This episode of the Carmudgeon Show is a documentary on the Mercedes-Benz W201 — the 190E, which might be the most important Mercedes ever. == Click here to join the Hagerty Driver's Club: https://bit.ly/Join-HDC-Cammisa-ICONS == The W201-chassis 1982 Mercedes 190E was a game-changer, because it was a ground-up new car that allowed the luxury car maker to move into the small-car space. This is the full story of how the W201 came to be (hint: it was a response to US fuel-economy regulations) and the barely comprehensible about of engineering R&D that went into it — 4 billion Deutschmarks.  In this episode, we talk about all 190E variants — from the base 2.0-liter, 8-valve and 190D 2.5 Diesels, to the 190E 2.3-16 and 190E 2.5-16 Evolution II DTM car. The Carmudgeon Show is part of the Hagerty Podcast Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices