Throwback Thursday: MotorWeek Reviews 1983 Mercedes 380SL
Anyone who has called themselves an automotive enthusiast should know Mr. John Davis. If not by name, then at least by his always upbeat vocal cadence as the longtime host of MotorWeek. John, also the show’s creator, has received many accolades and awards over the years, including an Emmy in 2007.
MotorWeek, mostly filmed in Owings Mills, Maryland, aired its first episode on October 15th, 1981. In September of 1993, the show went into national syndication, giving us all the gift of televised car reviews. As the years and technology progressed, so has the show, adding high definition and access through the Internet.
The segment below is an honest-to-goodness throwback featuring a 1983 Mercedes 380SL. It is amazing to see how much things have changed for Mercedes-Benz, and with what it now considers luxury. But more importantly, what it considers performance. John Davis notes in this segment that Mercedes has used real wood in the interior and seemed rather delighted with the “super expensive” stereo. He later calls the roadster’s 18.5 second charge through the quarter mile with a 75 mph trap, “acceptable.” Not surprising when you take into account the 155-hp the car’s 3.8-liter V8 produces.
What really caught my attention was the price of the car. The MSRP for the Mercedes 380SL in 1983 was set at $42,000. Corrected for inflation, that is almost exactly $100,000.