Dearest Mercedes,

Our beginning together was almost as scandalous as the many women who share your (stage) name. There I was- a twenty year old in the Shenandoah Valley, getting over the violent breakup between me and my Bronco. It's 12 inches of lift and 35 inch tires were nothing but trouble. I wanted tried and true. Nothing to knock my socks off, but a face I could wake up to every morning. And then there you were. The Ebay listing with poor grammar stood out among the rest. But you were so far. Charlotte, North Carolina. It had to be done, I said. So I jumped on the Amtrak train, which left three hours behind schedule. I sat next to a slightly odd young man carrying a framed 8x10 framed picture of a train. He knew every Amtrak schedule by heart. We cruised the pitch black night, stopping at every dink town along the way. I would wake up occasionally, contacts glued to my eye balls and hear, 'Then the Cardinal connects with the Union West in Cleveland and then at 7 o' clock...' and drift off back to sleep. Six hours later we were there.

At 3 A.M. 'You can't stay here,' the station clerk said to me in broken English. I stepped out into the night. Why is every train station stop in Berlin post World War I? Dogs ran across piles of rubble. A man with a limp dragged a sled full of scrap metal through the street. No way. I waited until the clerk went back in his glass booth. I crouched down, slid up onto the wooden bench facing the window, and slept fitfully in my fox hole as I avoided the soldier at his post.

9 A.M. The seller is supposed to pick me up.
7 hours at station- Seller not replying to messages.
8 hours at station- kicking rocks in the plant bed
9 hours at station-have decided Charlotte is too far away to walk.
10 hours at station- I now know there are 1,452 tiles in the left section of wall on the building.

I get a call. The seller is gone, but his friends will pick me up. They do. Two 250 pound black men in a 250 pound truck. I squeeze in. They are nice. We have some errands to run first they say. First, breakfast. Then stop number one. Another guy selling a car. Apparently these two buy cars to sell for a little profit. The man is Korean who doesn't speak English. They get out. I stay in the truck. The korean man is doing all the typical hand motions of selling a car. My new friends are plotting. The Korean man opens the hood. He starts the car.

It starts on fire.

White smoke first, then black. A lot of it. It's filling the yard. My new friends are laughing and running towards the truck as quickly as their pudgy legs can. The Korean man is hand gesturing again, yelling a number $200 less then previously. We all laugh and speed away. To the next car, which goes more smoothly.

We get to their store. A junky car stereo joint. The stereos look like they have been removed very quickly from vehicles. We wait for their friend who has the title. For an hour and half. He comes, introduces himself as Jamal, signs 'Jose Rodriguez' on the title, and it is done.

And there you are. Sitting alongside all the other potentially stolen vehicles. I get inside. Everything is new and perfect to me, and 35 years old to everyone else. What an experience. Glow plugs? Owner's manual in German? Perfect.

And no stereo.

I start it up and weasel through Charlotte beginning the six hour trip through the valley. I need to sleep. I stop at gas station in Virginia, and ask the lady if I can sleep under the tree outside, which she is suspiciously excited that I do.

You and me traveled everywhere, DC, Hampton Roads, the Blue Ridge Parkway. Roanoke every other Sunday for church. We bailed hay together on farm plowed my mules in Motley, Virginia. Then we had to leave. Any possession I could not fit in you went to Goodwill. When we left Virginia we blazed through the mountains and arrived in the mountain town of Thomas, WV. Our friends The Steel Wheels were playing that night. We got there late. They were playing already when I walked in. Trent told everyone I made it, and was on my way to Chicago. They played Townes Van Zandt's 'Where I Lead Me' to commemorate our travel. I slept in the hostel with them and the band Boca Chica and their husbands. All in two small rooms. We woke up, had breakfast. Smelled what air should smell like in the morning, and off we went into the next four years of our life together.

Though you were heat-less, you never failed me. Except that once when the air conditioner unit went out and locked up the engine. And even then it was just as soon as I got into the garage. You ran on frier oil. We took countless trips to Michigan to see family, and to Wisconsin. We impressed many people in the above 50 crowd. Some would scoff at us, others would comment on how beautiful you were. To some people's disbelief we courted a few beautiful women together. You were known as The Freedom Train. The Twinkie. A $60,000 vehicle adjusted for inflation, $2,000 from car thieves, priceless to me.

Good bye dear, Mercedes. I will suggest cautiously, one day, to my wife that 'maybe we she name her 'Mercedes' hoping that she did not read this. And when she hits me, and makes me sleep on the couch, I will dream fondly of only you.

__________________
1981 300D 205,000 mi.

#like

What a great car to tour the beautiful Blue Ridge Parkway. I cut my teeth exceeding the much-too-slow 35 mph limit on the Parkway right on the Roanoke city limits. That takes me back.

Very well written...and all about how she lived, not how she died! (The Last Samuri come to mind). What were her final days like?

__________________
1987 300TDT - 195,000 (Original #14 head)
1993 190E 2.3 - 105,000
1981 300D - 250,000

A romantic love story, thanks for sharing.


charlie

__________________
there were three HP ratings on the OM616...

1) Not much power
2) Even less power
3) Not nearly enough power!! 240D w/auto

Anyone that thinks a 240D is slow drives too fast.

80 240D Naturally Exasperated, 4-Spd 388k DD 150mph spedo 3:58 Diff

We are advised to NOT judge ALL Muslims by the actions of a few lunatics, but we are encouraged to judge ALL gun owners by the actions of a few lunatics. Funny how that works

Very nice story!

Thanks!

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

Reminds me of the song, "To all the Cars I've Loved Before"...

__________________
Providing a home for these cars:
1951 Buick Special De Luxe
1977 Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith II
1970 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow
1986 Mercedes-Benz 420 SEL
2005 Mercedes-Benz E 320 CDI
2012 GMC Sierra 1500 4X4
1927 Pierce-Arrow Series 80
1931 Pierce-Arrow Series 43
1926 Ford Model T coupe

Submit to Readers Digest.

As a Forum Member I am obligated to say; where are the pictures?

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84 300D, 82 Volvo 244Gl Diesel

ROFL.... Literally...

__________________
AJ

1985 300D (SOLD)

Nice story and very well written. I may not be able to write such a story but I can recognize one when I see it.

Pray do tell what brought about this parting of ways?

__________________
Codifex
1981 240D ChinaBlue (Got her running with a donor engine.)
1983 300DTurbo w/sunroof.
1984 300TD manual sunroof. (Electrical Gremlins)

It reinforces something about these cars within me. But it begs the question, What happened?

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1985 300D-189k The 'UD', Ivory and Pinkamino
1979 300D-211k Dark Gray, Parchment
A 1980 Harley-~166k and
A 1994 Ford diesel pickup-349k and
A 1990 gasser Volvo wagon-145k

Nice Story

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http://i52.tinypic.com/23lblox.jpg
1980 Mercedes Benz 300TD
227K Miles

Thanks for sharing, and sorry you lost your car whatever the reason was. Some people just don't understand the way these cars become a part of you.

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1987 300D, arctic white/palomino--314,000 miles
1978 240D 4-speed, Euro Delivery, light ivory/bamboo--370,000 miles
2005 Jeep Liberty CRD Limited, light khaki/slate--140,000 miles
2018 Chevy Cruze diesel, 6-speed manual, satin steel metallic/kalahari--19,000 miles
1982 Peugeot 505 diesel, 4-speed manual, blue/blue, 130,000 miles
1995 S320, black/parchment--34,000 miles (Dad's car)

Too many things. Tried to stay on top of the repairs, but she was getting real tired. I'm a musician, and hope to be doing some touring this year. Needed a car with accessible parts and wasn't going to require too much work on the road. Selling it as a parts car in Chicago.

__________________
1981 300D 205,000 mi.

At 205K, it should still have some life left in it.

__________________
DJ


84 300D Turbodiesel 190K with 4 speed manual sold in 03/2012