All Entries Tagged With: "MERCEDES-BENZ"
Dictator’s Choice: 1985 Euro Spec Mercedes-Benz 500SE
by Gunnar Heinrich ::: 1985 W126 Mercedes-Benz 500SE
WHAT better ride (aside from the W100 gen. 600 Pullman, of course) to ruthlessly rule the highway like some third world despot? The above grey market 1985 W126 generation 500SE is advertized as an S-Class that both time and the original owner forgot (to drive). Just 43K on the clock. Mixed emotions on the Euro lights / bumpers but check those period sporting rims – OEM? Resident W126 experts please confirm…
Thanks, Jim!
[BaT]
Teutonic Beauty: 1984 Benz 300CD
by Gunnar Heinrich ::: img via eBay ::: 1984 Mercedes-Benz 300CD
JET black on Palomino, crossed with Zebrano wood trim. Sigh. For fans of the stalwart W(C)123 generation, it just doesn’t get any better. Kahl-EE-FORN-EE-AH is probably the home of the finest preserved specimens of the W123 diesels in the whole world and a quick glance at eBay confirms this time and again. This ’84 300CD from the Golden State is a beautifully preserved specimen – and while they did swap out the Becker unit for a new-fangled radio, the seller had the sage to keep the old tuner for posterity and originality. It’s small wonder that these models - often presented with comprehensive service records – are so frequently priced north of $14K. In nominal terms, that’s 60% of the original price! Besides what price for the simple solidity of a classic Benz diesel coupe?
[eBay]
MB: The Sanctity of Having Fun Behind The Wheel
The one who hits no bugs wins.
Niche Served: Mercedes Young Classics
by Gunnar Heinrich ::: img Daimler AG ::: Mercedes-Benz Young Classics
FIVE SIXTY SEL from 1989. One 1968 280SL. Another 560, this time an SE from 1990. Mercedes-Benz’s “Young Classics” seems to answer a question, scratch an itch if you’d like, that no other car maker has even come close to trying. Sure, we know about the Classic Centers in Irvine and Fellbach are where you can have your 1982 300td wagon restored at $200 an hour while picking up a perfect 1933 290 Cabriolet B for $125,000.
But a line of vehicle sales (based apparently from the Mercedes museum in Stuttgart) that caters specifically to the hits from 70s, 80s, and 90s – is a marvelous meeting of the niches if ever there was. Even if it likely comes at marked-up prices.
That-70s-gold 1973 280SE, in particular, is worth a look.
Light As Air: Mercedes-Benz 280SL
by Gunnar Heinrich ::: img via eBay ::: 1968 Mercedes 280SL
WATCHING a Pagoda SL drive by is like witnessing a lithe, free-spirit from a carefree era in motoring. No real crumple zones, pedestrian crash protections, airbags, or even headrests. Absent all that modern safety engineering, the late 60s 280SL Mercedes-Benz – still from an era of stolid German engineering – has virtually no heft.
Happy 125th, Mercedes-Benz
by Gunnar Heinrich ::: img Daimler AG ::: Carl Benz w/passenger
ONE HUNDRED TWENTY FIVE YEARS AGO today (1/29/1886) Carl Benz joined forces with Gottleib Daimler to unveil their invention – patent number 37435 – the “gas engined-powered vehicle.” Mercedes-Benz marks this day as the birth of the automobile and 125 years in the car business – an industry they claim to have founded. Indeed, Mercedes’ mark on time spans the 19th, 20th, and now 21st centuries.
Early rivals that are still present today include Cadillac (est. 1902), Ford (est. 1903), and Rolls-Royce (est. 1904).
Needless to say, Stuttgart’s in a festive mood. Pop the champagne – press release after the jump.
