Buy What You Love, Pay What You Should
Columns
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Pay Less, Get More?
All of us are guilty of it. We buy an old car or truck but secretly wish it didn’t perform like one. It is like adopting a stray pit bull and hoping it won’t bite your toddler, or drinking a case of beer and thinking you won’t have a hangover. But the truth is that…
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Old Money
Our beautiful minds are badly illogical sometimes. We buy three cases of Cactus Cooler we don’t need because it’s on sale. We remit tax dollars instead of redlining our IRAs. And we miss owning the classic Corvette of our dreams because it “costs too much.” Say what? There’s really no such thing as paying too…
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Economy-Class Super Sport
By 1970, closing time was fast approaching the muscle car era, and it was just as apparent at the time as it is now in retrospect. The Clean Air Act of 1970 and safety concerns — along with subsequently high insurance rates — gave enough hints to anyone paying attention, and the auto industry certainly…
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Saying Goodbye to the Amazon
It was two years ago that we watched our 1967 Volvo 122S arrive on a car hauler from Madison, WI. And now we’re going to watch it leave. Owning the Amazon has been a delightful and enlightening experience. It was a good car when it arrived (unlike so many of the cars that I acquire),…
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You Can Go Home Again
As you read this, the 2006 Lotus Elise that we sold in May of 2013 is in a car transporter and headed from Connecticut back to SCM World Headquarters in Portland, OR. We first drove an Elise in 2009; Legal Files contributor John Draneas has one. We were entranced. Weighing just 1,984 pounds, and propelled…
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The Reincarnated Enzo
There have been several stories too big to fit into one “Legal Files” column, but the biggest of them all is the 2004 Ferrari Enzo that Stefan Eriksson crashed into a power pole at 199 miles per hour on the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, CA. That story was in “Legal Files” in September 2006…
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The Nouveau Mini is Rich in Fun
Comedian Gilbert Gottfried asked, “Too soon?” after telling a 9/11 joke just weeks after the Twin Towers fell — and he heard boos instead of laughs. The first reaction to the notion of the “new” Mini being an Affordable Classic might well be a chorus of jeering “Too soon!” from owners of the original Mini.…
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1991 AM General M998 Humvee
From the Ground Force Collection, this 1991 authentic military M998 Humvee/M998 Humvee cargo/troop carrier is built for almost every terrain imaginable and gets to its final destination. It has automatic transmission, a strong 6.2-liter diesel engine, a removable cargo cover, and was upgraded throughout its military life. Due to U.S. military rules, this vehicle cannot…
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1972 Jaguar E-Type Series III V12 Roadster
This beautiful 1972 Jaguar E-type Series III V12 roadster completed production at the Browns Lane Coventry factory on May 24, 1972, and was then dispatched on June 15, 1972, to British Leyland Motors Inc. of New York. According to the British Heritage Certificate, this ’72 E-type roadster left the factory in Pale Primrose Yellow over…
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1962 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider Veloce
This Alfa Romeo was the recipient of a comprehensive rotisserie restoration. The South Florida collector who owns the car has a collection of Italian classics and executed the restoration with both his in-house team and Alfa marque specialists at Auto Veloce Inc. in North Miami, FL. Underneath, the car is presented “as jewelry,” and this…