In the previous part, we talked about the ubiquity and sheer variety of the Mercedes W124 and its submodels that make it the European counterpart of Panther platform.  In many ways the models are each other’s foil, embodying European and American takes on the long-running universal chassis. Let’s take a closer look now.

[Ed: Today we’ve got another piece from longtime internet car guy friend Vojta Dobes, a.k.a. Bobash, a.k.a. an awesome guy in the Czech republic with a penchant for American Iron.]

I have already mentioned that Panther platform cars and W124 series represent many of the differences between American and European carmaking. As much as they’re extremely similar in many ways, they are completely opposite in others. Take the variety as an example.

Within each of the series, you can find great variety of vehicles for your different needs. While the W124 is basically one model (E-class Mercedes) in different body styles and with various engine options, Panther offered at least three different models from different makes, at any given time (well, until the demise of Grand Marquis). At the same time W124s were, in fact, mechanically more varied than Panthers.

While all Panthers of the same model year basically shared the same engine (with few exceptions, like 351s early on, or 4.6 32V in Marauder) and transmission, you could always choose from about a dozen of engine options, both gasoline and diesel, under the hood of W124. And they weren’t just variations on the same theme – while basic options were gasoline or diesel 2.0 liter fours, the other end of the scale was represented by a five-liter, 326hp V8, or a 3.0 liter turbodiesel.

And you could combine them with either automatic or manual transmissions, sometimes even with the possibility of choosing between four or five speed manual. Later on, you could even had the 4Matic all-wheel drive option.

Even the range of equipment levels was significantly wider with W124. While the most expensive ones approached Town Car Cartier levels of luxury and gizmo count, basic ones would be embarrassed even by the most basic police-spec Crown Vic. Just about anything was optional. Want electric windows or such frivolous luxury like A/C? Pay up! Central locking? Keep paying. What, you would like to have somewhere to rest your arm? No way without paying extra.

The only thing you couldn’t enhance with money? Looks. While with Panthers, everyone exactly knew where you stood on the food chain, with not only models, but even trim levels being easy to recognize, the W124 looked all basically the same. Park a cabbie-spec 200D side-by-side with loaded 400E and you’d be hard-pressed to tell the difference. With the badge-delete option, no one could really tell that you’ve paid literally twice as much for your car as your neighbor.

Why is that? Some would say that the difference is inherently equalitarian nature of Europeans – that we don’t buy cars as status symbols, instead choosing them by their inner qualities. While the idea of quality-appreciating Europeans may be a very romantic one, I don‘t believe in this explanation. Even Europeans like to show off their wealth and happily join the rat-race of brands and symbols.

I would guess that there are two reasons for the differences between Panther and W124 – and thus also between American and European carmaking. One goes back to the 1920s and Mr. Alfred P. Sloan, who devised a plan to make Americans buy more cars by inventing the brand “ladder of success”, enabling them to show of their social status by their car. In Europe, this system did not really catch on for many decades – and here we come to the reason number two. I don’t believe that European carmakers would miss out on such opportunity out of ignorance. But for much of the 20th century, Europe was significantly poorer than USA, and buying more expensive cars out of vanity simply wasn’t an option. Had someone tried to sell same cars for different prices, based largely on their social status, he likely wouldn’t succeed. Or it was really just that no one has tried?

It’s hard to say, as during the nineties, Europe saw not only demise of “overengineered” cars like W124, but also the advent of Volkswagen’s “ladder of success”, with Škoda/Seat, Volkswagen, Audi and later Bentley aping GM’s brand line-up. Would such a thing be possible 20 or 30 years later? What do YOU think?