The inner city is a tough environment for cars, with stop-and-go driving, potholed streets, lack of garages, and break-ins conspiring to send most cars to early deaths, but on one street in Washington, DC two upright European sedans 30 to 50 years of age continue to live the curbside life.
This Volvo 144, which is from 1966 to 1970 judging by its split grille without the 1971-74 diagonal divider, and Mercedes 300D, which could be of any year from 1976 to 1985, are parked nose tail on an everyday basis only a handful of blocks from the downtown baseball stadium. They likely belong to the same owner, with the Mercedes as the daily driver and the Volvo with its antique registration plate for occasional use.
I have long thought that beater Mercedes diesel and Volvo sedans of these eras would make excellent urban cars, with their reasonable sizes, panoramic sightlines through their large windows, rugged mechanicals, excellent for their time crash safety, and projecting steel bumpers, and it appears that I have found someone who thinks the same way.
I’ve always liked Volvo cars of this vintage (between 1965 and 1975) and the W123 Mercedes-Benz Diesel. Both seem like perfect vehicles to do battle wherever you may be. 🙂
An ad when Volvo WAS Volvo… RWD and boxy, like we love em. 🙂
The Volvo has a definite air of dignity about it. The MB not so much, too many taxies and too many recently taken over by the restaurant grease people.
What do you mean, “too many taxies” ?
I’ve only been to Holland once, but I’ll never forget exiting the train station in Amersfoort after arriving from Schiphol, and seeing dozens of Mercedes taxis – and a lone Buick LeSabre cab.
The W115, W123 and W124 were the standard choice for the taxi branche. Although Mercedes still holds a strong position, other brands also have a decent piece of the pie now.
Skoda is doing well, with their roomy cars and VAG (diesel) technology. Like the Octavia wagon below, or the bigger Superb model.
Dutch taxies can be recognized from far, as they have light blue plates. Other vehicles have yellow plates.
I was in Amsterdam in 2013 and while most cabs were still Mercedes our cab ride was in an early style Chrysler 300, I looked for Lancia badges, it was badged Chrysler. It is weird that my only ride in that full size American car was in Holland.
In the pre-Fiat era the Chrysler 300C was also badged as Chrysler 300C. Both the sedan and the wagon. V6 and V8 gasoline or a V6 Mercedes diesel.
The older FWD models, the Chrysler Vision and 300M, were also officially imported. But the 300C sold much better.
> In the pre-Fiat era the Chrysler 300C was also badged as Chrysler 300C
?
I mean that the Chrysler 300C wasn’t rebadged as a Lancia Thema yet. From the days that we had Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep dealerships.
Here you go, the Lancia Thema. The diesel option is the 3.0 liter V6 VM Motori engine, as also used by Jeep-Ram-Maserati.
With the MB diesel I assume a taxi would have and the MB 5 sp. auto, and the w124 based rear suspension, I was practically in a Mercedes. I am surprised the Pug 508 was not a more common taxi. I was excited that they were returning to larger sedans, I am a fan of the 504,505,and 604 which we had in USA.
John, the 300C is built on the Benz W210 (the successor of the W124) platform.
Don’t know for sure, but aren’t the current Charger and Challenger also built on this platform ?
I don’t think that is quite right. The big Chryslers used a mixture of dna that includes the Renault 25, Eagle Premier and Dodge Intrepid in aspects of the front suspension. Didn’t the rear suspension of the W210 carry over from the W124?
You’re correct, it was Chrysler’s LX-platform. This is what I found:
“The Chrysler 300 is based on the rear-wheel drive Chrysler LX platform which features components derived from the W211 Mercedes-Benz E-Class of 2003 to 2009.[4] For years it was incorrectly believed that the LX platform shared components from the older Mercedes W210, but it has been recently revealed by an LX chassis engineer that it wasn’t the case. “One thing that a lot of people said at the time and probably still think is that when we were doing that car, that we were just giving the old E-class stuff and that’s not true at all. They were doing the new E-class, which is called the 211, that was their code name for it. They launched that one year before we launched the LX.”[4] Shared components include the rear suspension design, front seat frames, wiring harnesses, steering column, the 5-speed automatic transmission’s design, and a derivative of the 4Matic all-wheel drive system. The Chrysler 300 also features a double wishbone front suspension that is derived from the W220 Mercedes-Benz S-Class”.
Dang, that a recent photo?
Do a Google Image Search for W123 taxi africa. Or W123 morocco. Most of the pictures I found were taken in the past decade. Here’s another one.
Mercedes diesels haven’t seen much use as taxis in the U.S., as far as I know. But I sure do remember seeing lots of them AND Volvos as taxis in Europe on several trips in the 1990s.
A later Volvo 240 with the all-rubber bumpers and huge side rub strips would be my choice for an urban battlewagon Great turning circle too (though I assume they all had that since the 144).
I am loving that Pitsatchio Green on the Merc and both cars look quite nice indeed. Wonder if they have AC?
Minor correction – the W123’s first model year in the US was 1977 (sales would indeed have begun in 1976).
Love the 140-series Volvos. I owned a ’71 142-S that refused to give up, driving it for 140k miles. Mufflers tended to rust out and the front discs were squeaky, but they were easy to fix on a weekend with a few beers. The 4-banger (SU sidedrafts) had a nice tone to it, too. I remember taking my wife & her sister on a jaunt up Mt. Washington in NH, and the floor shifter decided to pop out of it’s boot on the way up..inital panic when I waved it around like a wand..yikes! As I recall, there was a “key” that fit into the top of the tranny and a cap that screws it down to keep it in place. Needless to say I looked like a hero despite the sweat that formed on my brow that day. I owned it until around 1983-84, when a few children came along and it was time for a station wagon..I missed it like crazy..oh well. Sold it to a guy for $500 who used it as a daily driver instead of his Corvette. Great cars, and fun to drive.
Ah, panoramic sightlines. If only we could get that feature in any car built after 2002 or so. I remember getting in a ’80something Rabbit a few years ago and being blown away by how easy it was to see out of. Same thing for an old E30 3-Series BMW.
As rooflines get lower, windshield get raked, rear windows shrink to mail slot proportions and beltlines are cinched up higher than an Del Boca Vista octogenarian’s plaid pants, every modern car interior feels like a Polar Cave excursion.
I think all the current safety regulations get in the way of the most important Active Safety Feature of all: being able to see where you are going and any obstacles that lie in your path. We seem to be moving towards an era of automobile design that favors the smart phone addled idiot texting away, oblivious to their surroundings, only coming to after they’ve bounced off a phone pole, tree, or other other car only to find their airbags deployed, car totaled, and cumple-zones crumpled.
It’s too bad people hate driving so much that they will pay good money to have the car take all the responsibility for their safety. I suppose our suburban strip mall divided highway hell culture that has become such a hostile environment for anyone with a soul that most people long surrendered and now choose to be immersed in any environment that isn’t where they currently are. Because where they currently are sucks. I believe car design has come to reflect that sentiment, directly or by accident. So to speak.
My ’05 xB has perfect sight lines. Which is one of the main reasons I can’t imagine getting rid of it.
Ditto my Berlingo….. (Btw, it’s a Turbo diesel with a stick :-))
The same with both of my E70 Toyota Corollas.
In fact the greenhouse in them is so good, you can always see around you.
The downside is, the rooflines are so high that even with the sun visors down, the sun is still a PITA.
Interesting… I have never driven and xB. Are you not cursed with thick roof pillars? I forgot to list that design feature in my list of gripes. Especially the A-pillars, I mean I know about rollover standards and all, but how many accidents could have been averted in the first place by having a car you can see out of! -End of Rant.
I’m pretty sure the first model year for the 140 in the U.S. was 1967., with the B18. The B20 (1969+ ?) was badged as such, though this one seems to be missing it.
I owned a 1970 144S , a nice and competent car if slow uphills .
-Nate
my mum had a 70 144 that went head to head with a 76 grand fury that swung too wide on a corner, the fury went home on a tow truck and the Volvo was driven home where my dad discovered the drivers side floormat wasn’t bunched up from the wreck, the floor had buckled from the impact. both cars went to the wreckers but the mighty Volvo went under it’s OWN power!
This green W123 has clear lens fog lamps, putting it in 1977-1979 model range. For 1980 onward, the US version of W123 were fitted with the selective yellow fog lamps.
Dull and duller.
” Dull and duller. ”
~ you need to ride with me then .
My occasional passengers never think so .
I found the Volvo 144S to be duller than dishwater and slow too .
The Mercedes Diesel with turbocharger , not so much .
Once up to speed , both handle *much* better than you or anyone else on that bit of road , imagine .
-Nate
To me, a Mercedes of that era is about as good as they ever got. Sure, they are more sophisticated now, but I prefer this era, and perhaps the 70s to the ones they make today.
Volvos – I had a 240, probably assembled by Swedish drunks on a Monday. It was a truly awful car with some wonderful characteristics – it was easy to work on because I had to do it so often! I swore it would be my first and last Volvo…….until my teenage daughter got a license. We bought a 960 with about 50K on the odometer, we drove it for a while, she drove it for a couple of years and then my son drove it for a couple more. At 150K the body and interior were pretty beaten, but the engine and tranny were rock solid. My son traded it in for his Civic, and that was the last of the Volvos.
Not exactly. We needed a second car, one for hauling our dog, and pretty much for wagons of that type Volvo is it. We recently got an 06 XC70, not exactly new but in fairly decent shape. Once again, the Volvo wrenching skills are put to use, one thing to recommend them is that they are pretty friendly to the DIY mechanic like me.
you;re not the only one thinking these are great urban cars. i am a new york city resident and i drove a mb 240d for years. i still miss the perfect ergonomics. but i will say that i just came in from street parking a rental ford forcus and the rear view camera system is a pleasure.
You’re right about the durability of the Merc – thousands of European taxi drivers can’t be wrong
I’ve never seen a Mercedes-Benz W123 used as a taxicab. I remember when I was visiting with my family in England. We did get to ride in a Mercedes-Benz station wagon, which was used as a taxicab. Whether it had a diesel engine or a petrol (gasoline) engine, I don’t know. But I know a Mercedes-Benz when I see it.
Many of them started life as a taxi in Northwestern Europe. And decades later a lot of W123s still is a taxi, yet in Africa or in the Middle-East.
Still plenty of them in Europe too, driven as a classic car. Rarely as a daily driver, unlike its successor, the W124.
I found this very nice one, imported from Austria. First owner / first paint (China Bleu).
It’s a 1982 W123 200D (often used as the taxi model…).
Sweet. I’d buy a Merc 220D or a 240D W123 and use it as a taxicab. 🙂
Immaculate interior !
Very nice looking interior. I’ve never owned a Mercedes-Benz W123, but I have ridden as a passenger in a couple. And I’ve always liked how it looked compared to anything of the same vintage.
W123’s are still all over the place in my city (RIchmond, VA), many of them still used as daily drivers. There are quite a few biodiesel conversions but as it’s not “trendy” anymore, I’d say many most are still regular diesel 240D and 300D models, with a non-insignificant number of 300TD estates.
Not as many 140-series Volvos. I can think of one very well-kept 144, on antique plates but driven frequently. It’s a facelift model though–the black subject car has the original style of grille.
They do make a nice pair! The same fundamental thinking, just a little more upmarket in the case of the M-B.
I love both cars, the Volvo 140 and the Mercedes W123 240D. I’d drive both cars if I knew someone who owned one.
That Volvo is a very early one—a ’66 or a ’67. The lack of side markers is the giveaway from this angle.