I think you forgot a popular one, especially for sports car drivers, numbers that can be read upside down. Some say it is only 1, 8, etc. Others claim even if it's another number when read upside down. I was always partial to 86, despite the potential inversion and the meaning of the number in numerology, destruction. ... View more

Back in the day, even the Logtus distributors up in Millbrook, NY would describe an Elan on a flat back truck as one "assuming the Lotus position". ... View more

My $33K Turbo CX-5 enjoys humbling poorly driven Nametags. It never ceases to amaze me why people buy BMW and Porsche "performance" SUVs and sedans, then drive them with all the verve of a retired dental assistant in a Chevy Cruze. ... View more

Hendrick has an inhouse driver team of three really excellent road racers;Elliot, Larsen, and Cindric. It should be fun and I suspect they will surprise a lot of folks with their speed. ... View more

After waiting months for any of several dealers to find a Hyundai Santa Cruz AWD Turbo in any of three colors, one finally appeared for "only" a $5,000 "market adjustment". End of desire for the trucklet. A perusal of the local Mazda dealer's web site showed a Carbon Edition CX-5 Turbo AWD. Turned out it was still on the boat, arriving in 2 weeks. We agreed on a price, a couple thousand BELOW MSRP, and left a deposit. The car arrived right on schedule, couldn't be happier. There is always an option. BTW, I bought a 25,000 mile MX-5 four years ago from Carvana. The price was fair, the car is great, and the buying experience was fantastic. Don't know about the current situation though. ... View more

look at the auction results. Big bore MX bikes, 370 Bultacos, 400 Huskys, 500 Maicos, broke $20,000. Heretofore they were sub-$10K. They are the off-road equivalent of the V4 two strokes, the epitome of the breed, never to be seen again. ... View more

You missed a trend, a big one. Dirt Bikes. European dirt bikes in particular. Bultacos, Maicos, Husqvarnas, all brought big bucks. I think it's more than generational buying of past toys. It is a recognition that these are thoroughbred, low production, high performance machines with historic provenance that have long been undervalued by the collector market. ... View more

NC 5-speed transmission? My NC has a 6-speed,as do all NC's to my knowledge. Please correct me if I am wrong about this. ... View more

Oh, but they can also tell you what brand motorcycle you have..Bultaco's 6mm and 8mm bolts have "BULTACO" cast into the head. ... View more

Bought my NC PRHT Club 4 years ago this month. 24,000 miles, pristine True Red paint, paid in the teens. What a great car. It had been ages since I owned a street legal sports car. Amazing how far they have come. The ride is compliant and smooth, the handling impeccable, 28 mpg, decent local club support, etc. Best of all, it actually has character, far more than the M3 roadster I previously considered. I'll keep it as long as I can fold myself up enough to get in. ... View more

The Brumos Collection has a 3/4 scale Maserati Tipo 61 Birdcage. Yes, the frame tubes are tiny, like drinking straw tiny. It has some sort of motorcycle motor so I assume it is probably more than a match for the tiny TR. ... View more

I got my license back in the day in a Formula V. Raced it to a national license. Never enjoyed the racing. Essentially, after qualifying, and possibly picking off someone at the start, all you could do was hold station and hope the guys ahead screwed up. No amount of stupid bravery could gain you more than a spot or two. It was boring. Much like the old showroom stock or spec racing. I quickly moved to production classes. That was better. But the best was many years of vintage racing. Really. My Turner handled and stopped phenomenally. It was slower on the straights than quick Porsche 356s and Lotus Elites. Fast Minis and Lotus Sevens had their best characteristics. But the lap times were remarkably similar. The racing was great, lots of passing and dicing as each of us made the best of our car's performance. ... View more

That first house sure looks out of place in that neighborhood. ... View more

I have Canon and Olympus rangefinders, as well as a Fuji mirrorless digital with a bunch of lenses.What I find myself using most of all, though, is an older Fuji X100S digital "rangefinder". It's not really a rangefinder but operates like one, has a fast 35mm equivalent lens, and demands involvement to get the best out of it. looking similar to an M3 Leica doesn't hurt either. Fits in rather well at vintage events. ... View more

He should have at least been decent enough to come over and apologize. I have been taken out a couple of times and having the offender seek me out was of at least some comfort as it demonstrated his understanding and acceptance of his error. Many years ago, I missed a shift going into Big Bend at Lime Rock, caught 1st in place of third, and instantly went sideways across the track where I was T-boned by the following car. As soon as we made our way to the pits, I sought him out to apologize. Unfortunately, he was livid and heard not a word I said. But I felt better for having tried. ... View more

Clean 'em and stuff a paper towel in the bottom, toss em in the drain pan. Done. ... View more

Xterra is the best Jeep that Jeep never built. I have a 2015, the last year. I've been trying to replace it for three years, but I can't. There is nothing new on the market that can match the Xterra. Body on frame construction (the same frame as the big Nissan Titan), a strong naturally aspirated V6 with ample torque and power, high towing capability, relative comfort, and most important, analog controls and minimal electronic intrusion.They will all be future collectibles, but I don't really care, it's what they do so well today that makes the Xterra exceptional. ... View more

Don't forget the Twini-Mini built by John Cooper. There were a number of copies built as well. I recall seeing at least two at Goodwood a dozen years ago when the Mini was a featured marque. Someone else also mentioned the Unipower, a pretty little GT. One of those was running in SVRA in the late 80's. ... View more

Does the SX-30 2.5 Turbo share the same software with the Mazda 3 or is it like the CX-5? ... View more

There is more on the Dale story, including the fact she was transgendered, at: https://jalopnik.com/murder-transsexuals-and-the-price-is-right-the-story-464820740 ... View more

Please give us an updates Tow'd and a 21st century Manx SR. ... View more

I will happily provide the curmudgeon view. It's all well and good to have happy engineers, and perhaps some of this may eventually trickle down to production, but these are paid factory guys in factory provided cars competing in what is one of the last bastions of amateur racing. Better to let 'em pick on someone their own size. ... View more

The Swiss have some great graphic warning signs in the Alps, both for motorcycles and cars. One I recall depicted a motorcyclist with an angel hovering above. The German legend was something like"Don't depend on your guardian angel to save you." ... View more

The Honda valuation is driven by nostalgia (saw them new, couldn't afford one), and perceived investment potential. Everyone has heard of the CB750 and the supposed rarity of the sand casts. Plus, the first couple of prototypes have achieved truly stupendous results, further attracting the "rising tide raising all boats" crowd   It so happens I restore and collect 60-70's Spanish Bultaco motorcycles. They never made 7414 of any model, most were built in the hundreds. They have tremendous competition records; over the years Bultaco dominated all forms of motorcycle racing, winning many world championships. My point is these have far more impressive provenance than mass produced Hondas, yet a world class Bultaco Metralla might bring $10,000 if you're lucky. Sometimes, there is just no accounting for taste. ... View more

My concern with this list is that with a single exception, all of these motorcycles have been "discovered" by collectors. The CB350 Honda is ubiquitous and generally unloved, I'd hardly consider it a candidate for future love.   What I would add are purebred competition machines. Similar to race cars, these will always be valued as pinnacle examples of their era. Air cooled Yamahas, the TAs and TDs, for example. Honda's equivalent RS series as well. Also, lesser known but very successful racers like Bultaco's TSS grand prix bikes. In the lower price ranges, but rapidly gaining in value are European motocross motorcycles; Maico, Husqvarna, and the Spanish brands, etc. Most of these are priced below British examples of the same, like BSA Gold Stars, etc., yet are more rare and generally have great histories. All the requirements for future positive valuations. ... View more

A couple of notes. Michael's Porsche is not from 1950, it's a 356B about a decade newer. Also, his compositions are terrific, but they are most certainly post-processed, either in camera or after. That is evident by the heavy HDR effect which is the result of combining multiple exposures to achieve the lighting and contrast effect. This isn't a criticism, rather explanation as a good HDR photo is not easy to create. ... View more

Are we certain the motor went into a Lotus IX? That was a front engine car set up for an inline 4 cylinder. It would be difficult to put the wide 4-cam Porsche into that narrow frame. What transmission could be coupled to it? We've seen Porsche motors in rear engine Coopers (i.e. Pooper), that would make far more sense. ... View more

We put 65,000 miles on an early 5-cylinder Sprinter Pleasureway. It was a terrific travel vehicle, rode and handled great, smooth at 70+ and got 19mpg. Maybe a little cramped but with just two adults and an occasional cat, it was sufficient to spend 5 weeks aboard on a trip from Florida to Hyder, AK, California and home. I found the Sprinter to be the perfect compromise of driving capability and living. For long trips, having the ability to have cold drinks and snacks on demand and a bathroom truly makes for superior road trips. Drove to Indy for the first MotoGP race and stayed (free) right across from the track. I carried a Vespa on the back sometimes, mostly I towed a small trailer with a motorcycle or two, The van pretty much never noticed. Only sold it when we decide we weren't going to be traveling much. Our friends bought it and added another 50,000 miles to date. ... View more

I'll take the 1750 Alfa please. BTW, I know that RSK. I saw it in 1960 at the first race I ever attended, the Thompson (CT) National. Holbert rolled up to our hotel in a new Pontiac wagon, the RSK in tow, a spare motor in the back, and his son, Al, as crew. Later it was owned by Bernie Veihl and was maintained by Hans Zereis in NJ. I had a hillclimb prepped Speedster at the time with some work done at the same shop. As I recall it had the body modified with a longer nose and Kamm style rea end. That's obviously been repaired now. Years later I owned RSK #32, sadly it was a bitsa and beyond my means to restore. I believe it later passed through Ralph Lauren's hands. Love to have a "K", but oh that Alfa! ... View more

The Zagato Ferrari is gorgeous, as to the rest... ... View more

Please do not continue the incorrect Pierce Arrow nomenclature. The motorcycle is a Pierce. Yes, produced by the same Pierce family, but only the cars were referred to as Pierce Arrows. The arrow on the tank actually hearkens back to the firms earlier bicycles which used the same logo. ... View more

Back in the day, after I blew up the original modified 850 motor, I swapped an MG1100 drivetrain into my Morris Mini. The easy way to do it is to hook up a come along and hang the body, unbolt the front subframe, roll it out, swap the engine and gearbox, and roll it back in. I did this by myself in my Mom's itty bitty garage with about a dozen tools to my name. I opted to use the remote shifter from the MG, way better than the wand. As I recall it required moving the starter button. With the MG1100 having been geared for 12" wheels, when installed in the 10" wheeled Mini, it was geared wonderfully for autocross and hill climbs, of which I won many that year.  A light blue early '59 it also had a Cooper S header and Alexander twin carb setup. Wonder what ever happened to it? ... View more

The beauty of motorcycles is that the good parts are all on display, not buried under yards of sheet metal. That and the fact that when one rides it is an involving act, unlike a car transporting one from place to place. On the bike, the journey is the reason for the trip. The TR5T is a fairly rare, very underappreciated model, still usable today as a back road/dirt road ride. I know a bit about flawed orphan motorcycles and the draw to save at least some of them to carry on the name and the history. Mea culpa, I restore and collect Spanish Bultacos. ... View more