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Biological mimicry is when a group of organisms share common perceived traits with another group. One relative rare classification of this otherwise fairly common phenomena is automimicry, when a vehicle parked too long with other vehicles of a different species begins to take on those qualities. It’s not yet fully understood what advantages are incurred to the automimic, but we can surely speculate.
21 Comments on “Curbside Classic Outtake...”
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Just what every Bavarian Bubba needs…
I like it, especially the small side windows.
It’s more upscale redneck than most….
I shudder to think what an older Benz would look like parked next to a bunch of Smart cars for too long.
was there a company that made these?
I saw a Mercedes diesel that was identical to that two days ago at an autozone, in classic Mercedes dull yellow with different wheels, other then that it was exactly the same car down to the T. i thought it was a one off till you posted this, but what are the chances of two identical Mercedes trucklets?
“And that, children, was the story of how the Beautiful Swan became an Ugly Truckling.”
That’s not mimicry, those are the horrible results of highly contagious steel-eating bacteria! Common sites of transmission include garages and body shops in the southeastern United States.
Via Nocturna :
Common sites of transmission include garages and body shops in the southeastern United States.
Not at all, down there they know what a real truck is. Southerners wouldn’t be caught dead in that mess. Nor would I!
But good job Paul, this is a real (strange) find.
ranchero/el camino/ 308 rims for the astute mental health hospital worker
Looks pleasantly well made.
That will never be that Cadillac El Camino with the steer horns mounted on the hood.
Those buildings look very close to where I work. I’ll have to keep an eye out for this monstrosity.
Karl Middelhauve has made a couple of El Camino-like pick-ups with the Mercedes 600 as a base. Sacrilege or genius? I don’t know, at least his attempts are actually designed by the 600’s original designer, Paul Bracq.
http://www.mbgrand600.com/Page80.html
To make a pickup out of a car and have the proportions right, you have to start with a 2-door, which has longer doors than a 4-door. This avoids the necessity of the little quarter windows to make the cab long enough.
Or maybe I’m just accustomed to looking at ElCamino’s and Rancheros….
Many years ago, I thought of causing massive heart attacks to Rolls Royce management and fanatics by doing a similar atrocity to the Silver Shadow. The resulting El Camino-like pickup would be called “Silver Vegetable”. I never executed the above threat, of course.
Ingvar :
October 24th, 2009 at 7:32 am
Karl Middelhauve has made a couple of El Camino-like pick-ups with the Mercedes 600 as a base. Sacrilege or genius? I don’t know, at least his attempts are actually designed by the 600’s original designer, Paul Bracq.
http://www.mbgrand600.com/Page80.html
You know, that isn’t half bad…
Can’t believe it! And they converted the 600 when its value would have been quite high (in 2009 $)
But they did the regular (or.. short!) wheelbase 600. I thought the Pullman with the landau roof would be an easier and more obvious candidate, and you’d have an ‘extended bed” El benzo, you could have an entire Mariachi Band instead of the stereo.. but could they play any of the Brandenburg Concerts? That’s the question…. LOL
What you Americans have to understand is that not every vehicle wearing the Mercedes star (surrounded by the Benz laurel wreath) was/is a luxury car. The company also unleashed on the world such models as the 200D taxi, various work vehicles, trucks and busses, etc. Viewed in this light, this conversion makes sense. It seems well done, and not too different from similar (factory) offerings from various European manufacturers of the era when the donor car was built, such as the Peugeot 404 pick-up or the Skoda 1200, for example.
Karl Middelhauve has specialized in renovating the Grosser Mercedeses. He has scrapped at least ten-fifteen cars for parts, and have restored or serviced at least a couple of hundred cars. I wouldn’t think that the cars he made pick-ups of had any value from start, and would have cost a hundred grand or so to renovate into mint condition anyway, so nothing have been lost in transition. I mean, what should the guy do? He have had a 600 hearse, he built a better-looking 600 Coupe than the two factory-made specials there is, he has had more 600’s than anybody I have ever heard of. So, why not a Paul Bracq-designed truckster?
I really like the guy, he must be one special individual… He must be in his eighties now, isn’t there anybody out there who could interview him and write a piece on him?
http://www.mbgrand600.com/index.html
http://www.mbgrand600.com/Page7.html
And my absolute favorite, the supercharged, 500+ horsepower, tobacco-brown, mint-condition 600:
http://www.mbgrand600.com/Page65.html
He hasn’t listed any price, but I’d reckon he wouldn’t part for it for less than 200 grand. Oh, lord, won’t you buy me a Mercedes-Benz?
Best use for a Benz that I’ve ever seen!
I have seen this feat in the wild, you’ve seen nothing until you’ve laid eyes on the El Doradilac. A two door caddy with a bed built into it, no tail-gate, however. As we drove past, I could swear I heard something say…”kill me…”