Pre-facelift Mercedes-Benz C 220 sedan In October 1986, three years into (190)'s production run, work began on a successor. Design work began in 1987, with the final design by being selected in 1989 and the production design by delayed in January 1990, finally being patented on 19 December 1990. Rough prototypes went into testing in 1989, with first production design prototypes commencing testing in 1990. In May 1993, the first generation C-Class was introduced as a replacement for the 190. 2015 Cbr 1000 Manual download. 2011 Chevy Suburban Owners Manual download free more. The C-Class sedan was the company's entry-level model up until 1997, when Mercedes launched the A-Class. Styling themes were carried over from the previous W201 series, but the new series had a smoother and rounder design than the previous generation of compact Mercedes, with styling cues from the W124 E-Class (short, high trunk and taller tail lights), W140 S-Class (front end), and R129 SL-Class (headlights).