Seeing many hybrids and EVs in a parking this afternoon I also saw, to my relief, one of my old friends.
Voitures Anciennes
-
RobertArthur
- Posts: 2761
- Joined: Sat Jul 17, 2021 3:10 pm
- Location: Nièvre
Voitures Anciennes
The Mercedes W123 generation gained the reputation of being well built and reliable. Nothing wrong with reaching 500.000 kilometres or more. The only electronics: a radio. The rest: simple switches, relays, copper wiring, fusebox. No turbo, one Stromberg carburettor in the 200 petrol type. Low cost lights, easy to replace. Genuine bumpers. Very luxurious for me at the time: you could operate both side mirrors from the inside with a lever, without opening your side window, not possible in the 115 series ( picture 6). Incidentally, equipped with only one side mirror, front driver side. No electric motors in the 123 series mirrors, simple mechanics, maintenance free, but already a major step into the future, a must-have. There were proud owners of 115s who upgraded their cars with new front doors and these modern side mirrors, dedicated followers of fashion, keeping up with the Joneses. Mercedes Residence, lady of the house speaking... Road safety: no potentially dangerous recessed door handles, dependent on electricity and a functioning black box, a computer system, better known as the Electronic Control Unit (ECU).
Seeing many hybrids and EVs in a parking this afternoon I also saw, to my relief, one of my old friends.
Seeing many hybrids and EVs in a parking this afternoon I also saw, to my relief, one of my old friends.
-
Hotrodder
- Posts: 3323
- Joined: Mon Jul 12, 2021 8:31 pm
- Location: Brittany 22
Voitures Anciennes
That is probably the one that is held in high esteem by almost every taxi driver in north Africa. Simplicity brings reliability and both of those factors keep running costs down for those who make a living behind the wheel. Like almost every other car maker they took on more and more complexity that needed more and more connectors, controllers, and miles of wires to operate. It would have been OK if the quality of these components was much higher instead of being built down to a price and then been better protected from moisture and corrosion that shortens its life.
On my headstone it will say: Please switch off mobile phones. I'm trying to get some sleep.
-
RobertArthur
- Posts: 2761
- Joined: Sat Jul 17, 2021 3:10 pm
- Location: Nièvre
Voitures Anciennes
@ Hotrodder, in one of the issues of the German magazine "Auto- und Motorsport" in the seventies there was an interview with the Mercedes CEO, a few years before his retirement. Headlines: "Nach 50.000 Kilometer soll ein Mercedes noch neuwertig dastehen." (After 50,000 kilometres, a Mercedes should still look as good as new).
A few years later new much younger managers made their entry in the top floor of the Mercedes headquarters. Type: bully vom oberen Stock. Were are producing cars for the older population, some of them already grandparents. Not sexy enough for our future clients. Let's rethink everything: first of all our cars are overengineered, built to last and full of traditional technology. More (electronic) gadgets please.
Fifteen years later I received a phone call from one of my colleagues, attending a conference in Berlin. From his hotel room, high above street level. Robert, there is a demonstration going on, down here. Taxi drivers with their once very reliable cars. You won't believe it, white sheets are attached to some of the roofs of the long and slow-moving procession, bearing the inscription: Mercedes, nie wieder (Mercedes, never again). A great deal of water must flow through the Rhine river and Spree river in Berlin before a German taxi driver expresses his dissatisfaction in this manner, the internet and social media did not yet exist.
Everything keeps moving, everything flows. Headlines this year, from a Mercedes expert: ‘Market-oriented positioning’ instead of luxury. Five years before: Mercedes-Benz has always stood for something special. We summed this up perfectly in the headline of our strategy at the end of 2020: “We build the most desirable cars in the world”.
To conclude: another king of the African road.
A few years later new much younger managers made their entry in the top floor of the Mercedes headquarters. Type: bully vom oberen Stock. Were are producing cars for the older population, some of them already grandparents. Not sexy enough for our future clients. Let's rethink everything: first of all our cars are overengineered, built to last and full of traditional technology. More (electronic) gadgets please.
Fifteen years later I received a phone call from one of my colleagues, attending a conference in Berlin. From his hotel room, high above street level. Robert, there is a demonstration going on, down here. Taxi drivers with their once very reliable cars. You won't believe it, white sheets are attached to some of the roofs of the long and slow-moving procession, bearing the inscription: Mercedes, nie wieder (Mercedes, never again). A great deal of water must flow through the Rhine river and Spree river in Berlin before a German taxi driver expresses his dissatisfaction in this manner, the internet and social media did not yet exist.
Everything keeps moving, everything flows. Headlines this year, from a Mercedes expert: ‘Market-oriented positioning’ instead of luxury. Five years before: Mercedes-Benz has always stood for something special. We summed this up perfectly in the headline of our strategy at the end of 2020: “We build the most desirable cars in the world”.
To conclude: another king of the African road.
-
Hotrodder
- Posts: 3323
- Joined: Mon Jul 12, 2021 8:31 pm
- Location: Brittany 22
Voitures Anciennes
Up to about 15 years ago I was looking after a holiday home owned by a German couple. One day they turned up in a BMW. I asked about it. They said their lifelong love affair with Mercedes had wained. They were just too full of faults to bother with. They decided the BMW was a worthy successor.
On my headstone it will say: Please switch off mobile phones. I'm trying to get some sleep.
-
RobertArthur
- Posts: 2761
- Joined: Sat Jul 17, 2021 3:10 pm
- Location: Nièvre
Voitures Anciennes
One of my Mercedes diesels, 115 series. This 220 D (1971) never let me really down. Manual transmission, a steering column gear, take your time. Nice touch, paradise by the dashboard light, not for those on the second row: a long bench seat. No power steering, strong arms. Special procedure to start the engine. Only one nice little side mirror, low air resistance, high top speed of 135 km/h possible with its 60 hp and about 1470 kg ..... Ready for the Boulevard des Anglais in Nice, already in Mediterranean blue.
-
Polarengineer
- Posts: 832
- Joined: Sun Jan 02, 2022 11:51 am
- Location: 23 la Creuse
Voitures Anciennes
Having once been in the business (a very long time ago as a side earner) I would never buy a used car in that colour (blue). It was a favorite of the second hand respray car sellers as that colour did not let you see the ripples in the bodywork after a crash repair. I would go so far as to say that the front wing in that picture has suffered a bash at some time.
-
RobertArthur
- Posts: 2761
- Joined: Sat Jul 17, 2021 3:10 pm
- Location: Nièvre
Voitures Anciennes
@ Polarengineer, back then I didn't know that this light blue colour was sometimes used to conceal underlying problems. I've learnt something new. I fitted those two front wings myself at the time. They weren't original Mercedes parts, but the lookalikes that I bought were manufactured in Czechoslovakia at the time. Because that was a bit of a weak point with the 115 series: those front wings were quite susceptible to rust. Well, they were finished in a black primer. You can repaint them yourself in the original dark blue colour or go for something completely different.
I suddenly remembered how I once parked my Rover 2000 TC on the Boulevard des Anglais in Nice, in the only parking space that was free at the time, right in front of the entrance to a restaurant, halfway above the beach and the sea. It started well: in a reasonably immaculate white summer outfit, tanned by the sun, sunglasses on, still stepping out of the car smoothly, onto the pavement. Some passers-by glanced curiously up at me (two meters tall), who is this guy? A film star? A celeb? I realised at that moment that the late Princess Grace of Monaco also drove around in such a Rover (with the V8 engine), so I was in good company. The salade niçoise we ate there: I shouldn't have ordered it, because from that moment on, it became the benchmark for all salads: to this day I am still looking for a repeat of that experience.
A few hours later, I saw an even more beautiful car parked right in front of my Rover, in a sun-drenched light blue colour. That image flashed through my mind when I was faced with the choice: repaint those front wings in the original colour or go for a total makeover? I am usually quite rational when it comes to these kinds of choices, but this time my feelings prevailed. Always having that Mediterranean moment of summer happiness within reach, what could be better than that?
I suddenly remembered how I once parked my Rover 2000 TC on the Boulevard des Anglais in Nice, in the only parking space that was free at the time, right in front of the entrance to a restaurant, halfway above the beach and the sea. It started well: in a reasonably immaculate white summer outfit, tanned by the sun, sunglasses on, still stepping out of the car smoothly, onto the pavement. Some passers-by glanced curiously up at me (two meters tall), who is this guy? A film star? A celeb? I realised at that moment that the late Princess Grace of Monaco also drove around in such a Rover (with the V8 engine), so I was in good company. The salade niçoise we ate there: I shouldn't have ordered it, because from that moment on, it became the benchmark for all salads: to this day I am still looking for a repeat of that experience.
A few hours later, I saw an even more beautiful car parked right in front of my Rover, in a sun-drenched light blue colour. That image flashed through my mind when I was faced with the choice: repaint those front wings in the original colour or go for a total makeover? I am usually quite rational when it comes to these kinds of choices, but this time my feelings prevailed. Always having that Mediterranean moment of summer happiness within reach, what could be better than that?
-
curtis
- Posts: 563
- Joined: Fri Jul 23, 2021 1:36 pm
- Location: Charente Maritime
-
RobertArthur
- Posts: 2761
- Joined: Sat Jul 17, 2021 3:10 pm
- Location: Nièvre
Voitures Anciennes
What remains of that episode in the timeline of my personal motoring history, apart from fond memories, maintenance experience, photographs and garage manuals? A few more tangible mementos: a star, a Beru glow plug and a set of special Hazet 14 mm open-end spanners for adjusting the valve clearance of the OM 615 diesel engine. Removal of front wings was easy, a no-brainer. But then, of course, the weather has to cooperate a bit when you don't have a garage at your disposal. Simplicity, no electronics, ease of maintenance, durability and a toolbox for the DIY. That's all you need.
Nothing wrong with old technologies: just below that Mercedes star is an old Fluke bench multimeter, good old Nixie tubes display. It is still remarkably accurate, also in the resistance range. Connected to a special laboratory precision decade resistance box with an accuracy of less than 0.1% set to 82.3200 kOhms, it still performs quite well in this day and age. The Fluke 8100A was introduced in 1969, the year when man first walked on the moon.
Nothing wrong with old technologies: just below that Mercedes star is an old Fluke bench multimeter, good old Nixie tubes display. It is still remarkably accurate, also in the resistance range. Connected to a special laboratory precision decade resistance box with an accuracy of less than 0.1% set to 82.3200 kOhms, it still performs quite well in this day and age. The Fluke 8100A was introduced in 1969, the year when man first walked on the moon.
-
RobertArthur
- Posts: 2761
- Joined: Sat Jul 17, 2021 3:10 pm
- Location: Nièvre
Voitures Anciennes
When driving through the desert, a petrol station is a welcome change. Where the solitude can also be interrupted by a horse with no name or a car with no name. To this day, I wonder: was this ever a car that was produced in limited numbers somewhere, or something special, the product of many months or years of DIY work? And only on the road to special classic car exhibition days?
