In our 365 Oldtimer Museum, a whole army of Mercedes from 1934 to 2007 is waiting for you. In today’s newsletter we will talk about an eternal classic, an improved “body sibling” of this car, the Mercedes code W124, can be viewed here as well. We recommend our event hall, which can be an excellent venue for corporate and private events. In the case of birthdays celebrated here, we make the cake!
Although it has been more than 41 years since Mercedes-Benz introduced the W201 model, it still continues to grace the home market. After its appearance in 1983, customers who had previously been accustomed to Mercedes with luxury and grandiose dimensions that overflowed even to the edge of the glass, spit on the car with a length of barely 4.42 meters and little extras. This state only lasted until the 190E/d proved its mettle and that it was worth every cent of the very high purchase price. The passenger compartment provides just enough space for 2+2 adults and their legs. The driver could steer the car with a steering wheel the size of a mill wheel, which was already manufactured with a servo. The extremely wide range of engines ranged from the 2-liter 4-cylinder diesel to the 3.6-liter 6-cylinder gasoline. In addition, we could ask for a maximum sunroof, two front electric windows, a Blaupunkt radio and a built-in cassette holder. Although we couldn’t bathe in luxurious luxury, in return the company packed the best technologies of the time into the “small” car. The design office developed more than 40 types of rear suspension for it and this resulted in a single dazzling result, the rear wheel suspension with spatial swing arm (German: Raumlenker-Hinterachse). What was so good that even today, premium-class cars are equipped with the same or very similar rear suspensions by other manufacturers. As an unsolved problem, it was possible to solve the problem with five swingarms, so that the car’s wheels hit the road at the same angle when springing in and out. At the front, meanwhile, they chose a solution with a much simpler structure, spring-loaded lower triangular wishbone. In addition, we can even find colossal innovations in the case of the W201, such as the single-lever eccentric track wiper, which can wipe 86 percent of the windshield, or the rear headrests that can be folded down at the push of a button. Then, after the huge amount of numbers and data, in order to let everyone have a breather, I will move on to less concise topics, but the 190 will still remain on the table. Even today, the car is often mentioned on a page with the adjective “indestructible” and this is the real special feature of the “Baby-Benz”. (It got this name due to its smaller size compared to previous Mercedes.) Its gearbox is indestructible, its engine has not even remotely known the concept of wear. The car’s only real enemy was rust. There are two particularly rot-prone spots on the car, such as under Sacco boards on later models. Its very few faults were easily forgotten by the car’s countless good features. Everyone loved it, those who have it still love it today and we hope that these iron-nosed Mercedes will be around for a long time. (Written by: Márton Baczoni)
Help for the attached picture of the rear suspension:1 The four wishbones react only to pressure and traction. These are very easy. 2 The suspension stool is still the center piece of the rear axle. 3 Rubber bearings fix the wishbones and at the same time ensure driving comfort. 4 A connecting rod serves as a fifth control arm and completes the spatial control arm axis.