xsh0tya

It may just be me but Mercedes has WAY too many classes which are all C classes and S classes as well!
C Class
CL
CLK
CLS
S Class
SL
SLK
SLR
I know some consider strictly coupes (2 Door), but then it ranges even within the class. I am not an experienced automotive guy. I don't do my own car work with the exception of audio and video. I understand the basics, but it would seem that they would want to make it simple to market to the most amount of people with the money to afford one. It just seems almost unnecssary for all the classes, I feel that they could elminate 2 from either and be just fine.
I was at a dealership and even the sales guy(could be he just isn't good at his job) seemed to struggle with an answer as to how the different classes vary.
If someone has some answers and is willing to share, I would appreciate the lesson.
This is my only issue with the brand thus far and its more of a minor annoyance than an issue, so good job on that Benz.

T0ked

iTrader: (2)

LOL. Yeah, it does seem a bit confusing but I think you need to reorganize the cars, not necessarily by letters.

Sedans, wagons, and coupes :
S
E
C
A

Coupes (this line is going be defunct with the CL name going away)
CL (to be replaced with S-class coupe in a couple of years
CLK (gone since 2009)

SUVs:
G
GL
M (weird one out of sync here)
GLK

Roadsters:
SLS (their supercar... probably could be its own category)
SL
SLK

Coupe-like Sedan
CLS
CLC (coming soon)

R... The odd-man out and not going to be offered in the USA for much longer.

Whew!. Other than that, it all makes sense!

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

C Class is an entry level sedan which has no relation to the CL (which is based on the S-Class) and the CLS (which is based on the E-Class). CLK is gone - from last generation. SLK and SL are two different platforms unique to their hardtop convertible ways. SLS is the current supercar and SLR is dead

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

good organization, but I think the OP just meant there are too many vehicles starting with "C" and "S"

rominl

iTrader: (4)

lol i think it would be even more epic if all the cars start with a different letter. just me

Slvr surfr

iTrader: (1)

I remember when it was only the S class, Eclass, and C class. Thats when MB was the shiznit. To me, the less models they had the more exclusive they were to me. Once they started to compete with everything from exotics to civic coupes ( C hatchback) they lost some of their appeal to me. Still nice but not as important anymore.

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

part of that mentality though other than trying to gain sales numbers and profit, is to cater to buyers who in the past may not have been able to buy into the brand. This explains A and B class

rominl

iTrader: (4)

i don't mind them doing the sl and e coupe, they are expensive cars

but they are seriously considering bringing over the a class and maybe the b, i repeatedly say it's no-no. cheapens the brand so much.

PhilipMSPT

iTrader: (5)

The C and S are abbreviations for various words.

So, even though Mercedes uses a single letter, it can mean various things:

SL= sportlich, leicht (sport, light)
SLK = sportlich, leicht, kompact (or kurtz, which means short)

SLR = sportlich, leicht, rennsport (sport, light, racing)
SLS = super leicht sportlich (super light sport)

CL = comfort leicht
CLK = comfort leicht kompact

CLS = comfort leicht saloon

C = Compact (it's an English abbreviation, when introduced in 1993, by DaimlerChrysler)

E = Einspritzung (actually stands for "fuel injection" )

S = Sonderklasse (Special Class)

G = Geländewagen (stands for cross-country wagon)
GL = well, here's the deal. The GL-Class was supposed to replace the G-Class, but decided to keep both in 2006. The L differentiated the two vehicles.

M = no particular meaning. Perhaps Midsize SUV, made by DaimlerChrysler.

R, A, and B = no particular meanings.

xsh0tya

Thank you all I really do appreciate it! I may just be more use to the simplifying things into their simplest terms. Makes sense really... I know that in german the language is different in possession. Good to know they try and stick to their roots. I don't want to sound ignorant but I feel if they just stuck to a single letter and made the number symbolize the concept of the vechicle it would be easier for the general consumer... ie my dumb ***.

Sulu

Up until 1993, Mercedes Benz models were identified by engine size: the 200 model had a 2.0-litre engine. That worked well when MB had only one main line of sedans, coupes and wagons (this was their long-running mid-size line that eventually became the E-Class), with just a few “special models” – the larger, more luxurious S (Sonderklasse) model, and the SL and SLC (2+2 coupe model of the SL) – identified with the letters added as a suffix (after the engine-size number). But as the number of models increased (especially with the addition of the “Baby Benz compact “190” models) and with sharing of engines, it became difficult to identify by engine size alone and we got examples such as “190E 2.3”, which logically, would be deciphered as compact, “Baby Benz” model with 1.9 litre engine with fuel injection (E = Einspritzung) and 2.3 litre engine. Confusing, isn’t it?

In 1993, MB changed their naming conventions, sticking a letter in front of the engine-size number: the mid-size line became the “E-Class” (since their mid-size line was their best-selling line and all engines were fuel-injected (E = Einspritzung) by that point); and the full-size line became the “S-Class” (S = Sonderklasse). The “Baby Benz” model became the “C-Class”. This was logically named, because in Europe, compact cars are known as C-class cars; mid-size cars are known as D-class cars. With the new, smaller-than-C-Class models coming in the late-1990s, it was logical to name them B-Class and A-Class (logically, sub-compact and mini, smaller-than-sub-compact cars).

It was their mass-market SUV and CUV models that muddied up the product-naming logic again. Their first mass-market SUV, the ML, could not be named “M” because BMW had ownership of that letter (despite the fact that it was known as the “M-Class”). The “R-Class” came out of nowhere (and will probably end up back there). Their recent compact SUV/CUV became known as the GLK (GL = recognized as their SUV line and K = Kurtz or Kompact). But why didn’t they name it MLK (perhaps to avoid confusion with Lincoln)?

rominl

iTrader: (4)

nice history!

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

Cause Martin Luther King wasn't having none of that