Cars from my childhood - Post 1

The 1959 Mercedes 180D (W120)

The more common version of the W120 had smaller tail lights. Our version had the bigger tail lights shown here

GPL, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=347859

I remember so vividly sitting in this car that I can almost smell the interior again. And the photos of the inside are likewise so clear in my mind.

I had one of my first car related misadventure here, an incident which I found both alarming and hilarious at the same time.

The 180D "Ponton" had a pull type handbrake under the dashboard, in the area of the steering column. It also had a 4 speed column shifter.

This car was usually parked in the sort of secondary covered garage just off our driveway. In our family house then, the driveway was quite long, probably 100 meters or so from the gate. The driveway goes down and it levels off in the main garage which is flat. The 180D however, being in the secondary garage, was still parked on a slope. Directly in front of it, down slope was a shack where our guard, driver and male helpers would sleep.

When I was 4 or 5, I engaged in my usual habit of sitting in the drivers seat pretending to be driving. Being an observant little boy, I imitated the movements our driver when driving the car. Turning the wheel, using the turn signal, shifting gears and THEN releasing the handbrake.

So the car immediately started to roll down towards the wooden wall of the shack. Luckily, either the guard or the driver happened to be there and started shouting, calling the others to help him. The picture that is burned in my mind forever, is that person standing in front of the car, pushing with all his might to prevent the car from moving further. In a minute or so, someone was able to open the car door and pull up the handbrake, before putting it back in gear. After this incident, I was still able to pretend-drive but the handbrake was pulled up very hard making it impossible for me to release it again.

That is probably my most memorable moment in that car. It was even used to bring me to and from kinder school occasionally but it was reassigned to be used in the family property in Mindoro island, far away from Manila so I would only see the car once in a while when it was used by our property manager there. When I was in college we went on a short vacation to Mindoro and I was able to ride the 180D again. Then we left the ancestral home for our own home and the 180D was brought back to Manila to stay. To this day we still have it and I am planning to make an offer to buy it from the family. The reason for this is because not too long ago, I asked my Dad who suffers from Alzheimer's, what is the one car he would like to own again and he said the Mercedes 180D. Hopefully I can make it happen for him.

Now about the 180D as a car, I remember the car as being quite comfortable and spacious. I don't think I ever got to drive it in public roads but I was able to take it up and down the driveway. I also remember the boot as very spacious and I saw a couple of old photos where we used the 180D going up to Baguio which was 250 to 350 kilometers from Manila (depending on which road you take going up) and was 5500 feet above sea level. No mean feat for a car with just 32kw or 42 hp!

Here's a video of completely original 180D

And this is how it drives!