Richard Lentinello, Editor-in-Chief
Terry McGean, Executive Editor
Mike McNessor, Editor
Nancy Bianco, Managing Editor
Kate Sullivan, Managing Editor
James Donnelly, Senior Editor
David Traver Adolphus, Associate Editor
Craig Fitzgerald, Editor, Hemmings Sports & Exotic Car
Jeff Koch, West Coast Associate Editor
David LaChance, Associate Editor
Matthew Litwin, Associate Editor
Mark J. McCourt, Associate Editor
Daniel Strohl, Associate Editor
Tim Metcalf, Art Director
Edward Heys, Design Editor
Jonathan Gulley, Graphic Designer
Judi Thompson, Graphic Designer
Tom Comerro, Editorial Assistant
Jim O’Clair, Columnist/Parts Locator
Jim Howe, Columnist
ADVERTISING
Jeff Yager, Director of Advertising
Tim Redden, Internet Sales Manager
ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES
Tammy Bredbenner, Greg Gordon, Frank Lockwood,
Tim McCart, Lesley McFadden, Heather Naslund,
Mark Nesbit, David Nutter, Collins Sennett,
Sean Smith, Bonnie Stratton
Kelly Luke, Advertising Coordinator
Jennifer Sandquist: Telesales
CIRCULATION
Scott Smith, Circulation Director
Kathy Ryder, Circulation Manager
SUPPORT STAFF
Sandy Beddie, Bev Breese, Peg Brownell, Sarah Bull,
Melissa Carey, Dot Coolidge, Carol Dewey, Donna
Goodhue, Eleanor Gould, Amy Hansen, Maureen Johnson,
Lisa Knapp, Sunny Litwin, Merri Mattison, Nancy McCabe,
Alaina Seddon, Amy Surdam
GRAPHICS
Carol Wigger, Graphic Services Supervisor
Mary Pat Glover, Graphic Services Coordinator
SUPPORT STAFF
Karen Gaboury, Chickie Goodine, Adelaide Jaquith,
Linda Knapp, Paige Kwasniak, Peg Mulligan,
Rob Randall, Abby Shapiro, Jane Tudor
CLASSIFIED
Jeanne Bourn, Classified Director
SUPPORT STAFF
Mary Brott, Lynn Hoyt, Anita Murray,
Nancy Stearns, Dianne Stevens,
Peggy Stevens, Missy Telford, Laurie Weaver
INFORMATION SERVICES
Gregory Hunter, MIS Director
SUPPORT STAFF
Margaret Boulet, Mary McGuinness,
Jeremy Meerwarth
ADMINISTRATION
Mari Parizo, Business Manager
SUPPORT STAFF
Jessica Campbell, Freda Waterman
Celebrating Beasts of Burden
The kid manning the pumps at the Jersey Gas, gas station in (you guessed it) Jersey, knocked on the
right rear roof pillar of my old Benz with
the knuckle of his index finger.
“Good cars,” he said in an Indian accent
thick as the smog over Delhi. “These are
good cars.”
I grinned a fake smile and nodded
mechanically in agreement. On countless
occasions, I’ve heard that opinion about
old Mercedes-Benz diesels repeated with
great conviction by people who then hop
in late-model Hondas or Fords and accelerate off to 60 MPH before my car’s glow
plug light goes out. There are times when
I really believe my ’ 82 Benz is a great car.
Like on that day 150 or so miles from
home, getting 25-26 MPG and effortlessly
hanging with Jersey drivers on the Garden State Parkway.
And then there are times when I question its greatness—usually in loud,
projectile-vomit-like streams of foul
language while up to my elbows in soot-empregnated motor oil.
My reason for dieseling around the
Garden State that day did not bode well
for my future with the Benz, however. I
was going to inspect a car at a dealership
in Edison. Not a new Cadillac, as you’d
expect for a man of my obvious means
and social status, but a used, domestic
hatchback.
The deal fell through, so I pointed the
Benz for home, foot on the mat in an
attempt to make it back for the arrival of
dinner guests at Chez McNessor. “I’ll be
back in PLENTY of time,” the text message I sent to the Chief from the Thruway rest area vowed optimistically.
As luck would have it, I made good on
the promise, along the way wondering if
maybe I’d be better off just continuing to
patch and repair my old car as I had for
the last three years and 80,000 miles.
A newer car would mean frequent
washes, regularly vacuuming out the
tumbleweeds of dog hair, being concerned about parking lot door dings, etc.
Nonsense that I waste no time on now.
And just think of all the filthy, unsightly
crap I’d no longer be free to cart around.
For instance, a few months ago I decided
to remove and rebuild my truck’s engine.
In the truck’s absence, the Benz has
become the de facto family hauler.
To date, it has made dozens of trips to
the recycling center and two or three to
the big-box home improvement store—
one for a couple of 10-foot lengths of
vinyl fascia.
And remember that engine I’m rebuilding? It turns out that with a 300D’s back
seat removed and some tarps installed,
you can easily haul a disassembled small-block Chevy to a machine shop. Piece of
cake.
With the engine out getting machined,
I needed something to fill the void in my
garage, so I took in a stray ’ 85 Yamaha
IT200 dirt bike. That, too, I hauled home
in the Benz. No kidding. You can get an
entire off-road motorcycle inside a big-hair era sedan. (All the windows and
doors were shut and nothing was on the
roof.)
Frankly, I’ve always owned a pickup, so
it never dawned on me that a car could be
so utilitarian. Of course, station wagon
people know this. Imagine what you
could haul with the beautiful ’ 60 Ford
featured on this month’s cover and in our
Buyer’s Guide. Or the ’ 61 Chevy in this
month’s Car Corral.
Hmmm…maybe those freshly machined engine parts need to make the trip
home in the back of a diesel Benz station
wagon I hear they’re good cars....
– Mike Mc Nessor
Let’s hear about your beast’s burdens.
mmcnessor@hemmings.com
FACILITIES
Rick Morse, Supervisor
SUPPORT STAFF
Brad Babson, Paul Bissonette, Joe Masia
FILLING STATION STAFF
Steve Adams, Rick Bartholdi, Paul Becker, Monica Bolio,
Pete Davis, Steve Main, Howard Morrison, Caroline Morse,
Jade Morse, Tyson Morse, Adam Tronsen, Mark Tronsen
CAR SHOW REPRESENTATIVES
Trisha Grande, Car Show/Event Manager
East Coast: Jeff Chao, Matt Williams
West Coast: Terry Thompson, Carson Cameron
Hemmings Motor News is a publication of
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Ray Shaw, Chairman (1989-2009)
Whitney Shaw, CEO
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