Dream car: 1985 Mercedes 300TD

I recognize the fact that most males my age pine after Porsches or Ferraris or other completely unattainable exotic sports cars. My object of desire is a bit more humble. The 1985 Mercedes 300TD, a diesel station wagon, is what my heart is set after. Oh yes, it will indeed have the jump seats in the very back that face backwards. I'm not too picky on the color; the red one from Dan in Real Life was pretty nice looking, but it is hard to beat navy. Please enjoy these various pictures that I have scavenged from the internet:





The money shot:



I have it on good word from cousin (who previously worked as a mechanic at a Mercedes shop) that the diesel versions are much more reliable than the standard versions; not only do they break less, but the necessary repairs that are often required usually cost significantly less than their unleaded gas-consuming cousins. The only obstacle that worries me is the cost of diesel. In spite of the better-than-unleaded gas mileage, with diesel pushing $5 a gallon, and with no drop in price in sight, I'm afraid that the impracticality (that is, the impracticality beyond owning a 20+ year old car) might be stacked too high against the fantastic looks and imitable 1980s soccer mom cache of this car.

Yildiz Over/Under

When George W. Bush finally gets around to mailing me my economic stimulus check, I hope to purchase one of these:


It is an over/under shotgun (I am interested in the 20 gauge) made by a Turkish company called Yildiz Shotguns. They are sold exclusively at Academy Sports for the bargain price of $400 (for reference, many over/unders start at $1000). While this might sound sketchy to some, a little research on the internet has revealed that these really are solid guns, and are a great value at that price.

Additionally, I have read that most Academy stores stock a couple of Yildiz side-by-sides as well (which would also be a great choice).


Come fall, hopefully I will be hitting the dove fields with one of these.

My latest "diversion"

A tendency that I have is to get on certain "kicks" or "diversions" at times, and to spend my time researching these things and imagining how different my life would be if I were to actually buy these products or become involved in these activities. These have included boats, handguns, Vespas, Vizslas, taking up rugby, taking up sailing, moving to New Orleans, etc. Most of these things eventually fizzle when my lack of funds and/or practicality gets in the way, but here is one that I have been interested in recently:

While driving back from an interview in Columbia yesterday, I was pondering the price of gas (and the absurd amount of it that my car was using) and I began to wonder if the key for solving this inefficiency in my life would be getting motorcycle. I would suspect that most people who know me would not peg me as a "motorcycle guy," however, I began to wonder if I had the right kind of motorcycle, it would be an acceptable life choice. I could visualize in my head what this motorcycle would look like, but didn't know who might actually make it. Fortunately, the internet, mother of all distractions, was able to help me track down two solid leads:

Royal Enfield Bullet 500 Military

These are made in India by a company that took over manufacturing of Enfield motorcycles, which were used by US and British troops in WWII. They are essentially based on the original versions with very few changes, except the addition of some modern conveniences.









Chang Jiang 750

These are Chinese-made motorcycles that are near identical duplications (is that redundant?) of the 1938 BMW R71 motorcycles. Those models were used in WWII by the Germans. After WWII, the Chinese bought the manufacturing equipment from the Germans, allowing the CJ 750s to be as close to the originals as possible. An exciting addition to these is how easy it is to get a model with a sidecar. Pictured is a CJ 750 painted up to be a replica of a BWM R71.

So, am I going to get a motorcycle? Doubtful, especially since I don't have any money. However, I am glad to know that newly manufactured motorcycles do exist that meet my aesthetic requirements for such a vehicle.