Since 1973, I've had only Mercedes gassers, until two years ago when I bought a cheap, rusty 1982 240D for some diesel experience, and the possibility of experimenting with alternative fuels. Now my old Mercedes gassers have been pretty much retired and I drive a pair of 240Ds and a Euro 300TD.
Despite the higher cost for diesel. I simply couldn't justify my old gassers poor fuel mileage on premium gas. And I wanted to upgrade to a newer Benz, but without the complication of computers and other electronic gadgets, so my W123s also satisfied that requirement.
But I do miss the extra power, performance, and especialy the extreme smoothness of the old straight sixes in my '72 250 and '60 Fintail, though my 5-speed TD comes pretty close to the Fintail in terms of power and performance.
I should also mention I have a FWD '98 Nissan Altima for use in ice, snow, salt, and other horrible traffic conditions.

Happy Motoring, Mark

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DrDKW