Those of you old enough and wise enough to be aware of Bruno Sacco's work at Mercedes-Benz might already know about this, but it was news to me when I read about it on the increasingly excellent De Luxe blog earlier, today.
The short version is this: those of you who want a late-70's or mid-80's Sacco Benz are in luck. You can go to Mercedes-Benz' new Young Classics Center and buy yourself an unmolested, pristine, classic Benzo.
Those of you not interested in "the long(er) version", can take a look at the screencap below, and start frantically clicking the ads on this page. When I scrape up the funds, I'll let all (both?) my regular readers ride shotgun!
The long(er) version is this: whether they will admit it publicly or not, the W210 E and W140 S class cars did more to tarnish the three-pointed-star than Benz' close ties with the Nazis. The quality on these mid-90's cars simply was not there, and longtime customers fled to upstarts Lexus and Infiniti, finding levels of quality close - but not equal - to what they'd become accustomed to.
These "young classic" MBs were built The Old Way.
They were built by craftsmen like the previously mentioned Dr. Steve Jones (the RENN's engine-builder and head technician for over 20 years), who demand that everything be absolutely Right before it leaves the shop.
I'm happy to say that Benz learned its lesson, and the latest C class is built more in line with The Old Way of thinking ... but it is still what all modern MBs are: safe, solid, fast, dynamically excellent - and ever so slightly plastic. Hopefully Dr. Jones will come to his senses soon, then cram some modern suspension and brake bits into his gorgeous 6.0 liter E Hammer.
