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Car Forum / Mercedes-Benz Cars / January 2005Understanding body style names
I'm new to this group (I just posted a message about the EGR valve bolts on a 3000SE). I've been reading other threads simply out of interest, but I'm lost with the generic, or short-form names you all use. Where can I find a summary of body style names S, C, and so on, and the older names, and what they mean? You know, so I can look at a MB and say that's a such-and-such style. For example, my car is a 1990 300SE. I love the body style of that era, and my goal is to one day buy a cherry 560SEC ... I "think" it's an SEC ... from the early 1990s; but anyway, did the body style of that time have a certain name? Your 300SE is a short wheel base 126 body. The 560SEC is also the 126 body, but in the coupe version. The long wheel base 126 4 door body would have the model indicator ending in a L, as in 560SEL. > I'm new to this group (I just posted a message about the EGR valve bolts on a > 3000SE). [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > the early 1990s; but anyway, did the body style of that time have a certain > name? I have the same qustions thier must be a book to help us. Go to Juergens MBSPY site -- good starting point http://mbspy.bacosys.be/index2.html DAS  SignatureFor direct contact replace nospam with schmetterling --- > I have the same qustions thier must be a book to help us. http://mbspy.bacosys.be/links.htm#models > I'm new to this group (I just posted a message about the EGR valve bolts on a > 3000SE). [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > the early 1990s; but anyway, did the body style of that time have a certain > name? 300SE 300 = 3 liter engine S = Super Class E = Fuel Injected (german word for it starts with an e) C = Coupe L = Long Body D = Diesel > E = Fuel Injected (german word for it starts with an e) The word is Einspritze (Einspritz, Einspritzer, Einspritzen). trader4@optonline.net (Chet Hayes) haute in die Tasten: > E = Fuel Injected (german word for it starts with an e) E=Einspritzung (Injection). The letter E was removed from the type names in the early 90's when Mercedes stopped selling cars with carburators. Then they introduced the "class" system: A-Class (subcompact) C-Class (small sedan/estate/coup?) E-Class (medium sedan/estate) S-Class (large sedan) SLK (superleicht kurz = superlight short = small roadster) SL (superleicht = superlight = big roadster) CLK (small coup?) CL (big coup?) M-Class (ML, SUV) G-Class (Gelaendewagen = All Terrain Vehicle) V-Class (Minivan) The number behind the letter usually indicates the engine displacement, so 320 stands for 3,2 litre. Other additions indicate the type of the engine (D for Diesel, CDI for Diesel Common Rail Injection, Kompressor for supercharger and so on) or they specify the type of the body (L for long wheel base, T for estate) Just recently Mercedes has started to erode this numbering system. The new S600 does not have 6 litres of displacement, but a 5.4 litre twin turbo, the E240 has 2,7 litres and so on. Besides this they started to sell cars with real names, such as Vaneo or Viano, which both are minivans. In general Mercedes is likely to widen up their choice of different bodystyles and engines dramatically in the future, so it will be even harder to tell the character of the car just by reading its name. Frank Signatureplease replace spam-muelleimer with fk-newsgroups for e-mail contact Time Flies Like An Arrow - Fruit Flies Like A Banana > The number behind the letter usually > indicates the engine displacement, > so 320 stands for 3,2 litre. That is the basic rule. > Just recently Mercedes has started > to erode this numbering system. Just recently ? No. First one I remember from after WWII were 170 V and 170 D (W136 VI and W136 VI D) which both had indeed 1767 ccm displacement - following the general rule the max displacement of a 170 should have been maximum 1700 ccm only as the model number should be the displacement divided by ten, everything after the comma cut-off and then rounded-up to the next full 10: 1767 : 10 = 176,7 = 176 and then rounded-up = 180 Other early exceptions are Ponton 180 D which had 1988 ccm, Ponton 180 with 1897 ccm, 190 D fintail with 1988 ccm, W 100 (Mercedes 600) which had 6289 ccm, those /8 250 and 250 C with the M130 engine and 2778 ccm etc. In more modern times the system went less strict with the introduction of the 190 in 1982 (W201 aka Baby Benz) when the 190 had the 1996ccm M102 known from the W123 series - following the general rule it would have been a 200 too - MB decided to name it 190 to make clear it was a smaller car than the W123. Maybe time for a page about that on my site? Juergen I think the introduction of a third saloon body size with the 190 got the entire nomenclature into a huge mess, especially when the 190 got several engine sizes. I am pretty sure this sparked off the complete change that we have now, with the intial letter giving an indication of body style. It seems that all this slipped out of the hands of engineers into those of marketing 'professionals'. Also look at the type of marketing hype now put out. All 'lifestyle' images and text. Very little hard facts about innovations etc. DAS SignatureFor direct contact replace nospam with schmetterling --- > > The number behind the letter usually > > indicates the engine displacement, [quoted text clipped - 41 lines] > > Juergen This link may help, particularly the CD ROM history and the books. http://store.vintagemercedes-benz.com/giftshop.html > trader4@optonline.net (Chet Hayes) haute in die Tasten: > [quoted text clipped - 31 lines] > > Frank >trader4@optonline.net (Chet Hayes) haute in die Tasten: > [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] >in the early 90's when Mercedes stopped selling cars with carburators. >Then they introduced the "class" system: The E meaning "einspritzung" was removed when the class system of Mercedes was changed in 1992 or 93, but i believe they still produced carburated engines. The 200T (w124 carburated wagon) was changed to the E200T, E for Executive class and T for wagon, and was in production until 1994 >A-Class (subcompact) >C-Class (small sedan/estate/coupé) [quoted text clipped - 23 lines] > >Frank >>E=Einspritzung (Injection). The letter E was removed from the type names >>in the early 90's when Mercedes stopped selling cars with carburators. [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] >carburated engines. The 200T (w124 carburated wagon) was changed to >the E200T, E for Executive class and T for wagon, and was in production until 1994 The change to the new class system of naming models occurred in late 1993 (1994 model year) which coincided with the introduction of the original C-Class (W 202). The W 124 models that had carburetors were: 200 (1985-90) 200 T (1985-90) As you can see, their production ended in 1990, well before the change to the new class system. The 190 line (W 201) had a carbureted model, the 190 (1982-91). Again, notice its end of production date is well before 1993. The S-Class (W 126) had had a carbureted version, the 280 S, but with the 1986 model year facelift, that model was replaced by the 260 SE. All other gas W 126 models had fuel injection. All W 140 S-Class models also had fuel injection. The W 129 SLs were all fuel injected as had been the W 107 models. Thus, it is true that by the time the new model naming system began, there were no carbureted models in production in over two years and no need to continue labeling the cars with an E for fuel injection. Best regards, Danny Tim, The top of the line Mercedes from 1986 to 1991 was the S-Class coupe, the 560 SEC. Get in line because this car sold for over $80k and finding one without scary color combination and in good condition is a life goal to many Mercedes enthusiasts. It was the last S-class coupe that could be maintained outside a dealership for service. P. > I'm new to this group (I just posted a message about the EGR valve bolts on a > 3000SE). [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > the early 1990s; but anyway, did the body style of that time have a certain > name? >Tim, > >The top of the line Mercedes from 1986 to 1991 was the S-Class coupe, the >560 SEC. Get in line because this car sold for over $80k 1986 price was $58,700 >and finding one >without scary color combination and in good condition is a life goal to many >Mercedes enthusiasts. Auto-trader online has 6 listed near me: black over grey, white, solid black..from $9900-$12,900, none over 150,000 miles. > It was the last S-class coupe that could be maintained >outside a dealership for service. P. Why did Mercedes never make a SDC for the w126? >> I'm new to this group (I just posted a message about the EGR valve bolts >on a [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] >certain >> name? Tim, First you need to understand the configurations: starting from the bottom: C-Class, E-Class (larger chassis),S-Class, SLK-Class (small roadster), CLK-Class (coupe or convertible built on C-Class chassis), SL-Class (S-Class luxo sportcar), CL-Class (S-Class Coupe), M-Class (American made SUV), G-Class (serious business SUV made in Germany).Previous year models: 190 (4cyl., 6cyl. and diesel), E-Class (300E, E320,E420, E500, 300D Turbo, Cabriolet, and CE-coupe), S-Class (S500, 500SEL, SL500, SEC-S-Class Coupe, top of the model line, 560SEC, earlier model 500SEC. The 560 V8 was only sold in the U.S., while the 500 was available worldwide. The last year of the much sought out 560SEC was 1991.There are model numbers, for example: 1986-1995 E-Class were 124 body style, In 1992 the new S-Class (a stately, large boxy sedan) was called the 140 body style. The Illustrated Buyer's Guide for Mercedes-Benz by Frank barrett shows all. P. > I'm new to this group (I just posted a message about the EGR valve bolts on a > 3000SE). [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > the early 1990s; but anyway, did the body style of that time have a certain > name? Strictly speaking the (older) models with E after the engine size are not E-Class, but were renamed as such about the time when the 190 successor was named C-Class. E simply stood for injection (Einspritzung). Then all petrol cars had fuel injection and the E suffix became unnecessary. There always was an S-Class, distinguished by an S in the letters after the engine size, e.g. 500 SEL or 280 SE. The name difference between a standard saloon and an S was, e.g., 250 and 250 S. With the arrival of the 190 (early eighties) there were, suddenly, three main saloon sizes and the standard W124 became the E-Class with the E as a prefix, probably meaning "executive" (so if you aren't an executive you can't have one). The proliferation of classes coincides with the proliferation of body types and the old nomenclature could not cope. DAS SignatureFor direct contact replace nospam with schmetterling --- > Tim, > First you need to understand the configurations: starting from the bottom: [quoted text clipped - 30 lines] > certain >> name? > First you need to understand the configurations: starting from the bottom: > C-Class, E-Class (larger chassis),S-Class, Yes, the modern sedan nomenclature is fairly straight-forward now. The coupes, roadsters and SUV's are the harder areas to understand. Generally, the "L" moniker is for the German word "licht" which means light in "sporty", and the "K" is for "kurtz" which is means "short", and is used to demote a "downsized" version of a lager vehicle. So... > SLK-Class (small roadster), Or a downsized version of the SL roadster... > CLK-Class (coupe or convertible built on C-Class chassis), Or a downsized version of the CL coupe... > SL-Class (S-Class luxo sportcar), In this case, SL stands for "sporty-light" > CL-Class (S-Class Coupe), The "C" has nothing to do with the "C-Class" sedan. It basically means coupe, so it's a "coupe-light", or a sporty two-door, or, maybe this is a throwback to when "L" meant "lang" or long, so it';s a long wheelbase coupe?! And of course there is now the "CLS", which is a "sedan" version of this coupe (if that makes any sense). > M-Class (American made SUV), M for multipurpose and "L" for "sporty", so a sporty multi-purpose truck. There is a rumored smaller version to be produced, but it likely it won't be called the MLK (to avoid confusion in the US with milk and Martin Luther King). > G-Class (serious business SUV made in Germany). "G" for Gelandewagen, (Gelande=land, wagen=car). It is a 25-year old design for a military-spec off-road vehicle that has been "dressed up" for the US market (and those vehicle are made in Graz, Austria, not Germany). And of course there is the upcoming R-Class, and in Europe, the A-Class and the Vaneo that is sometimes called the V-Class. Add to this further confusion in that the numbers after the letters don't always indicate engine size. For example, the C230 and former SLK230 actually used 1.8L engines. The ML350 from the last few years was actually a 3.7L engine (but the new SLK350, E350 and 2006 ML350 use a 3.5L engine). While the "55" AMG models use a 5.5L engine, the "65" AMG models use a 6.0L V-12 engine and the "600" models use a 5.5L V-12 engine. Oh, and "Kompressor" is not a model, it just means "supercharged", and typically any model badged as "Sport" or "Special Edition" or "Avante Garde" is just a vehicle with an optional appearance package. Signature- RODNEY "modern sedan nomenclature is fairly straight-forward now" But that's all. That's totally overwhelmed by everything else being more complicated, of course connected with the proliferation of models. But why do they that stupid thing with the engine sizes? There always was some inconsistency but now it's ridiculous. Once they renamed the 190 the C-Class, the main engine-size-nomenclature issue was dealt with. At least my CLK Cab 320 has a 3.2-litre engine... BTW, minor niggle: "leicht" and "kurz" (not licht und kurtz) (As it happens, Licht also means light, just like the English, as in lamp...) DAS SignatureFor direct contact replace nospam with schmetterling --- >> First you need to understand the configurations: starting from the >> bottom: [quoted text clipped - 50 lines] > "Sport" or "Special Edition" or "Avante Garde" is just a vehicle with an > optional appearance package. > "modern sedan nomenclature is fairly straight-forward now" > [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > BTW, minor niggle: "leicht" and "kurz" (not licht und kurtz) (As it happens, > Licht also means light, just like the English, as in lamp...) Yes and the SEL and SEC models were not very "leicht". And there were V's for Vergaser=carburetor in the 50's and the Diesel D. We here were waited once for a 600 SEDCL. It never came officialle but some tried to build it at home. SignatureRoland Franzius Rod Gill did refer to the L also meaning long (as in SEL). I like the idea of the 600 SEDCL. Or is that now SECL 600D? Should be quite monstrous. DAS SignatureFor direct contact replace nospam with schmetterling --- > Yes and the SEL and SEC models were not very "leicht". And there were V's > for Vergaser=carburetor in the 50's and the Diesel D. We here were waited > once for a 600 SEDCL. It never came officialle but some tried to build it > at home. > BTW, minor niggle: "leicht" and "kurz" (not licht und kurtz) (As it > happens, Licht also means light, just like the English, as in lamp...) Thanks for the correction, Dori. I don't speak German except for waht I picked up from my grandfather and the auto industry. Signature- RODNEY |
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