The Models and Choices

No these are the engine sizes and type - petrol (gas) unless suffixed by a D (as you noted) - TD is turbo diesel, CDi is the latest common-rail diesel injection. The numbers imply the engine size from 3.0, 3.2, 4.2 and 5.0 litre engines in the examples you listed.

What about the thread you started yesterday 7 Oct?

DAS

I drove a 92 E300 yesterday ALOT more room than the 96 C250ML mostly in head room and in terms of where my right knee was... Would have probably bought it (89,000 miles 92 looked clean etc) except the wife didnt care for the pickup (it was a bit slow to take off) and it was white (she wants a black one), altho to me if i fit I am happy with it being just about any color within reason...

But that E300 fit alot better tho and even with a sunroof (actually EVERY MB I have seen has had a sunroof so far) starting to wonder if any of them were ever made without one LOL...

Hysterical laugh...

(Just to make reason clear to North Americans: most Europeans would not even consider a 3-litre car to have "slow take off"...)

DAS

Forgot to mention that 92 E300 was the 2.6 engine, but yeah it seemed to lag in the start to 20 mph range, highway speeds and passing speeds were nice tho, just from a stop at a light etc it seemed to take a bit to get going, might even have just needed a good tuneup...

most Europeans would not even

off"...)

schmetterling

"TallGuy" haute in die Tasten:

Are you sure the car started in 1st gear? I once had a W123 200 automatic with 109 hp and 4 speed auto box. This car would start from the line always in 2nd gear, unless you push the pedal into kickdown, then it would use 1st gear. From the owners manual I learned that this was a feature, not a bug.

The car wasn't the perfect choice for drag racing, to be honest.

Frank

To be quite honest I don't know, it was an automatic and I went to what in most cars would be DRIVE (D I thought), but I did remember seeing 1,2,3 type slots...

It was not a stick with a clutch though. when you say push the pedal into "kickdown" does that mean you actually push the gas pedal down past half way or something?

Sorry for my ignorance I am learning...thanks to all you guys and gals here :)

Tasten:

engine,

mph

nice

had a W123 200 automatic

start from the line always

kickdown, then it would use 1st

was a feature, not a bug.

racing, to be honest.

fk-newsgroups for e-mail contact

I thought just about everyone in America (North America!) drives automatic and knows about kick-down (hit the floor with the pedal)... How long have you been driving?

DAS

"TallGuy" haute in die Tasten:

Most contemporary automatic gearboxes can detect the way you push the acelerator pedal. If you push it only gently, the car thinks that you do not need much power. It will shift gears early to keep te engine in lower revs. When you push the pedal further down, the car assumes that you need more power. During acceleration it will change gears later. If you aready travel in high gear, but low speed, the gearbox will shift down one gear in order to enable the car to accelerate faster. The kickdown switch is some kind of emergency mode. On most cars you clearly can feel it when you press the accelerator to the floor. At the end of its way, there is one "step", after that the pedal goes down some more millimeters. Hitting the kickdown switch means nothing else than "The driver needs the full amount of performance this car is able to deliver, and he needs it now." The gearbox will switch down as far as posssible (which usually means two gears), the engine will deliver maximum power, the car will accelerate as much as possible. Kickdown is recommended if you want to overtake a car in fromt of you or if you urgently need to get as fast as possible, for example when enetering a highway or so. OTOH kickdown means more wear, more fuel consumption and more noise. My old '82 Mercedes 200 would only use 1st gear as a starting gear for driving off the line, when you pust the pedal to kickdown. This gave a better acceleration. When starting usually (not with full throttle), the car would start in 2nd gear which gave a smooth yet not very dynamic ride.

Currently I drive a BMW 325i with 4 speed automatic gearbox. This car always uses 1st gear for start, and it is way faster than my old Mercedes. When I drive the BMW at a speed of 100 mph and push the accelerator to the floor, the gearbox goes into 3rd gear at once - which gives quite a thrilling sound and enables you to get rid of tailgating Renaults;-)

Frank

If your are looking for the E series, the '94 E320 I own actually has you feeling that you allow traffic to pass you, I am sure the 420 is even more powerful if you really have the need for speed. If you are looking for the used in the 15 G range though, I'd be looking at the bigger body style than the E class. Especially if you can sign your name "tallguy" Just stick to pre-96 for dependibility. All the groups seem to complain about the Chrysler move into management since then. IMHO. Mark