Cadillac had a tough task in replacing its first front-wheel-drive Eldorado, the Bill Mitchell-designed model of 1967-70. Although gigantic, this first-gen front-driver was, like its stablemate the Oldsmobile Toronado, quite beautiful. Its successor, built from 1971 to 1978, was simply large. But the second-gen did have one advantage over its […]
Columns
Mucking out the SCM Stable
We began to wonder if the BMW had had some conjugal visits with our failure-prone Fiat 2100 and been the recipient of its DNA You might think that with all the transactions we track, and all the conversations we have, the principals at SCM world headquarters would make nothing but […]
1991 BMW Z1
BMW reckoned owners could swap body panels in hours for a color change, though people who have tried it say to allow two days {vsig}2008-1_2120{/vsig} Like its predecessor the 507, which bristled with trick technology but ultimately failed to go as well as it looked, the Z1 is a bit […]
1911 Oldsmobile Limited 7-passenger Touring
Without evidence of time, what does a real object offer the collector that a perfect replica does not as well? {vsig}2008-1_2114{/vsig} Oldsmobile made its name with the tiny single-cylinder “curve dash” buckboard in the early years of the 20th century, but went on to produce one of the most significant […]
1948 Veritas BMW Rennsport
This is a front-running, potentially winning car at the Monaco Historic Grand Prix. Now the price all starts to make sense {vsig}2008-1_2123{/vsig} Veritas was formed in 1946 by BMW engineers Ernst Loof and Lorenz Dietrich to build BMW-engined sports cars. Because steel was virtually unavailable in post-war Germany, the bodies […]
Got the Hemi Pneumonia and the Big Block Flu
Figure a slide of 10%-20% from late 2006 prices across the board and you’re not far off; the better the car, the less the correction The drag chutes are out for the Mopar Hemi muscle car market. Unquestionably the most visible and talked-about phenomenon in the last five years of […]
1970 Intermeccanica Italia Spyder
If Italias offer style and performance, why would they sell for under $50,000? Well for one thing, their handling is a bit suspect {vsig}2008-1_2118{/vsig} In 1959, chemical engineer Frank Reisner combined his fascination with automobiles and professional talents to establish Carrozzeria Intermeccanica. Born in Hungary in 1932 and raised in […]
1982 Ferrari 512 BBi
For maximum value, buy a carbureted 512, but note that buying a Boxer without paperwork is like playing Russian Roulette with all chambers loaded Introduced at the 1981 Frankfurt Show, the 512 BBi was the last derivation of the 1973 365 Berlinetta Boxers. Almost identical to its 512 BB predecessor, […]
1934 Lagonda 4½-Liter M45 Tourer
The body on this car is “reputedly new old stock from the factory” and mounted in the early 1950s. It’s handsome and correct, but still a rebody {vsig}2008-1_2117{/vsig} If the best British workmanship and the finest materials appeal to you, and if character, sweet running, and a maximum speed. […]
Faith in System Restored (and also a Car)
An expert examined the Jaguar and concluded much work was substandard, and the owner had been overcharged by at least $17,000 An SCM subscriber, whom we’ll call Bill, has been a car guy for a long time and has owned a Ferrari Daytona, a 289 Cobra, and a 1960 Jaguar […]