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!