380sl - Jalopnik

posts about #380sl more →
1982 Mercedes-Benz 380SL
1982 Mercedes-Benz 380SL

Your version of Internet Explorer is not supported. Please upgrade to the most recent version in order to view comments.

Dsmvwl Admin Promote to frontpage Approve user Ban user ×

wheels OF satan!
06/28/09

In reply to 1982 Mercedes-Benz 380SL
yea

what's the starions worth NOW?? three times ZERO is still ZZERO!.... and the benz???
Reply

wheels OF satan! was starred wheels OF satan! was unstarred

MushyHeirloom
06/28/09

@wheels OF satan!: A couple grand. Each. Actually, the Starions combined, in decent shape, would fetch as much if not more than this car in similar condition.
Reply

MushyHeirloom was starred MushyHeirloom was unstarred

Mad_Science
06/27/09

In reply to 1982 Mercedes-Benz 380SL
633, of course. Much more racing pedigree:

Reply

Mad_Science was starred Mad_Science was unstarred

tonyola
06/27/09

In reply to 1982 Mercedes-Benz 380SL
Call me a philistine, but I've never really liked the styling of these cars - too busy, too heavy-looking. The lines work better on the longer SLC coupes. The front end is a mess, especially with the US lights and bumpers. I prefer the early pagodas (W113) or the post-'89 wedges (R129). The current SLs are awful.
Reply

tonyola was starred tonyola was unstarred

A strolling player
06/27/09

@tonyola: I'll give you that the new ones are rather terrible--well, actually, the previous iteration (2002-2007ish?) was the worst, far too cutesy for a friggin' SL. The current model, while its lines aren't exactly clean, does pack a certain aggression that'd been missing for a while.
Reply

A strolling player was starred

Charles_Barrett - Now with Variable-Valve Timing
06/27/09

In reply to 1982 Mercedes-Benz 380SL
Not only Bobby Ewing (Patrick Duffy), but this SL was Jennifer Hart's (Stephanie Powers) and Angela Channing's (Jane Wyman) choice of ride. Gotta love prime-time TV in the mid-1980s.
Reply

MushyHeirloom
06/27/09

In reply to 1982 Mercedes-Benz 380SL
Three Starions, obviously. Clarkson proved that.

I just talked to a guy who was restoring one of these Benzes the other day. He's doing it on the side for a friend of his. They look better with all the trim pulled and paint stripped.
Reply

MushyHeirloom was starred MushyHeirloom was unstarred

A strolling player
06/27/09

@FP - tittin' and shittin' with Tomsk: That way, you can up the boost and ruin one of them, paint the second in Clarkson's racing scheme (which was excellent), and keep the third as it is!
Reply

A strolling player was starred

skitter
06/27/09

In reply to 1982 Mercedes-Benz 380SL
I misread the list price as $28k, then did a double take. At those prices in 1982, I'm seeing a lightly used V8 Vantage, 930, or 450SEL 6.9. For me, this particular Mercedes look works better on a sedan, though it's still difficult for me to forgive an automatic transmission. At least those were the days when print magazines could do a real evaluation of a 6.9 , rather than leaving it to a bunch of messages posted in a series of tubes.
Reply

skitter was starred skitter was unstarred

A strolling player
06/27/09

@skitter: I feel that, actually. The saloon Benzes of this era look so long, in the same way that an older long-bed, crew-cab pickup looks much longer than any such new truck, simply because they were of a more reasonable height and girth.
Reply

A strolling player was starred

smalleyxb122
06/27/09

In reply to 1982 Mercedes-Benz 380SL
Is the Starion LS that trim level that comes with hover capabilities and an afterburner? I'd take that.

I do have a soft spot for the SL Benzes. Up until (including) the R129 that followed this generation. I would like to say that there will come a time when I own a Mercedes Benz SL, but they don't fit my personality well enough, so I will likely just continue to admire them from afar.
Reply

smalleyxb122 was starred smalleyxb122 was unstarred

A strolling player
06/27/09

@smalleyxb122: I must say, I'd have a hard time passing up the SUPER POTENTIAL of just one Starion, but three?!

Absolutely.
Reply

A strolling player was starred

Six Flags Over Tomsk
06/27/09

@Don Juan Placencia del Fuego Seat Alhambra Caballero Vega Chevrolario von Gutentag al-Sverige Ranchero del Camino con Queso Conquistador de la Fuente: Hells yes.
Reply

Serious Mopar Jones- Incurable
06/27/09

In reply to 1982 Mercedes-Benz 380SL
Hmm, 39 grand in '82- can I have two Volvo 242 GLTs and a GL wagon instead?

Or, using the economics I actually grew up with, that would be about 200 '77 Datsun B210s.
Reply

skaycog was here
06/27/09

In reply to 1982 Mercedes-Benz 380SL
Sweet car! Are the wheel opening moldings add-ons?
Reply

skaycog was here was starred skaycog was here was unstarred

Tossed Accord taco salad over Malibu face
06/27/09

@skaycog is ambimoustrous:

UMM... YEAH!

Devon would throw a fit if his looked that ghetto..

The car was about style and grace.. not showin off ya bling..
Reply

skaycog was here
06/27/09

@Tossed Accordtaco salad over Malibu: Thanks. I thought they were ugly, but didn't want to say that in case they were factory.
Reply

skaycog was here was starred skaycog was here was unstarred

MushyHeirloom
06/27/09

@skaycog is ambimoustrous: I think the wheels look ugly, and those are factory. They're far better on a W116 or '23.

Actually, I've got to be honest - I've never liked the look of this car. Which is odd, because I haven't liked any since then, either. Its predecessor, however, is gorgeous.
Reply

MushyHeirloom was starred MushyHeirloom was unstarred

Novaload
06/27/09

In reply to 1982 Mercedes-Benz 380SL
If by "parked" you mean "at rest more or less parallel to a curb that is somewhere in the vicinity"--then I guess it was parked rather than, say, broken down and abandoned.

Such handsome, sturdy little tanks.
Reply

Novaload was starred Novaload was unstarred

ALL GLORY TO THE HYPNO-TOAD
06/27/09

In reply to 1982 Mercedes-Benz 380SL
I have a soft spot for old mercs. They're really quite nice.
Reply

Serious Mopar Jones- Incurable
06/27/09

@darkstar:
I agree.

Reply

Syrax
06/27/09

@Serious Mopar Jones- Incurable:
Reply

Syrax was starred Syrax was unstarred

Alfisted
06/27/09

@Ambiguously Unfunny Syrax: Bad pun, but you didn't have to give him the bird.
Reply

Alfisted was starred Alfisted was unstarred

Serious Mopar Jones- Incurable
06/27/09

@Alfisted: That wasn't a pun.

I suppose I'm just too old to be hip, but the abbreviation "Merc" always has, and always will, stand for "Mercury". Today's DOTS subject is a "Benz".
Reply

rpm773
06/27/09

@Serious Mopar Jones- Incurable: I think I've occasionally seen [in print] "Merc" used for "Mercedes", but it bothers me because I think of "Mercury" as well.

How does one pronounce Merc when referring to a Benz? Merce?
Reply

rpm773 was starred rpm773 was unstarred

Syrax
06/27/09

@Serious Mopar Jones- Incurable: I never abbreviate Mercury but I agree on the Benz. I can't say Merc. Beamer(or Bimmer, I don't know how you call it) also. I just say BMW or the model, 330, M5, Z8 etc.
Reply

Syrax was starred Syrax was unstarred

Six Flags Over Tomsk
06/27/09

@Ambiguously Unfunny Syrax: "Beemer" is for their two wheelers, "Bimmer" is for their four wheelers.

Or so I've been told.
Reply

A strolling player
06/27/09

@rpm773: Merc, as used and pronounced (à la "murk") by Clarkson, seems reasonable to me in the European market, what with its lack of Mercuries and such. In the Americas, however, "Benz" is the winner on clarity.

@Tomsk is tiltin' and shiftin': Exactly. Thank you. Only douchebags call BMW cars "Beamers". Your '01 323i is a "Bimmer", Broseph. Put it in Park and walk away slowly.

Also acceptable: "BM", although that may just be Clarkson. I've taken to calling them as the Germans do (3er, 5er, etc.), because I kinda dig that.
Reply

A strolling player was starred

Syrax
06/27/09

@Don Juan Placencia del Fuego Seat Alhambra Caballero Vega C...: 3er, 5er is nice. Now, topic #2:

Nissan ZX - Zee or Zed?
Reply

Syrax was starred Syrax was unstarred

A strolling player
06/27/09

@Ambiguously Unfunny Syrax: Zee is easier to say and, while I may exhibit some vaguely European tendencies, I've been in America for twenty-one years. And Zee-X is easier to say than Zed-X, I think.
Reply

A strolling player was starred

MushyHeirloom
06/28/09

@Ambiguously Unfunny Syrax: America: Zee. Europe: Zed. Canada: I don't fucking know.

I say "zed" anyway, but then, the boy is Scottish and has a bit of an influence on my way of speaking.

And "Zeddex" sounds like a pest-control solution, and the Z32 looks like a smoothed-out alligator (which is definitely a pest-control solution, especially if you consider small dogs to be pests).
Reply

MushyHeirloom was starred MushyHeirloom was unstarred

A_Dawg
06/27/09

In reply to 1982 Mercedes-Benz 380SL
Back when I was a younger lad, my father would make me clean his '79 300D if I wanted to borrow it. I remember trying to clean those damned alloy wheels and it was beyond impossible. Never figured out why they kept using that godawful wheel design for years and years and years. It was far from attractive.
Reply

A_Dawg was starred A_Dawg was unstarred

MushyHeirloom
06/27/09

@A_Dawg: I've got a set in the basement that you're more than welcome to.
Reply

MushyHeirloom was starred MushyHeirloom was unstarred

Vintage Racer - with V-12 goodness
06/27/09

In reply to 1982 Mercedes-Benz 380SL
I've got one of these in my future - when Mom finally decides to stop driving! Champagne, brown interior and soft top... you'd think she'd have quit driving at 73, but nooooo....

Murilee, did you get those Piper pics I sent you?
Reply

Earlier discussions Other discussions Show all discussions Show featured discussions only Start a new discussion

#380sl

Jalopnik

SUBSCRIBE TO Jalopnik

1982 Mercedes-Benz 380SL

1982 Mercedes-Benz 380SL

Login

Reset Password

Register

Submit Your Comment