70s? Mercedes trashed in a parking garage
 

This may have been posted here before (someone had a car chase posted elsewhere and this was a related video)... this is just not right... :( (approximately what year Mercedes is this? Early 70s?)

Poor car... (hopefully it wasnt as good as it looked when the clip starts... maybe it was rusty to begin with (hidden rust or something) lol.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7b-Mg27nyQ0

One of my all-time favorite MB colors; I'd love to find that color in a w123.

I remember seeing a segment of that clip in a video and then going out to find the full length clip. Is the movie itself any good? (Might be worth it to watch the entire thing)

It was very good movie for the time. If you think 1970's ish and watch the movie from this prospective you will love it. I know I did :D

It looks to be a late 60's car based on the smaller front turn signals

280SE Guy

shame that was a nice looking car. I remember that movie

"The Driver" with Ryan O'Neal. 1978 I think. Has a great chase scene involving a 1976 TransAm and a Chevy pickup.

ok, I got this one.
 

http://i353.photobucket.com/albums/r...te/i010060.jpg


The car is a US spec. original Southern California 1970 280S, the low level gasser, 140 hp with 2 downdraft carbs.



The quad headlights are US spec, the car lacks the glass "tombstone" lights that a euro spec car W108 would have.

http://i353.photobucket.com/albums/r...08untitled.jpg


First, the Calif. blue and gold early series plates, "865APA" identify it as a 1970 model because that series begain at the very beginning of 1970, when the California black and gold plates reached their end of available combinations in 1969.

http://i353.photobucket.com/albums/r.../cap002xp3.jpg

replaced by 000AAA and up in that year.

Normally also in California pasenger plates remain on the car for life. In 1970, only very rarely were they changed for resons like damaged in wrecks, disabled plates, press photographer plates, and personalized plates in CA only started in 1970 and few were sold.

It is NOt a fake "movie" California plate either, it is a real license plate.


Therefore imdb has incorrectly identified the car as a 1969 model.

http://www.imcdb.org/vehicle_10060-Mercedes-Benz-280-S-W108-1969.html

A 1969 model would be a declining alphanumeric series black and gold plates, as seen in this photo - of an original 1969 W108 sold new in California.
This one has "X" series plates. If you look carefully the original 1969 Mercedes Benz of Hollywood plate frames are still on this car.

http://i353.photobucket.com/albums/r...e/IMG_4141.jpg

Further to this, there were several Mercedes dealers in the "movieland" area in LA, even in 1970, such as Mercedes Benz Hollywood, W.I Simonson (Santa Monica), Auto Steigler (now Mercedes Benz of Encino) and Beverly Hills Mercedes Benz, so chances are VERY good it was local to this area and sold new around movieland 8 years prior to this 1978 movie.


The trunk badge reveals it to be a 280S, which was produced in 1970.

So does the single exhaust. A 280SEW wold have had twin exhausts exiting the right side and this car does not.





http://i353.photobucket.com/albums/r.../cap006gw9.jpg

I am not able to read German but the paint codes for the W108 series is here:

http://i353.photobucket.com/albums/r...references.jpg


I don't know German, but someone who does can tell the actual color code.
One of the pictures above clearly indicates a respray at some point, though.

Not a good one, though; maybe the movie producers got the car for cheap.



This should settle it.

Yeah that was a related video too... showed that chase scene as well. :) He sure can tear one up. lol.

Where the car was crashed in the front and rear, I have a feeling that damage was done by other than what was shown in the movie... it would have took a harder hit to do that much damage. When it shows him hitting the front-end against the wall, it dont dent that much initially, then it zooms in and looks like it had been ran into the wall again.

well, it is "the movies", after all. :D

makes me miss my (departed) '69 280s with column 4 speed manual.

Speaking of "other" car chases... this one is from 1973 - with a couple of BRAND NEW 1973 Pontiacs... kinda makes me cringe, as I have a 73 Grand Ville (identical to the blue getaway car in the movie... starts out as a new car... ends up as a pile of crap). :(

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vACWV5sRcY

Big Merkin cars in movie chases.
 

I have always liked thos '73 Grand Villesm they were even above the Bonnevilles that year, their mighty 455 engin crippled by smog equipment that returned only 6 mpg, which was the lowest of any American car, and at the time of an Arab oil embargo too.

Bill Hickman was a great stunt driver, he fould really horse that Ooncho around, he said it was his best work, even better than, the Bullitt Charger he drove in the famous Seeve McQueen movie, the engine sound track heard in this clip also, refrerr5ed to as the Pontiac Motor Division training movie for 1973.


To Lie and Die in LA has one of the most sensational car chases ever filmed.


They used a 1985 Mercury Grand Marquis, same color as mine but 24 years older. I thought the wall jump onto the rr tracks was sensational, as the abuse the 1980 Chevy fleet Impala was put through - the wrong way freeway chase and race against a train is unforgettable -

http://i353.photobucket.com/albums/r...91/i010303.jpg

Part I

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDK8OtjE7O4

Part II

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZ_39lxlDAg&feature=related

best euro car chases??
 

The director of Ronin loved the Mercedes Benz W116 6.9 and used a Havana Brown one in a chase.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2d4ej1RPkEI

But the OTHER chase, in the Same movie, pitted a BMW E30 against a then-new Peugeot 406, and it was sensational driving through the streets and tunnels of Paris, not far from where - I believe -where the Princess died in the W140 280SE that crashed in the tunnel - the concrete pillars there are utterly unforgiving.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVaNBrYLvFg&feature=related

I'll take it with ease, no trashing required.

Maybach Exelero