My wife just got a ticket yesterday in her 95 SL
for driving along a shoulder to avoid a seriously long line of traffic...
...the police officer commented on how nice it looked and figured it to be a 2001 model!
I think the fact that MB keeps a particular body style running for several years with very subtle upgrades each year has the masses confused as to which model is new and which is not. Plus, they look great decades after they roll off the showroom floor.
Most other cars look seedy within three years of normal wear and tear...