Mercedes-Benz are currently selling some of the most beautiful cars in the world. Their product line is well thought-out and the cars themselves are very competent. The only complaint people seem the have is that they look a little too similar to one another.
This is immediately apparent with the latest models, but we thought we’d share this post to highlight a couple of things.
Firstly, that this trend has been going on for decades, especially with German cars. Look at the W201, W124 and W140. These C-, E- and S-Classes had strong Benz genes.
And secondly that having cars look similar to one another has a few benefits. The average road user doesn’t care what cars of a certain brand looks like. There are millions of cars on the road, dozens of makes and models across many generations.
By making their cars adapt a set of design rules, brands like Mercedes-Benz are immediately recognised by the average Joe. Even if average Joe doesn’t know what the difference between a C- and S-Class is, he will instantly know a Benz when he sees one.
Sharing the family look also helps to elevate the more affordable sedan in the group. So while the E-Class is always going to be a favourite amongst businessmen, having a C-Class that looks like an S-Class makes it a lot more prestigious. They did this with the first ‘proto’ C-Class, the 190E (W201) pictured above by styling it to look like a baby W126.
