A few months ago, I got a thumbs up from a man driving a 1985 300D that was the same exterior color as mine. When we got to a red light, we put our windows down, his comment, "you've got good taste".
The other day, I went to my friend's house to observe his car detailing techniques, he was looking at my car and could not believe that it had 357K miles because it was in such good condition inside and out. He's already a Benz enthusiast, his mom drives a SLK230, he wants to attend a Benz meet, he'll try to come to the next one.