My wife and I just got back from Europe. We went to Paris, Prague, and then spent five days in Germany with a car. Didn't get a diesel....instead got a brand new C180 with a six-speed manual which was a lot of fun. Only $200 or so with unlimited mileage. Great deal.

A few Mercedes related observations:

1. I was surprised how few older Benzes I saw. We were in Munich, Dachau, Rothenburg, Stuttgart, Fussen, Tubingen, and Konstanz and on the roads in between. Lots and lots of MBs....just not many classics. Surprised me somehow.

2. The Autobahn is a blast. Usually cruised at around 150 kph, but occasionally was able to build up more speed and briefly touched 201. Kept getting passed by Audis! Back to pokey American driving...sigh.

3. Returned to the mother ship: the Mercedes museum in Stuttgart! Very impressive and well done. If you ever get the chance, I highly recommend it. Even my wife, who cares nothing about cars, loved it. (Unfortunately, we were not able to snag tickets for the factory tour.) It's exceedingly well executed and does a great job of integrating the MB story into the broader cultural and historical context.

We had some frustrating moments....like thinking "frei" meant "free" instead of "available" at the Mercedes parking garage (lots of very patient Germans lined up behind us as the gate would not open) and navigating narrow medieval streets as the GPS led us in a loop of futility....but it was a great trip and we especially enjoyed driving around Germany.

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14 E250 Bluetec 4Matic "Sinclair", Palladium Silver on Black, 161k miles
06 E320 CDI "Rutherford", Black on Tan, 180k mi, Stage 1 tune, tuned TCU
91 300D "Otis", Smoke Silver on Tan, 147k mi, wastegate conversion, ALDA delete

19 Honda CR-V EX 81k mi
Fourteen other MB's owned and sold
1961 Very Tolerant Wife