Juli 2021 – I’m thrilled that UK specialist magazine Mercedes Enthusiast (ME) has shown interest in my work. In fact, since summer 2021 they have published nine of my articles. Here’s the overview.
Note: ME has a new publisher now; let’s see what happends.
I’m especially grateful for the top-notch photography provided by Noortje Blokland or Casper Heij, which has undoubtedly helped to enhance the readers’ experience.
How things started
Between 2001 and 2003 I met the online Pistonheads community. I started to post in the forums from October 2002 and ran homepage topics about a year later. A long list of photoblogs can be found on my Pistonheads profile page.
Between 2003 and 2006 I sourced subjects for their daily news feed. Long story short: I met 1,001 car dealers and collectors, racing teams, got invited by Lola, made stills for the GT Racer Algarve Special episode and so on. Although I’m a Dutch native my focus is international. And for a reason: passion for classic cars has no boundaries.
As a communications professional, I’m well-accustomed to writing text across a variety of formats, from lengthy documents to concise social media posts. By chance from 2017 to 2019 I became lead-editor of Dutch RS Porsche Magazine and classic car enthusiast magazine Onschatbare Klassieker. I also contributed to SL Mercedes Magazine.
In the autumn of 2020, I wrote a story about a genuine ‘Peaky Blinder’s gang car’, simply because a UK Bentley dealer provided me with high-resolution images of a car they had recently sold. It was a fun project that I thoroughly enjoyed.
In the spring of 2021, I decided to take things a step further by reaching out to international magazines to gauge their interest in publishing my work. To my delight, several responded, and Mercedes Enthusiast offered to feature one of my articles.
Let’s have a look at the published articles, starting with the latest contribution.
Article 09
Review C203: C32 & C55
ME December / January 2025, pages 26-30
Two estate cars made for the fast lane. Sadly this article was our last contribution: ME has stopped and I like to thank lead-editor Kyle Molyneux for the opportunity.
Article 07
Review 560 SEC
ME April / May 2024, pages 52-57
Article 08
Review 190 2.3-16, 2.5-16
ME April / May 2024, pages 60-66
Two articles in one magazine? And why not.
On page 52 there’s a 560 SEC tastefully reimagined, and from page 60 the story about Cor de Jong and his son starts. Both take out their 190 16v and go racing. Again, a big thanks to ace snapper Noortje Blokland.
Article 06
Review W110 Heckflosse Binz 190Dc & S123 300D Combi
ME April / May 2023, pages 28-32
A fine repo about two very special Mercedes-Benz cars: one of only a handful ‘by Binz’ survivors and the very first estate built by Das Haus, the s123. Pictures for the article by Noortje Blokland. The featured image is my own humble effort because I always seem to carry my Olympus on me.
Article 05
Review 450SEL 6.9
ME June / July 2022, pages 38-43
The best car ever built? Photographer Noortje Blokland and I found out: start reading from page 38. Also enjoy the SLC special – my favorite Benz – and consider a subscription.
Article 04
Review W114 and 123
ME February / March 2022, pages 34-40
Fantastic coverage of 70s Das Haus workhorse w114 and successor w123. Start reading from page 34 and enjoy the ace photography by Noortje Blokland.
Article 03
Review E50 AMG and SL60 AMG
ME October / November 2021 , pages 42-45
Brutal AMG road warriors still offer huge value for money. Both cars are made to eat miles, either in four-seater or two-seater guise. Hard to pick my favorite: E50 is a practical fast family hack and the SL60 V8 is just awesome. Better than the V12 6 litre? Yes!
Article 02
Monceau Automobiles eSLC #001
ME October / November 2021, pages 56-60
My first ever drive in the all electric Monceau Automobiles eSLC. And it is a revelation. Some say it drives even better than a contemporary EV… Photographer Noortje Blokland did a great job capturing the beauty of this gem. Check this Belgium company out: more E-classics soon!
Snapshots of the magazine kindly provided by photographer Noortje Blokland.
Article 01
The Reinier Groenveld collection
ME August / September 2021, pages 44-48
Reinier Groenveld opens the doors to his 57-piece Benz collection. I brought photographer Casper Heij to inspect the stock in Reinier’s vault-like shed and wrote the words for a 5 page article.
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