Mercedes 280 CE
This new Mercedes Benz 280CE coupe, discreet, restrained and unlikely to attract unwanted public scrutiny, can be yours for about twenty two thousand grickles which, as we all know, is a bunch of grickles. It replaces an even more discreet and restrained model, the 250C, which, when it was introduced in October, 1969, could have been yours for a mere $6,612. The increase in price covers double overhead cams, terrific front and rear suspension, ingenious new structural details, Bosch mechanical fuel injection, inflation here and abroad and the injurious effect of the German economic miracle on the American dollar.
It may or may not be worth the money; there’s no way to tell in this era of $5000 Volkswagens and $10,000 Chevrolets. Taken at face value, that is, examined strictly as a piece of transportation technology, it is a delightful automobile. I t does all the right things. To be fair, we were not exactly unanimous OD the quality of the ride, relative to the 280E sedan, and Sherman found that rear wheel lockup tended to add yards to the braking distance, but on the whole we found this to be a splendid car. It won’t separate your retinas with heart stopping acceleration, but it will go faster than most of us dare to drive on any kind of road to be found in North America.
Perhaps the greatest disservice done to the products of Daimler Benz AG in this country is the kid glove treatment they receive from the bulk of their American owner body. The fact that they cost a lot shouldn’t prevent people from flogging them. They are designed and built to be abused, never happier than when the engine is at the red L e and the tires are stretched right out to maxi mum lateral acceleration. This new coupe isn 1″ exception. It will do anything you’ might ask o it, except a thirteen second quarter mile Mercedes Benz of North America is em barked upon a fairly audacious marketing exercise with this new coupe configuration. In Addition to the gasoline powered 28OCE they’re also offering a Diesel powered (five cylinder) 300CD, hoping to learn more about America’s fascination with their admittedly pricey Diesel sedans.
The company’s future in these days of energy fears and threats of punitive “gas guzzler” legislation will depend heavily upon their ability to sell more good fuel economy cars, like the 300CD. It’s slower than grass growing, having about half the power and two thirds the torque of the twin cam fuel injected 280CE, but if America goes for this very expensive sporty coupe with its Diesel engine option, MBNA’s path into the energy starved Eighties will be an easier one. Sad to say, the Diesel version was simply too anaemic for our tastes and we reflexively opted for the gas coupe. Bodies and trim are identical, whether you go for gas or Diesel, and it is the body design and interior appointments that will dictate this new coupe’s success or failure in the U.S. market not that there’s much doubt, since all Mercedes sell well here, more or less automatically.
This car has a great deal of interior space. It can carry five in a pinch, but four can be genuinely comfortable in the car on trips. Headroom is a problem for the tall, unfortunately, especially so in cars equipped with sunroofs. I am 6’2″, very long from the waist up, and I could only manage by putting the seat at its lowest setting, then reclining the backrest a bit more than I would ordinarily like. Instruments, controls and mate rials used are all first class, though some staff members still find control effort too high.
One complaint upon which virtually the entire auto~ motive press can find agreement, however, is that the seats are just too hard. Mercedes Benz philosophy dictates a seat that will be as good after ten years and a hundred thousand miles as it is the day it leaves the showroom. This is neat for the used car buyer but a positive pain in the derriere for the new Mercedes buyer who likes to take long trips. Even a few Daimler Benz insiders have cautiously muttered their agreement with this complaint, and we hope that we’ll get some relief soon, because we enjoy driving the cars so much. Daimler Benz’s prudent and rational “building block” approach to new models, and the way each new car logically springs from the concepts and components of its predecessors, always guarantees that any new Mercedes Benz will be~first and foremost an incrementally improved Mercedes Benz.
This always results in good cars, highly saleable cars, but we’re beginning to wish they’d kick out the jams and bring us something to make our eyes pop and our tongues hang out. What we need, Karl and Gottlieb, is a C 1 II for the Eighties.