Could our cars become (omigosh) retro cool?

[Nate]

I love old cars, for alot of thoose reasons...

Cheap to buy, easy to work on, and they're cool... Good ride, and they do what they ask you to, without 5 different buzzers asking you "are you sure you want to do that?"

Gas prices, as much as we *****, they're not that bad on old cars...

My friends parents bought her a $8000 toyota camery... $500 a month for the car payment (i think)... Now figure in $50-$100 for gas, and double that for insurance.

I can do a hell of alot with my truck for $700 a month... Even more with the benz (because it gets AWESOME milage)


O, and its harder to find a new car with a bench seat... The one in my trucks very comfy, and one can lie down in it

and both of them are tanks, should I crash... I'll still be around to fix it
~Nate

[Tony H]

I don't think old benz's will ever be the object of the "old car craze" They are too difficult to modify, too expensive for someone without a extensive network of parts suppliers and you can't put giant wheels on them. And they wouldn't appeal to the same crowd that is attracted to domestic cars. It would make me sick if I saw a classic benz on the road that had been 'Pimped"
Just my 2 DM (or Euros)

[engatwork]

I don't think old benz's will ever be the object of the "old car craze"

I am going to respectively disagree. I am of the opinion that the W123 300D is destined to become a "classic" to a certain type of people.

[Tony H]

You may have misinteruped my response. By "old car craze" I was refering to the practice of modifing with garish paint and giant wheels. Original cars are only going to increase in classic appeal but IMO the "pimp my ride" crowd will not be attracted to 60's and 70's era Benz's-I hope. I have seen a few 90's era Benz's pimped here in Ca but nothing older.

+1 for bench seats. Also, they are called pickup 'beds' for a reason =)

Tony,

Is the car in my first link ugly to you? Its a w115. I admit i'm partial to some of the work done on it, though not all.

cheers,
dan r.

[michaeld]

Originally Posted by Nate

I love old cars, for alot of thoose reasons...
Cheap to buy, easy to work on, and they're cool... Good ride, and they do what they ask you to, without 5 different buzzers asking you "are you sure you want to do that?"

Old cars - especially 60's and 70's cars - are truly great IMHO. I do not have the mentality to be a car "collector" or to immaculately detail a car for showing; but buying them cheap and making them roadworthy (and then some!) is an inexpensive and fun way to get from point A to point B.

Nate points out something that is important to consider: the ride of older cars.

I used to be very into motorcycling. And one of the classes of motorcyle is "the cruiser." The cruiser is characterized by high torque engines and heavy chassis. The weight improved the ride quality; you "cruised" right over road imperfections that bounced lighter bikes up and down.

It just occurred to me that the same principle must similarly apply to old (and heavy) cars. The weight improves the ride!

The cars are simpler in design, easier to work on and fix up, and safer. And they are bigger and more comfortable to boot! Some people may derive comfort and pleasure from 50 whiz-bang gadgets; me, I just want to cruise down the road.

These people who are "donking" old cars are only after a fad based entirely on a look. They will come and go. But old cars will continue to hold real appeal for those who enjoy the simple pleasures of life.

[Tony H]

Dan,
Can't see much in the picture but it looks like it was really nicely done.

[sdruger44]

That's what my father calls the cars I drive. It's that or Waterbeds With Engines. (It's only because of him that I have the 560SL)
My love affair with big cars started when I was 15 and got a 1977 Cadillac. From that moment on I knew I was destined for big sedans. By my 18th b-day I had gone through 17 Cadillacs (1940's - 1980's), 9 Packards, and at least a dozen Buicks. I rarely held onto a car for more than a month. I bought them cheap and I sold them cheap (most of the time I barely broke even) But it wasn't about the money, hell I was just having fun! When I finally got my license after my 18th ( yeah I drove without a license for a few years My dad got me the 560SL. That day I fell in love with MB. For the next 3 months I saved all my money so I could get an MB sedan, a BIG one! It ended up being a 61 Adenauer 300. The rest is history ...I'm on my 10th "classic" benz. My daily driver is a S600, soon to be replaced by the 72 280SEL 4.5. I don't think that I'll ever have a post 1980 as a daily driver again. There's just something about those big ol' bodies that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. The best part is that now my whole family drives older MB's, whereas before it was a new car off the lot every 2 years.

[Mark DiSilvestro]

Despite her rusty bumpers and peeling paint, I still get positive reactions from other people when I'm out driving 'Miss Daisy', my '60 Fintail. Fintails are definitly retro-cool!

Happy Motoring, Mark

[mercmad6.3]

Originally Posted by Tony H

You may have misinteruped my response. By "old car craze" I was refering to the practice of modifing with garish paint and giant wheels. Original cars are only going to increase in classic appeal but IMO the "pimp my ride" crowd will not be attracted to 60's and 70's era Benz's-I hope. I have seen a few 90's era Benz's pimped here in Ca but nothing older.

Tony you must have missed something,from the Finny onwards the older mercs Are HUGE with younger (under25 ) age group..I have sold a lot of W108-W109's to young guys and girls who love the styling and if they can't get those they will take W114's.The first thing is always big wheels and lower stance.
But this is what i think of as Retro...AMG replica with AMG 65 6.3



Heres a W114 with the 21st century look...

...and this a rendering of a W111 being modified by a design student in LA on a RHD manual 220 coupe.

[Jim B.]

WOW, that red one looks like the Erich Waxengberger racer, the FIRST real AMG car. That looks really cool as a replica. (I wonder what happened to the real one)

The trunk script looks reversed, like the 6.3 script and the 300SEL are on the wrong sides of the bootlid, but maybe that was how that racer was put together in the actual car.

[mercmad6.3]

The First "waxenburger " cars were 5 right hand drive cars built to race at Macao,secretly.Where Waxl cleaned up in a car so near to stock it was embarrassing.This replica doesn't represent the first AMG car,in fact the first AMG modified cars were W111's and the first commercial offerings were in 1967-68 on W108's.This is a replica of the SPA winning car,there several others being raced at Hockenheim etc in that year by both Waxenburger( without factory support...officially) and AMG.(AMG went broke and only modified road cars for years after this,when they got involved in a 6.3 powered McLaren M6B.....so powerful the Dyno couldn't measure the rear wheel horsepower.)
The original of this car was sold to MATRA in France who extended the wheelbase and used it to run along airport runways,Jet fighters would land on it's roof,TRUE!!,so they could check landing gear operation.Naturally the car no longer exists but i'm betting the running gear is somewhere in France.
The engine was modified using specially cast blocks which were 6.8 liter and fabricated injection manifolds with twin throttle bodies...if you've ever seen a 6.3 up close you will understand the significance of that. .The car still had air suspension and a manual trans although others were raced with the Auto.

[Rashakor]

Originally Posted by engatwork

I am going to respectively disagree. I am of the opinion that the W123 300D is destined to become a "classic" to a certain type of people.

Particularly if tiddibitz and the california custom team pimp one of those in their show...

[michaeld]

Interesting discussion.

I have heard that BMWs are more the car of choice for yuppies and gen xers, and MBz appeals more to older folk.

Now, while that may be true, I can tell you that I am a Gen Xer, and I much prefer my spacious, luxurious Benz to the boxy little Beemers.

One question that comes to mind is this: to what extent is there an aftermarket for modifying Benzes? There is ALL kinds of stuff one can do w/ American cars. Is there a similar industry for MBz? As I think about it, I can't recall ever seeing a modified Benz out on the road in my entire life.

As a P.S., I DID recently read an interesting post on w116.org about modifications that would allow a 6.9 to put out pretty decent 1/4 mile times.

[Rashakor]

Originally Posted by michaeld

Interesting discussion.

I have heard that BMWs are more the car of choice for yuppies and gen xers, and MBz appeals more to older folk.

Now, while that may be true, I can tell you that I am a Gen Xer, and I much prefer my spacious, luxurious Benz to the boxy little Beemers.

One question that comes to mind is this: to what extent is there an aftermarket for modifying Benzes? There is ALL kinds of stuff one can do w/ American cars. Is there a similar industry for MBz? As I think about it, I can't recall ever seeing a modified Benz out on the road in my entire life.

As a P.S., I DID recently read an interesting post on w116.org about modifications that would allow a 6.9 to put out pretty decent 1/4 mile times.

There is an embrionic aftermarket industry for MB. particularly in germany. But most of the products available are upgrades that were available from the manufacturer at the time when these cars were new. Most of them exist to make the car more elegant, posher. Performance products offers a few of them mostly for the W107 and later cars. Another thing against the "pimping" phenomenon on Mercedes and Bimmer, is that they represent the real rich people car. Understated and simple elegance, regal and discreet. The philosophy behind these brands is antithesis of mindless bling (Cadillac, Lincoln...). Don't get me wrong, I like bling; MB and BM's wear bling well, i think it is just the mojo of the brand. Caddies wear bling better.
Let's try to challenge "pimp my ride" to do an elegant job on a MB!!!