Euro Stuff - cool or not?

[280EZRider]

Most of us MBZ owners love Euro bumpers, lights, license plates, etc. And we love it not just because our European cars were designed this way, but because we think (and know) it looks cool - and because it is different.

I'm just wondering if European MBZ owners have the same opinion, or do they possibly think that US DOT stuff and short, stubby license plates look cool. Is this simply a matter of the grass being greener?

[POS]

Based on what I've read over the past few years, some Euro owners very much prefer the US versions of the MBs because they're different than the Euro version they're used to.

[Matt L]

Who in their right mind would want early US DOT headlamps? Later US cars are much, much better, and much closer to what Europe has had all along.

[POS]

On the SL's, a lot of euro owners like the four-headlamp setup.

[Mark DiSilvestro]

Originally Posted by Matt L

Who in their right mind would want early US DOT headlamps? Later US cars are much, much better, and much closer to what Europe has had all along.

I have a Euro 300TD which has had US bumpers installed. When I got the car, both Euro headlamps were broken.
I replaced them with US light assemblies, simply because that's what I already had as spares for my 240D. At least I have the option of upgrading the sealed-beams to Hellas or Cibies.
I recently snagged a complete set of decent Euro-wagon bumpers from the Virginia Beach Pick-N-Pull, for future restoration of my TD to it's original appearance.
I love the look of the Euro-bumpers, but since I have to share area roads with motorists of varying driving skills, I'm keeping the US bumpers for now.

Happy Motoring, Mark

[chazola]

I feel bad for you guys who got your Mercs with bad headlights (like the 124 & 126). When I was living in PA my 300E had stock DOT headlights when I got it and I thought they were downright dangerous (and ugly). The huge comedy bumpers on the older cars are unfortunate, I guess that was the safety regs at the time?

At the same time you got some interesting cars that we (in the UK at least) didn't- like the diesel 116, 126 and 123 coupes, plus stuff like the 4.5L 280se.

[ARINUTS]

It all depends on what the car is used for. Yes the Euro look "better" , If you park in a big city , the D.O.T. bumpers have a huge advantage over the Euro, also a slight tap won't be an issue.

The D.O.T. head lights are a bit on the dim side, usually because they require some new sealed beams. New sealed beams actually do put out decent light, but the Euro does light up the road better. This day in age there are so many different lighting options. I wonder what the D.O.T. was thinking over 20 years ago, It might have been an issue with blinding other drivers, which happens more often then not. Too many people drive with high beams to compensate for inadequate low beams. Go Figure.

[Matt L]

I am willing to bet that electrical, sealed-beam headlamps were mandated to force drivers to get away from the old non-sealed beam electric lamps as well as carbide lamps that were used in a number of old models. Then better non-sealed-beams were being used in Europe, but there was too much inertia to change the old law.

[MTI]

"The grass is greener" on either side of the Atlantic.

[Mark DiSilvestro]

Originally Posted by Matt L

I am willing to bet that electrical, sealed-beam headlamps were mandated to force drivers to get away from the old non-sealed beam electric lamps as well as carbide lamps that were used in a number of old models. Then better non-sealed-beams were being used in Europe, but there was too much inertia to change the old law.

I believe the main reason for the sealed-beams was to prevent moisture from getting in and discoloring the reflectors. The Euro lights I installed on my Fintail did have some damage to the reflector surfaces, but they still seemed bright enough, and I had antique tags so it wasn't subject to annual safey inspections.
OTOH, the Euro lights on my TD were driven long enough with cracked lenses to severly darken one of the reflectrrs, which I've heard are no longer availible separately, And my local supplier only has replacemnt Bosch lenses (my TD Euros are Hellas) so I went with the US lights.

As for the US bumpers, on the W123 they're not as obtrusive as the huge US 'picnic-bench' bumpers Mercedes introduced here in the mid-70s. And they're aluminum so they don't weigh all that much. In fact, the W123 is one of the first DOT-spec Mercedes that looks good to me in either US or Euro versions.

Happy Motoring, Mark