Well, you pretty well nailed the differences. When I was in college (1971), my mother had a 1971 280 SL. She kept it for 17 years, her all time favorite car. So, it was the 113 I knew. I had the opportunity to buy my 250 SL I have now 10 years ago. When the car arrived, I looked at it and scratched my head and said it seems different than I remember (20 year gap). When my mother came over I asked her if she noticed the differences. That's when I learned of the early 250s with 230 cosmetics and 280 mechanicals. There is significantly more chrome on the 230/early 250 that gives the car a very jeweled appearance inside and simplicity outside that the 280s just don't have. And, of course, the door pockets significantly are different (Euro retained the hard pocket). A lot of it was US safety driven, but I suspect cost savings was another motivator.
