Enthusiasts Blogging Our Favorite Classifieds
Is there any car more revered in the last half century than the Mercedes-Benz W123? Amongst the Mercedes faithful, this model stands head and shoulders above them all in terms of durability and timelessness. It is also known as quite the gas miser, with plenty of biodiesel conversions out there on the roads. Let’s take a look at three very different W123 models, beginning with this early 1977 300D sedan for sale in Florida.
It’s hard to believe, but the X5 has been with us for well over a decade now. It seems like yesterday that it was unveiled, shortly after Mercedes-Benz introduced it’s own mid-sized SUV, the ML. The car was a bit of a mash up from other BMWs and had a bit of Land Rover DNA in it. BMW’s brief ownership of the British off-road brand led to certain features like hill descent technology and a split tailgate. This SUV would also be one of the first BMWs to be manufactured in the new South Carolina manufacturing facility. This X5 3.0i for sale near Baltimore is from our reader Scott who is ready to move on to his next ride.
Throughout these pages, I have extolled the virtues of Porsche’s 912 for its simplicity married to the classic 911 design. Here we have the car that effectively became the replacement for the 912 as Porsche’s entry-level rear-engined sports car, following the cessation of 912 production in 1969. While a 911T does not come at quite the cost savings of the 912 it nonetheless offers the most reasonable cost for anyone who must have a vintage long-hood 911 and values seem destined to appreciate at a steady rate that easily eclipses the 912. The 911T was first introduced as the entry-level 911 in 1967 featuring a 2.0 liter flat-six engine delivering 110 hp to the rear wheels through a standard 4-speed or optional 5-speed manual transmission. In 1970 engine displacement was increased to 2.2 liters with an appreciable rise in power to 125 hp. With only 2240 pounds to propel, performance of the 911T is capable, if not brisk, but still provides the driving dynamics and characteristics so highly desired by Porsche enthusiasts. The example featured here, a restored Slate Gray 1970 Porsche 911T with 5-speed manual transmission, comes to us from our friends at EuroWerkz.
Purists decried the arrival of the “grown up” A3 chassis Golf and Vento, sold as the Jetta in North America. It was expensive, it was heavy (relative to the A1 and A2 chassis, anyway) and the performance was dulled – that was, until the introduction of the GLX model that replaced the earlier GLi models. Now sporting the VR6 that had debuted in the Corrado a few years earlier, the GLX was all around a screamer. It might have been heavier than the GLi had been, but it was quicker to 60, quieter on the highway, more comfortable and better in crashes (if things went south), and returned close to the same fuel economy as the thirsty, buzzy and boxy 16V had. The Jetta in many ways helped to save Volkswagen, too – being one of the highest sellers since the Beetle, it was insanely popular and seemed to be the defacto college car of choice for both men and women. Because of that, many of these Jettas fell into disrepair or were totaled, so it’s rare to find a lower mile and clean GLX these days:
Some forbidden fruit today, coming to us from Japan via Canada. It’s the beefier 2.5 Cosworth that we never got in the US, bringing with it dual timing chains and 17 extra horsepower. The optioned automatic gearbox is interesting as most 190E 16s came with a dogleg 5-speed to keep the racy feel. The 2.5-liter 16-valve should keep things at a nice pace though, even if it needs some love. The whole car needs some attention, from a few interior and exterior blemishes to the too-low suspension. Sitting on Lorinser monoblocks, though, it’s hard to deny the appeal of this E30 M3 counterpart, especially when you take into account that it will cost at least 75% less than the Bimmer.