I'd have to come in by saying that modern cars are much smaller than in days gone by .
Thinking back to the 1960's , when I grew up , our family car was a Fintail and it wasn't a big car : just a normal size compared to what everyone else was driving - our neighbours had a Vauxhall PA Cresta (quite a common car back then) , Ford Consuls , Zephyrs etc all a similar size . While you did get the likes of Morris Minors and Ford Anglias , most cars on the road were bigger than nowadays . This is noticeable in as much as parking spaces have shrunk in size over the years to reflect the reduction in size of the average car .
I've got my Fintail sitting on the drive behind my W126 , both cars are about the same size ( I'll need to measure , but the Fintail might actually be slightly longer than the SEL , despite being the standard wheelbase model ) and there is definitely MUCH more space inside the Fintail ! This was Mercedes mid-sized car in the 1960's , although for a time they didn't have a larger model above it (apart from the 600) . The model range went something like the following
During the 1950's you had the Ponton series : the 4 cylinder models W120 and W121 ( 180 and 190 ) had a slightly smaller body and could be more or less equated to the C Class ; then you had the six cylinder Pontons W180 (220,220S) which would fit in roughly where the E Class sits now ( my W105 219 has the six cylinder engine shoehorned into the small body , sort of like a 190E 2.6) ; at the top of the range you had the W186 'Adenauer' 300 series which would be the S Class , if you like . There were also various coupes and cabriolets based on the larger saloons . The 190SL , incidentally , is also a Ponton with W121 designation as it shares its floorpan , engine and running gear with the 190 saloon .
Round about 1961 , the smaller and mid range Ponton saloons were replaced by the larger and more American styled 'Fintail' saloons - these were known officially as the Ponton B models , although the name 'Heckflosse' (translates literally as tail feather or fin) stuck on the continent . Again there were 4 cylinder 190 models in the slightly smaller W110 bodyshell ( still about the size of a current E Class though ) and known as the Kleine Heckflosse which would have sat where the C Class currently is in the range , and the 6 cylinder 220 , 220S , 220SE models in the larger W111 body which would have equated to the E Class but , as mentioned above , were as big as a W126SEL . The Adenauer 300 was discontinued after the introduction of the Fintail series but not directly replaced at that time , so a better specced Fintail came out with the 300 engine , air suspension and a lot more chrome to set it apart from the lesser Fintails - this was the W112 series , even though the shell was essentially the same as the W111 . This range of cars was completed by the W113 'Pagoda' series sports car which had a shortened version of the chassis .
Mercedes , at this time , were also busy developing the W100 series , introduced in 1963 - the 600 or 'Grosser' state limousine which really is the ancestor of the Maybach and a bit above the older Adenauer saloon in the range . The replacement for the Adenauer came in the shape of the W108 series a couple of years later .
The Fintails continued up to 1967 or so and were replaced by the W115/W114 'New Generation' saloons which are also known as the /8 or 'strich acht' models signifying the 1968 model year introduction - this is the car to which the modern E Class can trace its roots since it was in turn directly replaced by W123 , W124 , W210 models respectively . When the New Generation came out it was described by the factory as a 'compact' model , while the W108/W109 series were considered 'full size' . For those not familiar with the model , the W114/W115 was about the same size as the W123 which replaced it .
With the replacement of the W108/W109 in 1972 or thereabouts by the W116 ( the first car to be officially described as the S Class ) same size on the outside , less roomy inside , and the introduction of the W201 190/190E , in 1983 , you then truly had the architecture of small , compact and full size models that live on today in the C , E and S class current models .
