REGULAR CAR REVIEWS 1986 Mercedes-Benz 190E

Regular Car Reviews is a light-hearted but awesome program which reviews cars that normal people are more likely to buy. From cheap new cars to used cars that still hold some merit, the program gets cars from multiple sources and owners, which led the Regular Car guy to this 1986 Mercedes-Benz 190E. While it may not be the vaunted Cosworth model so many would give an arm for, it’s not a normal 190E either.

Instead, this 190E is a European model that was imported to the U.S. That would be pretty awesome, normally, but with this being a 2.0-liter model, it’s not really that powerful or exciting. However, Regular Car guy explains why that isn’t the allure of this model. It’s not about power, gadgets or bulk; it’s about that recall of a simpler time in automotive history, before we needed larger cars, tons of airbags, or even ridiculous power figures. It is about driving a well-built Mercedes-Benz and enjoying the car for what it is instead of loathing about what app it can’t have.

It also shows the different mindset of the European-built car, even in the 1980s. An interesting feature, which many German-built and Euro-sold cars had, which I didn’t realize, are “parking lights.” Not the same as we in the U.S. understand the term, instead of all four corners being lit up, the lights opposite for the side of the road you’re parked on are active and at a lower intensity than when the car is running.

Per StVZO, Germany’s Road Traffic Licensing Regulations: “With the vehicle’s ignition switched off, the operator may activate a low-intensity light at the front (white) and rear (red) on either the left or the right side of the car.” From Wikipedia: “This function is used when parking in narrow unlit streets to provide parked-vehicle conspicuity to approaching drivers. This function, which is optional under U.N. and U.S. regulations, is served passively and without power consumption in the United States by the mandatory side marker retroreflectors.”  If you were on the right side of the road, you could turn on the left side lights so cars could see you as you were parked and vice-versa.

See, you learn something new every day. Thanks Regular Car guy!

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Via [Regular Car Reviews]