How other drivers react when they see your Pagoda on the road?

[Flyair]

I would like to know whether you noticed any particular reaction or hears some questions when other drivers spot your Pagoda on the road?

Let me shoot the first one:

In my case I have encountered the following:
- reactions:
1.   Friendly: mostly while waiting on red lights: smiling and often asking about the car.
2.   Curious: especially while driving along, sometimes even unsafely close and often causing short jams behind,
3.   Jerky: stupid accelerations, overtaking and swerving into my line. Non-age related, but rather to show off how fast is the car of that sorry jerk.questions:

- questions:
1.   Usual: what’s year? what type?
2.   Stupid: how much? Can’s I get a modern car? Why is the car so noisy?
3.   Surprising: would you like to give me a ride (a young and not ugly looking lady)?, would you swap (a driver of a SL from early 90s)?

And for you? What was your experience in that matter?

[iftykhan]

Hi Stan,

I have only owned my pagoda for a relatively short time but have only had positive comments.
I was however surprised as to the diversity of the people who have commented on the pagoda. Age range from about 10 to 80.
My girlfriend always laughs as apparantly I'm in my element - being a bit of a show off !

Ifty

[JamesL]

The Highway non-overtake irritates me for some reason

I am trundling along minding my own business but rapidly approaching a car in my lane BUT don't pull out as someone is tearing along to overtake me. Then they slow down, normally right in the blind spot, to take a good look. Causing me to slow down.
I know they are just being curious etc but it bugs me!

[Cees Klumper]

I only get positive reactions, in now 14 years of ownership, both while driving (thumbs up, smiles) and when stationary, for example atbgas stations. Most common question by far is "how old is it?" Which is then usually followed by "but it still looks so good!"

[GGR]

Here in the US 99% of the questions are "What year?"

Reactions are mainly positive, with thumbs up quite often.

Sometimes people show impatience, tailgate or pass on the right, may be assuming an old car is going to delay them.

I also get the guy staying in the blind spot while I need to overtake another car. But with the conversion I did, it's usually just a matter of pressing a bit on the gas and pull in front of the admirer, which in turns drops jaw.

[jaxxonia]

I guess I'm lucky!  The interest is almost always friendly or curious.  It is rare that I take a drive and someone does not ask or comment about the car.  In the past 2 years, the questions have become more about value, as in "what is it worth?'  It can sometimes be a bit crass and I usually plead ignorance, unless the person is an enthusiast.  One thing I have noticed is that more and more younger people are asking questions.  They often comment on style and chrome, two elements lacking in most modern automotive transport.  I have heard "Granpa used to own one!" more than once.

Jaxxonia
1970 280SL auto
Driven more than 40,000 in the past 13 years

[sfanale]

I had a lady in a parking lot GET INTO the passengers seat one day.  I was slowly rolling through the parking lot (taking it easy with speed bumps and pedestrians everywhere) and this lady (mid 40's) was walking in front of me, stopped, came around to open the door, and got in.  I just looked at her and she said "This is my dream car, can you just take me to the end of the parking lot?"  The most hilarious part of it was she left her husband standing by himself in the middle of the lane, just looking confused and perplexed.

I also had an incident with a motorcyclist who would not leave me alone.  He followed me for several blocks while he kept throttling his bike (a late model CBR) and glaring at me.  When he pulled up next to me at a light, I just yelled at him: "What the hell do you want??"  When the light turned green he slammed the throttle and took off in a wheelie.  Then he pulled in front of me and slowed down while he continued to throttle the engine and do wheelies.  At that point I was getting pretty irritated and so I turned into a parking lot and just left him behind.  I have ZERO clue what his intention was with the stunts and the noise...

[paulr]

honk honk..oy.mate, oy...honk honk. !

I take my belt off, lean over and wind down the window and I get " thats a classic...eh, thats a classic..cuh !. "

My car is in the UK.

[ghenne]

Many years ago, I was stopped at a light, top down on a beautiful summer evening, a pretty date beside me. A career bicyclist (you know the type, corduroy slacks, backpack and a beard) rolled up.

"Is that all you want from life"? he asked.

"Pretty much!" I answered.

[Jordan]

This summer my wife and I went to Niagara-on-the-Lake for a picnic along the Niagara River.  We parked on the side of the parkway where there is quite a bit of tourist traffic.  Lots of comments from cyclists saying nice car.  At one point a new MB SL drove by and my wife saw his brake lights come on when he passed.  She said he was turning around but I figured he was just pulling over.  He did turn around, drove past our car again, turned around and pulled in behind.  He and his girlfriend/wife then got out and proceeded to take maybe a dozen pictures of my car from various angles.  We were at a picnic table maybe 50 m away but he didn't say a work.  Got back in his car and drove away. 

[Rolf-Dieter ✝︎]

Hi Stan,

I think here in North America people may react a bit different then in the Eastern Europe part of the world. I've been driving german cars for quite a while (Mercedes 300 AMG, 350 LM and C350 etc countless BMW's one we still have a 535is 1987 my daughter drives her and will never sell her then there is my daily driver a 2011 M3), while I had some comments on the aforementioned cars it does not compare to the comments I get on my 1969 Pagoda 280 SL.

Some are like;

Nice car ... love the colour!
What year is it?
How much does it cost?
How long do you have it?
Nice jalopy (got that one yesterday on the way home from the P-50 Williamsburg, Virginia event) ... I ended up telling that lady all about our cars and educated her a bit
Wonderful car you just don't see many of them anymore!

Countless from passers by on the highway.

I only have the car since May this year and driven her some 3,000 miles since then the longest trip was from Sept. 12 to Sept. 17 some 1600 Mile round trip from London, Ontario to Williamsburg, Virginia USA and back home (with some unplanned detours, I'll let Dr Benz tell you all about that he tells the storey much better then I ever could), anyway during this trip I lost count how many I got and acknowledged from passers by. Some even followed me into Rest Areas to have a closer look.

In general I find that people over 50 often know much more about this car then some of the younger folks.

[Peter van Es]

My car colour is the same as Rolf-Dieters and I get lots of thumbs-up also, and very positive comments about that very 60's-70's colour... you never see that on modern cars. What I find is that two age groups particularly like the car... kids (especially boys) between 3-15 years of age... will call out "Cool car Mister". I think it is because the design (boxy yet with no obvious place where the soft top is stored) is how a kid would draw an open-top car naturally.

The second group that will turn heads is indeed the group that would have coveted this car in their youth or as young adults. Let's call them 60+. There's a lot of them in my neighborhood, and I can frequently see them turning around when I drive by.

On the road attention is positive too. People do not display any of the negative emotions that obviously very expensive cars draw. I see longing glances or rubber necking from modern Porsche drivers quite often.

When on the motorway/interstate I occasionally get people slowing down in the fast lane, just outside my field of visibility too. Because I always drive defensively (i.e. I keep very good track of what goes on around me, having been rear-ended once already) but not slowly, when I see this happening, like GGR (but without his big engine) I put my foot down and will accelerate and move in front of them. It might not drop jaws like GGR's car would, but I still surprise many of them.

Peter

[jameshoward]

I got this once. Some weird guy just passing me by...

[Peter van Es]

I've seen that guy somewhere as well... he was drunk as can be and that weird guy behind him was trying to drag him upstairs? Am I hallucinating?

[hauser]

Most will give a nod of approval but there always that one particular driver that just doesn't care.  On my way back from Williamsburg a not so nice female driver in a VW Routan didn't like the idea I was trying to pass her.  I was in the center lane of I95, I executed my left turn signal and as I was making my careful left merge she sounds off her horn for what it seemed like a very long time.  I substituted my left turn signal for the right and promptly got back in the lane I came from.  My window was down so I motioned to the Florida woman to go on ahead.  I was given a not so nice look from her older male companion. 

[Benz Dr.]

Believe it or not, where I live, I get no reaction at all. After driving the same car for 20 years now I really don't look any more. It's like I'm just another car on the road which I actually like. If I go to large a city, people tend to notice the car more but I'm usually watching where I'm going and still don't notice all that much. I do get the odd question and people looking at the car from time to time.

The 600 was totally different. People stopped on the street, pointed at the car and stared. One evening we went to nearby Sarnia and drove through the downtown area. I remember seeing a guy talking to his friends while standing in front of a pub and when he saw the car he stopped in mid sentence. A huge black car with all of that chrome makes quite a statement.

On the way back from the Concourse this summer, George Henne and I were blasting down 696 at 75 - 80 MPH when this guy pulled right up beside me in a SUV or pickup and began honking his horn. After I noticed him he gave me thumbs up. I really wish that other drivers would refrain from doing something that stupid.....................

I found that in the early days that I was always looking to see if people were looking at my car. The result was that I nearly got into several accidents. It's kind of like watching that good looker crossing the street in front of you and not noticing that the light has changed. The guy behind you peeps his horn and you drive away. You're noticed for sure then........

[awolff280sl]

if they don't notice a Pagoda, you've got to worry that they are texting.

[peterm]

I stopped at a 7-11 for my morning coffee and an elderly man of the street was sitting out front and said

"whooo-eee  you da man"  I bought him a cup too.

[Flyair]

I stopped at a 7-11 for my morning coffee and an elderly man of the street was sitting out front and said"whooo-eee  you da man"  I bought him a cup too.

Peterm,
which proves that owning a Pagoda involves unexpected expenses

[gimp]

On my return trip from Williamsburg I slowed down for some road construction
when a couple of workers gave me a thumbs up.
That gave me a pick me up that lasted for the remainder of the trip.
Frank

[m300cab]

Is it a diesel?

[UJJ]

Yesterday pulling into a parking lot next to a pretty (older) woman in a convertible beetle:
How old is your beautiful car, she asked?
Trying to answer in a different way I said: Much younger than the owner!
"No way" was her reply!
Now that made me smile.

[waltklatt]

Would you believe a guy in a Viper asked if we could trade cars.
And several times a near carjacking like experience. (Shuddering)

Walter Klatt
1967 220SL-diesel

[Bonnyboy]

I had a guy and his wife in a Triumph TR6 pull up and ask if I wanted to trade.  I replied that I would but I am already married. 

[Flyair]

  hope that she did not belong to "highly collectible category"