The 240D has a name!

I have never been able to name a car. Something in me cringes at the concept. I have had a series of vehicles with lots of character, all of which deserved a name but none of which received one. Until now, that is. In the Mercedes 123 community there is a driving force (no pun intended) to name your 123 chassis.

For a while now my wife, Sue, has called our 240D the Grandpa Mobile. It was owned exclusively by the grandfather of the person who sold us the vehicle, it is light ivory in color, it is slow and deliberate, it has MANY miles on it, and it smokes a little. While this will sound trite, the name came to me in a daydream.

Why not name the car after my grandfather? Traditionally, vehicles of all kinds are named with female names, but this car is definitely male in character. My grandfather's full name is Charles Frank Haas, but the 240D will be known affectionately as Charlie. Here is one more similarity; the 240D has a great stereo (see previous posts) and my grandfather was musically inclined - he was a trombone player in the Hull House Boy's Band (along with Benny Goodman) in the early 1900's in Chicago!