into a new market, while the W124 is aimed at the market established with the W114/W115 and W123 cars of the previous decades. The W201 was a direct response to the market the BMW 2002 and subsequent 3 series created for high end, smaller, sportier sedans.

Jim

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Own:
1986 Euro 190E 2.3-16 (291,000 miles),
1998 E300D TurboDiesel, 231,000 miles -purchased with 45,000,
1988 300E 5-speed 252,000 miles,
1983 240D 4-speed, purchased w/136,000, now with 222,000 miles.
2009 ML320CDI Bluetec, 89,000 miles

Owned:
1971 220D (250,000 miles plus, sold to father-in-law),
1975 240D (245,000 miles - died of body rot),
1991 350SD (176,560 miles, weakest Benz I have owned),
1999 C230 Sport (45,400 miles),
1982 240D (321,000 miles, put to sleep)