Thank you for sharing those facts, Steve. The entire world has been wondering what kind of car you drove and when. Now we can finally all sleep at night.
5:20 Everyone pay attention: This is the perfect form and execution in which a stopwatch must be clicked to ensure the most accurate timing of the 500 ft Autobahn on-ramp test! Bending the knees is crucial!!!! LOL!
@@TomCook1993 but now they're all styled so inelegantly to look like angry jellybeans. A far cry from the understated conservative elegance of pre-2010s Benz. The interiors now look like gaudy Vegas casinos as well with the neon lighting. Mercedes are clearly trying to appeal to a different demographic these days. Nouveau riche gaudiness for those who lease every 3yrs to keep up with the Joneses.
Getting into a Mercedes used to be something special. These days, it’s just a badge. The quality and feel of the Mercedes of yesterday just isn’t there.
Every hood around Memphis is running around in some e or s class Mercedes these days...from 10-20 years ago. they all look like they've been dragged out of a junkyard with blown air suspension, damaged body panels and paper drive out tags. Same with older infinitis and lexus'.
"Remarkably well laid out for easy routing maintanance". Good luck servicing the oil filter without making a mess, and the spark plugs and wires are a full weekend project.
@@sashimimann I think it was around 95-97 when they started putting all kinds of sensors and computers in them. My grandpa had a w210, the accelerator pedal sensor went out, power door locks stopped working properly, and was stuck in limp mode. Everything else on the car worked fine. Had a strong engine and transmission. It would have been a better car without all the added sensors, computers, ect.
James Crews Right. Unlike the W124 models, the W210 models have so many technical issues. And rust issues are very bad, too. People buy Mercedes today as an image of high quality products. But that was the Mercedes of yesterday. So my advice is get 1970s or 1980s Mercedes.
Very educational. A 3.8 liter V8 with 155 HP carrying almost 3500 lbs No airbags, no tilt wheel and no legroom. 0-60 in about 10 seconds, which is about what a Toyota Prius does. $42k back then is about $100k today, about what a current SL sells for.
The 380SL was a pretty quick and solid performer in Europe. A Euro-spec 380SL had 218-horsepower and was rated at 0-100 km/h in 9 seconds. The American-spec version was strangled to death by emission laws, as were most US-spec Mercedes' of the day.
The thing about these cars is they’re very tough. Not only did they handle well but they were like a tank at the same time. Great rally cars. My mercedes has 370,000 miles on it’s original motor and is the most reliable car I’ve ever owned (better then my 1989 volvo 760). Japanese cars don’t even come close, they don’t make it over 200,000
yeah but a prius back then well the closest thing to it would go 0-60 in 16 seconds, 22 with ac on, 65 hp fartbox with a stick shift, those old luxury boats were made for one thing, comfort cruising, everything now is made with plastic and zinc, and to try to get to 0-60 as quickly as possible, the new stuff won't last nearly as long as that thing rest assured.
Great to see 99 feet stopping distances, surely a record low stopping distance for an 80s car. Well done! On gravel, from Australian and New Zealand experience, the stopping distances could go up hugely. The 380 SL additionally varied so much performance and steering wise, with a large variance due to the Bosch injection and ZF steering box set up. The same engine in low compression 155 hp Australian engine form was the US engine but on 97 octane leaded fuel trim without catalyst. It gave the much heavier 380SL and 380SEL a 16.7 second 1/4 mile time, not the lack luster 18.5 like the lighter SL. Like the 450 SL, some 3.8 liter engines were a bitter performance disapointment. The European alloy block 3.8, 4.2 and 5.0 or 5.6, they were always standout engines. All low compression 2.8 liters in this body style were also downright slow.
Ah the early 1980s... The only time you could buy a the equivalent of a $100k luxury, v8, two seater that that was slower than most modern four banger econo boxes.
Now, that's a car for a Detroit detective to drive while catching a Beverly Hills art dealer/drug dealer that killed his childhood friend. Hilarity ensued.
Only John can make "A huge non adjustable steering wheel" sound like a pricy and classy option. "You just dont get why ppl buy a Mercedes"? Really?! Im sure that guy was a real piece of work.
155 bhp is very low but that's only the case for the US-Version. In other markets, the 380 SL had about 215 bhp - which is almost as much as the 450 SL would have.
I apologize ahead of time for doing this... He did it all for the nookie!! Come on!! The nookie! Come on! So you can take that cookie And Stick it up your, yeah! Stick it up your, yeah! Stick it up your, yeah!
sputnic top speed over 138mph. Remember back in day all the corvettes and camero could only go 110-120 with three speed, four at best and poor aerodynamics. Mercdes had a great transmission and this was a great compromise. These cars were meant for cruising over 80mph!
A friend of mine bough his wife a 2018 Mercedes CLS Coupe last year; When you are driving, even in the quiet of the Dutch countryside, the engine is so quite, no it's SILENT not just quiet, I had to keep stopping myself from telling her that, "Your engine died"! Even when the hood was open I couldn't really tell if it was running or not. What an superbly well engineered automobile, no wonder they can ask so $ much for them! My new BMW wants to go and hide in shame whenever she comes to visit us in that car!
In 1983 I'd much rather go modest, in a way, with my 40k and spend it on a 82 Vette for around 16k (used in '83), a new Oldsmobile 98 Regency for around 12k, and a new Pontiac Grand Prix for around 9.5k. After all that I still have a spare 2.5k while having enough cars to take care of all the family needs. Not bad, right?
I'm sure it's a very well-built car that continually provides affirmation to its well-heeled owner, but wow! The '83 LeBaron Convertible had TONS of leg room, fully-adjustable power seats, a tilt wheel, a power top and, with its 2.2 liter turbo, was quicker. I know, I know: European quality, blah, blah, blah. American-made crap, blah, blah, blah. But really, $40K is luxury-car coin even today, yet 35 years ago this barge lacked "luxury" equipment that was even in 1983 considered "must-have."
Tbh, these Mercs had some tech in terms of safety but all those must-haves you say weren't in typical Merc fashion back then! Just think that the big steering wheel in those Mercs was for the driver to be able to steer should the power steering fail! Merc even put that wheel in the 190 2.3-16, its first sports sedan! There's an old saying here in Europe that a real Merc is always 5 years behind fashion. This old saying has been dead since the 90s, when the newer models got up-to-date tech and started getting all these fancy gadgets!
No one will comment on your 1980s LeBaron today. However, everyone will comment how much they love any of these R107 beauties today in 2021. How do I know? I own one. And I have to budget time for strangers to talk to me about my car when I take it out. Every-time.
Yes, the leg room is cramped. Because the design brief was that the soft top had to stow away completely flat and invisible so it's stowage trunk impinged on the cockpit area behind the seats. So a LeBaron would be better in that respect. Not that it matters as it was utter crap in every other way and I doubt you'll find anyone today who would care a fig for a LeBaron if you could still actually find one outside of a junkyard.
audioisgood it would do well in the field with the horses, these were successful rally cars in africa, lots of tractrion, very good ground clearance, very tough, no electrics in the computer so the car is water resistant in a way modern cars are not.
Right, Bobby drove the red SL. Sue Ellen had a couple Mercedes during the show, one was a Diesel Wagon (a 300TD maybe?) and later on had a 560SEC- which got stolen during one episode when she was drunk as shit lol.
@ 3:42 Hazards multiply when the those educated in public schools attempt to use words they do not know. How can a ride be "docile?" A horse can be "easily taught or trained" but certainly not a 380 SL. It just goes where you drive it.
Docile also means yielding to direction. I take it you have never driven a vehicle that "fought" you, whether due to poor suspension setup, or poor wheel/tire combination? And I don't care how old this comment is.
I've been in one of those, they have poor legroom. I have an '82 S-Class. They're hitting the wall now, lock sets are dying with no factory replacements for example. Same huge steering wheel and non-adjustable column, shocking. My diesel has 120hp and way more torque than that sucker... and only weighs 3475. With the wheels off that thing I could probably whip it in the canyons
+me3333 Until things start going wrong with them. As much as I love mine, part of me wants to go back in time and smack myself for not getting a Miata instead.
+me3333 Mine's an SLK 230... not extravagant in the least. I bought it mainly for the retractable hardtop. But holy crap, it's been an electrical Pandora's Box, mostly in the security system.
Dan McCarthy My fun has been with windows and hvac problems. Not to mention tires and gallons of oil. Then there's fuel but that's my fault for buying a V12 lol. But when it's right it's like nothing else.
All the major mechanical components on my car (engine, transmission, etc.) seem to be bombproof. And that vault-like "THUNK" when you shut the door is pretty much one of the greatest sounds ever. I still can barely mask my glee when putting the top down. I've had Heinz (I call it "Heinz" because it's German and red like ketchup) coming up on 4 years now and I'm still getting used to the attention I get when driving it. Like you said, when it's right it's like nothing else.
