DustinV

Hi guys,

I was originally planning to visit the new Porsche museum yesterday since I had a day off, but since it is brand new I figured I would wait a little until things have calmed down a bit. I also heard from a colleague that the place was packed with tourists - too packed to enjoy and that put me off. But, in order to keep my camera from collecting dust I thought I should visit the Mercedes museum since I've never been there before.

I'm a little busy this weekend so I'm just going to go ahead and post the photos I managed to resize. I must say, this place is beyond fascinating. I spent the entire morning in the museum, had lunch in it and looked at / read about every exhibit. Fascinating stuff. Although I consider myself a fan of all brands, this experience inside the Mercedes museum has given me a newly found respect and admiration for this brand. I expect similar results from the new Porsche museum and the BMW museum (if I ever manage to drive over to Munich!).

Oh, I hope you don't mind. I despise how this site limits you to a mere ten pictures per post, so I sort of cheated my way around that!


The museum and a Mercedes dealer positioned right next to it. As you can see the weather here in Stuttgart is slowly but surely warming up.


In the lounge below where one of the restaurants and the main shops are located, there was a small sale of youngtimer Mercedes models. They were used and well-cared for models that were selling at affordable prices. Here we have two SL's. One of them appears to be a LWB version.


If I had the garage space I would snap up this W126 in a heartbeat! The car in question is an '89 420SE being sold for € 8,700. I know many here will disagree with me, but in terms of exterior design and overall elegance, inside and out, the '89 Lexus LS just cannot compete with this beauty - and the '89 LS is my favorite LS.



An older S class from the 1960s and a W124 E class. These are also for sale.



A 240D 3.0. I've never heard of this model before but thankfully there was a small information plaque on the other side. It turns out that this was the worlds first 5-cylinder diesel engine and was considered something of an "E320 CDI" back in its day (meaning it was hailed as "quick"). Interesting.


The original F1 car of Lewis Hamilton! I don't really follow F1, but if you have his original F1 car right in front of you then that's got to be something!


That's all I have at the moment. More pictures will be coming up as soon as I find more time!

cjf_moraga

Yes it's a great museum about a great brand. (Lexus only has to wait another 80 years or so until it can do similar) I like the way that after winding your way down from the top in a big spiral until you are underground.... the way out is through the biggest showroom of new MB cars you have ever seen! (3 levels tall and partly visible in your pictures)

Great pictures!

Chris

TwiBlueG35

Toyota is long enough and with enough model of generations to have its own museum, so do BMW, Nissan, Ferrari, Ford, and GM. Or may be these automakers could all make one big museum just like a super huge auto show with all new and old vehicles of their own and families could go there as if going to a theme park or recreational park. Entrance fees are necessary though .

EmeraldLexuSC3

Growing up in Europe, my parents aquired a 64' 220SE, a 73' 280SE and a 85' 300TD. I remember the 240 D's , they were a very popular model, it seemed that every one had one.

DustinV

It might take awhile for Lexus to accumulate cars that can be considered classics but I feel the original LS400 and SC300/400 are great candidates, especially the LS400 (one of my favorite Lexus sedans ever).

Agreed about the layout of this museum. An interesting aspect of the museum was also that depending in what section you were in, the appropriate music or sounds were being played. For example, at the top of the building where you're confronted with the earliest motorcars from this brand, you hear the sounds of horses galloping. In the post-World War II section, you hear music which is clearly from the 1950s. It gives the place a great atmosphere.

DustinV

The model 240D rings a bell. Slow, but very efficient and bullet-proof reliability. They were also sold in the United States during the 1970s and 1980s I believe since you still see quite a few them around.

My parents never were much of a Mercedes family but we did have an early 1980s 300SD Turbodiesel W126. What a great car that was. Sure, she was loud, a little slow but the gas mileage was pretty phenomenal for such a large vehicle and the soft suspension was very quiet and comfortable. This is one of the reasons the W126 means so much to me. Call it a great childhood memory!

She was sadly stolen from us in the early 1990s.

DustinV

Whoops, wrong post...

Nextourer

Oohh a W124. One of my favourite MBs.