1966 Mercedes-Benz 200 IMA Universal

This is a short history of the Mercedes-Benz IMA Universal station wagon, and some of its features

[@Penroseeleven]

Excellent video, thank you for sharing. I have a 1966 230 Universal which I’m currently restoring, very slowly!

[@keystonegarage]

@@Penroseeleven I'm glad you enjoyed the video, and good luck with your restoration.

[@ifbm3694]

Excellent narration. My old man had a few fintails, our favourite was his 66 190d. Two tone, cream body and light blue roof. We picked it up in Zimbabwe. The brakes were shocking effective!

[@keystonegarage]

@@ifbm3694 Thank you. You need time on your hands with a 190d. 😅

[@RUfromthe40s]

nice van, great memories, it were the 70´s

[@topsaw]

Fantastic video, great research in the history

[@keystonegarage]

Glad you enjoyed it, Jon

[@shawngregg3796]

NICE MERCADES WAGON. DID ANYONE ELSE NOTICE HOW THE REAR FLARED BACK LOOKED SIMILAR TO THE 1959 RAMBLER WAGON? PEOPLE TENDED TO CONSIDER THOSE LITTLE RAMBLER WAGONS AS ODD LOOKING. MY UNCLE HAD ONE, I THOUGHT 💭🤔 IT HAD CHARACTER.

[@keystonegarage]

@@shawngregg3796 I've never seen one - I'll have to google it.

[@angeloavanti2538]

I owned a '79 300D wagon. Load leveling, sunroof, a/c, etc.. Made my own diesel fuel and ran the pants off of it. Great car.

[@keystonegarage]

@angeloavanti2538 I think the W123 T Wagon is one of the greatest station wagons ever made.

[@beatlebrad5339]

This is just wild but so cool yes!!!!!!!!

[@hephaestus198]

In those times, Mercedes Benz cars were famed to be high quality and "to last forever" no so much, now

[@keystonegarage]

@@hephaestus198 100%

[@jomama01]

And in ‘66 we were stuck with Country Squire wagons, fake wood grain and all.

[@MH-fb5kr]

they worked for millions of drivers

[@petepeterson5337]

American iron that could get up and move out (available with the terrific 390?). Also that Country Squire I am guessing had the magnificent 2-way opening tailgate. AC should have been an option on the American wagon, which is uncommon on even the high end hun-mobiles.

[@keystonegarage]

@@jomama01 I think US station wagons are fantastic, especially those of the 60s and 70s. I would love to own one of those huge mid-70s land yachts.

[@marcbaur677]

Would have the 230 S Universal. 😍

[@keystonegarage]

Me too!

[@hussamal-takriti8792]

Awesome thanks for the information 😊

[@keystonegarage]

@hussamal-takriti8792 Glad you enjoyed it.

[@josedavidvaqueranorivera3363]

Bellísima

[@keystonegarage]

@@josedavidvaqueranorivera3363 Thank you

[@davidhayes4814]

Would be interested to know what kind of premium these charged over the equivalent saloon. I am guessing that it would be 30% or more, rather than the 5 - 10% common nowadays.

[@keystonegarage]

@davidhayes4814 You're quite correct. I don't have the actual figures, but I read somewhere that the selling price of the Universal was 30% more than the sedan. I think this was what ultimately caused the slow sales. They sold 1000 cars in the first year, and then only another 1000 in the following three years.

[@hasse7487]

Schön!

[@keystonegarage]

@@hasse7487 Danke

[@kulturfreund6631]

I enjoy technical descrptions in English.

[@keystonegarage]

@@kulturfreund6631 Thank you

[@MLC...]

Excellent video, learned a lot. Do you know how many were sold here in South Africa?

[@keystonegarage]

@MLC... I don't know those figures, but I think there are about four currently in the country. I heard that Mercedes-Benz SA imported two 200 Universals in period to serve as cars for their field service representatives. I found one in a scrapyard north of Pretoria in 2006, and it was blue with a white roof - the corporate colours of the time. The car is now restored back to the same spec as a service vehicle, and is in a collection in the Southern Cape.

[@MLC...]

@@keystonegarage I can't recall ever seeing one of these. So your figure of 4 seems very realistic. What a beautiful car. Glad they are being restored and saved.

[@keystonegarage]

@@MLC... Thank you

[@Weiseorgelspieler]

Baie interessant. Ek dink ons her hierdie model in Duitsland nie gehad nie. Groete na Suid Afrika toe!

[@keystonegarage]

@Weiseorgelspieler There were only around 2000 Universals made and very few left. There are a few in the German Mercedes Club, VDH, but they are a rare sight.

[@Weiseorgelspieler]

@@keystonegarage very unfortunate though that they made just a little number! The original factory design fits the car very well. The Binz models where always a little bit strange and not proportional at all. Lekker dag verder!

[@notroll1279]

Ich habe dazu mal vor langer Zeit einen Retro-Test gelesen (muss aus der Auto Motor und Sport Rubrik "vor 40 Jahren" gewesen sein). Danach wurden diese Autos mit einem so hohen Aufpreis auf die Limousine verkauft, dass es für den normalen Kombikäufer kaum in Frage kam. Anscheinend war die Federung auch für hohe Beladung ausgelegt und sonst eher trampelig. In der Fahrzeugklasse war man damals als privater Käufer wohl mit den Break- oder Familiale-Versionen von Peugeot 404 oder Citroën DS oder ID besser bedient.

[@keystonegarage]

@notroll1279 Danke schön. Ja, ich habe irgendwo auch gelesen daß das Universal ein 30% höher Kaufpreiss gehabt hat also das normal Heckflosse. Ich habe das im video vergessen zu sagen.

[@keystonegarage]

I think the 123 T has to be one of the greatest station wagons ever.

[@franktechmaniac7488]

Trying to keeps the fins from the sedan wasn't the smartest design solution.

[@karlchtraybell5850]

My grandfather yoachim vonk Ribbentrop possessed the car year's 1969-1981 😢😢😢 my grandfather died 1987

[@keystonegarage]

@@karlchtraybell5850 That's a good memory - thank you.

[@acersalman8258]

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@keystonegarage]

@@acersalman8258 Thank you

[@thadeuguiu2113]

Lindo...

[@keystonegarage]

Thank you

[@RUfromthe40s]

i have the car and the van allthough the van isn´t possible to repair but it rides good only afraid to let the body fall while driving, like it happened with a w114 250 of 1968, only lucky because it as a anemic diesel engine ,also have a van from the w115 from 74, funny things happen while camping with it it envolves girls that were camping in areas that wasn´t allowed and in the morning i used to let them seat in the back with the door opened in dirt but smooth roads while going to buy food in a very litle village only police at weekends and normally less than 20 year old kids and they have a SEAT ibiza but from late 80´s and the bearing in alternator was so bad that we knew were they were all the time as it could be heard in all village so we had time to do anything while waiting for them to come but when they pass by us they used to wave and the girls replyed and we saw them looking at the girls on the beach that were always naked, one of the girls went to talk with one of them and he was 19 and looked like a can of red paint had fallen on his face. In a bit of depression on the dirt road it made kind of a litle jump and as they were seated on the back they stay seated on the floor and then they run till the front door where i was and asked me to stop so no injuries at all, this at maybe 2 km/hour

[@keystonegarage]

@@RUfromthe40s Those sound like some great memories. 😁

[@carsracing5901]

I had a 230S universal. I should have kept it but to expensive to restaure

[@keystonegarage]

@@carsracing5901 You should have kept it. They're worth money now.

[@jean-georgesmathieu1897]

Made in Belgium !!!!

[@keystonegarage]

@@jean-georgesmathieu1897 Yes!

[@PsoBox]

L’arrière était très à l’américaine

[@tettazwo9865]

What could and should have been a delightful video is annihilated by the awful, awful music which is a zero percent match with era and subject.