I thought some of you would appreciate this video of the E-class in all its glory, there's a bunch of historical references as well.

Mercedes-Benz W123 To W212 Trailer - YouTube, turn it up

On a side note, I just got back from the beautiful Hawaiian islands. On Maui near the resorts in Ka'anapali I saw a female driven beige w123, I couldn't make out the driver side badge (the right-side badge only read "diesel"), then we went to Oahu and I spotted a navy blue 240D in a subidvision where we parked to hike a trail. It really made me want to put my 123 on an island and cruise.

What??? The W210 can't go off road like the W123?

If you look quickly, you'll find it actually starts with some interior shots of a 110, followed by some 114/115's driving before it gets to the 123.

For some reason I've never been impressed with the 124. Maybe the ones I've driven have been mistreated and I just haven't been in a good one. I've only driven one 210, and was pleasantly surprised. I moved a 211 around a parking lot once. It was an E55 AMG, so at least it sounded good. I haven't tried a 212.

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Whoever said there's nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes never had a cheap Jaguar.

83 300D Turbo with manual conversion, early W126 vented front rotors and H4 headlights 400,xxx miles
08 Suzuki GSX-R600 M4 Slip-on 22,xxx miles
88 Jaguar XJS V12 94,xxx miles. Work in progress.

You gotta admit that 124 convertible cresting the hill at dusk with its city lights on looks pretty damn sexy, and a lot like a Rolls Royce.

Its funny how that last clip of the red 123 is showcasing it's incredible understeer in that turn. I just executed a U-turn yesterday and pushed my fronts well into the other lane, but I was on the peddle too.

Drive a nice one and you will not want a W123 again.

The W124 is light years ahead of the W123, which was really a warmed over W114.

A W211 is the same quantum leap over the W124/W210 chassis.

I loved my old ones, still have the W114, but after 20+ years of W124 ownership I cannot imagine why I would want to go back to a W123.

I'm just as comfortable working on my W124s as I am on the older cars, and the mileage, safety and handling dynamics of the W124 chassis all surpass the older cars. Looks are subjective, I personally prefer the style of the late W124, and if I want vintage, I've got the W114 coupe which I consider to be much better looking than it's successor.

I'll likely upgrade in the next year or two to the W211 chassis, they are even nicer than the W124 series, depends on finances and if my 95 E300 develops some problem that warrants replacement. So far, that looks pretty unlikely, she runs like a freight train, and I'm happy to be loading the miles on it for now.

Jim

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14 E250 BlueTEC black. 45k miles
95 E320 Cabriolet Emerald green 66k miles
94 E320 Cabriolet Emerald green 152k miles
85 300TD 4 spd man, euro bumpers and lights, 15" Pentas dark blue 274k miles

^^Agreed^^

After a week of driving Articathlon's 46k E300d, I'm happier than a pig in s^&*.

I can't wait to get the '85 wagon ready for sale.

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'85 300TD "Puff The Magic Wagon" - Rolling Resto
'19 Mazda CX-9 Signature - Wife's sled
'21 Morgan 3-Wheeler P101 Edition
'95 E300d - SOLD
'84 300TD "Brown Betty" - Miss this one
'81 240D "China Baby" - Farm grocery getter

To me a later (94/95) W124 has a driving feel much closer to a modern car than it does to the W123. I had a 95 E320 and miss it some days.

Still, my W123 is my daily driver and its way-back driving feel and interior environment is something very special.

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2012 B Class

1981 300D - Now with greazzer

Compared to my previous cars, a W123 feels plenty modern. When I drove that 210, I thought it felt a lot like my 123, which is why I liked it. Out of all the cars I've driven, I liked air cooled (classic, 964, and 993) Porsche 911's the best.

Junk I drove before I got into Mercedes:

'73 Chrysler Newport: Smooth ride. Lousy brakes. Worse handling. Intensely bad at the limit.
'72 Mercury Montego: Pretty smooth ride. Better brakes than the Chrysler. Surprisingly decent handling.
'76 Buick Century: All pretty decent on ride quality, braking, and handling, at least compared to what I was used to at the time.
'63 Dodge Dart with a '79 360 V8 swapped in. Decent ride. Better handling that one would expect for a 1963 model. Brakes so bad they bordered on scary.
'86 Lincoln Town Car: After upgrading to good shocks and tires, handled about as well as a stock W123. Brakes not as good, but still far from bad. Ride quality with 4 KYB shocks was less good than a 123 with Bilsteins. Later I swapped the fronts for cop shocks and it rode pretty smooth but still had decent handling.
'88 Suzuki Samurai, lifted: Immensely capable offroader. Went places a Hummvee couldn't go. On road, it was a truck with a lift. Need I say more?

__________________
Whoever said there's nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes never had a cheap Jaguar.

83 300D Turbo with manual conversion, early W126 vented front rotors and H4 headlights 400,xxx miles
08 Suzuki GSX-R600 M4 Slip-on 22,xxx miles
88 Jaguar XJS V12 94,xxx miles. Work in progress.

The Miami Vice theme is a nice touch for that video.