The Mercedes-Benz W202 C-Class has very little notoriety outside of the C36 AMG and C43 AMG. Maybe I’m missing something, but there seems to be no desire for a 1994 C220. It doesn’t surprise me as the W202 was an interesting blend of the old school “the best or nothing†and the world entering the booming 1990s where the product line expanded rapidly and the bean counters starting have more say at the table. When you sit in and drive a W202, you do have some feeling of that classic Mercedes magic, but some of stuff you can clearly see they cheaped out on. Even compared to 190E, these felt a little more “plasticy,” but tried their best to still convince you they really went all out with the resources and development of the model. So now that the newest W202 is over 20-year-old, will these non-AMG cars ever have any of demand or collectability? Don’t bet on it.
Month: April 2021
Treser is a name that occupies an interesting place in the tuner world. Both pioneering and polarizing, he pushed the boundaries of his technology at the time, creating stretched, chopped, and off-road versions of road cars. They had special wheels, unique body kits, and additional performance – not to mention optional interior refits. The highest-profile were, of course, his modifications of the Quattro, and today’s example is claimed to be the first modified by him. So let’s check it out!
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1981 Audi Quattro Treser on Zwischengas.com
2 CommentsI’ve previously talked about the chaos in post-War Germany, and the many attempts to ‘right the ship’ with efficient, economical, and affordable microcars, some of which were also imported to other countries. The car that springs to mind when you say this is, of course, the Isetta though ironically it was the one on the list that didn’t originate in Germany. There was also several DKWs, NSUs, and the Fuldamobil:
Airplane manufacturers got in on the action, too, with Messerschmitt trying their hand at automobiles:
Trojan, though, doesn’t sound very German, does it? Well, that’s because it’s not. But like the Isetta, this was a car that was actually produced under license in another country – England in this case. The base car here is actually a Heinkel Kabine that was lightly revised after its initial production run in the late 1950s.
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1963 Trojan 200 on eBay
1 CommentIn its second full year for production, Porsche’s entry-level 924 model sped out of the gate – at least, in terms of sales. Some 11,638 traded in 1978, the model’s single most successful year by quite a margin. In fact, if you find an early non-Turbo 924, odds are it’ll be a ’78 since about 30% were when new. Obviously, the appeal of a (relatively) inexpensive Porsche worked; consider that even in the heyday 80s, Porsche never sold more than 2,700 928s a year here – often quite less – and the 924 comprised about 70% of the firms sales in the 1970s. This is the model that kept the lights on, Mr. Turbo Carrera.
Of course, by itself that doesn’t make an early 924 exciting, nor is it solely a compelling reason to buy one. But there were some neat options for the early 924, not least of which was the Turbo. There were also a plethora of limited edition models, from the most famous Martini World Championship model to the Sebring ’79 edition, the ’78 Limited Edition, the M471 S models and the Weissach Commemorative Edition to consider. We also seen some cool later models with neat options and neat colors – plus they got a 5-speed manual, and that’s if you choose to ignore the much better later 924S model, too!
Today’s car is none of those special models, but it’s still worth a look – as it is claimed to have traveled just 8,000 miles from new. That’s roughly 185 a year, if you’re counting…and you better be able to count if you want to pay for it.
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1978 Porsche 924 on eBay
Comments closedWill the second generation R32 ever reach collector status? In January I took a look at a pretty nice example in signature Deep Blue Pearl:
I was left pretty unimpressed by the lack of detail on what should have been a pretty prime example. However, I found an even better one to consider, and pricing…well, let’s just say it’s not cheap.