Topless Club - NYT 9/19

[bstronger]

The NYT article copied below comments on the SLK350 place in the Mercedes 50 year roadster history - with much liberty taken. ....Robert

September 19, 2004
THE TALK
Topless Club
By STEVE KURUTZ

The writer P.J. O'Rourke once observed: ''There are a number of mechanical devices which increase sexual arousal, particularly in women. Chief among these is the Mercedes-Benz 380SL convertible.'' The man has a point. Bentley and Jaguar may have come on like Scientology on wheels, managing to seduce some A-list celebrities, but their Hollywood conversion rate is nothing compared to that of the Mercedes SL.

From Steve McQueen to Tom Cruise and Jim Carrey, Tinseltown's leading men have been drawn to the car's graceful lines and leathery confines, while over the years directors have been so enamored of the two-seater that they've given it starring roles in films like ''Two for the Road,'' ''Shampoo'' and ''American Gigolo,'' which opens with Richard Gere in one, cruising down the Pacific Coast Highway to the beat of Blondie's ''Call Me.'' Explaining his wheels of choice for Gere's stylish man-hooker, the writer and director Paul Schrader says: ''A Ferrari would've been too much, and a Corvette wouldn't have been enough. It was those understated lines of the Mercedes. The SL convertible was the epitome of being flashy and classy.''

The famed roadster, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, shows no signs of running out of gas. This fall the company unveils a new model: the 2005 SLK. This low-slung version, with a 268-horsepower engine, is meant for ''the affluent enthusiast,'' says Mercedes-Benz's product manager, Doug Worrell. ''It's for the guy that wants something more aggressive.''

The price tag is not for the timid either, with the entry-level model starting at a cool $45,000. (The 500 and 600 SL models run more than $90,000, while the SLR McLaren will set you back $450,000.) But drivers can enjoy frills like the ''airscarf,'' a device that blows warm air onto the neck of each passenger, as well as a hardtop ''roof'' that slips neatly into the trunk with the push of a button. Such luxuries have made the SL the quintessential grand touring car. ''It's a plush, wonderful road car,'' says Jim Luikens, the publisher of the StarLetter, a Mercedes-Benz magazine, and the owner of many SL's over the years. ''And yet it's light and sporty and not some big, hulking sedan.'' Car and Driver once noted its comforts by stating: ''The average inbred aristocrat could drive it from Brescia to Rome and back to Brescia, pass just about everything in sight, post a remarkably high average speed for the trip, and never hear a murmur of complaint from the lady in the passenger seat. As a matter of fact, she'd probably never even lift her nose out of her latest copy of Paris Match. And that's what we mean by civilized.''

Maybe a bit too civilized. When the 1997 model made its debut, it was considered too dainty and labeled a ''chick car'' (see also: Volkswagen Cabriolet). So the engineers of the 2005 version have given it a butch makeover, complete with a Formula One-style front end, double overhead camshafts and lowered sports suspension. The SLR McLaren, with its race-car-style carbon-fiber frame, is even more macho -- fast and furious drivers can hit the 200-mile-per-hour mark. And the onboard electronics make KITT from ''Knight Rider'' seem as high-tech as a toaster. Drivers don't even need to insert a key; the car senses they have one in hand.

All of these new accessories mark a return to the petrol-burning days of the original SL. After its factories were heavily bombed during World War II, Mercedes decided to build a race car. The 300SL coupe, pieced together with spare parts and later dubbed by aficionados the Gullwing for its flip-style doors, was introduced in 1952 at the Mille Miglia in Italy. At the urging of Max Hoffman, a Mercedes importer in New York, who knew a sporty convertible would appeal to his wealthy clientele, the company soon began to produce a commercial version. But the top speed of 150 miles per hour made the early 300SL's a bit intimidating. It wasn't until the company introduced the boxier, roomier ''pagoda''-roof version in 1963 that the model took off.

No longer a pure sports car, the SL offered the kinds of genteel comforts that made it de rigueur among the country-club set: dashes trimmed with matched wood; leather bucket seats; the option of a hard or soft top or both. Paint schemes included Canyon Brown and Byzantine Gold. The car dotted the moneyed enclaves of New Canaan, Conn.; Palm Beach; and, of course, the sunny climes of Los Angeles, where it's still often referred to as the Beverly Hills Chevy. ''It was the in car,'' says the socialite Nikki Haskell. ''You used to see them lined up at Ma Maison on Sunset.''

The model's sexy past has contributed to its reputation as a car for the unattached -- the eternal gigolo, if you will. Freddie Fields, who executive-produced ''American Gigolo,'' in fact took back the SL he gave his wife because she was stopping too much traffic. ''Guys in cabs were chasing after her,'' Fields says. ''The car is a head-turner.'' It still is. Unlike a Maserati or even a Porsche, which are as dated as a pair of stone-washed jeans, the SL has kept pace with the times. All this and, as O'Rourke astutely noted, a passenger seat that is unlikely to stay empty for long.

[fredfromny]

[Northbenz]

It must grate on Mercedes Marketing when they see their $90,000 SL upstaged by the $45,500 350SLK.