Welcome to Found Around The Quarter, where I highlight fascinating cars I found walking around a city that is known for being Big and Easy, with great music and a great cruising culture: New Orleans, Louisiana.
We're stopping by once more around the city that rust most certainly never forgot, and this time we come to the Marigny neighborhood. Last week we found another type of Merc in the Central Business District, or CBD, which has a very business-y name. Marigny is a lot more my style, with colorful railroad houses made out of bargeboard and the potential to trip on old and interesting cars on every block.
This Mercedes-Benz, production code W114, is just one example of what lies inside Marigny. The W114, also known as the 230, the 250, or the 280 depending on the engine, comes from an era when Mercedes still built their cars like tanks, and this particular example shows it. Just look at that bodywork- it looks like its primarily composed of six-inch thick steel and if it was hit by a freight train the result may be a tossup.
The reason why I like this car so much, though, is not the heavy bodywork. That would be silly, like admiring a person based on their bone density. No, the reason I love this car is because it's got character. The kind of character that would put it in a film. Those bright white wheel covers contrasting perfectly with the barest hint of rust show that this car has been places, has seen things, but it hasn't lost that bit of flash which encouraged the owner to buy it in the first place. It's like a grand old dame of cinema- your Helen Mirrens, your Meryl Streeps, the ones who are still putting on fantastic performances after careers spanning decades, and yet without a hint of plastic surgery.
It may not be clear from the shot, but the interior wasn't in bad condition either. Someone with a good interior always lasts long in Hollywood. This car belongs in movies.