Friday Night Cruise-In, Greene Country Ohio, at the Vineyard: a 1972 Pinto

Below are several photos of Ralph’s 1972 Pinto. He bought it new, and it has only 32,000 miles on it now.

Ralph is a regular at the Greene County show.  There are very few Pinto’s that make it to events these days. I owned a 1973 for more than ten years and it was a great car. Sadly, I do not have a photo of it. I took it for granted.

 

A Visit from a Former Student Driving a 2006 Porsche Cayman S

 

Jake Browning, a former student of mine enrolled in my 2015 Leipzig The Automobile and American Life course paid me a visit this morning. It was a pleasure to see him again, and to catch up on his career. We ended up going to the Cars and Coffee at Austin Landing. The event was incredibly well attended, with plenty of very interesting Porsches and BMWs. To say that "the American Love Affair with the automobile is over" is a distortion of what is happening. There is a very strong subculture with a great number of young people involved and interested.

Max Hofmann and the Mercedes-Benz SL,1952

Maximilian Edwin Hoffman, Mercedes Benz importer for the eastern United States of America from 31 July 1952 onwards and initiator of the 190 SL (W 121). (Photo index number in the Mercedes Benz Classic Archives: 2002DIG504)

Representation of the Hoffman Motor Car Co. in Chicago, around 1955. At that time, the company was the importer and general distributor for Mercedes Benz in the United States of America. (Photo index number in the Mercedes Benz Classic Archives: 65477)

A great idea marks the beginning of the history of the Mercedes‑Benz SL series-production sports cars: Mercedes‑Benz was to transfer the fascination for luxurious sportiness to a compact roadster. That’s what Maximilian E. Hoffman, the brand’s importer for the eastern United States of America, proposed in 1953. In the dialogue which took place between the Stuttgart management and Hoffman, two sports cars were finally created: the compact 190 SL Roadster (W 121) initiated by Hoffman was technically derived by Mercedes‑Benz from the “Ponton” saloons of the upper medium-size category (W 120). In addition, the concept of the successful 300 SL racing sports car (W 194) was transferred to the high-performance 300 SL “Gullwing” (W 198) for particularly discerning customers. Both sports cars were premiered at the International Motor Sports Show in New York from 6 to 14 February 1954. The 300 SL Roadster (W 198) presented in 1957 was also as a result of Hoffman’s initiative.

The company was open to Hoffman’s visionary input, which contributed significantly to the legend of the Mercedes‑Benz SL. The two series-production sports cars from 1954 mark the beginning of a unique tradition that extends to the current 232‑series Mercedes‑AMG SL. Hoffman’s influence is therefore certainly comparable to that of Emil Jellinek a good half century earlier: by specifying his requirements, the leading dealer for Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft automobiles in Nice at the time provided the impetus for the design of the Mercedes 35 hp by Wilhelm Maybach.

Exports to North America take shape

The company made contact with Maximilian E. Hoffman as part of its strategy to strengthen exports to North America. Wilhelm Haspel, Chairman of the Board of Management of the then Daimler‑Benz AG, personally drove forward the positioning of the world’s oldest luxury car manufacturer in North America from the summer of 1948 onwards. He was aware that the United States in particular, with the world’s largest automobile market at the time, had an important key function for successful global exports. Commercial vehicles were also included in the considerations – and they would even be an important driver of the company’s foreign activities.

Mercedes‑Benz’s exports to North America took concrete shape in 1952. A decisive role was played by the Vienna-born Maximilian E. Hoffman, who first applied to be a Mercedes‑Benz distributor in the United States of America in March 1952. On 31 July 1952, the then Daimler‑Benz AG signed a contract with him as general distributor for the eastern USA. Sales started in December 1952, after showrooms were set up, salespeople trained and US‑specification vehicles delivered. All in all, a total of 253 Mercedes‑Benz passenger cars were exported to the United States in this first year of cooperation with Hoffman.

Hoffman’s flair for automotive luxury

Maximilian Edwin Hoffman was born in Vienna on 12 November 1904. As a businessman, he developed a great sense of fascinating and promising automobiles, combined with a pronounced sense of aesthetics, technology and driving dynamics. In the 1930s, he and a partner founded the Hoffman & Ruppert company in Vienna, which successfully imported Alfa Romeo, Bentley, Delahaye, Rolls‑Royce, Talbot and Volvo automobiles to Austria.

During the Nazi era, Hoffman, the son of a Jewish sewing machine and later motorbike manufacturer, emigrated first to France and finally to New York in 1941. After the end of the war, he succeeded in entering the business of importing European vehicles into the United States of America. Hoffman, who adapted his surname to the Anglo-Saxon spelling, presented a Delahaye in a showroom on New York’s fine Park Avenue. With his excellent taste and high workload, he secured a top position in the exclusive automobile trade in the USA. As a result, he was predestined for a role as a partner of Mercedes‑Benz in North America.

After the successful sales launch in 1952, Hoffman’s status gained additional weight for Mercedes‑Benz from May 1953: it was in this month that export director Arnold Wychodil reported to his colleagues about the importer’s assessment that a Mercedes‑Benz sports car was needed for the US market. Maximilian E. Hoffman was invited, and on 2 September 1953 he personally presented his plans in Untertürkheim to a group of the eight board members and leading employees of the company. He described the special features of the US market and, according to the board minutes, requested “under any circumstances, a sports car which alone could provide the basis for the livelihood of the dealer organisation”.

Two series production sports cars emerge

The result of the discussion was the development of prototypes for two sports cars. A special concern of Hoffman’s was for a compact, open-top sports car. The platform frame of the Mercedes‑Benz 180 (W 120) was initially envisaged as its basis. Hoffman, however, rejected a cabriolet with a long wheelbase and traditional Mercedes‑Benz radiator because this shape did not correspond to his idea of a typical European sports car. The designers and stylists in Sindelfingen responded to this assessment. In fact, the 190 SL was built with a 250‑millimetre shorter wheelbase (2,400 millimetres instead of 2,650 millimetres) on the platform of the originally envisaged Cabriolet A of the W 120 series. And it featured a large central star with a chrome-plated transverse louvre in the radiator grille – since then the typical face of the SL.

While Mercedes‑Benz pressed ahead emphatically with the series development of the 190 SL, the 300 SL Coupé was also developed at short notice as a high-performance sports car, with technology based on the 1952 racing sports car. The trade fair premiere of both sports cars in February 1954 was a sensation. The 300 SL “Gullwing” (W 198) was launched in the summer of 1954, followed in 1955 by the 190 SL (W 121), which was presented in New York as a pre-series production model. And above all, this compact roadster became Mercedes‑Benz’s big draw for sales in the USA: between 1955 and 1960, it accounted for 17.75 percent of all Mercedes‑Benz passenger cars delivered to the USA – Maximilian E. Hoffman’s estimate proved to be correct.

At the end of 1953, Hoffman became the Mercedes‑Benz general distributor for the entire United States. Hoffman Motor Car Co. expanded its sales territory for Mercedes‑Benz vehicles accordingly, with centres in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles. From the mid-1950s, Daimler‑Benz AG gradually established its own presence in North America with the subsidiaries Daimler‑Benz of North America (in New York) and Mercedes‑Benz of Canada (in Toronto). From 1965, sales were transferred to Mercedes‑Benz of North America (MBNA).

Opening of the new Classic Center in Long Beach, California

The collaboration between Mercedes‑Benz and Maximilian E. Hoffman from 1952 onwards proved to be a decisive course-setter for the future of the brand in North America. In terms of the heritage of the world’s oldest car manufacturer, another decision in the early 2000s has been similarly important: in Irvine, California, Mercedes‑Benz Classic opened its own Classic Center in 2006. It has become a beacon for the star-branded automotive classics scene in the United States of America and beyond.

On 12 and 13 August 2022, the brand will open a new chapter in this success story: the opening ceremony for the Classic Center’s new location in Long Beach, south of Los Angeles. In addition to the “Grand Opening” on 12 August, the event programme will also include a classics meeting in the series “Classics & Coffee” on 13 August.

Mercedes‑Benz Classic will also be present in summer 2022 at what is probably the most brilliant classic event in North America: on 21 August 2022, the world’s oldest luxury car manufacturer will take part in the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in Monterey, California. More detailed information will follow in the run-up to the event.

July 1947 – 75 years ago --Mercedes-Benz entered the successful post-war era with the 170 V

Reconstruction after the Second World War: In November 1945, the US occupation zone’s economic authority granted what was Daimler-Benz AG at the time permission to produce platform vehicles, panel vans and ambulances on the basis of the 170 V passenger car (W 136, originally presented in 1936). In May 1946, the first vehicle rolled off the final assembly production line at the Sindelfingen plant. Production continued until 1949. Production of the four-door saloon launched in July 1947. The image shows completed vehicles at the Sindelfingen plant. (Photo index number in the Mercedes-Benz Archives: 45612)

Elegant silhouette with a local backdrop: Mercedes-Benz 170 V of the W 136 series, built from 1947 onwards. (Photo index number in the Mercedes-Benz Classic Archives: C29258)

• Originally launched in 1936, the W 136 series became a bestseller right from the start

It took courage, skill and organisational brilliance to start producing cars again after the end of the Second World War. Production facilities had been destroyed and materials were scarce. Mercedes-Benz took the first step quickly and from May 1946 initially produced urgently needed platform trucks and ambulances based on the 170 V (W 136). A good year later, things were proceeding: from July 1947, the company resumed production of the four-door saloon – an important signal of further normality. The vehicle was the only passenger car model in the Mercedes-Benz model range until 1949. Even before the war, this predecessor of the E-Class, presented in 1936, was a great success: the technically advanced and visually modern saloon was the brand’s most successful passenger car up to that point. A total of 140,415 units of the 170 V were produced.

The Under Appreciated Ford Pinto

 

This post began with an email last night sent to me by Ed concerning his Pinto wagon. Ed wrote: 

I loved my Pinto Wagon.  Had forgotten they had front disk brakes.

The rack-and-pinion steering gave them a nice steering feel.  The one pictured is a '73.  Mine was a '74 with the federalized bumpers.

Pintos aren't given the credit they deserve. 

I fully agree! While my Pinto - a 1973 green 2 door -- served my family until 1985 -- I do not have one photograph of it. It was a remarkable car -- purchased at Canal Ford in New Orleans -- it took us everywhere as a second car. Later in its life I drove it to points south and north when I did my archival dissertation research. It had a noisy clutch throwout bearing and a passenger side door that rusted on the bottom, probably due to poor drainage. It had the smaller engine -- the Kent 1600 -- but never failed. It was world car -- with a German transmission, British engine, and American chassis.  It got good gas mileage, important during Oil Shocks I and II in 1974 and 1979. 

People laugh at the Pinto today, as they remember it as the exploding car. But in its day it was a workhorse, getting people to work and keeping them moving. Rest In Peace, old friend!

Kettering Cruise-In, July 1 -- a 1961 Cadillac Convertible

 

It was dead here tonight!  There must have been something else going on. Anyway, this 1961 Cadillac stood out as the land yacht of the Golden Age. This car was excessive in an Age of Excess. Designed by Bill Mitchell on the C platform with two V-8 options, this car would not fit in my current garage.

Dayton Cars and Coffee, Austin Landing, July 1. A 1955 Dodge Custom Royal.

 After missing a few events, I made it to the Cars and Coffee meet this morning at Austin Landing. The rain had moved on, and the number of cars and visitors that I saw was amazing! The way the event has evolved, I am not so sure I will go to the next one, as the 3 lots were populated with mostly newer cars -- heavy on Japanese imports and more recent European vehicles. The one car I photographed before the batteries on my camera decided to die was this 1955 Dodge Royal Lancer.  I always liked the colors used on 1955 Chrysler products, and this one is no exception. The car is smaller than those that followed in he ensuing years, as the style was transitional as the "Forward Look” evolved year by year to 1960.

This 2 door hardtop coupe came with three possible V-8s, of 325, 250, and 361 cubic inches.The flagship model was the Custom Royal. All hardtop coupe and Custom Royal-only convertible models were called "Custom Royal Lancer". The Custom line featured unique chrome tailfins (although early model year cars went without this trim), special tail light surrounds, and an upscale interior. Backup lights were standard on the Custom line but optional on all others.