There's something special about the cars that people grow up with. Old memories of family road trips and daily life are entwined with the vehicles. When those classic cars have stayed with the family, those memories remain fresh. That's the case with Inge Ellsner-Strieve and Ellen Ellsner Walberg, who have held on to their parents' 1973 280SEL 4.5 sedan and 1966 300SE coupe, and still enjoy them today. Although both sisters live in central Oregon, Inge is a member of the San Francisco Bay Area Section of MBCA.

"Dad got started with Mercedes-Benz when he bought his first Gullwing," Inge recalls. "He had two 300SLs. The first one he bought was a 1955.He had that one when he and our mom were courting, and he was part of the Mercedes-Benz club in Portland, Oregon at that time. So that was their courting car. We heard all sorts of fun stories about them going up to Spirit Lake, which doesn't even exist anymore."

"We also heard a lot about the vents on the back of the Gullwings," she said. "When you parked in a certain direction and go to back up, you would basically get a shower. That happened to them on their first date. Mom was wearing a pencil skirt, which was the fad back then. She had to be demure getting into the car. So, that was the beginning."

"We used to travel in that car," Ellen adds. "Before Inge was born we went to Las Vegas and places like that. I slept in the window well in the back; that was my car seat!"

"I've actually got a picture of Mom highly pregnant with me, and they were at the Grand Canyon," Inge says.

Moving to a family car

With a growing family, Inge and Ellen's father needed a more practical family car. But the hook was set and he chose another Mercedes-Benz.

"My dad had purchased a 220 Ponton for our mother as a car for her to drive," Inge says. "But she couldn't handle it because it was a column stick shift. Then dad wanted something more sporty for himself. He was used to driving the SL to work. In 1966, dad went to the Mercedes-Benz dealer told them he didn't want less of a vehicle than his 300SL. They just came out with this updated version of the 300SE Opera Coupe. Dad came up then with the color scheme and he ordered it for European delivery. It cost $8,227. It came with a Telefunken, which is actually a portable radio that you could slide into a holder. I've still got that!"

The sisters and their parents went to Germany to pick up the car, and toured the continent with it in the summer of 1966.

"The car ultimately landed in the Bay Area of California, but it was originally plated into Portland. Our dad picked it up in Vancouver, off of the ferry. Then tt was the daily driver. It went on field trips. And then in 1972, they got tired of Ellen and me complaining because we both were very tall, so sitting in the back of that coupe is deadly awful."

Then came a sedan

"That's why they bought the 280SEL, and that would have been in 1973," Inge says. "I've got the paperwork on that. Dad drove down to Los Angeles to pick it up. The funny story on that is, he was used to the straight six engine in the coupe. So he wasn't watching the gas gauge and he thought he'd make it, but he pretty much ran out of gas at the pump on the first drive of that car."

After a few camping seasons towing the 300 behind the family motor home, the Ellsners parked the coupe and then the sedan due to the gas shortages and high fuel prices of the 1970s.

"Dad parked them," Inge says. "But he didn't park him the way we now know to park the vehicles, which is to put them up on blocks with the air suspension.

"I always liked the 280," Ellen says. "And I always hated the 300. I don't like the smell of leather; It kind of makes me nauseous. And like my sister said, I'm nearly six feet tall. But I took my driver's test in that car."

"I really liked the coupe," Inge states. "I always thought it had just the most beautiful clean lines. And it was something my dad liked. As I got older Dad and I kind of had a tumultuous relationship. And so it was something I kind of held on dear to my heart, more so probably because it was a part of Dad. Ultimately, when I got engaged I told my dad I wanted to use the coupe for my wedding. We got it running but then it went back to sitting again."

"We used the 280 for my wedding," Ellen adds. "Which is more logical because boy, was it hard to get in the back of that coupe with a wedding dress!"

Taking stewardship

After a while, it was time for the sisters to take stewardship of the family Benzes. Inge and Ellen stepped up to do the right thing.

"When dad got sick and passed, I took it upon myself to pull the coupe out," Inge recalls. "And I fixed it. I spent a lot of money right before he died, because I told him we needed to get this car running, and he agreed. We had a few mishaps trying to get it going, and then he just got too sick. I inherited the two Mercedes."

"It was close to $25,000 I spent to get that coupe running again," Inge says. "Each of the fuel injectors was two grand at that time, and I had three that had cemented down from being sitting in the shellac situation of old gasoline. We also had to replace the bags in the air suspension. But it was a labor of love! It took me several years to put the money together and get it all going down the road. But she became something that I could take to any car show, and she would win it unless there was a Gullwing sitting there."

"The other funny fact is that neither Ellen nor I knew that that car had the leather interior, because until my wedding day it had checkered fabric seat covers from Mercedes-Benz on it.

I was gobsmacked when I saw the car on my wedding day. Dad said it always had seat covers because you girls were babies when we got it."

The 280SEL fared a bit better because it was used regularly for many more years.

"Once we realized what had happened to the coupe, the 280 was driven more," Inge says. "Also because it did have the back seat. So when our folks had company from Europe, or anywhere else, they would pull that car out."

"It was our limousine," Ellen adds.

"It's in very good shape," Inge continues. It's only got two little nicks in the dash, because the speedometer quit working. When they took that cluster out, they kind of nicked it a bit. But that's the only thing wrong on that car. I won best in class with it at the Stanford concours, and the only thing they could mark me down on was the windshield wiper bag was not original to the car. So I found the original one and that's back on it now.

Living memories

After their father passed away and their mother could no longer drive, the sisters moved the cars to the high desert of central Oregon, where they can be preserved and enjoyed.

"The 300 coupe is so much fun to drive," Inge says. "The 280 is mom's car, but I don't have as close a connection with it simply because we were older when we got it."

"We went up and down between the Bay Area and Portland every couple months," Ellen explains, "and most often those trips were in the 280. The car has a cassette tape deck, and our parents only had a few tapes, so when I hear a certain song, I associate it with those trips. To me, that car is Interstate 5. We used to take turns sitting on the transmission hump in the back while the other one laid down on the seats."

"Or we would actually fill in the footwell and have two beds," Inge adds.

Today, the cars live in Oregon and remain essentially unrestored, but very well preserved. Inge and Ellen plan to keep them that way.

"I feel very strongly that any restoration would diminish their value because they are survivors and they are in impeccable shape," Inge insists. "I wish everyone could see them in person. There is not a blemish on either one that didn't come from the factory."

"We've got a lot of memories with these cars," Inge adds. "After dad passed, it was important to me that they be a part of the family. Because it's the last connection to our dad that's tangible. "I get in the coupe and I feel dad sitting there with me."