1968 mercedes-benz 230

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Another Finned Mercedes-Benz Bites The Dust, Will Be Reborn As FAW Hongqi Parts
1968 Mercedes-Benz 230

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Six Flags Over Tomsk
12/05/09

In reply to Another Finned Mercedes-Benz Bites The Dust, Will Be Reborn As FAW Hongqi Parts
Looks like the time has come for a "Save the Heckflossen" movement.
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Edited by Six Flags Over Tomsk at 12/05/09 4:31 PM

Novaload
12/05/09

In reply to Another Finned Mercedes-Benz Bites The Dust, Will Be Reborn As FAW Hongqi Parts
What a beauty. This is sad. She could have gone out in a blaze of burnt valves in Lemons.
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Paul Y. can't get in the club; gotta parking lot pimp
12/05/09

In reply to Another Finned Mercedes-Benz Bites The Dust, Will Be Reborn As FAW Hongqi Parts
You know, this only makes me want a W110 even more.
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skitter
12/05/09

In reply to Another Finned Mercedes-Benz Bites The Dust, Will Be Reborn As FAW Hongqi Parts
Question: Over years in the junkyards, how much does the average longevity of vehicles seem to be increasing? Certainly styling ages less than it used to, and better engineering and manufacturing leads to longer lifetimes, and 10 to 20 year old vehicles are not out of place on the street. These days, I would guess wrecks do far more than wear to thin the herd.
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87CapriceEstate
12/05/09

That seems to be my conclusion as well. It it was not for the salt on the roads or car crashes There would be a lot more older cars on the roads. Dad would probably still have his 93, but the salt killed it.
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Murilee Martin
12/05/09

@skitter: Japanese cars definitely last way longer than they did 25 years ago, when I started hitting junkyards on a regular basis. These days you won't see much Japanese iron (especially Hondas and Toyotas) newer than about 1992, except for all the pickups and luxury iron doomed by Cash For Clunkers.

Detroit cars, on the other hand, start showing up in the junkyards in large quantities when they hit 10 years old. This has not changed in the last quarter-century. Right now you could pack a highway to the Moon bumper-to-bumper with all the late-90s Ford Tauruses in America's junkyards.
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skitter
12/05/09

@Murilee Martin: Back in the day, were Japanese makes already generally older, or over a span of a few years did they simply stop showing up?
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ummagumma82
12/05/09

@skitter: The Japanese figured out rustproofing around the early 90s; I think that's the biggest factor. My family had a lot of 70s-80s Datsuns and Subarus, they all died premature deaths from severe rust.
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Murilee Martin
12/05/09

@skitter: The build quality of 1960s Japanese cars was pretty bad. The 1970s ones were a lot better, but they were still crap (though quite lovable) compared to the 300,000-mile machines to come from Japan starting in the mid-1980s.
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Van Sarockin, rogue trebuchet
12/05/09

In reply to Another Finned Mercedes-Benz Bites The Dust, Will Be Reborn As FAW Hongqi Parts
Well, at least it's in good company there. And it looks like it had a good, long life of care and pampering, before it's become an organ donor.
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MushyHeirloom
12/02/08

In reply to 1968 Mercedes-Benz 230
Every day, I pass a '73 two-door that's for sale. Comes with a parts car. I've been talking myself out of it for the last six months.
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crankcase - always getting the shaft
12/02/08

In reply to 1968 Mercedes-Benz 230
Someone should send this one back to Mercedes Benz.
Maybe it would help them remember how to build the world's best sedans.
I'd much rather have this than a new MB.
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Six Flags Over Tomsk
12/02/08

@crankcase: +1. Given the choice of this or a brand new C or E class (other than the E320 Bluetec), I think I'd take this.
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Novaload
12/02/08

In reply to 1968 Mercedes-Benz 230
Murilee, what are those drops of clear stuff on the car and the discoloration on the road?
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that ain't the way to have fun, son
12/02/08

In reply to 1968 Mercedes-Benz 230
Mercedes quality slipped after the W126, so from '92-on. My 126 is considered the last "true" Benz by those who own them, and many have tried the newer ones, yet have gone back.

European headlights are radically different than the sealed-beam garbage we have in the States. Different bulbs, different patterns, just flat-out different...and very-highly sought by us here in the US, BTW.

DoctorNine...you hit on why I laugh when my 20 year old beast has fewer problems than a 7 year old Kia, and is also worth more.
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Six Flags Over Tomsk
12/02/08

@Kelly: I've always considered the super-overengineered W140s to be the last proper Benzes, but that's just me.
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Six Flags Over Tomsk
12/02/08

@Tomsk the red-nosed reindeer: Gah, didn't mean to post yet.

European headlights are definitely better looking, and usually better performing than the DOT-mandated (thanks in no small part to money from Westinghouse, if you believe the rumors) bits.

Lastly, what year and model W126 do you have? I have an '83 300 SD.
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DoctorNine
12/02/08

In reply to 1968 Mercedes-Benz 230
Quality construction, consideration of longevity in design for extended maintenance, high grade materials. These are indeed luxuries, but actually are the frugal choice for those who keep cars and repair them, instead of chucking them out every 4 years and buying a new one.
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Triborough
12/02/08

In reply to 1968 Mercedes-Benz 230
I really think they are quite hard to kill.

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scroggzilla raids again
12/02/08

@Triborough: I remember an apocryphal tale of Mercedes Benz toughness relating to Anastasio Somoza's assassination. Somoza's Mercedes Benz was riddled with automatic weapons fire and a RPG for good measure by a Sandinista commando team, which killed all of the vehicles occupants. When the Paraguayan security forces arrived, one of the soldiers found the keys still in the ignition and, being a curious sort, turned to the key to see if it would start.
Naturally, being a Mercedes Benz, it did.

And that, Virginia, is the creepiest automotive product endorsement ever.
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Charles_Barrett - Now with Variable-Valve Timing
12/02/08

In reply to 1968 Mercedes-Benz 230
My Mom was eager to see their '73 220D age to the point of being 'funky' looking. They had that car for 25 years.

My '97 W210 E320 is not nearly so sturdy, but I was happy to catch the last of the I6 engines. I have heard of many 'issues' with the V6 replacement that bowed in '98. The W210 'four-eyes' face, 12 years on, is now gaining the Benz patina of 'funkiness'.
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Graverobber
12/02/08

In reply to 1968 Mercedes-Benz 230
What's that shit hanging off of the rearview? Geez, why don't people cover their mouth when they sneeze?!
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Ash78, cube farmer
12/02/08

In reply to 1968 Mercedes-Benz 230
I love the boxy cabin, which is something they continued through the W210 (E-class until about 5 years ago). The W211 E-class seems cramped, with windows like a bunker.

Same complaint with most of the new VWs and Volvos, as well. My dad just got a new Passat 2.0t Lux, and "perceived" interior space is reduced, even though the car is larger than the previous B5 generation (of which I now own TWO!).
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sos10
12/02/08

In reply to 1968 Mercedes-Benz 230
If only MB would still build their cars like that.. I blame 1980's cocaine.
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1968 Mercedes-Benz 230

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