Keith’s Blog: The Six-Car Collection, At Last

As I looked back over my past columns on this topic, I realized that there are only four cars in the collection that could be called regular drivers.

I can’t work the clutch in the 2006 Lotus Elise or the 1965 Alfa Romeo Giulia Spider Veloce, so I’m going to put them in the “maybe someday with more rehab” column.

From this equation I’m also deducting our 2021 Hyundai Elantra Limited. It’s our golden retriever of cars, starts all the time, gets more than 40 mpg on the freeway, and has a pleasantly intuitive combination of knobs and touch screen for the nav and climate system. I keep wondering if I should be swept up in the EV tide and get a plug-in hybrid, but the Elantra does everything well and simply, with one drivetrain. In 11 more payments I will own it free and clear.

After too much time thinking about this, here are “The Four Practical Classics,” the cars I’m keeping at hand (plus a couple more nearby, just in case).

Number one is our 2000 Land Rover Discovery II. It’s reliable, roomy for four, has great A/C and heated seats. It’s also our best ski car. I paid $1,500 for it from Doug Shipman at Ship’s Mechanical, put $15,000 into it, and it’s now worth $2,500. It’s covered 225,000 total miles.

Our second classic is the 1971 Jaguar E-type V12 2+2 automatic. It has just 31,557 original, documented miles, and all-original paint and interior. Ed Grayson at Consolidated Autoworks has ministered to it since it arrived four years ago. I paid $40,000 for it and have put another $7,500 into it. We’ve driven it almost 10,000 miles and on two SCM 1000s. I try to pretend it is a handsome car, but frankly, with its bulbous fenders and tall windscreen, it looks just a little bloated. But when you drive it, you know you are driving Jaguar’s supercar of the 1970s. It’s comfortable and powerful, my mobility scooter fits in the trunk, and it cruises all day at 80 mph. What more do you want in a 50-year-old classic?

Third is our 1991 Alfa Spider S4 automatic. It has just 24,000 miles and looks and drives like a new car. Automatic Alfas came with a slightly higher rear end for a little more zip from a stoplight. The A/C works great, and Bradley appreciates the power steering and brakes. Plus, it has a fine Bluetooth sound system. We bought it for $18,000 on eBay and are in it $22,000.

Fourth is the 1975 Porsche 911 S Sportomatic. The sound the air-cooled engine makes when you fire it up fills the condo garage with a great noise. As the last of the narrow-bodied 911s, it light, responsive and precise. We all love driving this car, as it is a pure ’70s sports car. We bought it from an SCMer at the Hershey Swap Meet Corral for $50,000 and have put another $20,000 into it. It has 46,000 documented miles and was sold new by Holbert Porsche in Pennsylvania.

The Mercedes 250C will be for sale on Bring a Trailer by 911r very soon. After that the Corvette C3 will be going away as well. I offered Bradley the chance to keep the C3 and sell the 911 instead; what do you think he decided?

The Lotus and the GSV will go into storage, and I will keep working on my rehab. Hope does spring eternal.

So those are my four choices: Rover, Jaguar, Alfa and Porsche. Do you agree?

Thanks For Voting!

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