i once sat in a mercedes sedan that seemed to have been elongated so that the people in the back had considerable leg-room but it was no limo. when/why did they stop making these, or can u still get them custom?

yep the SEL The L stands for Lang if I remeber right which stands for longwheelbase chasis.

I own a 1989 420 SEL , and love it . The passenger room is enormous . I can put three adults in the back seat no problem , and no ones knees come close to touching the front seats . This W126 just oozes luxury and is the end of the era of these cars . My wife says it looks like a ``German bank presidents car``. The lines on it are sweeping and beautiful because Mercedes had begun using wind tunnel technology to lower drag . After having owned this car , most of the other sedans look stubby to me . Also the trunk is big enough to hold five peoples suitcases . This car at 100 miles an hour is ``smooth as silk``. Talk about a luxury touring sedan . This car and the 560 SEL were the S-Class flagships of Mercedes at the time . Mark

My late father's wife has a 430 SEL that they bought a few years back. You guys are right, the rear seat leg room is unbelievable. Plus my stepmom is only around 5' 3" or so, so I just stretch out and enjoy the space!

A beautiful car with lots of power. The only thing I don't understand is WHY she chose to buy a Chrysler Sebring convertable to commute four miles to work in???