About Iso_Grifo

Iso_Grifo

I like the 300ZX the best because it has an original design feel to it, while the original Z always feels derivative to me. The 300ZX has also aged well. I have to say to say that I really do like the new car quite a bit, though it seems to be in the same sort of boat as the original Z car, in that I see too many echoes of other cars in it. But that's just my opinion. Both it and the original Z certainly are good looking cars, regardless.

Iso_Grifo

Thank goodness I didn't rack up my credit card and buy it! It looks like a real hassle next to one of them electric SUV's. And them electric SUV's is faster anyhow and save the planet! In all seriousness, fantastic photos of a fantastic car. Great write up, too.

Iso_Grifo

I'm pretty sure I had a Hot Wheels or Matchbox Mazda. I've always liked the Maserati Boomerang. That would have been an awesome production supercar. I have to say that the Bertone Lancia Stratos Zero takes the cake for Peak 70's supercar wedge lunacy. Haha! You can't even look out the sides!

Iso_Grifo

I'm kind of surprised that the AMC Eagle 4x4 isn't getting any love from the hipster crowd. Considering how much they love vintage SUV's. I guess it's not big enough. Design-wise, I like the later Javelins with their swoopy lines the best. They've got a real Hot Wheels look that should make them worth a lot more. I'm surprised by what a bargain the 2 seater AMX continues to be.

Iso_Grifo

Roadrunner ticks all the boxes.

Iso_Grifo

It's as if they don't understand Corvette buyers at all. An SUV electric Corvette? Everybody should be fired. Completely misguided GM management on the Corvette. It should be the last exclusively internal combustion engined car from the corporation. And when and if the artificial political nonsense ends internal combustion engines, the Corvette ends.

Iso_Grifo

Reading about Ferrari types going crazy with rage because somebody converted a mass produced 430 to a proper manual transmission is remarkably pleasurable. Although not as pleasurable as driving one would be.

Iso_Grifo

That Porsche Sport Classic is a very good looking car I thought when I saw the photos, then I scrolled down and saw the Supra and felt a little sick.

Iso_Grifo

Meh, not a bad collection of cars. They're okay. I've seen worse.

Iso_Grifo · ‎15-04-2022

I sure wouldn't keep that car in its patina. It's got that horrible sticker on the bottom, and a bunch of goofy 1980's add-ons like a pseudo-Boxer spoiler over the rear window, that ridiculous wing on the back, and some really bad added on front flairs and moulded in chin spoiler. This would be a very good restoration candidate to return to 1972 factory correct.

Iso_Grifo · ‎11-04-2022

Thanks, Sajeev.

Iso_Grifo · ‎11-04-2022

No fixing typos and grammar? Oh, well. I made my point.

Iso_Grifo · ‎11-04-2022

Reality Check: Porsche did not have to start making SUV's to survive. Nor did they have to make Panameras. When the Cayenne was introduced, Porsche's two cars, the Boxster and the 996 (911) were very profitable. In fact, the 996 was the most profitable per unit of any car in the world. They didn't need to start making SUV's to offset the sports cars. That is a false assumption repeated endlessly. The reason they started making SUV's is because ego maniac CEO Wendelin Wiedeking wanted to grow Porsche and take over VW and Audi. His plan failed and the exact opposite happened and Porsche lost their independence and he was out. Wendelin Wiedeking is the same reason the first Panamera was such an ugly humpback -- he insisted he could sit his 6'5 self in the back seat and be chauffeured around. As a lifelong classic air-cooled 911 enthusiast and serial owner I don't mind, and have never minded, that they did an SUV. It is a SPORTS Utility Vehicle after all. However knowing what it all led to is annoying. As is the constant repetition of the lie that Porsche needed to start making an SUV to survive and keep making sports cars. NO. THEY. DIDN'T.

Iso_Grifo · ‎09-04-2022

Is a 993 Turbo a supercar? I would say so. It's got all these all whipped. Air cooled 911's are on full boost again. Even my lowly 1989 Carrera 3.2 is up 40 - 50%. And that doesn't exactly break my heart.

Iso_Grifo · ‎30-03-2022

Eh, not a bad car collection. It's okay. I've seen worse.

Iso_Grifo · ‎26-03-2022

Save the premium for an air conditioned car and have a modern efficient one installed instead. Jay Leno does this on all his cars because he drives them. You can get reversible installs that hidden under the dash . Likely this has been pointed out on other posts, I haven't read them all. You're rich enough to own your dream car and you intend to drive it, why wouldn't you get such a system installed to maximize you enjoyment?

Iso_Grifo · ‎19-03-2022

Looking at this is like a childhood flashback as I recognize now that I had matchbox toys of the Alfa Romeo Carabo and I'm pretty sure the Monza GT. I'll have to look this up to see if it's just my memory playing tricks on me. Love both those cars. Lots of other greats on this list, too!

Iso_Grifo · ‎09-03-2022

I thought the two Japanese cars were the most interesting.

Iso_Grifo · ‎04-03-2022

I agree. The Carrera GT has got it all, otherwise. Everything about it is fantastic, maybe the greatest supercar ever, except for the badly designed top / back end. It didn't work then, it doesn't work now.

Iso_Grifo · ‎01-03-2022

Silly for the seller who didn't replace the water pump before trying to sell it. I remember the 124 spider I had in the early 2000's and I had to replace the one in mine. I think it was $30 at a big chain auto parts store. And then almost no time at all to replace it on the parking pad. Everything on that car was so cheap and easy. Except the rust.

Iso_Grifo · ‎28-02-2022

Spielberg is running on empty these days.

Iso_Grifo · ‎18-02-2022

A big heavy electric Lotus SUV. Worst example of brand mismanagement I've ever heard of.

Iso_Grifo · ‎14-02-2022

Once they slap enough phony "carbon taxes" on fuel like they have in Europe, an artificial market manipulation like that might happen in the USA, too. And that's the problem with this whole EV thing. It's fake. It's not a result of natural market forces. And just like any fake economic system or market, it will collapse eventually.

Iso_Grifo · ‎12-02-2022

It's a shame they're such a common sight and depreciate so rapidly. But then neither of things matter to the people who lease them for tax write-offs and want to fit in with the crowd at the country club or executive parkade. I have to say that this current model is an improvement over the last model in the exterior. However there is nothing luxurious about giant tablets in a car. At this point it looks down market -- a cheap solution to instrument panels. In a real luxury car there are meticulously crafted real instruments. If there's a screen, it's hidden and rises when needed.

Iso_Grifo · ‎11-02-2022

I'm not sure why people would pay so much for a carburettor small block Stingray. Not a lot of sense to that. But then Barrett-Jackson is far from the place to go to find out what a car is worth as everything always seems to be double real world prices. These other results don't seem to really upset any status quo I'm aware of. These highly desirable cars and their appreciating value is no shock. I would be much more interested in knowing who exactly was paying so much more in the past few years. What sort of people are driving these prices up so fast? Where did they get all that money? What's motivating them to spend like drunken sailors? Likely we'll never know, but it would be interesting to know. Perhaps that's where any status quo is being broken.

Iso_Grifo · ‎05-02-2022

I think they really blew it not making that car.

Iso_Grifo · ‎02-02-2022

Of the ones on this list I like the Maserati the best. The Fiat 8v pictured is also very nice. The Aston is overrated, in my opinion. It just doesn't come together as a design somehow.

Iso_Grifo · ‎28-01-2022

Finally a use for the Mazda Miata.

Iso_Grifo · ‎28-01-2022

I'm looking forward to a street version of the Mustang GT3. And then all they have to do is drop the completely stupid Mustang label on that silly EV lump and call it something else, because what they've done there is ridiculous.

Iso_Grifo · ‎08-12-2021

That dark green one is so much better looking and attractive than the usual blue with big white stripes and giant side exhaust. Some good fantasy material in my mind while reading this article. Good one.

Iso_Grifo · ‎07-12-2021

They have Ferrari amusement parks in the Middle East. Why not an SUV? They lost all credibility long ago. For me it came back when they started fleecing super rich fools and selling them cars they could never take possession of and had to use on Ferrari's track. But at least that was funny. This isn't.

Iso_Grifo · ‎04-12-2021

It felt like I was examining myself on the grass at a local car show and trying to appreciate all the unique details of a car I'd never seen before in person. Nice article.

Iso_Grifo · ‎29-11-2021

Dark days ahead.

Iso_Grifo · ‎22-11-2021

No electric power for China's exclusive Lincoln Zephyr -- and yet Lincoln is pushing electric cars under corporate mandate for USA? Meanwhile, China puts out more "green house gasses" than all the developed nations of the world put together (according to a BBC reported study). And when it was under Trump's leadership, America was the only developed nation to drop its "green house gasses" emissions. There's something seriously wrong with this picture in 2021.

Iso_Grifo · ‎22-11-2021

Exactly. I was about to type that.

Iso_Grifo · ‎30-10-2021

It looks great if you ignore all the junk on it, which was eliminated by the time they got to 1967. Big Corvette fan here, not wearing rose colored glasses.

Iso_Grifo · ‎30-10-2021

On the mark, Huey. I've gotten regular looks at one parked on the street not far from where I live, and that back end in particular is an eyesore. And there's just so much surface detailing and extra lines and gimmickery. It reminds me of Corvettes in the past where they went crazy on surface details like the 1958. Or even the 1963 with all those fake scoops and grills and junk -- but in that case there was a fantastic looking car underneath, especially once we got to the 1967 when it was all fully cleaned up. If they could at least clean this one up and do something about that back end.

Iso_Grifo · ‎19-10-2021

The GT4 and the 400/412 for me. They're both a lot better looking than the other cars on the list in real life. In my opinion, the 400/412 is a lot nicer than the ungainly 1960's 2+2 V12's that were better off being used to make 250 GT SWB, Testa Rossa, and various other recreations. I'll take the hate for that comment -- it's true.

Iso_Grifo · ‎15-10-2021

Red may be the default Italian sports car colour, but these look far better in white. Or just about any other colour except red, in my opinion. What a complete bargain compared to an open top Porsche 356. Very nice article. Thanks, Hagerty.

Iso_Grifo · ‎13-10-2021

Why don't I love these? They've got it all: great racing heritage, they are their own unique thing, they look good, they've got a sense of danger. I should love these. I can't put my finger on why I don't love these. Especially series 2 and 3 anyways.

Iso_Grifo · ‎12-10-2021

I think the Boxster in the form tested is the Porsche to get of all Porsches. It's nicely sized, has a great normally aspirated engine, the best manual gearbox, it looks great. As a sports car, it just does everything right.

Iso_Grifo · ‎06-10-2021

I looked up the production figures and according to a reference from Vantage magazine, they made a little over 16,000 Vantage V8's during their production run. I looked up Ferrari 360 production and they made approx. 17,653 of all types. So not that big of a difference. And hardly a unicorn. Also, there's a lot of parts bin going on with the Aston, that you don't have with the Ferrari. You do have me wondering what this unobtainable part is that your friend is waiting for?

Iso_Grifo · ‎06-10-2021

I remember walking into an Aston Martin showroom a few years back and there was a DB7, a DBS, and a V8 Vantage. I took a good look at them from every angle and came away with the impression that the V8 Vantage was the best looking of the three. With lots of manual transmissions out there then and now, it really seemed like a real driver's car that's reasonably sized and practical. Very pre-991 911. Good write up.

Iso_Grifo · ‎05-10-2021

In my opinion, just a lot cooler looking car with a more interesting design than the Nissan or the Mazda of the same period-- which were at their lowest points. It has aged a lot better. Looks great in blue.

Iso_Grifo · ‎28-09-2021

The Hummer would have been cool. It looks like a full-sized toy car. It could be a hit today, in my opinion.

Iso_Grifo · ‎25-09-2021

The Polestar is the last of the line for Volvo and will be a very rare collector car, but not big money. The Alfa should have had a high rev manual shift V6 and it would be a classic, but it doesn't. With the rest you're just going to get a lot of value for the money, which doesn't translate to big collector value. The Lexus will be a lot of value for money very soon if you can stomach the looks.

Iso_Grifo · ‎26-07-2021

And here I used to think that plastic "Cobras" with Chevy engines and automatic transmissions where the worst. But now there's an electric plastic "Cobra". Maybe they'll have a big speaker system to simulate that wonderful thumping, loping idle and exciting sounds of the real Cobra's I've seen? Won't that be wonderful?

Iso_Grifo · ‎24-07-2021

An excellent list. I'd add modern tires of the correct profile and maybe a low visibility, compact air con system if your car is enclosed.

Iso_Grifo · ‎23-07-2021

I would be so thrilled to walk into my garage and have any one of these cars in there that I'd laugh out loud every time.

Iso_Grifo · ‎22-07-2021

"There was the 100-point Series I coupe that seemed glass-fragile and slow as tectonic shift" No car that gets driven fairly regularly so it all works and has been sorted a little after a restoration could ever be a 100 point car. Of course it sucked to drive. "the survivor 2+2 that stopped and turned like a 1970s Lincoln" "Survivor cars" typically have their bushings and springs worn out and a whole lot of other things wrong in a minor way that really add up. Of course it sucked to drive. "the hot-rodded 4.2 roadster with some British tuner’s “fast comfort” suspension, neither fast nor comfy." Hardly a surprise. As if some tuner modifying classic cars is going to know better than the factory who went through an entire development process over years with many cars. Of course it sucked to drive. And who knows what shape that first E type he got to drive was in underneath? So finally he got to drive one done properly and sorted out so it worked like a good factory original example. Of course it was great to drive. Good story.