Greg in Oz

I had always assumed the change in badging on the W124 (eg. to E320) coincided with the final styling update in 1993 (ie. grill surround, bonnet/hood, clear blinkers, painted bumper inserts, etc.). I was very interested recently when two club members each purchased a final update version of the W124 coupe and both were badged 320CE, not E320. In Australia, the 320CE (and 320E) were normally of the appearance of the 1989 update. Apparently, the very first of the 1993 updates here still carried on with the old badging for a short period (a month or two). Just a little more confusion to the sometimes inconsistent MB badging. This also reinforces the argument of those who state that a pre '93 version looks incorrect with late badging. Someone recently suggested a 500E owner change his badge to E500. Why?

Jer

Because he wanted a new car for nothing

I don't care for the new badging myself.

bamberger_1

The badging issue started way back when. The "E" once stood for fuel injected engines. The older W123 and the first W124 came with and w/o fuel injection and the badge showed the difference. In the late 80's MB only offered fuel injected cars and the identification "E" became absolete. I dont know exactly the year when MB introduced the letters for their model series.
A for the sub compact, C for their compact, E for the middle class and S for the top of the line, SLK for the roadster, CL for the coupes V for their minivans and so on. Eversince then the letter stands in front of the numbers, which identify the displacement of the engine (e.g. 320 stands for 3.2 liters). The badges have nothing to do with styling updates at all. Maybe just once in the year the letter changed its location from last to first position.