With its 3 Series, BMW pretty much had the small, entry-level luxury-car market to itself through the seventies. Mercedes-Benz could not let that situation persist.
To many in the early eighties, Mercedes' reputation for engineering excellence and intimidating road presence seemed too big to be crammed into a small sedan. Would a small Mercedes be a real Mercedes?
The 1984 190E (known internally at Mercedes as the W201) proved that what made a Mercedes a Mercedes wasn't size. From the three-pointed star atop its grille shell to the fluted lenses of its taillights, the 190E felt and looked like its bigger brothers. Initially the sole gas-fired powerplant available in North America was a 2.3-liter four making 113 hp, but that soon changed with the introduction of the 167-hp 2.3-16 model that capped that engine with a Cosworth-designed cylinder head for 1986. Six-cylinder engines went on sale with the 1987 models. Eventually it evolved into today's C-Class.
If the Mercedes 190E hadn't been a good product and solid sales hit for its maker, the BMW 3 Series would have had the small luxury market to itself. That's never good.
Read more: Best Cars from the 1980s - Forgotten Classic Cars from the '80s - Popular Mechanics
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