Mercedes-Benz Celebrates 40 Years Of The C-Class

In 1993 Merc introduced the second generation, which had a much shorter seven-year lifespan. You could also get it in four different design styles, and Mercedes introduced the concept of equipment lines. That’s something the Germans remain synonymous with to this day. It was also a DTM winner in 1994 and 1995 and the first C-Class available as a wagon.

The success of the second-gen took the C-Class sales total to 3.8 million units globally.

The third-gen car was a bit of a letdown. We’re old enough to remember its introduction and the cost-cutting measures Mercedes was implementing at the time. You could feel it in the overall build quality, but it did introduce the humble multi-function steering wheel to middle management. We also fondly remember the C55 AMG and its naturally-aspirated V8 engine. It wasn’t nearly as sharp as the E46 M3, but it could decimate a set of rear tires within 20 minutes.

Thanks to the third-gen, sales went up to 5.7 million when it ended production in 2007.