Mercedes-Benz, the 1950s: 2 - Tapa blanda

This book is all about the history of Mercedes cars introduced in the mid and late 1950s. It has over 170 unique color pictures, most of them have never been published in a book before. It starts with the first "modern" sedan launched after the war, the dependable 180/190 ponton cars and its bigger siblings the executive 219/220 six-cylinder versions. It also covers three iconic sports cars. The 300SL Gullwing and Roadster are two of them. The other one is the 190SL, although it is not really known for its sporting ambitions. Next to the history of each model, this book will describe, how two men have used the 300SL Coupe as their daily driver, one of them even covering almost half a million kilometers (including a trip all the way up to Moscow, the Russian State capital). It also informs, - how a turbo-charged 190SL compared with a standard 190SL back in the 1960s. - how it is to drive a 180 ponton diesel with close to 700,000 km on the clock in today's world? - or why a 220S six-cylinder ponton is a suitable successor to a British Morris Minor? Plus, it deals with the men, who made these great cars possible, men like Prof. Nallinger, R. Uhlenhaut, K. Wilfert or M. Hoffman But the book does not only give a detailed view of the history of each of these Mercedes-Benz vehicles, it also talks about production figures, developments within the individual model range and discusses coach-built versions such as the South African "Bakkie" or the ponton racing history.

Bernd S. Koehling grew up in the 1950s and 1960s in Northern Germany. His interest in anything automotive started early on visits to the Nürburgring with his father. He grew up with Mercedes cars in his family and his uncle, who had a small collection of pre-war cars, introduced him at the end of the 1960s to vintage cars. From the mid 1970s he started collecting vintage cars himself. Naturally his first such car was a Mercedes, a rather neglected prewar 170V Cabriolet B. Later additions were from a 200D fintail, 250SE, 300d Adenauer up to a 280SE 3.5 Coupe and 350SL. Mercedes cars became a passion he has kept and further developed throughout the years. His other interest is in British cars, here especially Alvis and Jaguar. He had collected an Alvis TC 21/100 Grey Lady Tickford DHC and various Jaguar models. Among them a 420G and a more modern XJ 40 Vanden Plas.