4 Jun
2023
4 Jun
'23
10:37 p.m.
On Sat, Jun 03, 2023 at 07:47:35PM -0500, Cory Heisterkamp via cctalk wrote:
Eh, this engineer strongly prefers a _practical_ car. That's how I ended
up with a Mercedes S204:
- Diesel engine - I don't care about driving fast, I want an efficient
engine with long service life, lots of torque is nice too
- station wagon - I don't care about looks, I want the cargo space and
I've used it quite a few times already, although I _do_ think it looks
nice (as does my wife), but that is bonus
- a _safe_ car - solid design and plenty of safety engineering to keep
me and mine alive (and hopefully as minimally injured as possible) in
case of an accident
- a reliable car - that series has a pretty decent track record from
what I can tell and actually doing the regular inspections on time
and with the officially certified mechanics helps too
I also found simple repairs (such as replacing one of the rear light
clusters after I missed (well, I wish I'd _actually_ missed it) a
bollard while reversing suprisingly simple: undo 5 screws, disconnect
connector, pull old cluster, reconnect connector, put new cluster in,
tighten down 5 screws, all done in < 2 min with zero prep (and I'm no
mechanic).
It also nicely hugs the road, with the suspension hitting the (for me)
sweet point of giving you a solid road feel without rattling your teeth
on every uneven spot.
I'm not a fan of SUVs, mostly for two reasons:
- higher center of gravity makes them too easy to roll
- they tend to end up on the more heavy side, for which you pay in
fuel consumption (the high build doesn't help with that either) and
fuel in Europe is not cheap
On Jun 3, 2023, at 7:12 PM, Alexander Schreiber
via cctalk <cctalk(a)classiccmp.org> wrote:
So the Mercedes T model was (at least in Germany, the manufacturers country)
never called a "station wagon" because that category name doesn't exist
there. The closest analogue to it in German parlance would be the "Kombi"
class of vehicles. Based upon the more numerous sedan models, but shaped
like a station wagon with a large rear door, a level trunk (usually)
and with the option of considerably expanding cargo space by folding
down the rear seats to provide a flat surface.
And - since demand for that kind of vehicle never went away - there are
still quite a few "Kombi" variants of common sedans. As for why "nobody
makes station wagons anymore, but something like it and calls it a
different name" - I get the impression that station wagons in the US got
a bad rap as "big and wasteful" vehicles. Which is hilarious when you
think about the SUV epidemic that happened (and seems to be getting
worse still) many years later and very much redefined "big and wasteful"
(aside from "silly and dangerous to use due to high center of gravity").
looks like work." -- Thomas A. Edison
Here in the US, it wasn’t so much that they were considered ‘big and wasteful’, it's
that a station wagon has a connotation of being frumpy, something your parents or
grandparents would have driven. Basically, “not cool”. Ironically, it’s the older
generations that now prefer SUVs due to ease of getting in and out, and higher road
visibility. The wife and I just purchased a 2018 Buick station
wagon. Only offered here for 3 years, it’s really an Opel. Sales were abysmal. Nobody
knows what it was, nobody has seen one before, and on a recent 1000+ mile to the Dayton
Hamvention, I never saw another one coming, nor going. Funnily, most thought it was a
Volvo or Mercedes of some sort. We love it.
My tape measure says it’ll handle an 083 sorter on its back, and 30+ MPG means a lot of
vintage gear will be getting rescued in the near future. -C
Mine does about 32 mpg (7.2l/100km), which is pretty ok for 200 hp - the
OM651 is a pretty decent engine. Put more than 160k km (100k miles) on
it so far, plan for plenty more.
Kind regards,
Alex.
--
"Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and
looks like work." -- Thomas A. Edison