Like Triumph’s Amphicar and Fiat’s Jolly, the BMW Isetta has a “coin of the realm” quality when it shows up at auctions. Once parked on the lawn at Bonham’s or Gooding, these cars are almost guaranteed to bring three… more»
Feb 25, 2024 • For Sale • 18 Comments
Low Mileage Original: 1940 Ford Deluxe Fordor Sedan
Here are a few conundrums wrapped up in one 1940 Ford Deluxe Fordor sedan, advertised on craigslist, with a request from the seller that prospective buyers send him a “best offer”. The car is located in Thousand Oaks, California… more»
Feb 23, 2024 • For Sale • 8 Comments
Twin Turbos! 2001 Lotus Esprit V8
Lotus’ long-running Esprit model incorporated more than twenty variants, many of them made in overlapping production years. For instance, in 2001, buyers could opt for the Esprit V8, the V8 GT, the V8 SE, and the tremendous Sport 350…. more»
Feb 22, 2024 • For Sale • 12 Comments
Unrestored 1958 Lancia Aurelia B24S Cabriolet
Lancia’s Aurelia was a kaleidoscope of models, from the slightly frumpy B10 to the luminous Spider America. Not only did the sheet metal change, but Lancia was ever in self-improvement mode, tinkering around the edges of its unique solutions… more»
Feb 21, 2024 • For Sale • 18 Comments
Rare Micro Car: 1952 Mochet CM 125 Grand Luxe
When I hear “grand luxe”, I translate it roughly as “large, luxury, top shelf”. But Frenchman Georges Mochet – who inherited his father Charles’ cyclecar business – thought differently about these things. He had evolved the business away from… more»
Feb 20, 2024 • For Sale • 16 Comments
Survivor! 1934 Chevrolet Master Sedan
In 1934, General Motors refined an idea that revolutionized ride comfort for the average car owner. The company studied independent front suspension configurations and adopted the Dubonnet system using enclosed springs and dampers pivoting on a kingpin. The structure… more»
Feb 20, 2024 • For Sale • 31 Comments
Gas Miser: 1992 Geo Metro Convertible
The elfish Geo Metro amounted to one of the nine lives of the Suzuki Cultus, a car that was badged variously as the Suzuki Swift, the Chevy Sprint, and the Pontiac Firefly from 1985 to 1989. General Motors, partnering… more»
Feb 19, 2024 • For Sale • 10 Comments
Low Miles? 1993 Lotus Esprit Turbo SE
Though the Lotus Esprit was produced for twenty-eight years in 22 variants, fewer than 11,000 examples were made in total. The cars were handbuilt by a slender workforce at Hethel, Norfolk, UK, at the rate of about one per… more»
Feb 18, 2024 • For Sale • 11 Comments
Collectible Cat: 1993 Jaguar XJ220 Coupe
Jaguar, the carmaker, has been Jaguar, the race champion, almost too many times to count. In the 1980s, the company backed Bob Tullius and Tom Walkinshaw Racing at IMSA and the World Sportscar Championship, racking up wins at Daytona… more»
Feb 18, 2024 • For Sale • 24 Comments
Upcoming Classic? 1982 Mazda 626 Coupe
By the 1960s, the American consumer understood exactly what a no-frills economy car was, thanks to Volkswagen. The import scene became a real brawl: Toyota brought us the Crown, then the Corona, Volvo the PV444, then the 140 series,… more»
Feb 16, 2024 • For Sale • 43 Comments
Pink 1959 Cadillac DeVille Two-Door Hardtop
Integrated into this single car is the intersection of at least three vectors of American culture: music, art, and automotive history. “Music” refers to Bruce Springsteen’s “Pink Cadillac”, a hit song in 1984. But of course, long before that,… more»
Feb 16, 2024 • For Sale • 32 Comments
1996 Toyota HiAce Bambee Diesel Camper
As the years roll by, the US rule allowing a person to import a foreign car so long as it is more than 25 years old is bringing ever more interesting metal onto our shores. From Japan, we’re seeing… more»
Feb 15, 2024 • For Sale • 11 Comments
Rare Brit: 1959 Peerless GT Coupe
From the early 1900s, the thriving British automotive ecosystem consisted of three primary types of ventures: companies that made one-offs often from disparate parts resulting in a handful of examples; specialist makers that mustered production in the hundreds or… more»
Feb 14, 2024 • For Sale • 13 Comments
Golden Lion V8: 1959 Chrysler Windsor Coupe
Chrysler’s Windsor nameplate stretches back to 1939 when the model was launched to occupy a niche below the New Yorker. By the mid-1940s, the Windsor accounted for 63% of Chrysler’s sales. Virgil Exner’s “Forward Look” brought fins to its… more»
Feb 12, 2024 • For Sale • 20 Comments
Two-Fer: 1937 Diamond T Model 80 Plus Parts Truck
In the 1930s, Diamond T was considered the “Cadillac of trucks”, while the company proclaimed “all truck, from the ground up! as a foil against competitors that simply appended a pickup bed to the back end of a passenger… more»
Feb 11, 2024 • For Sale • 10 Comments
Farm Find: 1974 International Harvester Scout II 4×4
This 1974 International Harvester Scout II was found on a farm in Pennsylvania covered in about two inches of dust. The Scout’s job was hay-hauler, and that’s so appropriate since the first Scout introduced in 1961 was aimed directly… more»
