My thoughts, exactly, Dick!  I started to put a comment on the web page
asking how many of these have survived.

That is one VERY NICE car... tastefully done, in every respect.

"I've never seen a '50 Merc with the top so high. Was that some sort of
custom? -Dick-"

Actually, Dick - I think it was stone stock. Chopped Mercs are so
common many folks find the lowered lid normal-looking.

It appears so high because its the Club Coupe model with the swing out rear
quarter windows and a shorter roof.  The regular 2 door sedans with the roll
down rear windows were longer.

Craig.

Well, that's a pretty easy one to answer.

There weren't very many Japanese cars in the marketplace here during
the era that "old car" shows typically involve.They didn't start to be
popular until the latter part of the '60s. Furthermore, for the first
few years of Japanese car importation, the big sellers were your
el-cheapo basic transportation buckets, which mostly were driven until
they wore out or rusted away to a nubbin. For the most part, they
weren't the kind of car that people would put away to save for later,
if you get my drift.

Starting in the mid to late '70s, and continuing to this day, the
Japanese cars have gone up-market, but we are now out of the "old car"
era.

You do see the odd older Japanese car at import car shows, and at
sports car events.

Gord Richmond