Latest Auto News Blog: 1971 Imperial Sets Sail For Europe, Joins Mercedes-Benz 600 Traveling Companion [Down On The Street Bonus Edition]

Last time we saw the '71 Imperial Le Baron that I was helping BobAsh get to the Czech Republic, it was parked down on the Alameda street. Now it's on a boat to Bremerhaven, along with an expat German heading back home after many decades in Nordamerika.

I was a little sad to see the Imperial go, but I love the idea of this monster dropping anchor on some quaint cobblestone Central European street as the locals back away in awe. The Oakland warehouse of the shipping company is so close to Alameda that I was able to walk home after dropping off the Le Baron; BobAsh will have the privilege of driving about 475 miles from the dock to his town in the Czech Republic. I'm envious!

The shipper's parking lot is usually full of interesting cars on the first leg of their journey to Europe; Porsches and air-cooled VWs are most common, along with 50s and 60s Detroit iron. The afternoon I dropped off the Imperial, however, the only other Germany-bound car in the lot was this battered-but-still-majestic Mercedes-Benz 600. No doubt the insanely complicated hydraulic system in this machine has been dead for years, but all that stuff can be ripped out of a rusted-out German 600 and swapped into this oxide-free California car.