The Mercedes W124's single wiper stretched to reach the windscreen's corners
A normal wiper sweeps a simple arc and misses the top corners of the glass. The Mercedes W124, built from 1984 to 1997, used one blade on an off-centre mechanism that pushed it outward mid-sweep, clearing far more of the windscreen. It was one of many small tricks that later spread across the industry.
Planning began in autumn 1976, the programme formally started in July 1977, and design director Bruno Sacco's exterior was approved in early 1981. After prototypes went testing in mid-1982, the press saw the car in Seville on 26 November 1984, with European deliveries from January 1985. Its body was slippery for its day, with a drag coefficient as low as 0.28 on the European 200 and 200D, helped by plastic panels smoothing the underside to cut fuel use and wind noise. Rear headrests in the saloon folded down at the touch of a button for a clearer view back.
The estate version had its own touches. A sensor-controlled motor pulled the tailgate shut silently, so it could seal tightly and keep the cabin quiet, and a seven-seat layout added a rear-facing bench. The multi-link rear axle, first used on the smaller W201 in 1982, is now standard on many cars. The flat 15-hole alloy wheels debuted here too, nicknamed Gullideckel because they looked like German manhole covers.
Emissions rules shaped the range. For Italy, whose taxes rose with engine size, Mercedes built a fuel-injected 200E to stay under the 2,000 cc threshold. American cars differed visibly only in their rectangular sealed-beam headlights, though they weighed 100 kg more. From September 1985 European cars were labelled by catalytic converter status, and converters became standard in September 1986. From 1993 the range was sold as the E-Class.
Grey imports also troubled the company. By 1985 about 60,000 cars a year were entering the United States outside official dealers, a third of them Mercedes. The firm lobbied Congress for a law that effectively banned private imports of vehicles under 25 years old.
Source: Mercedes-Benz W124
