Buy What You Love, Pay What You Should
Columns
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1968 Alpine Renault A110 Coupe
To be welcome, even invited, to drive flat out over an alpine pass in a raging blizzard at night-that’s priceless This ex-Works car, fitted with a Mignotet-built and -tuned engine, started its racing career in the 1968 Tour de Corse driven by Jean-Francois Piot. The rally was won by Jean-Claude Andruet in a sister car.…
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The Lost Generation
Pontiac Firebird SD, Buick Grand National GNX, Mustang 5.0-highlights of the muscle flexed in ’70s and ’80s Detroit {vsig}2008-5_2168{/vsig} The American collectible car contingent has long argued over when the “real” cars stopped rolling out of Detroit. Collectible prices indicate Detroit’s muscle atrophied with astonishing speed after 1971. What followed was a period of wheezy…
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1962 Ferrari 250 GTE 2+2
What was meant by “recommissioned in 2007” is anyone’s guess. According to Bonhams it runs, although it was pushed onto the stage The 250 GTE 2+2 debuted at the 1960 Le Mans 24-Hour race, serving as the Course Marshal’s car, and had its world premiere later that year at the Paris Salon. There had been…
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1961 Aston Martin DB4 Series III
I truly believe there is no price guide for something that has few peers with regard to originality The car offered here is a DB4 Series III Aston Martin, which differs from the previous two series due to a better oil cooling system, including a bigger sump. The car condition is as exceptional as its…
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1951 Bugatti Type 101 Guilloré Coupe
There are quite a few Delahaye 135M chassis with this body, which makes the car seem like a guest at the Ascot Races wearing a rented tux {vsig}2008-5_2171{/vsig} Ettore Bugatti never recovered from the tragic death of his 29-year-old son Jean, shortly before WWII in 1939. Neither did his company. The war and its aftermath…
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When “As Is” Isn’t Enough
Just inside the statute of limitations, James was served with a lawsuit claiming fraud, misrepresentation, and breach of warranty Here’s another true story. We’ve given the subjects fake names, but the story is otherwise accurate. Let’s call our dealer this month James. He had been doing quite well selling collector cars in the Northeast. Over…
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What Emerging Markets?
The flow of Ferraris to the U.S. began in October 1948 with Tommy Lee’s purchase of 166 MM Barchetta s/n 0002M at the Turin Auto Show, quickly followed by Briggs Cunningham’s purchase of 166 Spyder Corsa s/n 016 that November. For the next 60 years, Ferraris have gone back and forth between Europe and the…
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The Mystery of Morgan Prices
Big Healeys that cost $25,000 in 2000 are selling for $50,000 today; even pristine MG As, TR4s and TR6s cost more than Morgans {vsig}2008-5_2169{/vsig} In January 2000, a “good, clean example” of a 1966 Morgan Plus 4 sold for $26,620, and the SCM commentator remarked “Sold for quite good money. Is this the signal for…
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Ten Rules for Porsche Flippers
Never fix anything. A true flippopath will risk his newly acquired bounty and even his life to make a flip Last month, this column offered ten rules for Porsche collectors, people who are much better at buying than at selling, and who plan to keep their cars forever. Or at least until another one they…
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Too Late the Fiero.
The transformation was astonishing. The 1988 car had performance, braking, and handling to go with the good looks {vsig}2008-5_2166{/vsig} The manner in which the Pontiac Fiero was sold to the unimaginative Roger B. Smith-era GM management (now thankfully long gone)-a generation of inbred, know-nothing dullards, who nearly killed GM-speaks volumes about how obtuse they were.…