I had a 1972 model 200 gas engine 4 speed standard, big sunroof, 4 wheel disc brakes, Bilstein gas shocks, white with red interior - European headlights, so far advanced over NA cars. Was a great running and handling car. Was not a 1/4 mile drag race performer but could run all day and all night flawlessly at highway speeds over any kind of roads!!
At the time you knew why you had to pay more for a Mercedes (superb design, superb manufacturing, superb performance), and the other drivers on the road knew it too.
They weren’t actually superb. They had poor anti corrosion protection, diesels were very hard to start in the winter and were very outdated but they were quite reliable. That is the reason Mercedes was gone nearly bankrupt in the 80’s, they were considered a grandpa car. Then with W129 the company switched to making their models stuffed with new and untested technology that reliability went downhill a lot and poor rustproofing stayed making them a complete disaster. Nowadays they just sell Hyundai lookalikes with Renault engines and demand more money for the same shit every other manufacturer markets.
My parents used to have a white 200 from 1968 when I was a little kid. It had a blue interior and red leather patches with a white Mercedes star between the headlights and the grille. I don't remember it but I have seen pictures. There is also pictures of this car towing my uncle's black hot rodded 1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1 after one of it's frequent breakdowns. The car used to belong to my grandad who bought it some time around the mid 1970s. And my mom started driving it in 1982 when he bought a W123. The 200 had no steering servo, hardly any accessories, and it was quite slow. But it was solid as a mountain.
It's always the4 same problem: there is no 'bespoke' place for the licence plate in the front design. At 0:40 you see the places attached to close to the low and of the radiator grille, wheras it would be better to have a frame attached to the front bumper to place them a bit lower to avoid a haphazard 'squeezed in' impression. Lots of music and not much technical information, not even showing the engines, the interiors, especially the leg room in the front and in the back. My first Mercedes was a 220 (W105) Mercedes year 1959 because my father had a 219 and I wanted to 'top him'. Then I had this W115 and now a W201.
Bei so etwas denke ich immer an schlecker, jürgen ponto, hanns martin schleyer, pol pot, idi amin, mogadishu, das ding, rauchen war überall erlaubt ausser beim tanken, bleihaltiges Benzin und freilich papa doc, baby doc und somoza. warum nich beatles, elvis oder das knallrote gummiboot als begleitmusik aus der zeit?
