The Pontons may have been Mercedes-Benz's bread-and-butter models of the 1950s, but they were vitally important in establishing the marque as a significant player around the globe. Alongside the saloons that made Mercedes famous world-wide for long-lasting and economical taxis, there were exotic two-door cabriolet and coupé derivatives, and the cars' basic structure was made available too for conversion into ambulances, pick-ups, estate cars and hearses. Not always appreciated is that the 190SL sports model was also derived from the engineering of the Ponton range. The Ponton Mercedes and the 190SL have long enjoyed a strong enthusiast following around the world. Here is their story, from their creation at a time when Mercedes was emerging from the devastation of war, though their success during the German Economic Miracle of the 1950s, to their final days in the early 1960s alongside the first of the 'Fintail' models that would eventually replace them. No enthusiast of these widely respected cars will want to be without this book.

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James Taylor has been writing professionally about cars since the late 1970s, and his interests embrace a wide range of older cars of all makes and nationalities, as well as classic buses, lorries and military vehicles. He has written several books about BMW cars within a portfolio that now consists of well over 130 books. Many of these have been definitive one-make or one-model titles, including a number for Crowood. He has also written for enthusiast magazines in several countries, has translated books from foreign languages, and makes sure he always has something old and interesting in the garage.