• By Murilee Martin
    May 23, 2008 9:00 AM 4,847
    more about

    #1970s

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    read more: #downonthestreet, #1970s, #220d, #alameda, #diesel, #mercedesbenz220d, #w115, #mercedes, #mercedesbenz

    1973 Mercedes-Benz 220D

    We had a Favorite DOTS Mercedes-Benz poll a couple months back, and the '65 220SE won handily. Looking at the list, however, I realized that I'd overlooked the W115 cars, so it was time to go out and shoot one on the island. You Mercedes-Benz experts are going to have to help us figure out the exact year on this one; I'm pretty sure it's from the 1971-73 era, but that's about as close as I'm going to get.



    The 220D had the four-cylinder diesel, not the legendary Mercedes-Benz 5-cylinder, but these cars still racked up astronomical odometer readings.


    Unstoppable reliability is great, but the 220D's engine delivered a not-so-peppy 57 horses. For a car weighing 3,000 pounds, acceleration required a great deal of patience on the part of the driver. And at a list price of nearly $6,700- 200 bucks more than a new '73 Cadillac DeVille- you had to be thinking long-term reliability over short-term performance when you bought a 220D.


    Hey, how many of these cars still have hood ornaments? The rest of the car is pretty beat, but it's still a Mercedes-Benz!

    1973 Mercedes Benz 220D Down On The Street



    DOTS 1-200 • DOTS 201-250


    Send an email to Murilee Martin, the author of this post, at murilee@jalopnik.com.