The 190SL’s designers had a challenge on their hands-to echo the 300SL’s styling, but not copy it Close your eyes and picture your local main drag on a Saturday afternoon. Parked outside the neighborhood coffee shop, what do you see? Likely one or two Mercedes SLs, 280s. 560s. 450s. 380s. […]
Affordable Classics
1967-1969 Saab Sonett II
Above 3,000 rpm driving a Sonett II is like hanging onto an out-of-control chainsaw The words “Swedish” and “sports car” seem entirely uncomfortable bedfellows. But back in the 1950s, before Saab and Volvo had acquired the safe-and-sane reputations that still accompany their current American parents, both companies set off to […]
1965-66 Chevrolet Corvair Corsa
The most controversial car of the 20th century Let’s get this out of the way right off the bat: Ralph Nader didn’t kill the Corvair. Blame can be more squarely placed on the Camaro, the pony car that rendered Chevrolet’s weird, rear-engine small car irrelevant to its product planners. Indeed, […]
1986-1989 Ferrari 328 GTB/GTS
A used 328 can be affordable because the depreciation over a year or two may be small to non-existent for a moderate amount of driving Every man should have one before he dies.” When I sold used Ferraris, this is what I used to say to close the deal. “You […]
1968-1975 BMW 2800/3.0 CS
Even when compared to cars of today, 3.0 CS coupes are capable enough in both performance and handling, and drive like a BMW should, with good steering feel and solid roadhandling In 1968, $8,178 would buy you a finely engineered German luxury coupe, the new six-cylinder BMW 2800 CS. Or, […]
1976-1981 Pontiac Trans Am “Bandit”
The second-generation Pontiac Trans Am was in production for twelve years, from 1970 to 1981, and effectively captured a generation of car enthusiasts in an era when Motor City muscle was in decline. Admittedly, the Trans Am of the mid-1970s was a pale imitation of earlier models, an underpowered, portly […]
1971-1975 Volkswagen Super Beetle
Any Beetle of yore is more closely related to a lawn tractor than it is to the modern auto with which it shares a name and silhouette It hardly seems believable that by 1971 the Volkswagen Beetle-the success story of the 1960s-was losing favor with the public. In earlier […]
1956-1958 Studebaker Golden Hawk
Though not rare, you’re far less likely to see a Golden Hawk on the road than a Thunderbird or Corvette, making the Studebaker a good choice for those collectors who aspire to be both unique and on a budget Studebaker’s Golden Hawk was the product of an era when sports […]
1982-93 Ford Mustang 5.0
You can build a supercharged 500-hp ‘Stang in your backyard for about the price of a Ferrari brake job For long-suffering Mustang fans, the all-new 1979 Mustang was a near-miraculous event after four years of the embarrassing Pinto-based Mustang II.It got even better in 1982, when Dearborn proudly proclaimed that […]
1967 Volvo 123GT
Owning a true GT car from the ’60s is something everyone should experience, if not for the image or the feel then just for the fun When you think of collectible sports and GT cars from the 1960s, a number of British, German, Italian and even French marques may […]