Columns
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Grandpa’s Mod-Con Mercury
While I’ve never been to a 24-hour race, the Speed Channel coverage of the 2005 Barrett-Jackson auction came close. Although my duties in the broadcast booth were spread over four days, that’s a lot of hours to put in watching the world’s shiniest used car lot in action.Bob Varsha and Brock Yates, my boothmates, were…
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1967-1973 Mercury Cougar
The fiercest Cougar was an Eliminator fitted with blacked-out grille, side stripes, a spoiler and Ford’s 428 Cobra Jet Ram Air It was Motor Trend’s Car of the Year in 1967, and Car Life called it a “Mustang with class.” Yet the Mercury Cougar has been mostly overlooked by collectors, and this relative of Ford’s…
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1961 Porsche 356B T-5 1600
Whatever the auction catalog may say about the early 356Bs adding to the Porsche legend, at the time of its introduction, Porsche fans were aghast {vsig}2005-3_1827{/vsig} Launched in 1948, the Porsche 356 employed a platform chassis with a rear-mounted, air-cooled engine and torsion bar independent suspension. In 1955 the 356A was introduced, readily distinguishable by…
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1932 Marmon Sixteen Victoria Coupe
Slowly examine one of these cars from every angle and the true genius of Walter Dorwin Teague Jr.’s design is apparent {vsig}2005-3_1823{/vsig} Howard Marmon was a brilliant engineer; he completed his first automobile in 1902 at the age of 23. It was remarkably advanced for its time, featuring an overhead-valve, air-cooled engine. This would be…
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1998 Dodge Viper Race Car
Your 16-year-old son would probably be happy lighting incense in front of it and inviting his friends over to worship {vsig}2005-3_1828{/vsig} Few cars in the history of the American automobile have captured the imagination of car enthusiasts like the Dodge Viper. What started as an outrageous concept car at the 1989 Detroit auto show led…
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1966 Alfa Romeo Giulia GTC
By the time you made this car into a driver, you’d be so far underwater that Hurricane Isabel would seem like a spring shower {vsig}2005-3_1822{/vsig} As described by the seller on eBay Motors: This 1966 Giulia GTC is a true rarity, one of only 25 imported into the U.S. in 1966, and one of only…
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1958 Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder LWB
If Sirus paid a typical 1970 price, he probably paid under $10k for the car-and his selling price in January 1988 was $375,000. But it gets even better {vsig}2005-3_1826{/vsig} Initially conceived as a gran turisimo, Ferrari’s 250 soon diverged into two paths, the GT coupes and cabriolets and the lightweight competition berlinettas. The berlinettas…
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1958 Aston Martin DB Mk III Saloon
The Mk III is the most desirable of the Astons assembled at the Lagonda works, with increased power, better gearing, and improved brakes {vsig}2005-3_1824{/vsig} Two years after the introduction of the DB2/4 Mk II came the DB Mk III-the suffix “2/4” now dropped. The Mk III retained the one-piece grille with the raised center portion…
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1969 Fiat Dino 2000 Spider
Is a Fiat Dino a Ferrari? This question is sure to heat up the conversation the next time you’re kicking tires at an auction {vsig}2005-3_1825{/vsig} In the present ownership for the past seven years, this Fiat Dino Spider benefits from partial restoration at the hands of recognized specialists Garage Auto Gamma, of Lausanne, Switzerland. Completed…
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The DMV Reunion
I celebrated a birthday recently, which was marked in part by an obligatory journey to the local DMV to get my license renewed. The good news was that I weigh nearly 30 pounds less than I did eight years ago when I last renewed, thanks to my daily before-dawn five-mile run. The bad news is…