A 4 cylinder "E class"?...

This morning, while scanning CL, I came across an ad for a '88 Mercedes 260 E. The ad was posted by a used car dealership and the description noted that this car was equipped with a 4 cylinder engine (the pictures of the interior showed an automatic transmission shifter on the console). For a car nearly 25 years old, it looked both very original and yet in very good condition. I figured M-B never sold a 4 cylinder "E" in the U.S. but being Florida I suppose this car could be some kind of grey market orphan. BTW, unlike many Mercedes of this vintage, there was no provision for headlight washer jets and/or scrubbby brushes in the front bumper. 4 or 6 cylinder, this appeared to be the bottom rung of the '88 E class ladder.

So, LONG story, long, can folks fill me in on this car?

integraguy wrote: this appeared to be the bottom rung of the '88 E class ladder. So, LONG story, long, can folks fill me in on this car?

That's about it, though I don't remember it being a four. I believe it was introduced here a couple of years after the 300E, right around the time that the dollar fell in relation to the D-Mark.

I spent a fair amount of time in one in Germany back then, including quite a few autobahn miles, so I was already familiar with them when they showed up in the States. Oddly enough, the one that we used in Germany had manual windows and no A/C. I doubt that you could get one so-equipped in the US.

My impression was that it was a slightly upscale, utilitarian sedan for German upper middle class families.

Over here, it was the cheapest way to get a mid sized Benz to impress your yuppie friends.

It is an I6.

Like Otto said, it's a straight six, not a four-cylinder. I think it's the same one that was available in the 190E 2.6 back in the day.

It's the M103 inline 6, also came as a 3 liter engine.

I did notice the same dealership had a 300E, a 1987, so that was another reason why I figured it could possibly be a 4. I mean, why would a company offer a 3 liter six in 1987 and then a 2.6 liter six a year later....or even at the same time? U.S. car companies sometimes do that engine "downsizing" bit, I just didn't figure M-B for doing it.

I'm going to check on the ad again to see if it has any power accessories.

My wife's 190E has the 2.6. It actually moves the car surprisingly well.