Parked just a few spots down from the Jag I spotted during the season’s first snow was this very stealthy-looking Mercedes-Benz 190E. Not really sure what a South Carolina car was doing in the far end of a Massachusetts shopping center parking lot, but it’s warmer place of registry no doubt contributes to its pristine appearance.
While the 190 Series (W201 to the technical people) wasn’t met with universal success in North America, had I been in the market for an entry-level luxury car in the late-eighties/early-nineties, this would have been near the top of my list. I always liked its looks, a scaled-down W124 if you may. It’s interior layout was also very similar to the larger W124, but the horizontal taillights provided some much needed distinction. In fact, as a kid, that’s how I distinguished the “older little Mercedes” from the “older medium Mercedes” (“older”, as by the time I was naming cars, the successors to both of these models were on sale).
The interior of this one was dark tan colored MB Tex like the picture above, and it was in very good condition I should add. I guess that’s the benefit of MB Tex over leather. I did try to take pictures of it, but the windows were too wet and I didn’t want to be cleaning snow off of someone else’s car.
From the trunk badges, this one is clearly powered by the 2.6L inline six, the largest engine one could get in a 190. I thought the license plate was funny, as its stamped “GPS” is the closest one could get to having a GPS when this car was new.
MB-Tex is incredible stuff. My own ’82 300SD has plainly spent a lot of time in the sun from the cracked dash, faded paint, and UV-damaged carpet on the back dash. But the grey MB-Tex seats are in virtually flawless condition. It’s still available on new cars and is definitely the way to go.
Loved the 190! My dad had an 87 2.3 with a stick shift and it was such a fun car to drive at the time. It wasn’t super fast, as my buddy’s 88 vw golf gl stick could very slightly outrun it to 60, but it was a sure-footed and solid rear wheel drive car with very good balance and lots of fun factor. It was the first mercedes I could drive with the tail out and I don’t remember ever reaching the limit in the car, unlike my front wheel drive saab (1988). At the time, the way I would describe it was like a rear wheel drive Audi, because the size, stick shift, 4 cylinder and tossable nature of the car was unlike any mercedes we’d had before (including 4 w123s and one w115). In fact I’ve only driven one other mercedes like it since and that was the slk230 sport with a stick shift…
The six cylinder cars had far more power, but the combination of the second gear start automatic and heavier weight made it more like a very small luxury mercedes to me and I didn’t like it as well.
MBtex is great stuff unfortunately the low value of these cars here attracts the type of owner who fits huge rims and lowers all the comfort and roadholding abilities out of them, and while they were no Citroen in those departments anyway the were not all that bad originally.
Not to nitpick, but that’s a South Carolina license plate. 🙂
Thank you. My mistake. I must’ve not been looking at the pictures when writing this, but just from memory of seeing the car in person. Needless to say Carolina cars aren’t that common her in Massachusetts 🙂
I walked by a 190 the other day, and was struck by how small externally it appeared. Brendan’s pics back this up. The Charger and Soul seem quite large compared to this MB. And there’s luxurious amounts of room within the parking space. As long as you can package the interior well to cars in it’s class, it’s perhaps one way of reducing manufacturing material costs. I always felt the 190 photographed well, but it doesn’t have a lot of road presence.
I’ve been looking off and on for a low mileage 190E to have as a fun, reliable daily driver. The availability of them seems pretty good. What got me started researching these was that post from Paul a few months back about his son’s girl friend’s 190E that they were thinking of fixing up.
This one has a stick shift which I don’t remember coming with the 2.6L. If it did it was certainly rare. If it didn’t I wonder if the owner changed out the 2.2 or 2.3 for a 2.6 emblem out back, or maybe if this is a Euro spec car.
Agree with the comment that the 190 photographs well but in person comes off a bit small, especially around the front fender corner area. The trade off is that it is a really fun car to drive.
The interior picture isn’t the same car as the exterior shots, but yeah the 190E 2.6 did come with a 5-speed manual as standard equipment in the US. I’ve seen a bunch of them over the years and looking up the specific info shows it was available from ’88-’93. That’s the 190E I’d want if I owned one… although I’d settle for one of the 16-valve cars, too!
Totally missed that about the interior shot being from another car; the lack of snow on windows and copy in the post is clear it’s not the same car. Still had no idea you could get a 2.6L 6-cylinder with stick shift that would be a very nice car. MB must have ordered them for the west coast all with A/T because that’s all I’ve ever seen out here.
The 190 was not really all that small by the standards of the day, it’s just that cars are much bigger now. I’m finding a length of 175″ and width of 66″ with a wheelbase of 105″. An e30 BMW 3-series was 170″ long, 65″ wide and with a wheelbase of 101″. A concurrent Ford Aerostar Minivan was 175″ (or 190″) long, 71″ wide and wheelbase of 119″.
But a current BMW 3-series is 182″ long and 71″ wide, with a wheelbase of 110+” and a current Toyota Sienna minivan is 200″ long and 78″ wide with a wheelbase of 119″.
Nice example and good to see that it is not just in SoCal where these cars remain on the road.
As I and others have noted, the 190E appeared to sell in large numbers in SoCal (perhaps not as well as the CLA 250 – these are all over the place in just a few weeks). I think the styling has held up amazingly well over time. As noted, it wasn’t all that small for cars of this time period. The back seat passengers were the ones who suffered, at least those like me who are over 6 ‘ – I remember tossing a coin with my good friend’s buddies to try to avoid sitting there in his 85 190E. I believe most of the cars sold here were 2.3s but one friend had a 2.6 for well over a dozen years and 200K+ miles. Costly to service and repair but she loved it.
I know this is pretty juvenile, but I had to post it, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYaIFvRqv2k
Were these cars total dogs in the reliability dept? They used to be thick as flies here in Maryland in the late 1980’s to early 2000’s but I have not seen one for years in the metal. I know about the headgasket issue but most Benzes had this issue with their engines and once they got a new one they were good to go but 190E and 190D are rare and I see the same era 300E and S Class all the time around here. heck I still see butt loads of late 1970’s to 1985 240D and 300D around.
The car was registered in 2010/early 2011 based on the tag. I’ve got one starting with “H” from a July 2011 registration.
Generally cars here in SC stay rust-free because it rarely snows in most of SC and when it does, they don’t salt the roads let alone ever plow.
Like Steve said that is a standard issue Palmetto Sunrise (could also be a sunset in my opinion) plate. Bit ugly, but is growing on me.
Having been to South Carolina several times Mercedes Benz are one of the least likely vehicles to be seen though I have seen a small number of them around the I-95 Corridor, but those tend to be newer models. Either this Mercedes Benz has been garaged its whole life or is not a South Carolina native since there is not way that black paint or numerous plastic bits would still look so nice.
I would bet a fiver the owner drove up I-95 to visit relatives in Massachusetts.
South Carolina is a state that has a large US Navy presence. I live close to Bremerton, WA, another Navy town, and see quite a few SC plates as well as Florida, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Illinois, Hawaii, Mississippi, Virginia – more than I would see if not for the Navy connection.
Not to troll, but German cars including Mercedes Benz of course are the normal transportation of the upper middle class and above in SC. There’s no shame in a Lexus anymore though.
The mix is different depending on where you are. In Greenville/Spartanburg, a BMW does not really carry too much status due to the assembly plant here. With the affordable employee lease prices, folks who live in working class diggs drive new BMW’s. BMW’s are pejoratively referred to as Bubba Makes Wheels and Black Man Wagons. Sir makeastir or his wife living in the upstate would choose a MB over BMW because of this.
The wealthy white establishment that have owned and run everything for 400 years in SC drive either European cars or Lexus automobiles for the most part. An increasingly smaller number will drive Suburbans and Yukons, but due to the redneck/white trash/black association that is falling off.