I’ll put almost any Mercedes-Benz from the golden era of the 1960s up against other car from that time period and say it was better. There is a very distinct feeling when you open the doors to one of these cars and it usually says to you “this feels different.” Everything is heavier, thicker, and more robust. Plastic? Very little if any. This is a car made of wood, leather, and steel. You pilot them as much as you drive them. Chances are, it is going to outlast you if cared for properly. Today, we have one of those cars.
This is a 1964 Mercedes-Benz 220SEb coupe. That unofficial lowercase ‘b’ is very important as it signifies this is a fuel-injected inline-six car rather than a twin-carb of the standard 220SE. Not that the dual carbs are bad, but rather the fuel-injection system is much easier to live with and of course much smoother. This car in Chicago is finished in a wonderful shade of red with the matching hubcaps, a black leather cabin, and that all-important wood instrument cluster binnacle. Just to add some more goodness, it’s a sunroof example as well and has a four-speed manual gearbox. What isn’t to like?
