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Jim Roberts

This cherished 1978 280SE was passed down from mother to son, and is still going strong.

While living during the 1970s in the city of Ulm, Germany – perhaps 50 miles east of Stuttgart and about 40 miles north of the Alps – I embraced the local culture. I had already visited the country after minoring in German at Vanderbilt University, so I knew that I wanted to live there. At the time, I drove a Fiat 1500 Spider. It was fun, economical and had great luggage capacity.

When my parents paid me a visit each year, I would order a Mercedes-Benz W115 220D to drive for a month or two, and then ship it back to the United States. These were, of course, factory deliveries. My dad would then sell each for a profit. I think we did this nine times. My sister still drives a 300D that I picked up in 1975.

Careful what you promise

My mother was never a “car person.” To her the diesels were practical but not exciting. When the W116 450SE came out in 1973, she said “That is the most beautiful car I have ever seen.” In 1977 we were discussing her next car. I told her I was concerned that her Detroit iron would not turn nor stop safely.

In a moment of animation I said, “If you would drive a Mercedes-Benz, I would buy you one.” To my surprise she said, “I would gladly drive a 450SE.” Moral: Be careful what you promise your mother. As it turned out the 450 was sold only as the long-wheelbase SEL for the 1978 model year. This car would not fit into my mother's garage due to its extended impact bumpers. The 280SE, however got standard “Bundt cake” alloys and the automatic temperature control air-conditioning along with the same wood dash and console as the 450SEL.

Mother did not want a silver or dark blue  car – they were too common. At the time, black was special order only – all the taxis in Germany were black diesels. My mother picked an exterior color called ”Icon Gold” paired with a champagne MB-Tex interior. Thus, I wound up with a car I would not have bought if left to my own devices. She was wise and had a better eye for color than I had.

In those days you had to pay the dealer ahead in full, but the price was 35 percent less than the regular U.S. price. This brought the S-Class price down to less than the American price for the E-class W123. I had to arrange and pay for the shipping from Bremerhaven, Germany to Jacksonville, Florida. Then we had to get it through customs, pay the 2 percent import duty (3 percent less 33 percent depreciation), and then drive back to your home. It is more convenient now, but less exciting. Still, you save enough for a two-week trip for two to Europe. There is nothing like driving your new Mercedes-Benz around Europe – especially the German Autobahn with no speed limit.

Factory pickup

By the time of this, my ninth Sindelfingen factory delivery, in December 1977, I knew the routine by heart. Customer service staff graciously welcomed you and offered you coffee or hot tea as well as a full-course lunch and tour of the massive Sindelfingen factory (this took almost two hours back then). There were no robots in those days, and the S-Class cars got a lot more hand work than the E-Class. The SL and SLC had their own much smaller  assembly lines. The four-seater Coupes and Cabriolets were no longer in production and the W123 coupe was not yet available.

After the factory tour and a tasty lunch – served on fine porcelain on white tablecloths and overseen by white-coated waiters – I was quickly on the Autobahn (the odometer read 21 miles) to my German hometown of Ulm and nearby Blaubeueren to visit friends from Czechoslovakia. My friends had told me that if I truly wanted to see what Germany looked like before World War II, I should visit their relatives in Prague.

European vacation

Having resolved to go, once I got to Czechoslovakia, the 280SE seemed to share the road mainly with trucks, . There were a few Czech Skodas and a very few Czech Tatras. Most of the cars in Soviet bloc countries were East German Trabants.

If you have visited Prague, Budapest, or Warsaw in the last 15 years, you know how lovely, colorful, and vibrant they are – especially Prague. In 1977 Prague was dressed only in shades of gray. Today, I wonder how I managed to find my friends’ relatives in Budapest without GPS or cellphones – there were not even many landlines installed. Luckily, my Blaubeueren  friends had given me very precise directions and I managed to find the correct address. Soon, the happy relatives piled eagerly into the Mercedes to guide me around the area for a couple of days. This was one of the most moving experiences of my very full life.

The trip continued through Hungary, Slovakia, and Poland. All the Eastern European countries then were much like they were in the 1930s. East Germany seemed busier than the other nations, with more traffic – although but not a lot by Western standards. It was like a time machine, but here I was driving what was then agreed to be the most advanced car of the era. In that period, I was able to experience all types of roads. The traffic was light, and I had several significant adventures. I met many really nice people.

Back in the U.S.A.

When my parents picked up their new 280SE in Jacksonville, they drove on down to Key West and then up the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina and Virginia, retracing the route they took on their honeymoon. Shortly after that my mother said, “When we met in the 1930s we admired Mercedes-Benz but we never thought we could aspire to own one. Now we have two. We will never need another car.” She was 62 at the time and lived to be 80. My dad lived to be 92.

They never needed another car.

As they got older, my parents drove less and my Porsche got less dependable, so I would use the 280SE for ski trips. It has been to Eastern and Western Canada and across America multiple times; literally coast-to-coast, east and west as well as north and south. As time went on, my mother felt more comfortable in town with the smaller 300D. She encouraged me to drive the 280SE more, reminding me that it was my car.

During the 1980s I was racing at a national level with sponsorship from the Austrian Phoenix Tire Co, Continental, Goodyear, American Motors, Mazda, Nissan, Toyota, and Mitsubishi. This kept me busy most of the year, since many of the tracks were 200+ miles away. For the longer professional races I would fill the 280SE with crew members while others drove the tow truck.

I found that the big S-Class also worked well for ski trips at Thanksgiving and Christmas. Even though it has at least 20,000 miles on snow and salted roads, there is no rust. Effectively all the 330,000 miles on the odometer have been accumulated for pleasure. I never was forced to commute great distances. About half of the car's travel has been to MBCA events and other activities.

All Mercedes-Benz cars seem to age gracefully, and are so technically advanced and refined that they can safely keep up with traffic for many years. I don’t pamper this car, but I do maintain it. I truly enjoy driving our 280SE and every trip now seems like winning a race.

You just can’t be in a hurry. Almost anywhere you stop people remark about how nice the car looks. They often have a story about how they, a relative or a friend has a similar one. Occasionally they actually own a Mercedes-Benz. I recruit these people as new MBCA members.

A car for a lifetime – or two

The story gets better: As my dad clattered up and down the driveway in his 220 or 300D, our next-door neighbor, an automotive engineer, became interested. His taste was more SL and S-Class. When he bought a new Mercedes-Benz, he stored the previous one.

Years later his daughter and I fell in love and married. We still have all five Mercedes-Benz cars from both families. Thanks to our parents’ dutiful preservation, they are all original.

Our 280SE has won MBCA track events as well as concours. I typically drive it 18,000–21,000 miles each year to MBCA events, especially in the last six years that I have had responsibilities as a Regional Director or National Director-at-Large.

In the 43 years we have owned this 280SE, we have covered over 330,000 miles together. My mother’s car is still all original, down to the MB-Tex interior. The engine has never been apart, nor has the transmission. It has returned an average of 20 mpg. How much more fuel would it have burned if it were a 15-mpg 450? I drive it 4000+ rpm for up to 14 hours at a stretch. I’ve changed the eight quarts of oil 110 times. It uses one quart about every 3000 miles. Michelin tires now last 100,000 miles.

Although Mercedes-Benz vehicles are rarely striking or trendy, they continue to look good, even in their “simply a used car” middle-age. The W116 was a landmark car when it was new. With advanced aerodynamics and safety, a state-of-the-art chassis, twin-cam engine, and four-wheel double piston disc brakes, Road and Track Magazine called it “the best car in the world.” With the 6.9 engine it was by far the fastest four-door sedan available anywhere. According to his son, Clive, the w116 450SEL 6.9 was Lotus founder Colin Chapman’s favorite car.

My parents drove our beloved 280SE for 24 years. Driving it  today connects me with them. While I can look forward to 20 or more years of life, I doubt I will need  to purchase another Mercedes-Benz either, making our beloved 280SE the perfect definition of a lifetime car.