well well. i got home today and there were two packages inside my screen door. a quick glance at the label showed they were from the good people at mercedes benz.
I was informed by mr. rossi that mercedes presented high mileage awards to their owners. i had downloaded the form, taken a quick look, and and realized that at 320,000 miles - I had qualified for the 250,000 km (156,000 miles) and the 500,000 km (312,000 miles) award.
I filled out the form a few weeks ago and then was required to take it to the mercedes dealer to certify the mileage. i sent it away. a few web sites i had looked at said it might take 6-8 weeks. so i was midly suprised when they arrived in under three weeks.
they are nice metal medallions that i think you can attach to the grill of the car.
they also came with certificates that are placed in diploma holders.
boy do i feel special!
It seems dangerous to hold onto a vehicle with that kind of mileage. As a mechanic’s daughter, though, if the car has been maintained efficiently and lovingly then there’s no reason it shouldn’t be able to run for 1,000,000 miles. Has the Benz always been a bio deisel gig? Or, has that been a recent transition? What about the other fluids? Transmission, differential, etc… are those still standard oils? Or are those environmental hybrids, too?
I think german diesels from this era were designed to run for 500K to 600k miles. Prior to the mid-nineties, mercedes were designed by the engineers and then the accountants but a price tag on the car since then it is the other way around. Mercedes also offers a 1,000,000 km (624,000 miles) and a 1,000,000 miles awards.
From the reading of history, the first diesel engines in the late 1800s were run on biodiesel. Europeans have been in to the biodiesel for at least 20 years or so, especially with their higher gas prices and the fact that 40 - 50% of the automobiles are diesel over there.
Here are a few more links on biodiesel.
I think this map is interesting. Northern Iowa has a lot of biodiesel production facilities for obvious reasons. Lots of grain and lots of diesel driven vehicles.
big biodiesel news in portland… may make obtaining wvo a bit more difficult though.