I have to disagree with Meb when he says that the class distinctions were not used before 93. That is true of the E-Class, and of course the C-Class was not around before then, but the S-Class nomenclature has been around for a while. I have seen Mercedes Benz ads from as far back as the 70s that say, "Introducing the new S-Class. In fact the first car to start off the S-Class was the 170S in 1949, followed by the 300S in 1954. Mercedes had begun to distinguish its top of the line models with an S, which meant more than just Sedan. (the 180 came out in 1953 with no letters attached. In 1959 the 220SB and 220SEB came out. Mercedes Heralded them as, "A Class of their own." The first time the term, "S-Class was officially used by Mercedes Benz was at the debut of the w116 in September 1972. In Septmeber 1979 at the Frankfurt International Motor Show the w126 was introduced as the "New S-Class." I have the original dealer brouchure for the 1986 S-Class, and it quite clearly says, "1986 S-Class," on the cover and inside makes numerous references to the advantages of the S-Class. In 1982 the 190 (carburated) and the 190E (fuel injected, hence the E). Mercedes Literature refered to them as 190 Series cars. 300Es are not really E-Class cars, they are 300 series cars and the E stands for Fuel injection. All of this information is from the huge two volume history of Mercedes Benz Book set I got for Christmas. The only thing I really don't understand is the CL designation. Anyone known what that stands for?

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Jason Priest
1999 E430
1995 E420 - retired
1986 420SEL - retired