Member Spotlight - Rusty Duncan

I wanted to introduce or reintroduce our new MBCA Peachtree President.  Rusty was born in Dallas, Texas, but only stayed there a year or two.  He grew up in western Massachusetts, when he wasn’t in boarding school in Connecticut.  Rusty attended Northwestern in the Chicago area, where he received his BA in Comparative Literature.  Then, he moved to Atlanta in 1988.  Rusty completed his MBA at Georgia State.

Rusty is in his 50’s and married to his high school sweetheart, Michele.  They married a year after finishing college, and celebrated their 35^th anniversary this year (2024).  Congratulations Rusty and Michele!  They have three grown children – Lauren (28) and twin sons Brent and Russell (26).

His first job was in Sales with Toshiba Copiers.  He is now an IT Consultant with XXLERATE, Inc.   Since he is self-employed, he has some flexibility which helps to balance work and personal time.  His time is split in the Atlanta area between client sites and his home office.  Usually, he only travels for pleasure.

As far as free time, Rusty enjoys working on his cars, attending MBCA events, traveling to their Tampa condo, and getting together with friends.  In fact, he was recently introduced to sporting clays by fellow board member Steve Chapman and discovered he enjoyed that too.

His favorite place in the world has changed over the years.  Presently, he loves sitting on his Tampa condo balcony and observing the bay and downtown activities.  He states that it is almost like “meditation to watch cars, people, birds and sometimes dolphins or a manatee.”  Rusty also stated that the sunrises and sunsets are beautiful as well.

He loves to laugh.  His laughs can be spurred on by his family, his dogs, coaching kids in sports or watching comedians, such as Jim Gaffigan and Brian Reagan.  Rusty enjoys healthy food but “a good steak is hard to beat and for dessert, hot apple pie-a-la-mode.”

Although he was a literature major in college, he has always been a Sci-Fi fan.  His favorite book is still Frank Herbert’s DUNE.  Rusty enjoys the 70s and 80s Rock he grew up with (Zeppelin, Hendrix, AC/DC), but also likes classical, jazz, Reggae, Punk – but NOT polka music.  As far as TV, his current favorite show is “Penguin” on HBO.

Rusty has always been a dog lover.  He and Michele rescued a 3-year old German shepherd – Skye – in January, which provides them with a lot of joy.  They also have cats.

Rusty has been around Mercedes most of his life.  His maternal grandparents had Mercedes.  In fact, he has an early memory (about 1970) of “losing a toy out the window of his grandmother’s Mercedes sedan”.  His mother drove a 280SL, when he was a baby.  In fact, his mother told him that he would squat on the package shelf behind her while she drove….”the good old days”.  His mother also told him that he held the World’s Record for holding his breath the longest until he got “what he wanted”.    

Rusty got his first Mercedes in 2014 when his mother decided that she could not keep his grandmother’s 1978 450SL (with only 22K miles).  His grandmother bought the car new in 1978, never removed the hardtop, and only drove it about a mile each way to the local grocery store.  The eye-catching 1978 450SL is an unusual color – Caledonian Green, with a darker Nickel Green hardtop.  This auto brings many wonderful memories of his grandmother.  This was Rusty’s motivation for wanting to join MBCA.  He wanted to meet people with older Mercedes so that he could learn how to take care of it. 

Wanting a daily driver, Rusty bought a very comfortable 2008 E63, with the “fast” M156 naturally aspirated engine.  Then shockingly, his wife Michele got the Mercedes “bug”.  She fell in love with a GLE43 AMG Coupe.  “I was sure that she wouldn’t want a car that made crackling noises, but I was wrong!  I always laugh when she surprises me with a little extra acceleration.”  Remember Rusty – Happy Wife – Happy Life!!

Soon afterwards, he saw a beautiful 2007 CLK 63 being serviced at DC MotorWerks.  The auto appeared on the MB Market auction.  The bid continued to increase.  He kept increasing his bid in $500 increments and finally got it!  According to Rusty, the CLK 63 is just as powerful as the E63 (exact same engine), but it is a 2-door convertible.  It is much lighter and more nimble – perfect for a mountain drive or a track day.  In fact, Rusty enjoyed the track day at the Star Summit.  If he could own any Mercedes, it would be the W221 S65 (2010