Every movie I've ever seen (save one) shows a lady driving a pagoda. The exception was Richard Gere in one where he crashes the thing trying to avoid a tractor or something (the movie's a flash-back of what led up to the crash... he had 2 women going... I think he was married to one of them (in the movie)... I forget the name of the movie though.
I also remember the early 80's living in Europe (Germany)... the male population I hung out with considered the pagoda a woman's car by then... a sort of pass-me-down to the females from the generation before that were the original buyers. Interestingly, the 300SL's (Gullwings, roadsters, & coupes) were still the men's domain if you could find one in Europe not rusted out or totaled.... a German I know spent 5 years working in US and bought as many Gullwings in as many years... from Arizona, Texas, and California... original's, unrestored... that was in the mid-to late seventies. He was paying well under $100k per at that time (as I recall, he was paying $40k - $60k or so... but I'm frankly a little vague on this 30 years later) .... and he shipped them all back to Germany (to Stuttgart) where he and a partner were in the restoration business... his partner was one of the original craftsman builders of the 300sl's at MB.... and they hired retired MB craftsman that had built the original's at MB factory. This German (a kid really... maybe 30 years old at the time) figured the Gullwings would be worth US$300k in 10 years if properly restored... I'm sure these ex-MB builders had lots of insider friends at MB so parts were probably something they could get outside the 'classic' car channels we normal consumer's have to go thru.
They (the 300's) were definitely men's domain. There was little interest in the early 80's even in the 113's in Germany... and the little interest that existed was primarily as a wife's or girlfriend's, a male status symbol by proxy... if your wife or girlfriend drove your 113, you (as a male) had a certain status among other males.
During that period, my best friend's daughter (German) was in her mid twenties... and she coveted a 280SL as her sought-after status as an independant modern Germnan female --- she was a female German cop, non-office type... drove a BMW Police cruiser (read high speed chase car) and her primary beat was the Autobahn, btw... rare breed for a female at that time.
Remember the movie "10"?.... whatsherface, (the ever patient jilted 40 something girlfriend, she was the lead in that musical in the alps.... geeze my memory's fading here bigtime) drove a baby blue one.
Isn't there a member's picture's forum or something on this site... I seem to recall looking it over last year.... and several owners were women. I also knew 1 lady at work who owned a 113, and one that was for sale a year or two ago in Los Gatos was owned by a woman... and in fact, I bought mine from a woman owner in '84. Come to think of it, the only male owners I know participate in the 1st Sunday Drives.
On the other hand, my wife's car is an '02 SL500.... Firemist Red, AMG wheels, Sport Version no less.... parked in the garage right next to her other one... a Smoke Silver '94 SL500 (we're selling). Oh, and guess who really, really, really want's my 250SL?////?
My daughter!! Not my son!!! AAAANDDD... to top that off, my next door neighbor recently remarried and his new wife just saw my 250SL the other day and guess what? He's now asking me about what they cost and how much
SHE want's one (a 113 automatic) now.
I have a gut feel that ever since the Mazda Miata came out the appeal of the convertable 2-seater, smallish sports cars in the US to women without kids (or before the kids come, or after the kids are on their own) has increased. ... in the interim, it's an SUV to haul the kids to Soccer practise.
Longtooth
67 250SL US #113-043-10-002163
'02 SL500 Sport
