I suspect the judges who previously gave this car an AACA Senior badge would not have done so on sale day {vsig}2008-2_2128{/vsig} Pontiac first offered the GTO option on the Tempest in 1964, and despite UAW strikes, which kept production down, it was a big hit. The muscle car market […]
Columns
1931 Reo Race Car
Blanco and this Reo scored podium finishes for 22 years-from 1931 to 1954-a monumental accomplishment {vsig}2008-2_2137{/vsig} Car collectors have known for a long time that some of the greatest barn finds have come out of Argentina, but not many realize why this is so. To understand, it is necessary to […]
Shelby Sacks SAAC
After 32 years, Carroll Shelby no longer officially recognizes SAAC In my May 2007 column (p. 60), I wrote about the 32-year relationship between automotive icon Carroll Shelby and the Shelby American Automobile Club (SAAC). I said then that SAAC is the best friend that Shelby ever had; it has […]
1954 Ferrari 250 GT Europa Series II
Consistent serial production 250s begin with the Europa GT. Prior to this, one could find differences between sequential Ferraris of the same model Introduced to the public at the 1953 Paris Auto Salon alongside the 375 America, the 250 GT Europa was Ferrari’s first true Gran Turismo and the first […]
1970 Lotus Elan Plus 2 Coupe
Most pretty British sports cars of the 1960s and ’70s have appreciated beyond the means of entry-level collectors {vsig}2008-2_2131{/vsig} The original Lotus Elan was introduced in 1962 as a roadster, although an optional hard top was offered in 1963 and a coupe version in 1965. It was the first Lotus […]
1967 Iso Grifo Coupe
This Grifo may not seem expensive for long. Euro-Americans are the ultimate street rod, and already great performance can easily be improved {vsig}2008-2_2132{/vsig} Renzo Rivolta started building Isothermos refrigerators before World War II. Following the war, Rivolta recognized another Italian need, transportation, and named his new car company Iso Rivolta. […]
Carrera GT Crash Hits a Nerve
The ink wasn’t even dry when the email inboxes, telephone lines, mailbox, and other forms of communication got red hot The “Legal Files” column in the December 2007 issue of SCM, which discussed the $4.5m settlement of the Carrera GT fatal crash lawsuit, hit a nerve within the SCM community. […]
A Dose of Reality in Your Ferrari Dreams
Recently, one early-morning caller wanted an “F1 Ferrari.” That afternoon, another emailed wanting “a race car,” and a later caller wanted either a 246 GTS or a 550. While buying a Ferrari is an inexact science, I start by explaining that all Ferraris are in some way “mission specific.” To […]
Extras, Extras, Read All About It!
How about fitted luggage, a child seat that mounted over the center armrest, and leopard-skin seat covers? {vsig}2008-2_2130{/vsig} “Comes equipped with clock, luggage rack, driving lights, detachable hard top, AM/FM radio, and air conditioning.” That’s pretty typical equipment for any new sports car today, and in the 1960s, high-end Jaguars […]
A Costly 911 Dream
Don’t let a shop bill you for the time it takes them to gain experience on a complex set of pressed-steel stampings We got plenty of mail on McKeel Hagerty’s 1967 911S restoration story (December, p. 58), including this letter from Pete Zimmermann, longtime SCMer and author of The Used […]