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Germany remembers W111 when Mercedes built down for volume while Warszawa 223 built up

Yesterday we talked about how the Polish gradually improved their Warszawa model so it could serve properly local and even export automotive needs. This is important as without local production, cars must be imported and much wealth is exported. Germany through Mercedes addressed the same need by building an austere version of  a luxury car that could provide the production numbers required to make the whole enterprise worthwhile. How do the volume models compare? So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.

In the late 1950s, Mercedes worried that their pontoon styling, shared with Warszawa and many others, was becoming dated. So they joined with the American and Italian trend and added tailfins to their sedan. These “fintails” proved embarrassing both for following American trends and doing so late on a car with a long production life. This stamp dodges the mistake by emphasizing the front end of the car which has more in common with the earlier pontoon style.

Todays stamp is issue A1514, a 1.45 Euro stamp issued by Germany on April 2nd, 2015. The 2 stamp issue in the same denomination remembers the Mercedes W1111 220 S and the BMW 507. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth $1.60 used.

The W111 launched in 1959 and was built until 1968. This car shows the six cylinder version that was aimed at the private well healed buyer. It was less than one third of the volume of cars produced. Below that was a four cylinder gas 190 aimed at more frugal private and fleet buyers. Below that is the 190D with a four cylinder diesel engine that aimed at the taxi market in Germany and elsewhere. We learned yesterday that the proposed six cylinder Warszawa did not make it to production so lets compare the two cars where they matched up best, the 4 cylinders. For private owners, the Mercedes has some definite advantages. Sharing so much with a luxury model allows for higher build quality and better safety design. The smaller MB overhead cam gas engine beats the Warszawa slightly in acceleration and mileage but neither car is stellar and both have a top speed around 80 miles per hour. The smaller engine had to work harder to achieve the advantage and was far more complex. This was okay though as Germany was richer and therefore did not have to struggle for that last bit of life from their cars.

When we look at the diesel taxis power and economy are similar. The Mercedes taxis retain the complex independent rear suspension that may come up short compared to solid Warszawa rear axles in taxi service. Both cars had manual steering boxes and drum brakes with at first only manual transmissions. Mercedes and Warszawa both later added Borg Warner automatics. The Mercedes one was based on a design for the American Studebaker and the Warszawa was based on Borg Warner’s copy of the Ford Cruiseomatic.

Sophistication was the direction that this type of car was headed and therefore being built off a luxury car was ahead of the game. Poland gave up on the Warszawa line and replaced it with a smaller more disposable model based on the Fiat 125. In doing so, comparisons to Mercedes become ridiculous and instead the car was more comparable to a simpler Volkswagen Passat/Dasher. A sign that communism was preventing Poland from catching up to Germany.

Well my drink is empty and I am left wondering why no one thought of offering simplicity with the higher build quality. Wait calls are coming in, Rover on line one, Volvo on line two, and the real threat with their aggressive price dumping, Toyota on line three. Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.