If $3k was a bargain price for a Shelby in 1969, then $500k is a bargain in 2021. We can't look into the past and recreate the present - the reason any Shelby Mustang is worth huge money today is only because so few could afford them when they were new. I will revise that assessment when I see a Geo Metro cross the auction block for $100k! ... View more

Dear Jack, please find a creative pseudonym, (something like Jack Beam) and write all about those vodka-fueled deprivations. I will read every chapter, wishing I was the dashing Mr. Beam in the shopworn 993 Carrera 2, self-aware to the point of irony, looking for his next 48 hour adventure ... ... View more

I remember seeing them when they were new. Odd, scrunched up, back side that made me think the car had been rear-ended and not repaired properly. Almost seems glamorous now. ... View more

I think I love this story because I'm just like all the other star-struck gear heads, who somehow believe our sincere desire to own that one car of our dreams, is sufficient capital for someone to recognize how worthy we are. Money will never buy true love, it has to given. Great read Sam! ... View more

Cuba is a good example - limit the market and force compliance. Funny how those surviving 50's American cars (capitalist, elitist symbols of oppression) have become treasured heirlooms for Cubans! When ICE vehicles are outlawed, only outlaws will have ICE vehicles. Freedom has a way of finding its own path, comrade. ... View more

My parents only had one car for the first 14 years they were married. In those years they had the first car, 1962 Impala, for 5 years and the other, 1972 Heavy Chevy, for 9. The Heavy Chevy was bought new off the lot in 1972 and driven daily for 20 years. Frugal? I suppose. Socially conscious? Maybe. We got a second car for my mom when she joined the workforce in 1981, a gently used 1977 Chevette. Air conditioning and no more climbing over the seat to get in, (it had 4 doors - 2 in the front, 2 in the back!). Alfred Sloan, love him or hate him, his vision gave meaning to an otherwise banal consumerism. The world never look the same again. ... View more

Motorcycles rarely make good cars. The word "hybrid" takes on a new meaning with this one. ... View more

Interceptor indeed! I can't wait until this thing is ready to drive. Probably need an ejector seat, ya know, just to be on the safe side ... ... View more

I have always thought the 2nd gen Corvair and 1st gen Camaro looked more than a little similar. Same DNA if you will. ... View more

Laughed out loud in the office break room. Luckily the only other person there was listening to a podcast about the existential threat of Nilla Wafers and (politely?) didn't acknowledge my snorting. ... View more

https://www.hemmings.com/stories/article/dagmar-bumpers I think you may be mistaking "Dagwood" for Dagmar 😉 Cheers! ... View more

If none of this was true, we would never read The Little Engine That Could to our children. Wonderful piece Sam! ... View more

Gasoline was a rare commodity in the early days of motoring. Fearless pioneers drove coast to coast without reliable maps, supplies of fuel, or even roads and bridges! They went because they could. American spirit, as it used to be called is now called arrogance. EVs are tethered to infrastructure. You dare not go along a road (I-90 comes to mind) that doesn't have a charging station every 100 miles, let alone a Trader Joe's. We have been conditioned to see freedom as accessing roads and other services that have been built for our convenience. Freedom is wholly divorced from convenience, freedom is the ability to find your own way without the limitation of infrastructures. Thanks again for another thoughtful piece Jack! ... View more

Just because you can doesn't mean you should. Odd indeed! ... View more

Too bad the top management at Ford don't read these posts, they would discover the new Bronco is a disaster. Oh wait, it seems Ford is production is up +15% over last year. Maybe they should cancel it and start over with suggestions found here? ... View more

What would someone pay to own Tom Mix's Cord 812, the car he was driving when he was killed? $4 million? $2 million? $500 thousand? How many people born since 1950 even know who he was? How many people born since 1980 know who James Dean was? Sometimes a car is just a car, no matter who owned it. ... View more

$75,000 for a new Ram 3500, less overall durability, less cache, more to insure, more to license, more taxes. Drive the '84 for 10 years and sell it for $40k (maybe more?) - hard to go wrong. ... View more

Cars are built to be driven, even if all the ephemeral bits have returned to the good mother earth. Perfect is the enemy of the good, drive and enjoy Weissrat and let the snobs unpack their trailers! ... View more

This is God's country. Too beautiful for words. The secret is out, more accessible but not unlike the endless line of mountaineers waiting to summit Everest; if you have the means, motivation, and ability you're welcome to come, just leave it as you found it. ... View more

$10,250 but didn't hit the reserve. Tempting. I drove a black one in our inventory as a hapless LM salesman in 1989. One whole mile to the gas station and back and I knew I was in love. ... View more

I never thought I would look back with fond remembrance of cars from the '80s and '90s, yet here we are. Just for fun I want to find a 1990 Cougar XR-7 with a blown v-6 and 5 speed and flog the holy hell out of it! There, I said it, but oddly don't feel better about saying it. ... View more

I can only pray I will do 1/100th of what the Hollers have done with the time I have. Life is what you make of it, keep generating smiles with your awesome DeLorean! ... View more

I like the discreet electric starter - crank handles are known to induce headaches, muscle fatigue, and occasional broken bones! ... View more

Seems there will be an inevitable gap between the current group of collectors and their successors until the younger generation can gather the discretionary resources to own an old scooter. Enthusiasm is key to any hobby's survival. These folks know the time has come for bold action. ... View more

The Six-Million Dollar Cuda. Who could have imagined? This is not a hand built (from the factory, restoration work not withstanding), bespoke, custom built exotic, with a 12 cylinder racing-pedigreed mill. This is American steel. Built in a massive factory for average people of modest means. Pardon my incredulity, but isn't this like paying thousands of dollars for a Hot Wheels toy? Oh wait ... ... View more

Andy Southard and Tony Thacker's excellent book "Custom Cars of the 1950s" has some great photos of El Matador. I have long been fascinated with the kind of effort these folks put into cars back then. I can't imagine anyone doing the same today with a 20 year old Taurus or Impala. ... View more

Biggest surprise was a 1966 K10 short bed fleetside with 6.5 x 16 wheels, 292 I-6 and 4-speed, immaculately restored to factory correct specification. Diaper indeed! ... View more

If you're wishing you had bought that Rune back when it was new, fret not! You can buy all kinds brand-new, unusual and retro exotic bikes today for less than $55k. BMW has their killer R18, Indian has its Roadmaster Elite, or HD's Electra Glide Revival, or Moto Guzzi's Eldorado to name a few. New, reliable, fun. Old bikes are great for sure, but you only get one chance to make a mistake. Road rash and impossible to replace parts would almost guarantee these auction bikes will never be on the road. ... View more

Collectors come in every stripe. I can imagine some book collector in the 18th century stashing away every stained, ripped, half-complete manuscript they could find, never cleaning or properly conserving their library. Gee, what if they focused on a couple of really nice volumes, instead of amassing a huge collection? People like Bernie do our hobby a favor by preserving more for future generations. Hat off to you sir! ... View more

"I'll just ride in the chuck wagon." Said no cowboy, ever. The horse might have thrown you but the horse doesn't get to choose who rides her. Do what you love, the real pain comes when you give up. ... View more

There is something weird and satisfying about driving home in a car that has not moved in years. I wish I could say I always made it home, but a tow chain has made the difference as often as not. I doff my hat to you sir! ... View more

Nixie tubes are awesome! I've never wanted an EV but this is one I would love to drive. Props to Hyundai and the talented Mr. Ha! ... View more

How many Duesenbergs have survived with their "original" and unmodified coachwork? Forty years ago open cars attracted buyers with big egos and deep pockets. Nobody seemed to care back then if the limousine body that was original to the chassis was hacked into a rag top. Funny how the word "survivor" adds extra zeros to the price today. Jay's car is as authentic as any dual-cowl imposter paraded around as a "real" Duesenberg. ... View more

When investors drive the market, winners and losers are defined by current fashion instead of value. Thirty plus years ago, wealthy foreign investors pushed 1950's American iron through the roof.  Unfortunately, anyone who invested $100k in 1959 Cadillac Tail Fin stock probably isn't using the profits to fund their retirement in the south of France today. Fashion is defined by approximately two people with a whole lot of money willing to outbid each other. It may be something completely inane, like $91 million for a stainless steel bunny, or desire gone off the rails, like $3.8 million for a 1967 Corvette L88 (which to my unsophisticated eye, looks pretty much like every other 1967 Corvette without the optional L88 package). Value is what you like and what you can afford. When was the last time a '59 drop-top Caddy hammered for more than $300k? How about a 1999 Acura NSX? Then sell again on BAT two months later for $425k? Nobody wants to be the last high-bidder, but somebody has to be or the scheme doesn't work. In ten years the Acura will fail to meet its reserve while that first gen Tesla roadster will break the bank. I suppose if you have the money, you can define fashion for the rest of us - in which case I think I'll just hang on to my rather unfashionable '48 Ford. ... View more

Ah! To savor one's own bitter heart! Having crossed the threshold from youthful arrogance to thoughtful maturity -cheating death isn't as much fun when you notice your calendar reserves have been depleted. 112 mph is plenty fast. Thanks Jack, keep the shiny side up! ... View more

To be 20 again! At his age I was completely smitten with the mysterious and beautiful '62-'64 GT Hawk, which I first encountered in the August 2, 1988 issue of Collectible Automobile. Alas, I have never owned one. Great to see younger folks with such an interest in old iron. Keep the faith Jake! ... View more

An alternate reality where Oldsmobile is alive and well? Sure, why not. There was something grand about that '83 Cutlass Ciera my folks bought in 1986. It was the realization of middle-class ideal, one that didn't fear layoffs or late mortgage payments. I miss that about the unambiguous stratification of car brands. Now it's the staid acceptance of one brand for all income levels, just pick your trim and your lease. All people are equal, some are more equal than others - as President Sanders once said. Everyone deserves an F150, some deserve a Platinum or King Ranch. Thanks Jack! ... View more

EVs will be the end of the automobile, in the "personal transportation" sense. When there isn't enough lithium and the other rare-earth metals to allow every American to own one, we will be forced to consider a public alternative. Of course, I may be mistaken. We may instead find ourselves on the battlefields of Africa, in the effort to secure these apparently plentiful resources, if you accept the premise that it is the current political instability which prevents our access. Not sure if I like that future. Thanks again Jack! ... View more

Thanks for yet another great piece Jack! Not sure what kind of person has the gravitas to share their good fortune, but most of us who lend a hand, not for glory or gold, but for the love of the machine. Your boy is one lucky kid to have a dad like you, as you are blessed by him. ... View more

Seems that 1st gen Cougars have occupied a weird middle-ground for as long as I can remember. Guys my age (GenX) would turn their nose up at a one-owner '67 Cougar with 50k original miles, to empty their savings for a '67 Mustang with rusted quarters, Keystone mags and a smogger 351 out of a '77 LTD. Good to finally see them getting the attention they deserve. ... View more

Hmm, $40K for a vehicle that can be taken seriously at a Concours d'Elegance? Snobs beware, the commoners may have found a way to crash the party. Harleys are every bit the equal to British bikes, we're talking aesthetics here, not the flying mile. For the record, people under 30 are not Millennials, strange but the most reviled generation might have acquired a bit of sophistication that is a little hard to acknowledge for those of us a fee years senior - ... View more

Great story, thanks for sharing your memories of your dad! I look forward to your next article. ... View more

'69 El Camino- Southern Culture on the Skids ... View more

Galaxie 500 by the Rev '69 El Camino- SCOTS ... View more