Mercedes-Benz is well known for its
estate cars, but it wasn't until 1977 that they were built in house - prior to
then, they were custom manufactured by coachbuilders such as Miesen, IMA, and
in the case of this 190b, Binz
They go by many names - ‘estate’ in the UK,
‘station wagon’ in the USA and T-model’ in Germany, for example. In the period
immediately following World War Two, all the way up to the invention of the
modern front-wheel drive minivan by Chrysler in the fall of 1983, the
rear-wheel drive station wagon was a staple of American suburban life. By 1999,
they all but disappeared from the American landscape.
Mercedes-Benz is
well known for its estate cars, but it wasn't until 1977 that they were built
in house - prior to then, they were custom manufactured by coachbuilders such
as Miesen, IMA, and in the case of this 190b, Binz
Ford stopped domestic production of large
station wagons in 199 K to make - you guessed it - full size, body-on-frame
SUVs like the Chevrolet Tahoe and the even bigger Suburban.
Into the void that opened up with the
demise of the traditional station wagon here in America, came a host of high
priced, European estates, including the Mercedes-Benz E-Class, but they were
not direct replacements given that they cost almost twice as much as the last
1995 Chevrolet Caprice Classic.
Ironically, it was a decade later, with the
introduction of the 2005 Dodge Magnum, itself based on components from a
previous generation E-Class, that the traditional rear-wheel drive station
wagon would make an albeit short return to the American market, while Dodge was
part of the failed merger of equals, DaimlerChrvsler.
Why the history lesson, you may ask? It’s
because I’m a fan of station wagons, and when asked which Mercedes-Benz I
consider to be something of a guilty pleasure, my thoughts immediately
gravitated towards long roofs, as estates arc also known in the US. And more
specifically, a 1961 190b Binz Estate owned by Bob Gunthorp of Chula Vista,
California.
Space And Style
I first encountered Bob’s station wagon at
the La Jolla Concours d’Elegance three years ago, and I knew that coachbuilders
had created custom estate models before the first factory built
Mercedes made its motor show debut in 1977. In the years before
the introduction of the S123, the best known estates with a three-pointed star
on the nose were the Belgian made, IMA Universal models, offered from 1965 to
1968 with what amounted to full factory sanction. But before that, firms like
Miesen and Binz in Germany produced a number of estate derivatives.
I
first encountered Bob’s station wagon at the La Jolla Concours d’Elegance three
years ago, and I knew that coachbuilders had created custom estate models
before the first factory built
Expanding Market
The best known of the post-war, custom estate builders is
Binz & Co, based in Lorch, Germany. When I photographed Bob’s Binz I was
impressed by the factory look and quality of its conversion, plus its
surprisingly spacious interior given the body’s modest exterior dimensions.
“This estate was built on a 1959 190b chassis,” said Bob when we met. “A total
of 349 chassis-only 190b units were produced for completion as station wagons,
ambulances and hearses in the period that ran from 1959 to 1961. This chassis
was delivered to Binz on September 3 1959, and its commission number was
‘1,540’. In 1964, after completing the transformation into an estate, Binz
returned the vehicle to Daimler-Benz AG for shipment to the US.”
Bob, who is a relentless researcher, confirmed that his car
was shipped to Mercedes Benz of North America on October 30 1964. He was not
able to ascertain why the car was originally a 1963 model, as this was neither
the date the chassis was constructed, nor the time frame in which it was ultimately
imported into the United States. Later, Bob contacted Mercedes-Benz USA (MBUSA)
about its origin, but to no avail. So in spite of his best effort to unearth
the facts, Bob has no idea who owned the car from 1964 until he bought it in
1984. He believes this 190b Binz Estate is one of just 50 that were imported to
the United States.
No matter what its ownership chain might reveal, I want it!
If I were to make one change, living in Southern California as I do, I would
find a way to install air conditioning. It would have to be equipped with a
very high efficiency, modern compressor as Bob’s car has far less than 100 bhp
on tap and each and every one of those ponies is needed to get the old girl up
to freeway speeds.
It would have to
be equipped with a very high efficiency, modern compressor as Bob’s car has far
less than 100 bhp on tap and each and every one of those ponies is needed to
get the old girl up to freeway speeds.
