I recently said in one of my posts that my English service manuals claimed that 1980 and later W123's were considered an E Class and should be reffered to as such and got back some comments from people who thought i was being a little snubbish. Here is a link to wikipedia with the history of production for Mercedes Benz from 1946 'till present. The "E" not necessarily found on the trunk means then as now, fuel injected only and applied to both gas and diesels! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes_300D The "E" stands for Einspritzung which is German for fuel injected!

Nomenclature is what it is. For me, the 300E in 1986 started the E-class and I call the w123 the E-class equivalent of the 70s and 80s.

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- Brian


1989 500SEL Euro
1966 250SE Cabriolet
1958 BMW Isetta 600

yep... the W123 basicly was the entry level mercedes... it kinda still is today but the C class is not as expensive..

gotta love how mercedes has classes within a luxury car company

My tastes are simple! I simply must have the best!!!!

There was no "E" class when the w123 was produced. If "E" stood for fuel injection in both diesel and gas then why do only the gas injected cars have a e in the model name? MB did produce gas engines that did not have fuel injection, and they have no "e". They did not produce any diesel engines without fuel injection- do you know why? You can believe what you want, and others here won't correct you, but not because you are right, but because what is the point of arguing with you? MB's nonemclature changed from time to time- and in the early 80's there was no "C" or "E" or "B" class. Case in point- the 280SE; or even a 560SE; they are w126's but it have a "E". All diesels are fuel injected, btw.

The "E" wasn't necessarily found on the trunk until a chrome piece was added in 1986, But it was in the most important part..... THE VIN# and the first "E" class models appeared as gasoline engines in the 1950's! Look at the link!

The E in those old gasser models stands for einspritzen, meaning injection. It has nothing to do with vehicle class.

Give it up, you can't win this one.

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Palangi

2004 C240 Wagon 203.261 Baby Benz
2008 ML320 CDI Highway Cruiser
2006 Toyota Prius, Saving the Planet @ 48 mpg
2000 F-150, Destroying the Planet @ 20 mpg



TRUMP .......... WHITEHOUSE
HILLARY .........JAILHOUSE
BERNIE .......... NUTHOUSE
0BAMA .......... OUTHOUSE

I had a 1976 230 (W115 chassis) - it was carbureted with the dreaded Stromberg carburetor.

Your right, but the letter was added to the model in 1986 because this was the Reagan years and the start of the me first generation who wanted snob appeal. The only reason everyone was afraid of nuclear war was because it could destroy careers before we all became millionaires! A better word than "class" would have been "series" since that's what was meant in the first place! Americans translated it into a term that meant they were better than their neighbors and Mercedes Benz, like any good for profit corporation, went along realising where they were at! After all, the customer is always right, just make sure your your car payment check does not bounce. Series and not Class as in status was all I meant in the first place! If I reffered to my 300D as an E300D, it's only because my British service literature does.

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Palangi

2004 C240 Wagon 203.261 Baby Benz
2008 ML320 CDI Highway Cruiser
2006 Toyota Prius, Saving the Planet @ 48 mpg
2000 F-150, Destroying the Planet @ 20 mpg



TRUMP .......... WHITEHOUSE
HILLARY .........JAILHOUSE
BERNIE .......... NUTHOUSE
0BAMA .......... OUTHOUSE

Does anyone remember the skit on Saturday night live in 1987 starring I believe, Jane Curtain? " Why, we just can't have a nuclear war!!! I need to get my hair done first and I just bought a brand new Audi! Why a nuclear war would snarl traffic for miles!!!!" I was ROFLMAO!

Knightrider966 you ignorant slut!!!!!

(OK, any folks from the 70's who enjoyed SNL in it's heyday should be chuckling...... )

Look, if your service lit. calls cars of that vintage E300D so be it. Your need to prove your correctness is duly noted.
These cars are not referred to in that way, nor have they ever been. It is that simple.
Not sure what all the Reagan stuff was about. I had tired head by then. Just join in with we yanks, as usual.....

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Jimmy L.
'05 Acura TL 6MT
2001 ML430 My Spare

Gone:
'95 E300 188K "Batmobile" Texas Unfriendly Black
'85 300TD 235K "The Wagon" Texas Friendly White
'80 240D 154K "China" Scar engine installed
'81 300TD 240K "Smash"
'80 240D 230K "The Squash"
'81 240D 293K"Scar" Rear ended harder than Elton John

the W123 was an entry level mercedes.. like i said before just as the current E class is considered.... plus it makes only sense since the W124 300E was just that... the E class... sure the nomeclature wasnt changed until the 92-93(IIRC) i still consider the W123 an E class

The current E-class is not considered an entry level Mercedes-Benz. The C-class in the U.S., and the A-class in other countries are considered to be entry level.

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'81 MB 300SD, '82 MB 300D Turbo (sold/RIP), '04 Lincoln Town Car Ultimate

Sooner or later every car falls apart, ours does it later!
-German Narrator in a MB Promotion Film about the then brand new W123.