Another cool (to me anyway) old German car in my neighborhood. A W123-body Mercedes 240D. Produced when engineering trumped electronic doo-dads, W123s are arguably the best constructed mid-size Mercedes Benz models ever made.
240Ds have a special place in my heart. Sure, it looks like an old-man's car with the painted hubcaps and dog-slow 64HP diesel motor (the indestructible OM616 4-cylinder), but I racked up many miles in one of these during a high school job as a porter at a Mercedes/Porsche/Audi dealership.
These cars feel like they were carved from a solid chunk of granite - and they've held up well too. The dealership's was dark blue and had about 250k on the clock but still looked and ran great. I should have checked the clock in this one, I bet it has over 300k.
Aw crap, the clean Mercedes-Benz 240D that was featured about a year ago and lives up the hill from me had a little incident. I hope the owner makes it right. They have another white MB sedan in the garage, so they're fans of the marque.
And check it out, from this vantage point, the 240D can be seen (just left of center) with the El Camino and Vanagon that were also previously featured. Too bad my personal/future project car has been put on hold for a few years due to Celeste's orthodontia. But hey, she's far more important than any stupid old car could ever be.
