| General comments: | The Mercedes-Benz E-Class is a range of executive cars manufactured by Mercedes-Benz in various engine and body configurations produced since 1993. Prior to 1993, Mercedes-Benz offered the same category of car under a non-unified naming structure. The E initially stood for Einspritzmotor (German for fuel injection engine); a new feature in volume production vehicles at the time that the E-Class first appeared, with the E as a suffix to the engine nomenclature (e.g. 230E) in the 1960s. It was not until the launch of the facelifted W124 in 1993 that the E was used as a prefix (i.e., E 220) and the model referred to officially as the E-Class (or E-Klasse). At this time all Mercedes cars used fuel injection and the company felt it was no longer necessary to add this as a distinguishing feature. Due to the E-Class's size and durability, the cars also frequently serve as taxis in European and Asian countries. Mercedes-Benz also offers special-purpose vehicles (e.g., police or ambulance modifications) from the factory. |