Mercedes-Benz USA (MBUSA) has reported its all-time best October on record with sales of 18,381 vehicles, up 3.5 percent from the October 1999 sales record of 17,768. Year-to-date sales also hit an all-time record, increasing 10 percent to 169,133, versus 153,772 sales during the comparable period in 1999. Sales of the all new C-Class -- the C240 and C320 which went on sale just over a month ago -- soared 47.3 percent versus October 1999 from 2,337 to 3,443 units. Year-to-date sales for the C-Class are 9.1 percent ahead of last year (27,672 versus 25,358). With the launch of the new model-year 2001 M-Class, October M-Class retail sales were 6,046 units, representing a 43.5 percent sales increase over last October's sales record. This is not only the all-time best month ever for the M-Class -- surpassing the previous sales record by 24 percent -- but is also the all-time monthly sales record for any single Mercedes-Benz vehicle class. In addition, M-Class year-to-date sales have increased 18.7 percent compared to 1999 (43,062 versus 36,285). The CLK family of coupes and cabriolet has increased 20.6 percent on a year-to-date basis (14,617 versus 12,118). The S-Class year-to-date sales are also higher than last year by 9.5 percent (24,540 versus 22,420). Year-to-date sales for E-Class continue above 1999's record pace (41,620 versus 41,582). Continuing several months of sales records, October SLK sales of 909 units represent a 13.3 percent increase over October 1999 sales (802 units). Year-to-date SLK sales are 21.9 percent ahead of 1999 (11,344 versus 9,305). The all-new CL-Class continues its strong momentum, recording 177 sales in its eleventh month on the market. The following models recorded their all-time best sales month ever in October: C240, C320, CL600, CLK55 AMG and ML320. Separately, through its Starmark certified pre-owned vehicle program, MBUSA recorded sales of 2,424 for the month, an increase of 8.9 percent compared to October 1999 sales of 2,226 vehicles. On a year-to-date basis, Starmark sales increased 28.4 percent to a total of 25,101 versus 19,556 in October 1999.