The problem is that many (if not most) of the "VIN translator" web sites that have been available in the past, have been very error-ridden, particularly in the translation of the option codes. This is because of varying quality (i.e. "bugs") of the code used to "scrape" the EPC and transform it into a searchable database.
Nothing is really scraped from the EPC, it is directly downloaded from the database. Yes, there are bugs in the option code translations and in the model names and there is a good reason for this.
Well, actually there is a good reason for the option code errors, but model name errors I have no idea what MB was thinking.
Anyway, here is an explanation for the option code errors.
EPC stores data in a several databases. EPC stores option codes in separate table and it's just a list of option codes with no description. Then EPC makes a query against another database which has a description of those codes. The issue here is that descriptions are tied to the date range (e.g. FROM 1995-12-31) for each code and to the type code (e.g. 210, 123, 211). Thing is, EPC doesn't have descriptions for early models and models built before 1995, this is why you a lot of times you see datacards where it says "no description is available".
Still, bad option code translations do not change the fact that those 9 cars are US-spec.
I know this site you are using is fairly new, and it seems to be well done. I haven't seen any complaints about its accuracy to date. However I have seen (and experienced) significant issues with nearly all of the "prior" VIN translation web sites.
I did run all of the VINs you provided against the data I have (and with the links you provided to the web site), and it does check out -- i.e. what the web site provides/translates does jive with the database that I have.
There is no guarantee that these 9 cars you list were actually brought into the US (confirming the point you and gsxr made). It looks to me that the first seven of the nine far pre-dated any "officially" imported US models, and were very very early in the model/production run.
Like I said, CarFax is actually pretty accurate way to see if a car was ever imported in the US and Canada. None of those VINs have any history in those countries, so it is safe to say they were either destroyed or still somewhere at Mercedes headquarters.
The first chassis number you provided (328898) was actually the eighth 500E ever produced; the second chassis number was the 45th car in production -- there is no way these early cars would have been brought into the US. The second car (and several others, as GSXR states) does have a US-style VIN, which the first car does not have.
There is no guarantee, also, that just because a car has a US VIN style number, that it was automatically imported into the US. None of us in ~15 years of tracking these cars, has (to my knowledge; I'll have to check my detailed database at home when I get back on the 27th) seen these first 7 early cars appear in the US for sale or being owned by anyone. This leads me to think they were never imported to the US. The last two VINs are late enough that I could have them in my detailed records; I'll have to check.
What I'm saying is that these are pre-production models. Pre-production cars do end up in private hands, I don't have a specific MB example right now, but I got tons of BMW examples. Not only pre-production cars, which are finalized versions, but actual test mules end up in private hands.
Lastly, the 1,505 official MBUSA import number (which we've updated to 1,528 including European Delivery models that would definitely have been shipped to the USA under the tenets of that program) is a definitive number of models that hit US ports and were unloaded off of ships.
I wouldn't put too much faith in the MBUSA numbers. Usually these numbers do not count press cars, show cars and pre-production cars. Again, I'm not an expert at MB production data, but I consider myself an expert at BMW production data and I've been researching it for years. Maybe I'm wrong by applying BMW experience to Mercedes, but they can't be that far off.
The nine additional cars is just speculation that they came to the USA. There is no definitive proof. Thus, in my opinion, we cannot count them as officially being brought to these shores. I believe these were US-spec test cars used in Europe and other locations around the world (perhaps including the USA) for desert + cold climate testing, etc., but not sold and used as civilian production cars on US roadways.
Like I said in my first post, those car most likely have never been imported to the US. However, it is possible that these cars still exist. When talking about production number, you should not dismiss pre-production cars.
The primary point of my previous post was that the reliability and accuracy track record of the previous Russian VIN translation sites has been mixed/spotty, at best. Maybe this new site is good, I don't know. I haven't seen anything that says it's not. But I just prefer the data I was provided by our member, because I've met him in person, and he and his brother explained to me in detail about how they actually got the information.
Cheers,
Gerry
Again, you are focusing on the option translation too much. Compare those Russian sites to the data you got, option code to option code, production date to production date. You'll see that they are identical.
I've never met the guy who provided you with the information, but I bet I can also explain in detail how they got it. I'd rather not post all of this in public, but if you want I can show you much more in a PM or over the Skype if you want.
But I hope you can agree that those are examples not only of pre-production cars, but of models that never went for sale in the US.
