Blau Bel Takes the Scenic Route
Up the coast to Oregon in a 1969 280S Sedan
 
By Gary and Genie Anderson
Photographs by Richard Simonds and Gary Anderson
 
What’s it like to drive one of those old cars?” asked the attendant in Medford, as he fulfilled Oregon’s state mandate by pumping gasoline into the shiny blue 1969 Mercedes 280S early on a Monday morning.

It’s a reasonable question for the 280S, built on the W108 chassis that many enthusiasts consider to be the last great production model ever to come out of Stuttgart; it’s not just one of “those old cars.” The drive from San Francisco convinced both of us.

When we learned that Richard Simonds was planning to drive his family’s 280S, christened “Blau Bel” (Blue Belle) by his wife Laura, solo from the San Francisco Bay Area to Forest Grove, Oregon, for a regional concours where Mercedes-Benz would be the featured marque, we offered to go along – we would happily share the driving. In addition to a pleasant drive, we figured the 1,500-mile trip on some of America’s most scenic roads would be an excellent opportunity to experience what it’s like to drive one of these elegant and surprisingly practical sedans.

The 280S was designed at the confluence between trendy – note the four headlights – and traditional style with its imposing radiator.

The automobile

Built in 1969, the Mercedes-Benz 280S was the middle child of that year’s W108 offerings in the model series that was a predecessor to the current E-Class. The 2.8-liter inline, 6-cylinder engine breathed through dual Zenith carburetors that differentiated the 280S from its smaller single-carb 280 and larger fuel-injected 280SE siblings. The engine pushed a comfortable 157 horsepower and 181 pound-feet of torque to the wheels through a column-selector, 4-speed automatic gearshift, sufficient to push the 3,212 pounds of automobile to 62 mph in approximately 12.5 seconds, and cruise at highway speeds comfortably below its rated top speed of 112 mph.

Inside, Blau Bel’s M-B Tex upholstery looked almost as good as new, although the seat cushioning had become a little less resilient over the four decades of the car’s life. The back seat was spacious and comfortable enough to allow one of us to lie down with legs bent to take a nap. One unusual nod to comfort in the day was the optional Thermo King air conditioner that at least cooled the front passengers in the summer heat, though at the expense of a noticeable vibration through the floor when the dual-piston compressor kicked in.

With their upright classic radiator, traditional lines, and high, airy greenhouse, more than 25,000 of these handsome Paul Bracq-designed sedans were sold in 1969 – an impressive number out of the nearly 100,000 units manufactured in the five-year production period from 1967 to 1972. This particular example registered 217,000-plus miles on the odometer and was mechanically refreshed two years ago.

The 280S was the first Bracq design after the Finbacks, with a timeless curve topping the rear fenders and a large airy greenhouse in dignified proportion to the sweeping side panels.

Our route

Driving by himself, Richard originally planned to take the shortest route possible from San Francisco to Portland, up Interstate 5. But with three of us sharing the driving and a desire to enjoy the trip, we took the scenic route north on U.S. 101 on the outbound leg, staying in the coastal hills to the California border, then cutting across to I-5 in Oregon.

If you ever get the flimsiest excuse to drive north from San Francisco into the Northwest, this is the route to take, traversing Northern California’s wine country and redwood forests, and the rocky Pacific coast and river valleys of Oregon.

The large, slender steering wheel offers comfortable rests for thumbs at the 4 and 8 o’clock positions while the expansive greenhouse provides a clear view of the road.

Driving the 280S

The first leg north through typically heavy Bay Area traffic was our opportunity to evaluate how this period sedan held up to contemporary road conditions. Frankly, we had no complaints, though we always kept in mind that we wouldn’t be able to downshift and power our way out of trouble; we were extra vigilant about traffic around us. Fortunately, the four-wheel disc brakes were more than adequate to bring the car to a stop when brake lights abruptly lit up the highway ahead.

California roads suffer due to recent state budget cuts, but the rough pavement made us appreciate the smoothness built into the coil springs and front and rear sway bars of the four-wheel independent suspension, and the high-profile tires characteristic of the mid-sized Mercedes sedans of the 1960s and ’70s. The car actually seemed more comfortable and better insulated from road noise and bumps than many modern cars with their low-profile tires and less-than-compliant suspensions.

Once clear of the urban sprawl north of the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway 101 enters the world-renowned Northern California wine country, traversing Sonoma, Russian River, Alexander, and Anderson Valley domains, with green vineyards dotting the contours of soft hills on either side of the highway.

Literally one of the high points of the drive, in Northern California  the road narrows to barely two lanes and passes through old-growth redwoods dating back 1,000 years and more.

Continuing onward, the highway north of Leggett literally dives without warning into redwood groves. One minute we were cruising on sweeping 70-mile-per-hour curves on a four-lane divided highway, and the next minute the road squeezed into one lane each way, with centuries-old redwoods growing from the very edges of the highway up into a dark green canopy over the highway.

North of the redwoods, we headed back toward the Pacific coast, following logging trucks traveling to coastal lumber mills. Out of the trees, we watched the sun set over the ocean horizon to the west and made our stop in Crescent City, where we enjoyed fresh-caught salmon at a local restaurant.

The most scenic part of the drive paralleled the Smith River that descends from Grants Pass, Oregon, to the coastal port of Crescent City, California.

We were on the road early the next morning, driving U.S. 199, the Redwood Highway, which follows the Smith River as it meanders more or less east for 82 miles through the Klamath National Forest toward Grants Pass, Oregon. Here, we really had the opportunity to test the handling of the 280S on tight curves that peaked at about 45 mph, with uphill and downhill hairpins marked at 20 mph.

Being used to test driving contemporary cars with good-to-great engineering, it took a few minutes of Richard’s mentoring for both of us to relearn driving techniques appropriate to the very best engineering available in 1969. Hands still needed to be positioned between 8 and 9 o’clock and 3 and 4 o’clock for control, but hands were now separated by 16 inches on the wide, narrow-rimmed steering wheel. Not to fret; there were spokes at these positions over which we could loop our thumbs.

The real challenges of driving Blau Bel were to be aware of balance and weight transfer because this car rolls more than modern cars as it shifts from a right turn to a left turn, to look ahead and anticipate the corners – taking up the usual small amount of play at center before going into the corner – and keep inputs as smooth as possible to compensate for the large amount of assist in the period power steering. Once we adapted to these long-forgotten driving techniques, we found the car hugely satisfying on the challenging road that we believe ranks among the best scenic driving roads in the country.           

 With a 12:30 burger lunch and driver change in Springfield, we were ready to head north again on I-5. As the scenic terrain gave way to straight pavement between planted fields, we were soon back in the modern world, passing time by commenting on the skills and practices of other drivers. By late afternoon, we had bypassed Portland to the east and were at our hotel in Forest Grove in time to freshen up and meet members of the Portland and Seattle sections for a friendly and casual outdoor dinner at the popular McMenamin’s Grand Lodge.

On the concours field on Sunday, Blau Bel’s shine belied  the 825 miles she had been driven in the preceding three days and the judges awarded her second in her class.

Concours in Forest Grove

We had been invited to join entrants in the Forest Grove Concours d’Elegance for their 10th annual Vineyard and Lake Tour, scheduled for Saturday, July 14. Laura Simonds flew in the previous night and joined Richard in Blau Bel for the tour. Portland Section members Ed and Viki Waite generouly offered us use of their beautiful 1986 560SL, so we had the chance to compare the experience of driving both classic cars. We thoroughly enjoyed the top-down driving and the power of the 560’s V-8, all in a package nearly 20 years younger than the 280S. Nevertheless, we were surprised by how well the 6-cylinder 280S sedan held up in comparison.

Despite the 800 miles under its wheels clocked during the previous three days, Richard and Laura had the 280S sparkling and ready for judging on Sunday under the trees of the Pacific University campus. Even with the wide variety of high-quality local contenders, our intrepid chariot distinguished herself, capturing a second-place trophy in her class. Why buy souvenirs of an event when you can have them awarded to you by the judges?

The interior of the car, with the original MB-Tex and wood trim, but newer carpeting, is as inviting as the day she left the showroom.

Our trip home

But we weren’t done yet. As soon as the awards were announced and Richard saw Laura off to the airport, the three of us loaded our luggage (and local wine) into the capacious trunk and we were south-bound. By 9 p.m. we had covered the boring part of the Oregon route and were in Medford, ready for a shower, sleep, and a very early start on Monday.

We decided to return on the shorter and less exciting Interstate 5 route, but even on I-5 we couldn’t complain about the scenery for the first three hours as we climbed the volcanic mountains on the Oregon-California border, complete with a brilliant view of Mount Shasta in the early sunlight.

By 10 a.m. the scenic stretch was behind us, but we could look forward to a mid-morning stop at Nancy’s Airport Café, an eatery near the Thunderhill Raceway Park and next to the Willows Airport, which dates back to when the Doolittle Raiders practiced here in 1942 for their courageous World War II air raid that proved Japan was vulnerable to American attack.

From there, we were back on familiar turf, and after one last gasoline stop in Vacaville – we averaged a little more than 17 mpg for the trip – we were home again, with neither Blau Bel nor her three travelers any the worse for wear after 1,500 miles of travel, one tour, one car show (with trophy), and many wonderful memories entered in our mental logbooks.

SPECIFICATIONS – 1969 280S SEDAN

BODY STYLE: 4-door, 5-passenger, front-engine, rear-drive sedan
EXTERIOR Blue (903):  INTERIOR Blue (135) MB-Tex
ENGINE: Inline 6-cylinder, overhead cam, 2,778cc, Dual Zenith 2-throat 35/40 carburetors, 157 horsepower, 181 pound-feet of torque
TRANSMISSION: 4-speed column-shift automatic
OPTIONAL:  Thermo King air conditioner
WEIGHT: 3,212 pounds
PERFORMANCE: 0-62 mph: 12.5 seconds
TOP SPEED: 112 mph
FUEL EFFICIENCY: 15-18 mph, 300 miles on one tank
TOTAL PRODUCTION: 93,666 1967-1972
COST WHEN NEW: $7,019