2004 SLK230 Kompressor Special Edition with low, low 36,009 miles just traded in at Sears Imports in Minnetonka! This is an extremely clean car, a perfect roadster to enjoy this season, but what’s different about this 2004 Special Edition?

2004 was the last year for this first generation SLK body style, released in 1997 and the retractable hard top convertible which started the shift, by all manufacturers, towards that feature (I mean, even the Chrysler Sebring has a retractable hard top now). They came out with this SLK Special Edition knowing it was the last hurrah for the body style.

The 17″ wheels are unique to this model so too is the rear deck spoiler and the color coded, silver, front grille. The exterior also sports ‘SLK Special Edition’ badging. The inside, to me, is what really sets this apart from normal SLKs. The interior of this car is has sport seats covered in Mercedes’ highest end Nappa Leather as well as leather wrapped roll bars. The dash is unique to this car with silver rimmed gauges, the shift knob is chrome capped, adding a high end look and feel which finishes things off nicely.

The interior of this car is so nice, it feels more like the interior of its larger, more expensive stable mate of the era, the SL500. I have never seen seats like this before in an SLK, they’re very supportive, comfortable and they look great. The seats in this car show very, very little wear, the bolsters aren’t all creased and worn out like you might see on so many BMW Z4s, Porsche Boxsters or other SLKs of this vintage. This car is tip top, inside and out.

This is a local, two owner Minnesota car with low mile for the age of the vehicle, it just turned over 36,000 miles. It has a clean, no stories Carfax vehicle history report and is ready to roll today. It was sold here at Sears Imports when it was new and has been serviced exclusively at our dealership throughout its life. It was a trade in here last week, it’s Sears Imports’ stock# 19875C. Priced right at just $16,900.

Ten classic cars from the car collection of the late Don Sears, long time car dealer in Minneapolis, MN and owner of Sears Imports, will be auction this morning, Saturday, May 19, 2012 at the Dana Mecum Spring Indianapolis Auction. The cars were transported from Sears Imports in Minnetonka last week via two enclosed transporters. They will be auctioned as lot #s S62 – S71 this morning.

The 10 cars going over the block include a beautiful and highly optioned 1960 Chevrolet Impala Coupe with power steering, power brakes, factory air a 348 Tri Power motor with Three Deuces, an immaculate 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air 2-door as well as two Camaros, a ’68 and ’69, a couple of hot rods, even a 1928 Ford Model A pick up truck. Click this link to see the online auction catalog page with all ten of the Sears Collection Cars. (scroll down the page, you’ll see the ten cars, photos all taken in the Sears Imports photo studio.

Click this link to watch the Mecum Indianapolis Auction LIVE from your computer!

Don’s collection is made up of expertly restored cars that are as clean underneath as they are up above. As they cross the block in Indianapolis late this morning, I can only hope Don is looking down, watching over the proceedings as some of his cars are passed on to new stewards of the collector car hobby. Hopefully the new owners will take as good care of them, and have as much pride in the, as Mr. Sears did.

Members of the Twin Cities Section of the Mercedes-Benz Club of America gathered early Saturday morning, May 12, 2012 at the new Mercedes-Benz dealership in Minnetonka, Sears Imports, to form up and drive North to Osseo, MN for one of the upper Midwest’s largest vintage, foreign car shows… the InterMarque Spring Kick Off Car Show. About 12 cars showed up at Sears Imports to make the 25 minute drive North to Osseo, another 3 or 4 member cars met the group at the show. The mix, and quality of the cars in attendance was spectacular. From the oldest car in attendance, new (only because his membership expired some time ago!) club member David Steingas’ 1951 220s to one of the newest, Matt Jurcich’s super clean 1999 ‘large and in charge’ S500 Grand Edition, the cars looked great and everyone was eager to check out the Intermarque’s new car show venue. For some time the Intermarque Spring Kick off Car Show was held at St. Paul’s Como Park, this was the first year for the show in Osseo.

Twin Cities Mercedes Club members meet at Sears Imports to head up to Osseo.

Mercedes-Benz Club members, and their cars, that showed up at Sears Imports for the convoy North were:

Mark Flaten – 1971 280SL
Dave Bortner – 1969 300SEL 6.3
Dave Tobin – 1973 280C
David Steingas – 1951 220S Cabriolet
John Olson – 1959 300SL Roadster
Jack Church – 1985 500SL (euro)
Dean Nolde – 1999 SLK230
Daniel Miller – 1970 280SL
Jim Klecker – 1968 280SL
Matt Jurcich – 1999 S500 Grand Edition
Ron Burg – 1971 280SL

Tobin corrals Mercedes Club members at Sears and passes out maps to the show.

A couple of other members met the group in Osseo including:
Ron Scott – 1980 450SLC
Don Stephenson – 1971 280SL

(I think most of the years of the cars mentioned above are correct, a couple could be a few years off).

Any new venue creates challenges to organizers of a car show of the size and scope of the InterMarque’s Spring Kick Off. Our Mercedes-Benz Club was one of the ‘club sponsors’ of the event. We were told we could pick just 7 cars (all had to have been built prior to 1991) to show on the main street of the show. The rest of our club member cars would be pointed to peripheral parking areas, but still be allowed to park together if we arrived together. Well, once we got there, we ended up with about 9 of our cars on the main drag and and a handful of other down the street and around the corner, others, those build after 1991 were parked in an entirely different area, so we were a bit spread out. In the end, there was plenty of room on the main street, so we really all could have parked together… there was more than enough space, but organizers just weren’t sure how it was going to shake out, so they did their best, which was quite good, this first time around. I spoke with them during the show and it sounds like they’ll apply the lessons learned this year to next year’s show. I would guess we’ll all be able to park in the same area next time.

We pitched our E-Z Up tent to provide us with some shade, set up a table with club membership materials and some back issues of the Northern Star for  passers by to pick up and take with them. It was a great day with a wide variety of cars in attendance.

Mercedes Benz Club tent and car display.

There were more British cars than anything, as usual, at this show… from MGs and Triumphs to Jaguars, Rolls Royces and Bentleys. There were a good number of Italian cars including a pair of Maserati Ghiblis and handful of Alfa Romeos, I could only find one Ferrari and it happens to belong to a gentleman I know fairly well, he also has two Mercedes-Benz vehicles as daily drivers… he was even wearing his Mercedes-Benz hat all day while standing next to his Ferrari, I guess he has decent taste. There were plenty of German cars as well… more Mercedes than Porsches or BMWs… thanks to our good club turn out.  I haven’t seen so many Citroens in one place since the last time I was in Paris… there seems to be a pretty active Citroen Club here in the Twin Cities.

A great turn out of T series MGs and other vintage British cars.

The InterMarque group is a sort of consortium of car clubs… it is a single organization that sort of compiles information about all the different foreign car clubs in the upper Midwest, their events, website information, etc. and publishes a monthly online newsletter with car show and event information as well as articles and reports that are of interest to all sorts of car enthusiasts. They also hold regular events throughout the Spring and Summer, the group meets every Saturday morning at the Square Peg Diner in Minneapolis every Saturday morning. If you’re into old cars and want to keep up with what is happening in the Twin Cities old car scene you need to sign up to receive email updates from the InterMarque. Visit their website by clicking this link and sign up to receive InterMarque Updates, it’s FREE!

Ferrari Mondial, Maserati Ghibli.

Wheels of Italy organizer Dan Schaefer's Alfa Romeo GTV.

MBCA-TC member Matt Jurcich's 1999 S500 Grand Edition.

Steingas' 220S followed by Olson's 300SL, Bortner's 6.3, Flaten's 280SL and on down the line.

Jack Church's red 500SL, Tobin's '73 280 Coupe.

Dave Bortner's 6.3.

Dave Tobin's 1973 280C.

Great looking Jaguar XK120.

Morgans are rare... Drophead Coupes are even rarer.

Citroen Traction Avant sedan.

Big 1925 Bentley.

1955 Porsche 550 Spyder replica painted up like one of the Carrera Panamericana cars.

More MGs than you can shake a stick at.

Some nefarious characters were even allowed into the show... Mercedes owner Alkis Michaelides brought his newest midlife crisis... a 1992 Ferrari Mondial.

Schaefer's Alfa GTV.

Pretty MG TC.

This Mercedes-Benz 190SL showed up with a for sale sign in it... looked a bit tired for a $47,000 asking price.

Late in the day, and MG TD drives off, pipe in teh driver's mouth and all.

Show's over... Olson drives off, Flaten not far behind.

Following Olson in his 300SL (trying to keep up anyway).

One of the most fun parts of the day for me was driving back home… following John Olson all the way down Plymouth Rd / Xenium Lane / Zachary Lane for about 15 miles. People might not know what he’s driving, but all eyes, through every intersection, were on that 300SL, there is just something about that car, that shape… it absolutely must be one of the all time great designs. They look good in photos, on paper, but nothing prepares you for how they look gliding over the road at speed. A special day indeed.

Used Mercedes Benz C63 AMG cars don’t come up for sale very often, this one was just traded in yesterday on a pre owned S65 AMG… so, if you’ve ever wondered where you go from a C63.. I guess that’s the answer. This C63 AMG is absolutely loaded… original window sticker / option list is pasted below for your reference.

Finished in Arctic White over Sahara Beige / Black AMG Premium Leather interior, this is a local, one owner vehicle that was purchased here at Sears Imports when it was new. It has just 7,053 original miles, it is essentially perfect in every way. It has the Premium 2 Package (P2 Package) which gives you Bi-Xenon headlamps and cornering fog lamps, it’s also got the Multimedia Package which includes COMAND Navigation, a music register, Satellite Radio, Bluetooth, voice control and a ton of other tech options.

All of that gadgetry is really secondary to the huge, 6.2 liter, naturally aspirated V8 under the hood… it cranks out 481 Horsepower… making it, in my opinion, the most fun AMG car to drive, the SLS AMG coming in a close second (no joke). Originally over $66,000 new, this vehicle is available today at Sears Imports (stock# 20236A) for $51,900.

This 2012 Mercedes E350 Wagon just arrived into our inventory here at Sears Imports. This is probably the most fully loaded E class wagon I’ve ever seen, it must be at more than $72,000! I have included a photo of the original window sticker / option list below for your reference, but here are a few option highlights: Premium II Package (P2 Package) which includes things like KEYLESS GO, Bi-Xenon headlamps and Navigation along with a bunch of other stuff. It also has the Driver Assistance Package which gives you DISTRONIC PLUS, Lane Keeping Assist as well as the Blind Spot Assist feature, and that’s just the beginning. Multi contour driver’s seat with massage feature, all the seats in this car are heated, heated steering wheel, it’s a Sport model to boot… it’s literally got everything, except a garage to live in !

Close up of the DISTRONIC PLUS grille of this 2012 E350 Wagon.

It looks great in Arctic White with Almond Leather, remember… if you qualify for the “Competitor Conquest Program” during the month of April 2012 there is an available $3,000 rebate on E class vehicles, which includes this E class wagon.

Travel in supreme safety and style with this new E350 4matic wagon… it’s Sears Imports’ stock# 66144, the MSRP is $72,620, give me a call and we can figure out what it really takes to drive this beautiful, and rare, wagon home today!

Photo of the actual option list on the wagon's window sticker.

Based on a number of spy shots taken throughout the United States and based upon confirmation from at least one anonymous source within Mercedes-Benz itself, it’s come out that, apparently, Mercedes-Benz will be the first major luxury auto maker to offer intricate PLAID paint schemes as an exterior vehicle option. This 2011 S class, a test vehicle for the new plaid paint scheme option was spied on the streets of San Francisco, CA early this morning.

Dave Knows Cars’ inside source at Mercedes-Benz had this to say when asked about the rumors of this new exterior paint option:

“We’re constantly looking for ways to further incorporate the long corporate history of Mercedes-Benz into our newest products. In the 1950s we offered plaid interior options on 300SL Gullwing coupes, now  we’re just bringing plaid into the 21st century, this time, as an exterior paint option.”

Vintage plaid interior Mercedes-Benz is giving the nod to...

The plaid paint schemes are available as a special order option only at this point, Mercedes-Benz officials say they may begin to incorporate a number of tartan plaids in a number of markets around the world. So far, and not surprisingly, there has been heavy demand from fashion conscious celebrities and movie stars around the globe, but also interest from regular folks in a number of British Commonwealth territories, specifically, Scotland.

Mercedes Benz GL450 with optional plaid exterior paint option spied near Pasadena, CA.

“We’re just trying something new and innovative,” says my inside source at Mercedes-Benz “Our almost mirror like Alubeam Silver Metallic color available on the SLS has proven, over the last few years, that at the highest end of the luxury segment, customers are interested in something unique and are willing to pay for it, with the plaid, we’re just trying something different, we’re trying to offer more than our competition.”

The Alubeam Silver Metallic is a $12,000 paint option on SLS models, these special plaid exterior color schemes are expected to demand a bit of a premium over the Alubeam Silver paint option. “Any tartan plaid is available as a custom exterior color” our inside source confirms, “If legendary race driver Jackie Stewart wants his next S class in Stewart Plaid, we can accommodate his request. What other car manufacturer can do that?

Apparently Paris Hilton has already placed an order for a Burberry Plaid G wagen that is expected to be delivered to her L.A. home in late July. If you’re interested in one of these new plaid color schemes, please feel free to give me a call and we can discuss your specific needs.

This used SL55 AMG is a rare find as a used car, it was just traded in here at Sears Imports by a long time customer who replaced it with an equally cool car. This SL55 AMG Roadster had an original MSRP of over $124,000. Today it has 59,805 miles on its odometer and is for sale for $36,900. It is black with a Charcoal interior and a dark grey alcantara headliner.

It’s as fully equipped as you’d expect of a six figure car, navigation, KEYLESS GO, all the goodies. The previous owner rear ended someone with the car a couple of weeks ago, it was a low speed impact that crumpled the front grill of the car and scuffed the bumper, our body shop did the repairs to the vehicle, which were extremely minor… you could buy and own this one with pride.

It’s Sears Imports stock# 65727B and is available for sale today at a fraction of the vehicle’s original price, buy it today for just $36,900 and enjoy this long Spring and Summer with speed and style.

Anyone who knows me knows that I’ve got a thing for Mercedes-Benz station wagons… whether a vintage 1981 diesel wagon like the one featured yesterday on Dave Knows Cars or an almost new 2011 model like this pristine example, I love them all! This is an especially nice example, it only has 9,280 original, one owner miles on its odometer. We sold this car new here at Sears Imports about 13 months ago, so it has plenty of its new car factory warranty left.

The exterior color is steel grey, interior is black. It is equipped with the Premium I Package (P1 Package) with navigation, bluetooth, heated seats, the harmon/kardon sound system, etc. etc. It also has the Panorama Sunroof and the Sport Package. I’ve included the original option list / build sheet of the car along with another photo of the car below.

This car has been fully serviced, inspected and detailed, it is in excellent condition, inside and out. This one is ready to roll today and will likely, not last very long given the general rarity of these new body style E class wagons and the fact that it is an almost new car with a less than new car price… $58,900 is today’s price for this one, it’s worth coming in to have a look at.

This 1981 Mercedes 300TD wagon rolled into Sears Imports this morning, the gentleman who drove up in it is interested in selling it… he just advertised it in this month’s Hemming’s Motor News. He bought it out of New York a little more than a year ago for his wife, but they have a number of other vehicles and she just doesn’t choose to drive this vintage Mercedes wagon enough to justify keeping it.

It has just over 180,000 original miles on the odometer, it is a very rare 4 speed manual transmission car with the 5 cylinder diesel engine that is known to run for literally, millions of miles. It was a European car originally, it has the two tone cloth / MB tex interior. I would say the car is in good, driver quality condition. It was mostly rust free, with several small bubbles beginning to show around the rear fender arches. The interior was in decent shape, the driver’s seat could use a recovering at this point, but it’s a complete car in a really good looking color combo… red with tan interior.

The owner is asking $8,500 for this very rare manual transmission diesel wagon, the owner says he gets a little over 30mpg. If you’re interested in the car please contact me and I can put you in touch with the owner. More Photos below: