Buy What You Love, Pay What You Should
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Leasing to Play
Auto leasing hit historic highs in the past couple of years and now finances about 27% of new-car sales. Leasing is particularly popular with the luxury brands — 75% to 80% of new Mercedes-Benzes and about 50% of new BMWs are leased. And specialty collector-car leasing companies such as Putnam Leasing and Premier Financial Services…
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A Boy Racer for the Ages
At first glance, the first-generation BMW M3 looks like a boy racer’s dream. You see a big air dam, a big spoiler and big wheels rolling under big flares. You have to get into this car, start it and roll it down the road before you know exactly what the E30 (BMW’s internal designation for…
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1962 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster
Delivered new to Mannheim, Germany, this 300SL Roadster was first sold to a Swiss customer. It has had no more than two registered owners since; it also features a factory hard top. Many aficionados consider the configuration of this example as the most desirable variant, with disc brakes in combination with the more reliable cast-iron…
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1945 GMC DUKW 2.5-Ton Amphibian
Initially, the DUKW was rejected by the U.S. Army, but the unexpected rescue of a ship that had run aground convinced them of its efficiency and seaworthiness, subsequently confirmed by a channel crossing. Developed by Sparkman & Stephens in collaboration with General Motors Corporation, each letter of its name has a meaning: “D” for a…
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1955 Lotus Eleven Competition
The Lotus Mk IX was derived from the Mk VIII, Colin Chapman’s first full-bodywork two-seater barchetta. As with the Mk VIII, the Mk IX was designed around a lightweight steel tubular chassis, fitted with aluminum panels. The body was designed by Frank Costin (the “Cos” in “Cosworth”), and built by Williams & Pritchard. It had…
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1958 Ferrari 250 GT Coupe
With the 250 engine came a family of cars that turned Ferrari from a small-scale marque to a world-renowned manufacturer. This range was based on a powerful 3-liter V12 engine designed by Gioacchino Colombo. The engine was adaptable to use on the road or the track. After the first examples of the 250 Ellena and…
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1961 Jaguar E-Type Barn Find
Introduced in 3.8-liter form in 1961, the Jaguar E-type caused a sensation when it appeared, with instantly classic lines and a 150-mph top speed. Its design owed much to that of the racing D-type: a monocoque tub forming the main structure, while a tubular space frame extended forward to support the engine. The latter was…
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1969 Maserati Mistral Spyder
At the start of the 1950s, Maserati was still producing cars on a small scale. It built high-performance sports cars that were a little too demanding for the wealthy clientèle just starting to appear after the war. The marque wanted to produce models that kept the same allure and were fast, but which had improved…
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From Acquiring to Collecting
I’ve never counted the number of cars that have passed through my garage over the past four decades, but they’ve numbered in the hundreds. They’ve ranged from mundane 1965 MGBs to exquisite Maserati 3500 GTs. Sometimes there have been 20 cars at my place, other times just one. Fishing for my acquisitions (I hesitate to…
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Tax Liens and “Good” Deals
A Ferrari owner was in deep financial trouble. Business difficulties had left him pretty well broke. Worst of all, he owed the IRS more than $3 million, and an IRS agent was hot on his heels to collect. In need of cash, the owner approached his bank for a loan. Since the IRS had filed…