A chic panel van: Mercedes-Benz L 3500

If Detlev Stolze needs distraction from his everyday life, he closes the front door behind him, walks a few metres to the warehouse building next door, and he is in another age. There stands his Mercedes-Benz L 3500, built in 1952.
"The history of this truck is really special," said the 64-year-old businessman. Because it was also part of the development of Germany in the last century. The truck with a box body used to drive for the U.S. Air Force. "The forces used it on an airfield," said Stolze. It didn't get driven much in all those years. Certainly not as much as all the other trucks that helped get the country heading back towards economic recovery. The long-nosed truck from Mannheim was one of the most popular trucks in the post-war era. When Stolze bought his L 3500 fifteen years ago, there were a mere 8 000 kilometres on the clock. Stolze said: "The machine wasn't put under strain at all." A dream for a buyer. Now it has reached a proud 48 000.