Someone has great taste in cars!

My '93 SL320 is still trooping, albeit with some soft top issues to work on over the winter. The paint is still perfect and she looks absolutely beautiful. Compliments every day!

It’ll kick your ass till the shit comes out of your ears! Er...or something.

Seth Gallup Sorry

And plenty of low mile ones out there for under $10000.

Back in the 80s, it felt like the future of automobiles was pretty bleak. So I can understand his statement about the Merc in 1990. 322 HP seemed like such an insane amount of power in a contemporary engine back then. Thankfully, all of the dire predictions turned out to be wrong and we now have Ford and Chevy producing Turbo 4 bangers that can nearly match the V8 in this 90 Merc. Cars today are more powerful, more efficient, far safer, with better reliability and expected lifespan. What Motorweek couldn't foresee is the explosive growth of technology in our vehicles including the distractions caused by cell phones. It will be interesting to see what passenger cars will be like 20 years from now.

All of that crash safety structural support, though, has led to cars with barely there rear windows, and "snug" interiors with little storage apart from the glovebox, door bins big enough for a single water bottle, and a tiny center console tray. The physical size is so ridiculous that if you parked a Toyota 4Runner, a midsize family crossover, next to a 1998 Hummer H1, which was by an order of magnitude the biggest thing on the road at the time, the crossover would be bigger if a bit lower, and yet the tiny capsule of an interior on a modern full-size sedan can't even approach the roominess of the compact 1991 Accord. Ridiculously wide a- and c-pillars create blind spots the size of houses (not that it matters since you can barely see out of the windows anyway) and render the jaws of life all but obsolete, and beltlines are so high that windows are tiny slits. Cars that die after parts are no longer made have to be thrown out because the locked-down, illegal to modify ECU will reject non-OEM parts. The reason styling, which is admittedly less important than the other safety and serviceability issues modern car designs create, is getting so "crazy" now is because designs can only be differentiated by incredibly ugly tacked on sheetmetal (Toyota Camry or Nissan Murano) because it's nearly impossible to build a car without the same basic shape as the competition's if you want to meet safety standards. The goal of all this, turning LA's toxic smog dome into a mild haze and making highway speed crashes survivable, was achieved more than 10 years ago, and the newer standards are just going way further than necessary. Honestly the transformation of cars into windowless tanks, along with the 25-year import ban also known as the Mercedes-Benz protection act, was something that I was hoping Donald Trump (who I did not vote for and completely hate) would accidentally fix as his party takes a blanket slash and burn approach to gutting regulations. In 1978, Mercedes essentially bought off every congressman so they would stop people from importing the cheaper, more powerful, prettier, better made models Mercedes sold in Europe. Just about everyone sane supports some easing if not outright repeal of the 25-year ban, even if it's just legalizing cars that pass actually stricter Euro crash safety standards, but nobody's bothered to spend a Senate session doing so because it's not seen as something that's important or unpopular enough to electorally benefit someone who votes to repeal it. The auto industry to this day benefits massively from not having to worry about people ruining their brand image by importing and driving cars meant for other markets that don't fit their American lineup, even if they meet or can easily meet American safety and emissions standards. But nope, they're just confirming the assumptions I'd always held about them and targeting with laser precision only the agencies their donors have paid them to gut, and the auto industry is among those donors.

Robert Karma -- Oh, they saw the technology coming. But as was the case with most gearheads, they just didn't like it. Not one bit. The comment about wanting to actually see the engine under the hood, instead of the plastic cover, was chief among such sentiments. Gearheads had been in Fear of the Future since 1975 or so and saw nothing good with fuel economy or emissions requirements, considered them major failures on all points. Some still do. But, the instant you show them what an electric car can do today...? They suddenly embrace the very same technology that they feared until now. The engine management computers and variable valve lift and timing systems that replaced carburetors and pushrods,; the antilock brakes and stabilization systems that prevent the worst of crashes; the continuously variable automatic transmissions that did away with the manual transmission for good; and the hybrid electric and turbocharged engine systems that have allowed gasoline powered vehicles to extend their life and hope to meet CAFE requirements...? Oh! Then, those are all GOOD things.

storck08 I agree with your salient points except for the CVT. I had one in my Honda HRV and it sucked. Now I have a Ford Escape with a Six-Speed automatic that plays well with the EcoBoost engine. Ford and GM cooperated on the development of a ten-speed automatic now hitting the market. Until they improve the CVT, I'll stick with the automatic.

Still have mine garaged & covered. 500Sl 1991 with removable steel top, only 32,000 miles needs a little work. Sell for $15,000.

still looks like a 2 door cab

Ugly as fuk. What's wrong with your eyes?

Dan McCarthy MERCEDES BENZ THE BEST OR NOTHING !!!!!!!

@@sekhemel326 let me guess. You're a millenial.

@@ajf5745 No, it's just ugly as fuk.

hahahaha

anyThing made in Germany is the best n3XT to Japan

@@zoka3593 yep

Lol

mercedes outranked any of its competitors with the w126 from 1979 till 1991 and w140 s classes from 1992 till 1998.

Just bought this car in black for 12,500 from a guy in Florida who maintained it well. 106k on the odometer. Only really I payed that much is because the car is so well maintained & I really love classic cars. 90s baby I was born in ‘97 this car is 7 years older than me

@@TheHankersonits a good price

For me, it's the slr mclaren in silver. That was the poster car that was everywhere when I was younger and getting into cars, so that's what stuck with me

The original 300 SL or the 190 Evo ll

I have the same SL500 in Vermont.. White out blue in.. Needs some cosmetic restoration inside and a few mechanical & electrical repairs, also needs new soft top but excellent runner

The W140

I personally prefer the later 5G cars, which is also why I like E55s and CLK55s

Through 1991 they were "the last of the hand-mades"....after that, the junkiness started invading their manufacturing

here here!

Eric David Berkus I do too

The r129 is a great design.

Its a timeless design

Yes still is.

Away from the... (raises chin) lesser models.

Correction, mine is a 92

lol right.

Now it's just plug, plug, plug!

I liked that too. I suppose that what makes MotorWeek, MotorWeek. MotorWeek does things like this.

savage

disc

yeah now it may as well be a trim level

It was like that until like what, 1995?

They had funny naming a while ago: 280se 3.5, 190e 2.6, etc, but I agree with the new models

not really cause 450sl was actually 350 sl

Same with BMW. 320i, 535i, etc

These R129s are tanks - literally. They feel heavy and massive. My dad has a 1989 500SL R129, one of the first 500 cars to leave the factory, actually. It's fully-loaded with complex gizmos and features, and yet despite having traveled over 210,000 km everything works just fine. Only the folding roof mechanism will need some minor alignment adjusting every 50,000 km or so, not a big deal. I do think the newer Mercedes' cars are extremely well-built, especially after the quality slump of the mid-1990s to early-2000s. That forced them to improve quality. And unlike that idiot Schrempp (who was responsible for the quality slump), Dieter Zetsche is a man of his word and actively worked to improve Mercedes quality and bring it up to the good old days. I truly believe that the newer Mercedes' are well-made cars and have a high degree of quality. They might not "feel" as solid as older models, but that's because they use lighter materials to save weight and get better fuel economy. We used to have a well-spec'd 2002 Mercedes E320 Avantgarde W211 and kept that car until 2010 and almost 150,000 km IIRC - no issues whatsoever except for a dead battery when the car wasn't driven for over 2 weeks. The car was replaced by a fully loaded 2010 E350 CGI Avantgarde W212, which now has over 120,000 km and has been problem-free. Like NO ISSUES. None. A lot of people (usually Mercedes' haters) will claim that these cars are "high maintenance", but the truth is that simple and basic maintenance will extend their life and their reliability. Take care of the car and it will take care of you.

Likewise

He believes that the 190E and the S-Class before 1991 was his crowning achievement.

That's because they really were! But for me, his best were this SL and the W140 S-Class!

MafiosoItaliano458 Those are my FAVs of mine too.

Likewise! But I do have an attraction to the 560 Sel as well

I do too. The 560 is my FAV S-Class of the 80s.

Not exactly "seriously fast" but definitely quick enough to get one in trouble. Seriously fast by todays standards is something that gets into 12s in a 1/4 mile.

@@mberezh you always have that one person who disagrees

@@mberezh seriously fast gets into the 5s

superchan7 you have to love the Mercedes Benz SL series.

likewise

There was an SL73 version of this? How big was the engine???

@@dr.lyleevans6915 m a n ,it was an amg fettled 7.3 litre v8 -the same one in a pagani zonda, like nothing else!

@@kenlee-97 V12 not V8. Was a bored out version of the normal 6 litre M120 if I’m not wrong

I agree about the current SL for sure....eeeeeek! The SL65 AMG on the other hand...LOVE IT!

I think the new SL is the nicest one yet.

:)

I got to drive one of those at our shop, umm..yeah, twin turbo V-12, unreal acceleration!

I think the original R230 SL was an attractive car and a worthy successor to the R129. BUT - Mercedes sure ruined it with the facelift. Those headlights were just awful. The snout was just offensive. The original R231 SL looks like a barely redesigned R230. Terrible. Just felt like a half-assed effort. Thankfully, the facelifted R231 looks somewhat decent, especially with an AMG body kit. I saw one in a local Mercedes showroom recently and while I don't look at a facelifted R230 SL or an original R231 SL, the facelifted R231 caught my attention. Not bad. It actually makes the SL somewhat attractive again. And you can't argue with the performance. The facelifted R231 I saw in that showroom was an SL400 with a 367-horsepower V6 and it does 0-100 km/h in 4.9 seconds! Damn! And 367-horsepower was the output of the Benz V12 engine found in the W220 S600!!!! Now a "lowly" V6 has the same power output...

You were? LOL

Definitely didn't expect to see you here but then again I'm not exactly surprised 😂

and the 600 were almost one third more than 500

That's about what an S-Class coupe costs.

benanderson89 holy Toledo.

All that and you get the Euro oil leaks to go with it.

benanderson89 / convert our salary from then to now. People always forget. Unfortunately our salary has not grown. We could afford things like this back then if you had a decent job. Today, a decent job can only get you to just get by.

Car Connoisseur You can get them used for like $5k

Parts bin

They also had a babe twenty five years their junior in the passenger seat!

3 piece AMG Aero :)

Monoblocks

I’m 19 with the exact combo lol. 96 SL500 black on black

Only reason why I own one. Had a 92’ GT last year, now I have a 96 SL500

You have good taste in cars… those models were way ahead of they’re time….. don’t forget about the Dodge Viper

It’s about $150k today, but it’s all the same thing at that price range

My 1990 R129 500SL i bought in July last year I paid $1700.00 and the body is mint and an old lady owned it and sat in a garage. V8 is So fast it scares me I got the hard top stock wheels with tires and a set of nice aftermarket wheels and tires. I need a key fob and headlight the radio is history came with kenwood it black w tan interior

the old lady paid $123.000.00 I got the reciepts.

@@dr.lyleevans6915 Cars are relatively cheaper today than in 1990. Exchange rates are one of many factors, not just inflation. You also get different results depending on which measure of inflation you are using for your calculations. In 1989 I bought a house for $135k that is now worth $1.4 million, according to zillow and redfin.

@@carluvrsd9374 True. Exchange rates especially affected imports from Japan in the 1990’s. All that said, exchange rates don’t affect much these days, since virtually all vehicles are manufactured domestically, whether foreign or not (BMW has their largest factory in South Carolina, Toyota has huge factories here, etc.)

Andrewh1994 lmao

Phil Garner classic Mercedes Benz

Dad should of kept it and bought a cheap car to drive tall boy around town to spread tall stories!

I completely agree! This car was Highly publicized in movies and Music Videos in the 90s it harkens back to a time when I was a kid wishing to own one. Man! I cant wait to get a decent one someday

Yea Pac had a lot of weed in his lol

True… I’ve had both and the SL is faster stock for stock. How ever the fox is super light and with minor work it can be turned into monster, where as in my SL, after market upgrades are limited. Love both though. One of them is so comfortable and modern feeling the other makes me feel like I’m going to die. Just depends what I’m in the mood for lol.

@@Loujr2250 lol I had an '86 and '88 5.0 5M. both were quick the '88 was quicker stock. The Fox platform can be modded easily to run 13s N/A. The SL is wayy more stable no doubt. Did have to Fox's up to 135+.

LoL 😁 that's a good one.

Really, well all I have to say is good for you and I hope you are taking good care of it and I hope I find one myself that I can afford to buy it.

LoL 😁 now that's a good one but so true.

I just did the same, hope you enjoy yours pal. My top doesnt work, lucky for me I prefer the hard top look.

Haha then throws it over his shoulder. Awesome

😂

And in the next 10 years the R129 will become the collector model sharply rising in price.

the R129 600 are going up in value quickly already, and not many to choose from

They say the 600's are more expensive to maintain.

MrSkinnn The 600’s are quite a bit more expensive to maintain, and parts are more expensive (and in some cases rare or nonexistent outside of junkyards)

Well it's fuckin almost new vehicle!

@@kenlee-97 There is no need to use that kind of language to make your point.