The E-Class before the E-Class
02/28/2024
Even if disciples of the Stuttgart star brand won't like to hear it: The first E-Class was not the first E-Class at all. This is because ten years before Daimler-Benz changed the name of the successful W 124 "mid-range series" to the nomenclature that is still used today, the US manufacturer and later merger partner Chrysler offered a model called the E-Class - or rather its English equivalent "E-Class".
The US E-Class, which was only offered in the 1983 and 1984 model years, was also intended to fill the gap between the small Le Baron and the expensive New Yorker. The name was derived from the front-wheel drive E-platform, on which the Plymouth Caravelle and Dodge 600 were also based. Could Stuttgart have been inspired by the Americans when naming the mid-size class? Not impossible, but hard to prove and ultimately irrelevant.
Stylistically, however, it seems that they were looking from Auburn Hills to Untertürkheim rather than the other way around, and not just because of the "Pentastar" on the radiator grille. The wheel trims with the slotted edge and their center section painted in the body color are very reminiscent of those on the Mercedes-Benz models of the time. Even the optional alloy wheels of the Chrysler E-Class bear a certain resemblance to the famous "baroque rims" in their chiseled fluting.
However, Chrysler refrained from making any reference to the engine. Perhaps the friendly quote would have been too close to a trademark infringement. However, Mercedes-Benz had neither an E 220 nor an E 260 in its range at the time. The latter model was not even available with a three-pointed star instead of a five-pointed star until 25 years later - and then only in China.
_RM.jpg)
