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2000 Mercedes-Benz G500 Europa

2000 Mercedes-Benz G500 Europa

Published August 4, 2016 by Andrew

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So lets start off with a quick Thursday evening history lesson. Way back in the grand time known as the year 2002, Mercedes-Benz finally decided to officially grace North America with its wonderful Geländewagen, or ”G-Wagen” for short. Or, ”G-Wag” if the next words in the sentence are ”sittin’ on 22-inch rimz.” So with the G-Wagen starting production 1979 and Mercedes never officially offering them for sale at dealers until the model year 2002, someone had to feed the need of wealthy North Americans who saw these on their vacations in Swiss Alps and wanted to get something else besides a P38 Range Rover that had a permanent EAS Fault message on the dash.  That ”someone” were the guys at Europa G-Wagen located in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Their business was pretty straight forward, they would bring over G-Wagens from Europe, do all the very expensive dirty work of federalizing these SUVs so they weren’t subject to the 25-year import rule, then distribute them all over the country. Their business did so well that they became the exclusive U.S. importer of the G-Wagen and eventually gained U.S. Small Volume Manufacturer status. This all went really well until 2002 until Mercedes gave them the ”we’ll take it from here” and bought the U.S. distribution rights from Europa. This left the company to focus more on service, parts and accessions. Today, Europa still dabbles in importing G-Wagens, but mostly in the models we never got here such as the three door Cabrio.

So, every once in a blue moon one of these W463 Europa SUVs pop up for sale. Today, we have a 2000 G500 in Colorado that deserves a closer look.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2000 Mercedes-Benz G500 Europa on eBay

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2001 Mercedes-Benz E55 AMG

2001 Mercedes-Benz E55 AMG

Published May 27, 2016 by Craig

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Truth be told, I’ve never really liked the look of the W210 E-class all that much. The design has always struck me as bloated and unflattering, the automotive equivalent of a blancmange. But all is forgiven in the case of the E55 AMG. With the addition of a subtle bodykit, 18″ monoblock alloys, lower-profile tires and a dual exhaust, the wobbly W210 is transformed into something else altogether. Squat and purposeful, the car suddenly takes on the character of refined menace, like a nightclub bouncer in a tuxedo. Performing its everyday duties, the E55 will ferry you and your passengers vast distances in quiet and spacious comfort with surprisingly little fuss. But mash the peddle and you’ll find a generous reserve of power on call to propel you quickly into license-losing territory.

This car for sale in Florida has nearly 95k miles on the odometer and, being a Designo model, presents in an unusual and attractive color combination.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2001 Mercedes-Benz E55 AMG on Ebay

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Feature Listing: 2001 Mercedes-Benz S430

Feature Listing: 2001 Mercedes-Benz S430

Published April 28, 2016 by Carter

Right now, the least expensive car you can buy in the United States brand new is the Nissan Versa Sedan, which rings in at a very budget friendly $11,900. For that you get such amenities as wheels, seats, mostly translucent glass and an engine. Sounding a bit like a sewing machine with a hangover, the Versa’s 1.6 liter inline-4 struggles to produce 109 horsepower. Inside are cheap plastics, cheaper fabrics, and plenty of toxic new car smell. Okay, I’ll admit it does come with a warranty which, judging by the used Nissan products I see covered in soot and broken down around me, you’ll probably need at some point. You know those commercials for the toy (Flashing Lights! Realistic Siren Sounds!) you always wanted when you were a kid that they made seem so cool, but if you were lucky enough to get one you found out it was pretty much complete crap and broken immediately? Claiming that you’ve achieved something in buying the Versa as a new car is pretty much the same thing. I’d say it was a toaster on wheels, but I wouldn’t want to insult toast.

On the other end of the spectrum is the luxury executive market. Cars in this realm are crafted to be silent but perform like Swiss watches; powerful, smooth and seamless. They are expected to bathe you in luxuries; supple leather, the tactile feel of real wood – an airy feel of a ski chalet in Saint Moritz, but with the computing power of NASA and the convenience features of a Brookstone catalogue. They are made to have presence but not in a showy, pay attention to me way; more often, a regal, stately suit to brush the pedestrian cares of life away as you isolate yourself from traffic. They’re transportation cocoons spun by silk worms, and as such if you’re budget says “Versa”, they’re thoroughly out of your price range. Or, are they?

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Feature Listing: 2000 Mercedes-Benz G500 Cabriolet

Feature Listing: 2000 Mercedes-Benz G500 Cabriolet

Published November 4, 2015 by Carter

I have to admit, I’m not normally drawn to trucks or even cars that masquerade as trucks. You know that expression ‘It’s a Jeep thing, you wouldn’t understand!’? They’re right. I don’t understand. They’re loud, uncomfortable, hugely unreliable, rust quickly and accelerate slowly. They get horrible fuel mileage, launch their occupants out when they crash, and aren’t really particularly attractive. And I’m pretty thankful that I’m married to a woman who generally agrees with me when it comes to these things. That’s why I was particularly surprised when she rather unceremoniously announced that she’d be happy to drive around in a Mercedes-Benz Geländewagen. The surprise was doubled because in spite of my claims above, the G-wagen is something I love too.

For the last few decades, the G models have remained effective unchanged. While models like the Jeep Wrangler and Toyota FJ-Cruiser have tried re-imagined retro-rough styling, the Geländewagen marches on as an unapologetic Dinosaur from the late Cretaceous period. Sure, it’s been updated with swanky interiors and more modern electronics and engines. Indeed, you can get some pretty nutter supercharged models if you need to pummel trails that much more quickly. And the Geländewagen has opened up into a new crowd who doesn’t hit the trails, but fits large wheels and blacks out everything. It is one of the few mass appeal, truly do-anything vehicles ever produced. There are plenty of models to choose from, but the ones that always capture my attention are the rare Cabriolets such as this 2000 G500:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2000 Mercedes-Benz G500 Cabriolet at Sun Valley Autos

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1999 Mercedes-Benz C43 AMG Estate

1999 Mercedes-Benz C43 AMG Estate

Published July 8, 2015 by Carter

In 1999, if you wanted a small German performance car capable of carrying several adults, you had a few options. First, you could select the BMW M3 – the benchmark for performance in the category, the E36 was nearing the end of it’s life cycle and the sedan had been dropped for the last model year. There was no M3 Touring model available, so if you wanted a wagon you needed to move over to the folks from Ingolstadt; Audi’s second generation S4. While unlike the M3 you couldn’t opt for a convertible, importantly if you wanted to carry your 2.2 children and dog in style they had the Avant available. While BMW’s neutered U.S. spec M3 made it by with only 240 horsepower, Audi’s twin turbocharged V6 offered less displacement but waves of torque and 250 horsepower. Those were the days when a 10 horsepower jump over your competition was a pretty big deal. So, you can imagine the shock when Mercedes-Benz introduced it’s new take on the small executive performance market with the introduction of the V8-engined C43 AMG. While the C36’s inline-6 had a 26 horsepower advantage over its nearest rival, the C43 broke through the 300 horsepower mark with the M113, with 306 horsepower, but staggeringly also 302 lb.ft of torque. That’s a lot, even by today’s standard, and it was not only available in sedan form, but also in Touring form. Though the Tourings never made it to these shores, one has popped up on eBay and is for sale in the Great White North:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1999 Mercedes-Benz C43 AMG Estate on eBay

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