It’s not hard to find a well-maintained, low-mileage car, as they were something of an “instant collectible” in their day, with a small but ardent following When Chevrolet’s new compact, the Vega, came to the market for 1971, it was intended to compete with imports landing on both U.S. coasts. […]
Author: B. Mitchell Carlson
B. Mitchell Carlson has been an SCM contributor since 1998. Our resident truck guy, B. Mitchell has been writing about the vintage-truck market for 30 years. The first vehicle he ever drove was his father’s 1968 Ford F-100 pickup.
M3A1 Stuart Light Tank
British troops called the gasoline-powered American tanks ‘Ronsons.’ Like the cigarette lighter slogan of the day, they ‘lit the first time when struck’ The catalog description for the M3 Stuart light tank was sparse but pithy. Manufacturer: American Car & Foundry Co., U.S.A. Crew: Four. Engine: Continental W-670-9A; 7-cyl. engine. […]
1957 Ford Fairlane 500 Skyliner Retractable
Even if the Commies had beaten us in space exploration, we had both the hideaway hard top and the Edsel The Ford Fairlane Skyliner can claim to be America’s first production convertible to feature a retractable hard top. Introduced as Ford’s top-of-the-range model in 1955, the Fairlane was rival to […]
1990 BMW Z1
The Z1’s clean lines are less contrived than the Bubba-built Z3’s cow-catcher face-and we won’t even mention the Z4 {vsig}2005-4_1834{/vsig} BMW’s sensational Z1 sports car was essentially a concept car that went into production. The Z1 was special indeed, a front-mid-engined sports car with rear-wheel drive and excellent handling. Its […]
1970 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia Convertible
Not only will your collegiate daughter love it for its looks, but it certainly isn’t powerful enough for her to get into too much trouble {vsig}2004-11_1466{/vsig} Volkswagen’s popular Beetle spawned a number of other automobiles, creations like the Thing, Microbus, and most interesting of all, the Karmann Ghia. One of […]
1965-66 Chevrolet Corvair Corsa
The most controversial car of the 20th century Let’s get this out of the way right off the bat: Ralph Nader didn’t kill the Corvair. Blame can be more squarely placed on the Camaro, the pony car that rendered Chevrolet’s weird, rear-engine small car irrelevant to its product planners. Indeed, […]
1968-1975 BMW 2800/3.0 CS
Even when compared to cars of today, 3.0 CS coupes are capable enough in both performance and handling, and drive like a BMW should, with good steering feel and solid roadhandling In 1968, $8,178 would buy you a finely engineered German luxury coupe, the new six-cylinder BMW 2800 CS. Or, […]
1971-1975 Volkswagen Super Beetle
Any Beetle of yore is more closely related to a lawn tractor than it is to the modern auto with which it shares a name and silhouette It hardly seems believable that by 1971 the Volkswagen Beetle-the success story of the 1960s-was losing favor with the public. In earlier […]
1982-93 Ford Mustang 5.0
You can build a supercharged 500-hp ‘Stang in your backyard for about the price of a Ferrari brake job For long-suffering Mustang fans, the all-new 1979 Mustang was a near-miraculous event after four years of the embarrassing Pinto-based Mustang II.It got even better in 1982, when Dearborn proudly proclaimed that […]
1970 Plymouth Superbird Hemi Coupe
This is a very rare, very original 426-cid/425-hp Hemi Superbird, one of only 74 Torqueflite Hemi Superbirds built. A Chrysler/Plymouth dealer used this car to increase showroom traffic, and to participate in parades and local Mopar events. This vehicle has just over 9,600 miles on it, and the spare has […]