"The rattletrap engine turned over on the first try. The other car had always needed coaxing. The hand-brake release worked smoothly, the gear shift didn't stick much, and the clatter-creak of the aged frame and body wasn't loud enough to interfere with conversation, supposing that he'd have anyone to talk to other than himself. Hell, it was like driving a Mercedes Benz."

Dean Koontz

ONE DOOR AWAY FROM HEAVEN (2001)

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Current Benzes

1989 300TE "Alice"
1990 300CE "Sam Spade"
1991 300CE "Beowulf" RIP (06.1991 - 10.10.2007)
1998 E320 "Orson"
2002 C320 Wagon "Molly Fox"

Res non semper sunt quae esse videntur

My Gallery

Not in this weather!

Nice prose.

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190E's:
2.5-16v 1990 90,000m Astral Silver
2.0E 8v 1986 107,000m Black 2nd owner
http://www.maylane.demon.co.uk/190esmall.jpghttp://www.maylane.demon.co.uk/190esmall2.jpg

That is good but it does not sound like Dean rides in very many old MB's. I can't say I have ever heard a Benz have any clatter-creak in the frame - even old ones. He probably rides in a new E500. How was the rest of the book?

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Jim

..a pick-up type of a guy. Or at least he'd drive something where he can carried he beloved Golden Retriever. Or maybe he drives Stephen King's favorite kind of vehicle--an old van.

Jim, I guess the quote needs some explanation. In an earlier chapter, the narrator's car, an old Chevy, had been vandalized by a bunch of thugs.

In the quote the narrator is comparing his new ride (another rustbucket) to his previous car. The narrator's point is that his new car, as bad as it is, is much better than his previous one--hence the comment that it is like riding in a Mercedes.

It was just interesting that Koontz would refer to a Benz, instead of referring to a BMW or a Cadillac or a Continental.

I am not done with the book. His books start slow, but then gain speed as they hurl towards a conclusion.

__________________
Current Benzes

1989 300TE "Alice"
1990 300CE "Sam Spade"
1991 300CE "Beowulf" RIP (06.1991 - 10.10.2007)
1998 E320 "Orson"
2002 C320 Wagon "Molly Fox"

Res non semper sunt quae esse videntur

My Gallery

Not in this weather!

Kinda like a 220D on that flat stretch on top of a tall bridge, just before starting the ascent.

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It is a truism that almost any sect, cult, or religion will legislate its creed into law if it acquires the political power to do so. Robert A. Heinlein


09 Jetta TDI
1985 300D