Ah, the 50's - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

rickg · #1 04-30-2003, 12:18 AM

Been looking thru my 50's magazines. Found a few cool things, but having a hard time getting a decent scan that I can reduce enough to post here, and have it still readable. i'll keep working on it.
Here's a full page ad from a 1956 Sports Car Pictorial magazine

rickg · #2 04-30-2003, 12:20 AM

I'm working on setting up an album at www.photoisland.com

1967250s · #3 04-30-2003, 01:55 AM

I don't know what you are doing wrong but it may have to do with the scanning resolution, the pic you have posted is way to hevy for its size.
Your best bet is to scan at 72dpi at 100% in grayscale for B/W pics.
I guess you are using Photoshop!?
You can then reduce it to about 400ppi in width and save for web and reduce it under 60K. or save as a copy and choose 6 in the quality menu, the size will appear at the bottum of the popup window.

good luck

rickg · #4 04-30-2003, 10:25 AM

I have some other program, but have had very good results before. I'm just not holding my tongue right. I'll get it.
I've got tone of reviews that are fun to read. (Not too many Caddies tho') Such odd balls as Renault Dauphine & Borgwards. Lots of the usual Fords, Chevys and such. Amazing how few could do 0-60 in under 10 seconds. For some reason I always thought of those big hulking cars as "fast".

rickg · #5 04-30-2003, 11:37 PM

I think I'm getting it here. Try this

rickg · #6 04-30-2003, 11:45 PM

That's better. Having a heck of a time getting a good scan of these old magazines. The paper has yellowed, and wasn't of a real good quality in the first place. By the time I resize to fit here, you can't read the text.
I'm getting stuff posted at Photoisland so I can leave the scans larger. Try this:

click the address below and enter your guest password: benz

http://www.photoisland.com/servlet/GuestLogin?USERNAME=rickg

If that doesn't work, go to www.photoisland.com, and log in to my albums with
the following information:

Log-in ID: rickg
Guest Password: benz

Right now I have the report on the car in the above ad. Click on the "cars" folder, click on a thumbnail, then click the "View origional size" button over to the left so you can read it. If this works ok, I'll add new stuff now and then and post it here.
Oh yeh, the pages are kinda mixed up in the thumbnail view right now. Need to figure out how to arrange them.

Ken300D · #7 05-01-2003, 06:57 AM

Wonder if we have had any inflation?

It's all the result of the US Gov't creating money.

Pop Quiz Test Question: Who benefits when US currency is created out of thin air?

Hint: Who gets to spend it first?

Ken300D

blackmercedes · #8 05-01-2003, 10:05 AM

Inflation is a complex issue resulting from economic growth. If you long for the "prices" of the fifties, then you'll need a time machine. The more important issue is the cost of things relative to wages. In 1956 a typical family would not have earned $30-40,000.

Inflation is regarded as BAD by people that don't earn money, typically wealthy people with significant fixed income assets. The value of those assets is eroded by inflation. Government policy to stimulate economic growth has also meant low interest rates, another bad thing for fixed-income asset holders.

Inflation can be a bad thing when it rises high enough to cause instability thanks to severe shifts in the price:wage relationship.

Low to moderate (2-5%) inflation is a natural outcome of our powerful economic engine.

Governments do sometimes "create" money by manipulating the money supply. This is fiscal policy designed to enhance stability, not "put one over" on anyone.

To see where MB has gone in terms of THEIR pricing, that $4000 SL in 1956 should be priced at $26,481 today accounting only for inflation.

vrsmith · #9 05-01-2003, 10:40 AM

MB is doing fairly well, but they don't have any customers
asking for $26,481 sl cars.

Customer: I would like a new sl with no computers, no airbags,
no fuel injection, no abs, no auto-leveling, no roll-over protection,
no stereo, no space-age materials and no performance.

MB: Sorry, we ran out of $1 per hour employees.

blackmercedes · #10 05-01-2003, 04:26 PM

That's right. The thing to look at is what "regular" cars cost in 1956. I don't know what a Chevy 210 sedan ran in 1956, but it wasn't $4000.

Look what that $26K buys today. A Honda Accord or Toyota Camry is light-years ahead of that old SL.

In terms of purchasing parity, the new SL is very expensive when compared to it's 1956 cousin. A family earning $45,000 today would have earned about $6,800 in 1956. That puts an SL at about 2/3 of a family's income. Today, you need a higher relative income to buy an SL.

Why?

Well, in 1956 the SL Mercedes was not regarded as the pinnacle of automotive status symbols. MB is cashing on on the status factor in 2003, without a doubt. There are enormous technical differences as pointed out. The 1956 SL was technically ahead of many cars, but the gap was pretty small considering the huge gap the SL has today over a "regular" car.

Mercedes was a premier automaker in Europe, but considered a little quirky "over here." These were not mainstram purchases, and they needed to get a better foothold. That might account for the relatively low price as well.

This has happened with many German products (1956 was not too long post WWII) in the last few decades. Remember when a Porsche 911 was "expensive" but within reach of many people? Most people weren't interested in a funny little German car with an air-cooled engine and a funny front end. That changed! The 911 is REALLY expensive today, and carries enormous recognition and prestige. Those things, combined with the leaps in technology, have caused the 911, the SL, and so on to become more expensive in terms of income levels.

Now Mercedes offers products close to that $26K USD price. Just not the SL. Can you imagine what would happen to MB if they offered the R230 SL500 for $26,000? They would sell so fast that dealers would add HUGE mark-ups. MB would lose big time on each one. Eventually either MB would go broke or be forced to raise the price substantially to ensure that they made a profit on each car. (They would raise the price to a level where marginal profit equaled marginal cost)

There are makers that currently are in the same type of position that Mb was post WWII. They are hoping to make a dent in the US market, and their products are priced low in their segment. Unfortunately for us, none of these cars even remotely has the appeal of ANY SL.

It's not a great time to be a budget enthusiast, as the quirky interesting cars have pretty much been forced out of the market. But, the age-of-automotive-reliability (pretty much post 1988) has brought us many other interesting cars.

rickg · #11 05-03-2003, 01:05 AM

here's a gem from Feb 1957 Science and Mechanics "Patent Parade". Yes, this is an actual patented idea!

rickg · #12 05-03-2003, 01:08 AM

BTW, anybody ever used this web site:
http://www.uspto.gov/
You can look up patents here. All ya need is the patent number, and it'll show you the origional submission form for the gizmo.

rickg · #13 05-03-2003, 03:32 AM

The 1958 Dauphine