I ordered a 1987 190E 2.6 five-speed in August 1986 as part of a "group deal" that included a 300E and 260E, and the 260E was also ordered with a five-speed. The orders were taken and placed based on order information made avaliable by MBNA.

About a month later Autoweek ran an article that MBNA had changed their mind and decided NOT to make five-speeds available on '87 six-cylinder models. I called my dealer and asked them what was going on. They were clueless, so I "suggested" they look into it and two days later they confirmed. I cancelled my order. The 260E was converted to an order for an automatic.

A year later MBNA announced that five-speed six cylinder models would be available on a special order basis only, not "allocation" as was the plan for 1986 and 1987

Here's what I think is behind this story. "Allocation" means that dealers HAVE to accept certain models, but dealers didn't like five-speed models because they were not in great demand and often languished in inventory for months.

On the other hand, if MBNA initially offered five speed sixes, then all or at least a major part of emission tuning and certification had been accomplished, so DB would have nothing to show for the resources expended.

IMO the decision to make five speeds sixes available in '88 on a special order basis only was a compromise. Dealers didn't get unwanted cars shoved down their throats and DB got some sales for its engineering effort to certify five-speed models.

You had to be a real manual tranmission enthusiast as a special order took about four months to deliver, which is one reason '88 300E five speeds are rarer than '86s with five-speeds.

Duke