A cool ride

Hat tip to BoingBoing for this story about First Sgt. William von Zehle who also has a passion for Mercedes Cars and collects them. While over there, he spotted a 560s that sported some unusual aftermarket additions and turned out to have a rather unique history. The Danbury, CT NewsTimes has the story:

A wheel deal
Ridgefield soldier buys car that may have been Saddam's
A year's service in Iraq gave William von Zehle a host of memories, some good, some bad. The first sergeant in the Danbury-based 411th Civil Affairs Battalion returned home from Baghdad a certified hero for his rescue efforts when terrorists destroyed the United Nations headquarters in the Iraqi capital. He helped foster democracy where it never existed and gave hope to a people still suffering the after effects of war and oppression.

He also came home with a new car, a Mercedes Benz that possibly once belonged to Saddam Hussein.

The lanky Ridgefield resident spotted the car in a driveway in an upscale neighborhood soon after he arrived in Baghdad in April 2003. The Mercedes had a band of steel just below the windshield that normal cars don't have. The extra steel helps the chassis withstand the weight of the armor plating and bulletproof glass.



"I could tell right away it was armored," von Zehle said, "and I thought that was kind of neat."

An armored Mercedes in the middle of Baghdad was strange enough to make von Zehle stop. The anxious owner, worried the soldier was going to just take the car, began yelling at von Zehle in Arabic. But it turned out the owner spoke English as well and soon he and von Zehle were dealing.

"I told him I collect Mercedes and just wanted to take a look at the car. He asked me if I wanted to buy it," von Zehle said. "The guy was a Sunni (Muslim) who could see which way the wind was blowing and he was moving to Jordan."

Heh... The seller had a legitimate receipt (from the Iraqi Government). They settled on the equivalent of $5K USD and von Zehle's fun started. He has to pay a number of extra taxes (la mordita), the shipping company gets the car into a minor accident, mashes the right front fender and the hood is different. He finally gets it home to find that the state of Connecticut considers this to be a grey-market vehicle and will not register it unless everything was intact including the original bulletproof glass (looters broke it in Baghdad). Price for the glass is over $14K. Still, an awesome story and an interesting piece of history...