Having soul is related to TIMELESSNESS: it gets older yet it never seems dated. But that of course begs the question as to what factors contribute to timelessness. Somehow a car with soul transcends time....it's not bound by the "hereness and nowness" of where and when it was made.

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14 E250 Bluetec "Sinclair", Palladium Silver on Black, 153k miles
06 E320 CDI "Rutherford", Black on Tan, 171k mi, Stage 1 tune, tuned TCU
91 300D "Otis", Smoke Silver, 142k mi, wastegate conversion

19 Honda CR-V EX 61k mi
Fourteen other MB's owned and sold
1961 Very Tolerant Wife

"An airplane is a machine. It is
not possible for it to be alive. Nor is it
possible for it to wish or to hope or to
hate or to love. There is no secret, no
dark magic, there are no incantations
said over any airplane in order
to make it fly…yet there are a few
airplane pilots who somehow want
to believe that this machine is an animal,
that it is alive."

Richard Bach, "A Gift of Wings"

But it also applies to our cars

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[/SIGPIC]~cirrusman

1983 Mercedes Benz 300SD - Wife calls him "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang"
[SIGPIC]




1983 Toyota Tercel (Tommy, The little Toyota that could)
1965 Ford F100 (Grandma Ford)
2005 Toyota Sienna (Elsa, Wife's ride)


Gone:
1988 Toyota Pickup
2004 Subaru Outback

1987 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham
1986 Volvo 740 GL Station Wagon - Piece of junk.
1981 Volvo 242 DL 2 Door - Hated to see it go. R.I.P.
1987 Pontiac Fiero GT

Perceptions of the owner perhaps. If it is old and runs well you are happy. This alone proves a certain car can modify your emotional state. Inversly when it does not run well will further modify your emotional state. So it is almost a forced involvement. The totally unknown with a really old car may also be an emotional factor.

A totally reliable modern car requiring almost no service. If such a thing exists becomes more of just a utility. Or requiring service that will cost an arm and a leg for what it is. Being mad about the fleecing is not a productive emotion. Yet I imagine it is there. If so there seem far more negative emotions involved than positive.

That enables me to trash new cars with little if any concience. They serve my needs. Not me serving their needs. Underlying this the reality of constant depreciation subconciously may also alter feelings.

Hard to put into words. But whatever the reasons you can become attached to an inanimate object. I think the opposite sex tollerate this eccentricity well usually. The boys will be boys type of thing.

There are certainly more exciting cars out there, some I have owned such as the '65 Monza convertible. Aesthetically IMHO the prettiest car I have ever owned, especially with the top down and the boot attached. I wish I had it still..

OTOH, I've never had a W116 sedan, but they seem to exude class like few other Mercedes models. I'd have bought one it it were not saddled with the evil servo.

But what pleases me most about the W123 I have as a daily driver is:

1. 403K and it still drives like it does when I got it 8 years and 160,000 miles ago.
2. Always starts with <1 second on the keyswitch.(of course I glow it..only once).
3. No rattles in the cabin. The only car I've ever had that felt like it was carved out of a steel block.
4. Great balance of handling and ride quality. A must for my 70 mile commute (each way)
5. Rock Solid front end components. No other car I've owned can go 2-3 years without an alignment like this one can.
6. Near perfect interior ergonomics.
7. Stone-axe reliability.
8. Consistent economy in the 23-24 range. And I don't baby it.
9. Great brakes.

Yes, it's got the usual water leaks, AC not working, etc, but that's my fault, not the car's. A tribute to the designers and builders of this series car. Is it soul? Definitely, especially when I have SR129 or Hecker Pass to myself. Pure deliciousness.

__________________
Nate Stanley
(Currently Benzless)
1985 F-250 6.9l 170K
2009 SCION XB 36.5K
2003 LS430 78K
2012 Kubota B 2320

Naming it Soul to give it SOUL?

__________________
Cruise Control not working? Send me PM or email (jamesdean59@gmail.com). I might be able to help out.
Check here for compatibility, diagnostics, and availability!

(4/11/2020: Hi Everyone! I am still taking orders and replying to emails/PMs/etc, I appreciate your patience in these crazy times. Stay safe and healthy!)


82 300SD 145k
89 420SEL 210k
89 560SEL 118k
90 300SE 262k RIP 5/25/2010
90 560SEL 154k
91 300D 2.5 Turbo. 241k
93 190E 3.0 235k
93 300E 195k

Do you take drugs Danny?

__________________
1982 240 D, 308,000 - 321,127 miles (sold)
1982 300 TD,166,500 - 226,000 miles
1998 E 320, 120,000 - 144,000 miles
2005 C 230 K, 26,000 - 77,000 miles (sold)

@panZZer: the Jeep Cherokee could have been a perfect car if the other factors regarding design and material integrity applied. No such case, however; a pity taking into account how long it was in production.

@SirNick84: That Toyota looks like it's got a bunch of character! Definitely more than a brand new C300. There is something that forms during years of aging and caring. I do recall my '91 LS400, it was numb when I got it, but it acquired a ton of personality after a road trip cross-country and a Summer in California. I do not really miss the car, but I do miss what we went through together .

@barry123400: our emotional changes are VERY real! My W123 has given me a good self-esteem push and utter joy every time I think of it. It's pretty much like a loyal travel partner; you feel respected by it and you feel you ought to respect it in the same measure.

@Nate Stanley: a Monza convertible! BEAUTIFUL! Definitely there are cars with more character out there. I miss my Volvo P1800 dearly; I never had so much fun at the wheel! However, those cars are not practical, or safe. I am still trying to forget about selling the 380SLC... what a car.

@JamesDean: I think that car is trying too hard, and it is missing the point completely. Marketing is NEVER a substitute for good design.


I was just thinking about another aspect of cars like ours: the great people you get to know thanks to them. I met a couple good friends of mine in my three-year quest for a Benz, back when I was looking for a 190D.

A car can also be a fantastic community builder; you lose all of that when people get soulless cars that are little more than appliances. By sharing parts and knowledge, great friendships are built.

I really hope to meet more of you when I travel cross-country again! It seems that there are a lot of Texans in here .

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[GONE] - 1995 Mercedes E300 Diesel - 130k miles - Smoke Silver (702) over Mushroom leather (265) - Bladder blasting, coast-to-coast work machine.