The interesting cars in the 10,000 to 15,000 mark class ...
A good 50 years ago, the car magazine "auto motor und sport" published a "purchase review" of 20 cars in the "DM 10,000 to 15,000" class. It included mid-range saloons such as the Audi 100 LS, the BMW 520i, the Mercedes-Benz 200 and the Opel Rekord 1900 L, as well as sporty cars such as the Opel GT/J, the VW Porsche 914 2.0 and the Ford Capri 3000 GXL.
The cars were compared along 11 categories:
Price (DM), image (Im.), bodywork (Ka.), reliability (Zvl.), customer service (KD), economy (Wir.), space (Rm.), performance (Ls.), driving characteristics (Fr.), handling (Ha.) and ride comfort (Kf.).
Because we wanted to keep the importance of the criteria open to the readers, ams did not provide a ranking or a summary rating. We have made up for this by simply adding up all the criteria as equally important.
Here is the result, which can be sorted by column (and scrolled sideways):
| Vehicle | DM | HP | Im. | Ka. | Zvl. | KD | We. | Rm. | Ls. | Fr. | Ha. | Kf. | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Audi 100 LS | 12050 | 100 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 9 | 6 | 9 | 7 | 10 | 81 |
| VW K 70 L | 11255 | 90 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 5 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 79 |
| BMW 520 i | 14985 | 115 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 3 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 79 |
| Mercedes 200 | 13930 | 95 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 4 | 10 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 77 |
| Opel Manta 19 SR | 11212 | 90 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 4 | 76 |
| Opel Rekord 1900 L | 11308 | 97 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 9 | 5 | 76 |
| BMW 2002 | 13300 | 100 | 8 | 6 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 6 | 74 |
| Mercedes 200 D | 14430 | 60 | 5 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 10 | 1 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 74 |
| VW 412 LE | 11045 | 80 | 5 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 9 | 73 |
| Alfa Romeo Giulia Super L | 11990 | 103 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 6 | 73 |
| Alfa Romeo Alfetta | 14390 | 121 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 73 |
| Peugeot 504 TI | 13125 | 104 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 10 | 72 |
| Opel Rekord 2100 D | 13267 | 60 | 5 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 2 | 8 | 9 | 5 | 72 |
| Chrysler 180 | 10398 | 100 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 71 |
| Opel GT/J | 11685 | 90 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 1 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 2 | 71 |
| Ford Consul 2000 L | 11555 | 99 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 9 | 6 | 9 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 67 |
| Fiat 124 Sport Coupé | 12990 | 118 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 5 | 65 |
| Ford Capri 3000 GXL | 13475 | 140 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 2 | 4 | 10 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 65 |
| VW-Porsche 914 2.0 | 14450 | 100 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 2 | 64 |
| Fiat 132 Special 1800 | 10250 | 105 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 59 |
If you now compare the individual cars graphically by comparing total points and price, you will find the Fiat 132 at the bottom left (cheap, few points) and the BMW 520i at the top right (expensive, many points). However, there are of course many vehicles that score better in terms of value for money.
The 50-year look back is exciting anyway. Not only were full-grown cars available for between EUR 5500 and 8000 today (without inflation), the variety of body shapes and technical variants was significantly greater than in the modern era. The 20 comparison models include boxer, in-line and V-engines with four and six cylinders, water and air cooling, carburetor and injection engines, front and rear-wheel drive, notchback and hatchback saloons, coupés and Targas. And there was obviously no clear correlation between price and "performance" even back then.
Today, all the models compared have long since become rarities, but some have become much more established in the classic car population than others.
Of course, you can read the entire price comparison from back then in our magazine archive .
