Pagoda SL Group
W113 Pagoda SL Group => General Discussion => Topic started by: Raymond on January 10, 2012, 01:17:56
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What an absolute delight Michael Salemi has created! My copies arrived today and dinner got cold while I turned every page. What fun it is, to see the faces and cars that go with the names we see on our site. It was wonderful to see the fine people we met at the PUBs, and the Euro Tour 2010. Now I want to travel around the world to see them again and meet everyone else.
Thank you all for making the Pagoda SL Group such a great community.
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I keep telling myself, "Patience is a virtue" :-\
;) Enjoy!
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It is fantastic. I have paged through the whole thing and will next be reading each page with pleasure. Bravo.
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Michael did an outstanding job on the book. It is WOW. My two copies arrived today.
Bob Hyatt
Williamsburg, VA
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Big box waiting for me when I got home! Great job Michael. Beautiful book, looking forward to reading all the profiles. A great work befitting of the cars and their owners.
John
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Got mine today. If you're still waiting, you won't be disapointed.
Thank You Michael.
Now I'm off to learn about my Pagoda friends, most of whom I have never met.
Gus
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Mine came yesterday....
Wow is right... Beautiful...
I think I can speak for anyone who sees, reads or has one that
a HUGE thanks to Micheal for putting his time and effort into this.
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Took a drive across the border today and picked up my copy. You did an outstanding job Michael. It is an absolutely beautiful book. You certainly have an artistic flair. I look forward to many hours of reading about our fellow owners and can now put some faces to names.
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Took a drive across the border today and picked up my copy. You did an outstanding job Michael. It is an absolutely beautiful book. You certainly have an artistic flair. I look forward to many hours of reading about our fellow owners and can now put some faces to names.
Note, Jordan is one smart Canadian who wisely maintains a PO Box across the border in NY State!!! Glad you are enjoying it.
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Michael, Michael, Michael!!!!!! What a great job you did with your book,Pagoda Style. My wife Margie and I just got ours and we are so impressed. You truly captured the essence of our beloved Pagodas and the spirit of this wonderful Pagoda SL group. Thank you so much. Your hard work is so appreciated.
John and Margie Mancini
Cape Cod
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Looks terrific.. Michael, thanks for your diligence and commitment to this project. It's obvious that it took a lot of time and effort.
I can't wait to begin reading everyone's story!
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Awesome job. I find it quite fascinating to see what brought us together in our 113 bond and its great to see the players- so now I have a face to the name!
Im keeping one copy sealed and it will pass along with the vehicle wherever it goes
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Absolutely wonderful Michael !!
It is masterfully done. The design, the art, the photos, and the text are all superb. I could not have imagined it to have come off so well. My congratulations to you as an author, publisher, director, and designer. This was an enormous amount of work and huge project.
Also my congratulations to the contributors, and volunteers who helped you along the way. It was well worth the wait.
Thanks,
Joe
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Just checked my tracking number and it now indicates "out for delivery"! Will make my 2 mile roundtrip hike down to the mailbox in a couple of hours. Something to really look forward to besides the usual junk mail and bills:-) Update to follow
John
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That's a long driveway... ;)
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Just checked my tracking number and it now indicates "out for delivery"! Will make my 2 mile roundtrip hike down to the mailbox in a couple of hours. Something to really look forward to besides the usual junk mail and bills:-) Update to follow
John
You have a beautiful driveway and a great view so enjoy.
Doug Dees :D
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WOW!
Better than I could have ever imagined!
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Our driveway isn't quite that long but the walk down to the area where our mail boxes are is a good hike:-) Certainally worth the effort today! Wonderful book about our beautiful cars. You did a great job Micheal and if you ever want to do a "volume 2" that would include some of us newbies to the forum, I would Certainally love to participate.
Trully an outstanding collection of automobiles and beautifully presented in this book.
John
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You have a beautiful driveway and a great view so enjoy.
Doug Dees :D
Thanks Doug, we do enjoy our view to west and watching a beautiful sunset tonight:-)
John
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I know I am being repetitive, but I must say thank you to Michael.
He did a fantastic job. The book is beautiful in every way.
The work involved and dedication is .... I can't really find a word for this (this is not my first time ;)).
Thank you to the contributors also.
I received the book today and have been reading it for 2 hours.
It's so much fun reading about all of you that I have met (I'm starting with those that I know.)
You know who you are !!
It makes it difficult to be snowed in with our first real snow. I want to be driving around ... like some of you !
I look forward to getting together with you all the next time.
Congratulations to Michael and the rest of you.
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Michael,
We cannot thank you enough for the magnificent work that you have produced. It is truly a timeless testimony to the car and its devotees, carefully weaves history into the lives of present day Pagoda drivers, and personalizes the cars and their owners, all done via a superbly produced tome, too good to be termed a coffee table book.
It is the sort of book you can explore over and over, and continue to turn up new things to see and read.
A copy needs to be placed under glass at the Stuttgart Pagoda Museum.
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Michael,
We cannot thank you enough for the magnificent work that you have produced. It is truly a timeless testimony to the car and its devotees, carefully weaves history into the lives of present day Pagoda drivers, and personalizes the cars and their owners, all done via a superbly produced tome, too good to be termed a coffee table book.
It is the sort of book you can explore over and over, and continue to turn up new things to see and read.
A copy needs to be placed under glass at the Stuttgart Pagoda Museum
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...testimony to the car and its devotees, carefully weaves history into the lives of present day Pagoda drivers, and personalizes the cars and their owners...It is the sort of book you can explore over and over, and continue to turn up new things to see and read.
A copy needs to be placed under glass at the Stuttgart Pagoda Museum
Andy--you "get" it! For that, I am extremely happy. Thank you for the kind words.
As for the Museum, I'm in step with you. I have a contact at Mercedes-Benz Classic in Germany, and he gave me the names of several people at Classic and the Museum who should get copies of the book. So, they will--in the shipment going out shortly. The hope is to bring awareness of this extremely dedicated collective group of Pagoda owners, along with this specific group here at sl113.org. I have no idea what if anything it might mean in the long run, but the museum will have copies. I don't think, however, they'll be under glass. Maybe the Mercedes Benz Classic Magazine will make mention of it, and this will lead to more members here. Copies have also been sent to The Star (MBCA) and its reviewers.
The goal was to please the participants first; second, interested readers and others here, such as early adopters and buyers who did everything but participate. Anything else is "icing on the cake."
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Michael: I am scheduled to meet the new CEO of Mercedes-Benz Canada Tim Reuss and I would like to give him a book from us. Can you send me another copy? Send me your paypal address.
thanks
Doug Dees :)
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Michael,
If possible I would like one as well.
Regards,
Pat
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For all interested, the "Items for sale" forum here has a thread with order instructions in pdf form. Or, pm me offline; my email is in my profile.
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Excellent book and quality... Great job Michael
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GOT IT!
I had to write to you all with excitement ;D
The postman just knocked on the door 6mins ago.
( It will take me an hour to unwrap! )
Too excited, will get back later.
;D
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Me too.
Its going to be a looooooooooong tea break ;D
Naj
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You have no idea how pleased I am that the packages are beginning to be received overseas! I would guess the Canadians are not far behind, but believe it or not we have slow mail service to Canada. At least I now know that that truck that came and took the skid away was not heading into a black hole of oblivion! :)
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Waited for the postie but no book :'(
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:) :) :) Arrived this morning, what can I say that has not been said! Wow. :) :) :)
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Mine arrived yesterday (but was delivered at the neighbors...) so I just got it now... Will unwrap and carefully... package well packed and undamaged!
Peter
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Oh great... that's my day gone... all the jobs I has planned to do fallen by the wayside because I just can't stop reading Pagoda Style. Michael, congratulations... it's turned out great!
Peter
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Oh great... that's my day gone... all the jobs I has planned to do fallen by the wayside because I just can't stop reading Pagoda Style. Michael, congratulations... it's turned out great!
Peter
UK down CHECK
NL down CHECK
That's 2/13 countries--waiting to hear about the rest!
Peter, thanks for the kind words. Just show your family their mention on your page, and I'm sure they will grant you a day of leisure....yes?
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Mine's not arrived yet so I pressed my wine and racked it off while watching the FA Cup game ;D
Which means I get no work done on Monday!
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Still waiting for it here in Hong Kong...
Michael - will let you know once it arrives....
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Well worth the wait!
To have a personal book in all its gloss and glory of our Group and our cars is a gift to treasure for a very long time.
Well done to all our efforts & especially Michael for all your time given to this very special project.
:)
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Michael
My copies arrived in my office in London this morning.
The book is fantastic. I have spent an hour reading it and feel as if I have hardly scratched the surface.
We all owe you a huge thank you.
Best regards
Andrew
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Michael - got mine today so Hong Kong down. Like Peter said, excellent packaging.
The idea was great and the finished product, what can I say. I'm supposed to sleep early tonight because I have to send my daughter to school tomorrow....
I feel that bit closer to the forum members now that I see your photo's and will know your story!
Thanks, Michael.
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Thank you and well done Michael and all involved. Received well packed today, had a quick flick through and impressed with the quality. Can't wait to read the personal stories that fuel the passion.
Neil
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Mine's arrived. Looks great, thank you sooooo much
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Mine's arrived. Looks great, thank you sooooo much
What part of London are you in? Seems like the last one delivered there. Even Eryck in Hong Kong (quite literally half a world away) got his first!
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It seems the Post Office (think Men in BlackII) managed to lose a label off it so it was in a great big bag -at least that's what the postie said: "the label came off -it's here (points to a bit of card strung to the bag). I hope that's you"
They obviously didn't think to look on the other side of the box where the manifest and a great big address label were sitting ::)
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Michael,
I received my copy yesterday. I was up until 12:30 a.m. paging through it. A fantastic book and a fantastic effort.
Regards,
Marc
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OK. So here we go. Book was picked up today by Shelley but it arrived at the border last week.
Box is opened already - customs wanted to have a look. Opening the top of the box I see an invoice from Mike. Lots of bubble wrap inside of box. OK, I'm pulling the bobble wrap off the book...........wrapped carefully I might add. Two layers with second one taped in place. Book is sealed in shrink wrap - nice touch. OK, I'm about to peel off the shrink wrap. ( drum roll please ) Used the pointed end of a shifter arm to make a small hole in the wrap - careful not to hurt anything..........
Book has an odd smell - kind of like old cars. Nice art work on the front cover. Humm..... not singed but then I didn't ask.
Well, I looked though the book from cover to cover and I like it! Nice work Mike. I'll read it later but many names are familiar and now we all have faces to go with them.
When are you going to do a second edition?
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The smell Dan, is what you smell inside a commercial color printing facility. It is a combination of printer's ink, solvents, paper, etc. all wrapped up in one. And, since the book is wrapped, so is the smell.
Glad you are enjoying it. It took 3 days to get from here to Marine City, and a week for you to send Shelley the few miles to the ferry and go pick it up. MEANWHILE back at the ranch, your letter has still not arrived here. So stupid of Customs--they open the package and leave the book sealed. Unbelievable. They are absolute MORONS on both sides of our border I'm afraid.
No second edition planned...yet ;)
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Michael: No sign of the book either in Toronto or Calgary. I was in Calgary until yesterday and I wanted to show the book to my grand daughter and ask her to find her daddy's picture in his copy of the book.
Must be that dogsled that broke down because there is no snow in either place.
Doug Dees :(
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Michael,
A heart-felt well done from a newbie. I have read through hundreds of posts and sections of the tecnical manual and now have faces and a small glimpse into the lives of those whose information I greatly benefit from. Thank you for your time and effort.
James
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Received my copy today and love it! Great job Michael and it was enjoyable seeing all your cars.
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Michael,
Today the undamaged package has arrived. I have just unpacked it and the books are in perfect condition. Earlier you had sent some pictures of the book, but the real thing is beyond my expectations. Fantastic!
This weekend I only will be reading and looking at these beautiful pictures.
You have done a great job. I am thankful that I could be part of it.
Martijn
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Michael,
The books arrived safe and sound. I can only concur with everyones comments so far and add that the book far exceeds my expectations and the draft that I saw at PUB.
An outstanding effort on your part and well worth the wait..
Thank you.
Garry
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YEAH! There is hope in this world...I was beginning to wonder about you guys down under...now if I can figure out what happened to my friends in Canada, I'll be a happy camper!!!
Also just got a phone call (on my answering machine sadly, I was not in this morning 2/4/12) from Paul Bracq and he received his copies.
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Paul Bracq received his books on Friday, and his consensus is in line with the general commentary here. He particularly enjoyed the use of his painting as the mosaic on the dust jacket. Once most everyone gets their books, I'll do a "legend" so people can find their photos in the mosaic.
Book is scheduled to be reviewed in the upcoming Star; and in the June issue of Hemmings Sports & Exotic.
I have an inquiry out to the shipper about the Canadian packages...apparently this is a KNOWN PROBLEM and has to do with Canada Post delivering or delaying foreign standard mail. The complaints are many, but they should be directed to your Canadian Postal Service who has the packages but is choosing NOT to deliver them. They are OUT of the USA, and in the hands of Canada Post. I should note that last summer, the US Post Office was not even accepting ANY mail into Canada when there was some kind of labor dispute that was delaying mail. Beyond that, I just hope they they will deliver the packages shortly.
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Michael: My normal mail l delivery from the US is 2 1/2 weeks but from England or Germany it is 5 days. I am not concerned as there are beauracratic diffrences between the US Post and Canada Post. Everything is duplicated because nobody can agree on a common procedure. The new border agreement between Obama and our idiot Prime Minister " Stephen Harpo" was recently signed but will be implemented over the next few years. It was supposed to eliminate these custom problems.
Not your fault
Doug Dees
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Hurrah: The bag arrive this afternoon with the 2 books just as I was about to nap prior to my flyfishing club dinner tonight. The post man dumped it on the front steps and white US mail sack looked like it attended the Super Bowl as the football. but Michael's box inside was undamaged. The book is superb as expected. It was well worth the wait.
Milton was right in his poem " On his blindnes" when he said " He also serves those that stand and wait"
Michael: Thankyou very much for your hard work. I will cancel my nap and read it by the fireplace while Maria practises the piano.
Now I can firm up my meeting with the new CEO of Mercedes-Benz Canada to deliver his copy.
Many Thanks
Doug Dees
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Michael,
Well done, our copies arrived today, I agree with other’s comments, but something puzzles me.
SWMBO never usually looks at car books but she spent a couple of hours this afternoon reading various sections and claims to want to go cover to cover, now that’s a big tick of approval.
Great to be able to put faces to some of the contributors to the forum.
Geoff Eldridge
Treedoc
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Absolutely Fantastic! Some great photos in there. And thanks again to Michael. Its an incredible effort.
Took me some time just to flick thru the pages having a quick look.
I look forward to getting a quiet moment(or day) and reading thru our fellow member stories
cheers
rob
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Thank you again guys. You are easy to please--after all, they are all your cars! But really, I'm quite happy that the overall results and response has been positive. John Bleimaier--the Essayist who wrote the "Let there be Sports Leicht" at the beginning, had this to say--
I personally believe in the concept of objective beauty. If beauty is exclusively in the eye of the beholder, and is thus purely subjective, why do we bother to train artists, or preserve great works in art museums? If beauty was just a matter of personal taste, then nothing would be ugly and aesthetics would be meaningless. While I recognize that we don’t always agree, I support Leonardo da Vinci’s credo that we are obliged to seek out the universal rules of beauty. He began his quest by studying the principles of balance and proportion. Leonardo would have loved the Mercedes-Benz 230SL.
Now, at last, the model 113, this consummate work of art and engineering, has inspired a book worthy of this exalted subject. MBCA member, Michael Salemi, has conceived, designed and edited a definitive work entitled, Pagoda Style. I am a bibliophile and an art collector. I have never seen a volume which blends text, illustration and photography to such a powerful effect. This tome is not merely about the art of design and engineering. It is a work of art in its own right. This is perhaps the first book to fully take advantage of cutting edge developments in digital imaging and lithography in order to create an integrated and completely satisfying bibliopegic creation.
Not only the devotees of the 113 model in its 230SL, 250SL and 280SL iterations must own this new book. Every aficionado of the motorcar and every bibliophile is obliged to acquire Pagoda Style for his or her library. Designed in the United States, printed and bound in Canada, this collectors’ edition at $75 a crack is an unexpected bargain.
High praise indeed, from a man who can easily take prose to lofty levels and never minces his words. What makes me happiest, though, is my conversation with Paul Bracq yesterday. After all, it's "his baby" so to speak, and would have every right to be the most critical. He too, offered much praise and like a few others, was interestingly charmed by the cover mosaic. Somehow in the back of my mind, I kind of forgot that Bracq and his wife dabble in tile mosaics from time to time. Totally forgot that until yesterday, at least consciously.
And, I am VERY HAPPY that some of our Canadian friends, who by all rights should have been the first to get this book, are now finding it delivered. I will sleep well tonight. The book was printed in Canada for goodness sake, and it was a long route back home!!!
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Michael: My son Oliver received his book yesterday in Calgary too via pony express. His 3 year old daughter is happy to see her daddy's face in the book. This summer the Prinz Eugen will go it's home in Calgary permanently as it is his car.
The car has made the trip from the factory in Germany to Turin Italy to California, to Toronto, back to California on Route 66 and now off to Calgary via the Trans Canada highway.
I call that reliability
Doug Dees :D
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Michael: I received the book up here in North Vancouver today. There is enough bubble wrap in there to releive my stress for many hours. Not a scratch on the book - the package wasn't opened and the box looks like it received first class treatment all the way here.
Wonderful book. I think I had better book off the rest of the day and go read this piece of artwork.
Ian in North Vancouver
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Michael: I filed a complaint with Canada Post by mail today. The Canada Post lady at the 1-800 number would not give me an e mail address to send the documents to. I copied our new Conservative emember of Parliament on the correspondence. I will probably not get a response.
Doug Dees >:(
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Hey Michael,
I picked the books up from the post office Friday Brisbane, Oz time.
They were safely packaged.
I think you have done an excellent job in their presentation.
Thanks you for all your efforts.
Whilst I have not read every profile yet, I definitely intend to do so.
It is more than a coffee table book, it is something to be read and savoured.
best wishes
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Michael,
Received the book here in Texas, very well packed. Awesome job, very worth the money.
louis
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Thanks Michael ...
You have embodied the true spirit of the Pagoda Group. Here's to the next 10 years!
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Received my book yesterday in Houston, TX. It is truly a gem. Thanks Michael.
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Received my books today and they're excellent - well done Michael.
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Received my books today and they're excellent - well done Michael.
Today? Even the ones to Spain and the Czech Republic made it there quicker. The ones to London were the very first to arrive...anyway, happy they are safe and sound. Must be a longer drive up the M1 than I thought... ;)
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Today, 5 books were shipped out: 2 to Denmark, 2 to France, and 1 to NY City. Last week, 2 went to Mexico, and 1 to Japan. The book is being looked at all over--some lurkers here, and "tangled webs" of connections...
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Today? Even the ones to Spain and the Czech Republic made it there quicker. The ones to London were the very first to arrive...anyway, happy they are safe and sound. Must be a longer drive up the M1 than I thought... ;)
There's Watford and then there's back of beyond!
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But there are lots of border controls between Watford & Bedford although some still refer to them as road works, worth the wait though
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http://www.mercedesheritage.com/2012/book-review-pagoda-style/
Just reviewed in Roy Spencer's MercedesHeritage newsletter.
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That sums it up pretty well spot on :) :) :)
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Very well done. Congratulations.
Cheers,
RE
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I just received an order for a small quantity of books from the Mercedes Museum in Stuttgart. Mercedes-Benz Classic--the group overseeing the Museum, vintage cars, clubs, etc. was impressed enough to go through the extreme corporate gyrations necessary to order and stock the book at the Museum gift shop. This is, a non-trivial task; get on the vendor list; they have to create a product number, etc. etc.
Yes, folks, I'm in the most unique subset of the Pagoda community...I'm selling to them! ;)
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....Yes, folks, I'm in the most unique subset of the Pagoda community...I'm selling to them! ;)
Michael,
I guess that qualifies your membership here being upgraded to the "Vendor" status! ;) :) ;D
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Fantastic, well done! ;D ;D
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Congratulations Michael! You've done it right, when the Factory gives you the nod !
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Michael,
I guess that qualifies your membership here being upgraded to the "Vendor" status! ;) :) ;D
Not so fast Alfred! "We" (66 contributors) are all in this together...I'm the facilitator. ;D
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That is an interesting point Alfred/Michael,
When 'we' as a group did the firewall pads as a project, to avoid being classed as vendors, 'we' as in the facilitators agreed to only do the initial distribution of people indicating interest before the product was produced and then hand any further ongoing sales either via direct or through eBay over to our commercial vendors such as David as it had the potential to cause some taxation implications. I think there was some discussion to this effect with Pagoda Style but Michael sought to continue with its distribution after the initial release.
Now as the distributor and seller of the book both directly and on eBay after the initial distribution, does that not make him a 'Vendor" :o :o
And Michael, congratulations that is a good pat on the back for a wonderful work.
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I just got mine lovely pics, nice to put faces to names!
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I received mine within two weeks, may be less great service,
As well having so many great pictures to drawl over, (I particularly love the roof up shot of Margie & John Mancini’s light blue 280 SL) as has been said before, the book provides a great insight to many of the forum members. This really makes me feel I am starting to get to know all of those who have provided so much help to me over the last six years of Pagoda ownership.
Thankyou Michael.
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http://ticker.mercedes-benz-passion.com/bucher/15723_pagoda-style/
I do not read German, but hope it says nice things!!!
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Courtesy of Babelfish...
::)
Looks like a germanic thumbs up
Mercedes-Benz and America, there looked for each other and found two. At first by William Steinway, which created later 1888 the Daimler engine company in Long Iceland, New York, and among other things by the US importer max Hoffmann, which the legendary 300 SL in the USA did not only market, was responsible but also for the birth 190 SL. But neither the 300 SL, nor the 190 SL reached the sales figures, those of the 190 SL-successors, that obtained “ Pagode ”.
In the USA this vehicle was extremely in demand and sold itself shining. There it does not take to miracle that around “ super+easily ” with the internal serial number the W113 kept round to today an active fan club. Michael Salemi, asset Mercedes-Benz club OF America (MBCA) is one of these fans and has now a book with the title “ Pagoda Style ” given change – 144 sides strongly and limited on 500 pieces at the price of 75 US Dollar zzgl.
Seeming of the book is high-quality. The book, printed on art paper and with a resistant to friction Schutzumschlag, bound set, in material and, provided, captivates by the almost boundless euphoria of the author. On one double side each proud and not less euphorisierte owners of beautiful “ Pagoden come ” all motorizing and equipment variants to word, which in each case tell their personal anecdotes and stories, which experienced it with the vehicle of their dreams. The Layoutstil is constantly constant. On the left of the mostly stretching (English) text and on the right of the pictures of the owners and their vehicles.
Little large world flow the excursions of the author, if this Pagodenfreunde lets come outside of the USA to word. The British, Australians, Dutchmen, Canadians, a Swiss, a Scot, Chinese, a Norwegian and a Lebanese give an idea of personal records, which the hobby brings with the W113 with itself.
To read beautifully the preface, both on French and English, is printed by no smaller as the creator of the SL and Mercedes Chefdesigner of the 60's, Paul Bracq. This is not a book for Pagodenfreunde, which at the genesis, which technical data or the changes taken place in the course of the construction period are interested in the W113. Developed a unterhaltsames reader for occasionally, in order to be able to quite adjust the own experiences with those other Pagodenfahrer from all over the world
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Here is an English translation courtesy go google
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=de&u=http://ticker.mercedes-benz-passion.com/bucher/15723_pagoda-style/&ei=iQJ1T8C9FfTYiAKQ1cinDg&sa=X&oi=translate&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCMQ7gEwAA&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dhttp://ticker.mercedes-benz-passion.com/bucher/15723_pagoda-style/%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dsafari%26tbo%3Dd
John