300 D--Miraculous Transformation

Cool!

I assume "around here" is somewhere in Brazil?

Wow. This is very interesting. It is a shame we cannot buy these and bring them to the U.S. The U.S. has totally blown its automotive industry. You cannot buy a good solid personally-repairable utility vehicle, and no car is for sale under USD $20K. Most are in the USD $30-50K range. With financing, insurance and all repairs done at the dealer or shop, the cost of automobile ownership is utterly ridiculous for those unfortunates who buy these over-priced, over designed things. What we need is, again, the VW Beetle, VW Bus, and W123 series Mercedes. It would also be nice if the pre-'90s International and Jeep lines could be brought back. But of course, nothing can ever be brought back. This is the tragic march of "progress".

Whilst the W123 may have been a solid car -- I had a couple -- we mustn't get lost in romaticism. The old Beetle had its share of problems, too, otherwise owners would not have been driving around with engine compartment covers propped open.

Cars of the last 20 years or so are much more reliable that older cars. Better brakes, better tyres, better suspensions...

Wouldn't want to go back.

DAS

To send an e-mail directly replace "spam" with "schmetterling"

Yes, it is! And we have 3 Mercedes-Benz plants at the country: one for buses and two others for cars, one of them only for export :)

Mobi

Well, I would, and do. I haven't bought a new car in decades. My

Doubt it.

Don't get me wrong, I like/d the W123, and it's great it floats your boat, but I was speaking more generally and I think many more modern cars are superior, including in the matter of safety. I don't think crumple zone research stopped in the 80s.

DAS

To send an e-mail directly replace "spam" with "schmetterling"

I agree with you on the safety issue, and I agree with the OP that if I want a car that looks like a Toyota I'll buy a Toyota.