For nearly half a century, ordinary Albanians could not own a car. Under the communist regime of Enver Hoxha, private car ownership was illegal. The few vehicles on the road belonged to the state, and the country’s most powerful officials rode in Mercedes sedans.

The ban ended in the early 1990s, after communism collapsed. Almost overnight, a country with few paved roads, few traffic lights, and no system for issuing driver’s licenses filled up with cars.

Many of them were Mercedes. Used models poured in from Germany and the rest of Western Europe. Their sturdy suspensions handled Albania’s rough, potholed roads, and their diesel engines were known to run for decades. Mechanics learned to fix them, parts became easy to find, and each new Mercedes made the next one a more sensible purchase.

Not every car arrived honestly. In the 1990s, some Western European owners arranged for their cars to be “stolen,” complete with keys and paperwork. The cars were driven to Albania and registered with no questions asked, while the owners collected insurance payouts back home.

The star on the hood carried meaning, too. Once a symbol of the ruling elite, it became a symbol of the new Albania.

No one has an exact count. Estimates suggest that one in every two or three cars in Albania is a Mercedes, one of the highest shares in the world.