Minneapolis Street Sighting: Mercedes 280SL

Throughout the history of the automobile, there are cars that have always been considered pretty, and there are those that have been considered some of the ugliest. Ironically, many nameplates somehow fit into both genres, but one famous marque didn't earn the ugly crown until recently. Always seen as a beautiful car, and the essence of high-class German motoring,  Mercedes' SL has long been a game-changer in the world of upmarket roadsters and hardtops.

In 1954, a star was born; from the racing pedigree of the SLR, a roadcar was carved, and with that roadcar, came bounds and bounds of legacies to fill; each new generation heralded more and more creature comforts, and the bar for luxury motoring was raised a notch above the previous generation. But, like all things being governed, new crash test laws, and laws about pedestrian safety did their best to compromise Mercedes' most prestigious effort to design the best roadster.

In 2009, the crown from Mercedes would be stripped, and they have continued to have a hard time winning it back since then. Rather than lambast the current and preceding generation of what once was the most beautiful Mercedes, I will focus on which generation fits the bill for being the second mot beautiful Mercedes roadster.

Admittedly,  the Pagoda Mercedes is a cliched car, much like any variation of Ford's popular baby, the Mustang; unlike the Mustang, though, I shot quite a variety of Pagodas as they never seemed to get old.  This was one of the only street parked examples I've featured, so I tried to make the best of it. The silver paint was quite elegant, and certainly screamed "class"--and its obvious that the body-colored wheels only helped the case here.  The idea of only having the necessary items caking the exterior is a practice Mercedes could (and should) relearn.

Inside, this two-seat piece of elegance looked just as amazing as the outside; no blemishes in the leather, the dash was in tip-top condition, and even the steering wheel plating was done correctly--unlike quite a few cars I've seen where the steering wheel luster was all but gone.

I had immense fun shooting this, and as these cars creep up in value, the likely that I will see another streetparked is getting dimmer by the day; well spotted, and certainly well shot, I say.  And kudos to the owner for driving it around, and not confining to it a garage like so many of its brethren.