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Re:Mercedes-Benz commits to bringing back physical buttons by jcgrillo on Monday May 04, 2026 @07:26AM (#48007304)
See also Mercedes W115 and W123 240D. Even the ones with a manual transmission had a clock where the tach would go. The speedometer had a series of dots at particular speeds that indicate the shift points for each gear (e.g. 1 dot for 1-2 shift, 2 dots for 2-3, 3 dots 3-4). I'm not sure whether a tach was even an option. The higher spec models had them, though.
Re:Mercedes-Benz commits to bringing back physical buttons by ErroneousBosh on Monday May 04, 2026 @08:35AM (#48007915)
My W123 230TE definitely had a tach, and also the shift point dots, and a 3-speed thirstymatic.

I wish I still had it.

Re:Mercedes-Benz commits to bringing back physical buttons by jcgrillo on Monday May 04, 2026 @10:47AM (#48009442)
Yeah my 300TD did as well. As you well know the wagons were super fancy though they had all the bells and whistles (except the sunroof, which was manual--and awesome!).
Re:Mercedes-Benz commits to bringing back physical buttons by ErroneousBosh on Monday May 04, 2026 @06:41PM (#48015912)
But that latch mechanism, the solid click when you pulled the handle down and twisted it to unlatch!

So many of the mechanical controls of that car felt like working the action of a very, *very* expensive shotgun.

Re:Mercedes-Benz commits to bringing back physical buttons by jcgrillo on Monday May 04, 2026 @07:37PM (#48016352)
Fantastic machine. I drove mine without a power steering pump for about 6mo. The giant steering wheel helped a lot. Having individual V-belts to all the accessories instead of one serpentine belt saved me a tow and a repair bill more than once. My 1995 80 series Land Cruiser is built very similarly--it's a system that's designed to take battle damage and keep on going, but in sublime comfort the entire time.

EDIT: I just remembered the shock absorbers in the front bumper. IIRC in the owner's manual it said you can crash into things at up to 5mph with no fear of damage. I never tested that.. A Subaru did run into one of my fenders, though. The fender was bent in at the wheel arch maybe 3". The poor Subie suffered a punctured A/C condenser, radiator, and the plastic bumper shattered. I yanked the dent out of the fender (more or less) with a prybar and drove away. The Subaru went home on a rollback.