I was going through some back issues of The Star Magazine, and in the Nov / Dec 1997 issue there is a great article on the 108 / 109 / 111 chassis written by Rich Taylor, Vintage Editor:

"I like Mercedes Benz W108 / 109 / 111s. I like them a lot. I know they're big, gas-guzzling boxes, but they're also the last of the quality "wooden" Mercedes as opposed to today's "plastic" Mercedes. I find them incredibly solid, rewardingly over-built, and remarkably modern for a model line that ended 25 years ago. And in today's market, at least, shamefully undervalued.

Rich Taylor then goes into an interesting discussion about the five 108/109/111s he owned once at one time, one of which was a W111 300 SE 6.3 Coupe.

The article ends with the following paragraph:

"The 280 SE 4.5 is one of my favorite Mercedes, not the least because for years whenever I was around the factory designers or engineers on press trips to Stuttgart, I would always ask "What's the best car Daimler-Benz ever built." Virtually unanimously the Mercedes factory people would say,
"Steel suspension W108 sedan with 4.5 liter V8. This is the best Mercedes ever."

I knew it! My favorite Mercedes ever is also the 108 /109 chassis, and the factory people at Mercedes believed it was the best Mercedes ever.

This is music to my ears!

__________________
Paul S.

2001 E430, Bourdeaux Red, Oyster interior.
79,200 miles.

1973 280SE 4.5, 170,000 miles. 568 Signal Red, Black MB Tex. "The Red Baron".

I took my 4.5 out for a ride yesterday, and I was thinking the same thing!

__________________
Tim
300CE
280SE 4.5
Sandals (size 11)