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1991 Mercedes-Benz 300 E [W124]

1991 Mercedes-Benz 300 E [W124] in The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, TV Series, 1990-1996 Ep. 1.15

Class: Cars, Sedan — Model origin: — Made for: USA

1991 Mercedes-Benz 300 E [W124]

Vehicle used by a character or in a car chase

Comments about this vehicle

Author	Message
carmaker1 ◊ 2012-11-30 14:42	The E-Class had a facelift for 1990 and this episode was produced during in late October 1990 when the 1991 E-Class models were in production. I know this, as Fresh Prince episodes aired 5-8 weeks after production wrapped on them and this episode aired on December 10, 1990. Season began production in late July 1990. This is likely a 1991 model as it doesn't even have license plate like some of other cars owned by the Banks do. Here's what I mean by the facelift. One will see where the Banks' model lies as it's an early '90s W124. Philip Banks' 300E: 1989 model: 1990 model: 1991 model: 1992 model(updated model year): -- Last edit: 2012-11-30 21:27:06
blue_thunder ◊ 2012-11-30 16:25	^ By the main pic you can't narrow it down to one specific MY. And as your thumnails shows, '90-'92 got all the same exterieur launched in late '89(so called "Modelpflege 1"). The '92 first thumbnail is a bit different cause it shows the "Sportline" trim (note the little badge on front fenders cladding), it got these rims and is a bit lowered, the exterieur is identical to '90. There was an update in May 1993 ("MOPF 2") for '94+ MY.
carmaker1 ◊ 2012-11-30 17:17	blue_thunder wrote ^ By the main pic you can't narrow it down to one specific MY. And as your thumnails shows, '90-'92 got all the same exterieur launched in late '89(so called "Modelpflege 1"). The '92 first thumbnail is a bit different cause it shows the "Sportline" trim (note the little badge on front fenders cladding), it got these rims and is a bit lowered, the exterieur is identical to '90. There was an update in May 1993 ("MOPF 2") for '94+ MY. Yes, I am very aware about that Sportline model. I didn't think it was a good example to differentiate between 1989-1991 and 1991-1993 production. The MY1992 W124 range was significantly updated with the addition of the 400E & 500E models. All MY1992 W124s got new steering wheels, new wheel exterior design, & etc., which were sold as 1992 models in the US. The 1992 vs 1991 model year is an "update". Calling the 1993 facelift for model year 1994 an update is a bit of an understatement, as the range received major changes. I only included the 1992 models to emphasize the similarities of the MY1990-1991(9/1989-6/1991) W124 as against the MY1992-1993 (8/1991-6/1993). Concerning the show, this episode was filmed the week of October 22, 1990, airing actually on December 10, 1990. NBC could've purchased a late production 1990 300E or an early production 1991 300E, which is exactly the same car. The only thing is that it seems to be a recurring theme on IMCDB, irregardless of how correct, that potentially newer vehicles are labeled as the first model year the car was sold. Case in point, nearly all 560SELs being labeled as 1986 models when some of them could be MY1989-1991s. I agree with you in leaving it without a year, since October is when the new model year starts in the U.S.(our ridiculously early model years) and it becomes tricky territory on whether it's fresh out of Bremen/Sindelfingen or part of leftover inventory. It's better this way in not mislabeling cars with incorrect or much older model years. -- Last edit: 2012-11-30 17:19:25
night cub ◊ 2012-11-30 17:37	Carmaker1 wrote The only thing is that it seems to be a recurring theme on IMCDB, irregardless of how correct, that potentially newer vehicles are labeled as the first model year the car was sold. Case in point, nearly all 560SELs being labeled as 1986 models when some of them could be MY1989-1991s. I agree with you in leaving it without a year, since October is when the new model year starts in the U.S.(our ridiculously early model years) and it becomes tricky territory on whether it's fresh out of Bremen/Sindelfingen or part of leftover inventory. It's better this way in not mislabeling cars with incorrect or much older model years. It's not a recurring theme, it's the policy of the site, stated in the Help/FAQs section: "How are selected the years of the vehicles? For lots of US cars it is quite easy: some details allow to find the exact years. But for other cars it is impossible, so we put the year when the car model was released. For some vehicle the date may be wrong, or we may have missed a detail that allows a more precise identification of the year. In that case, do not hesitate to notify this (see above in the "I found an error/misnamed vehicle" section)." If a member can narrow down the model year further, they are more than welcome to do so, but the mods may need to verify the information first. -- Last edit: 2012-11-30 17:38:12
carmaker1 ◊ 2012-11-30 21:34	night cub wrote It's not a recurring theme, it's the policy of the site, stated in the Help/FAQs section: "How are selected the years of the vehicles? For lots of US cars it is quite easy: some details allow to find the exact years. But for other cars it is impossible, so we put the year when the car model was released. For some vehicle the date may be wrong, or we may have missed a detail that allows a more precise identification of the year. In that case, do not hesitate to notify this (see above in the "I found an error/misnamed vehicle" section)." If a member can narrow down the model year further, they are more than welcome to do so, but the mods may need to verify the information first. To be honest, I may not agree with it at times, but that's great policy. That's why I questioned why when "1991" was removed, considering when this episode was filmed, which was during the new 1991 car season. I think like the W126 driven by Carlton in another Season 1 episode, this should at least have a model year if that's the policy. It's probably not a big deal, as I imagine producers don't make it easier when they use multiple cars for one vehicle.
GrkFlyersFan ◊ 2012-12-02 11:28	Uncle Phil's car early on, replaced by a newer S-Class midway through the show's run
carmaker1 ◊ 2014-10-13 11:52	It's a brand new 1991 300E W124 purchased by Quincy Jones Productions, being filmed during the week of October 29-November 2, 1990 (1990/12/10). A 1992 500SEL later replaced it.

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