It's painfully clear Ford spent way too much on Public Relations and far too little on design when it comes to the new Bronco. It. is. just. butt. ugly. Seriously, I could've drawn its silhouette in third grade. ... View more

I'm 52 yrs old, Mr. Angry Curmudgeon Who Needs To Sink To Derogatory Remarks To Make His Point.  And your angry answer simply verifies my point.   ... View more

As a cultural and historical piece I can see some modest value here, but that price is exponentially beyond any level of absurdity one can imagine. This country's collective conscience and its fascination with death in every single corner of modern life knows no extreme that is out of reach or too far-fetched. It really makes one wonder where such intense pre-occupation with the subject comes from and why it is so constantly promulgated. Without being religious about it, it is really the exact opposite of what should be in its place in our collective conscienceness--the celebration of life in all its forms and miracles within this reality. And for those who will argue the exact opposite, and how this somehow raises up Dean's life in some manner, you really don't get it, and never will. ... View more

I have a really cool and special 1980 Toyota Celica GT Sunchaser conversion for sale with the 20R motor in it. Amazingly, the car has less than 90k original miles, and is one of just 500 converted by Griffith Motor Company for the 1980 model year. It was a $3,000 option at the time, which wasn't chump change, for sure. But this car still drives like absolute butter, and the 5 speed shifts smoothly all the time. I would not hesitate to drive this fun, targa-convertible absolutely anywhere. And if anyone ends up buying it, I will happily tell them they can leave their trailer at home. Hard to believe I still have the car, esp considering its rarity and the fact it can be had for just under five digits to the left of the decimal....heh. ... View more

I think a more interesting statistic would be the percentage of buyers who purchase a car online without seeing it in person first, or without having a trusted set of eyes viewing it at time of purchase. I for one as a small collector car dealer have been burned more than once buying online without first laying eyes on the prize, and in return have gotten a pig. No more. If I can't inspect the car myself, or have a trusted source do it for me, then I won't even consider buying online. There is simply too much risk doing so, especially in the sub-$50k price ranges, and those who do are either fools or have more money than sense. Caveat Emptor, dum dums. ... View more

Yep, the underground caves here in KC are aplenty, and I happen to have space in one of them where I store my classic cars and projects as part of my small classic car business. The constant temp and humidity is great for the cars, but the dusty environment makes it essential they be thoroughly covered at all times. ... View more

This car, and the 1970 Chevelle SS LS6 convertible 4 speed are truly the two ultimate muscle cars of all time. Combining the hottest body styles of the era, AND a convertible, AND the most powerful engine produced by the factory, AND a 4 speed, I mean, there's really nothing more you could add to make it more interesting, popular, or valuable. This car will bring a "I usually just burn my money in the fireplace, but today I bought a car" price. ... View more

As a small collector car business owner, I just returned from a regional collector car auction, and everything was pretty much the same as before, except for the social distancing aspects still in place (although rarely observed in actual practice). Not only that, I have refused to buy and sell at price-gouging venues like Mecum and BJ, et al for more almost a decade. I can carry on my business just fine without them, and strongly prefer giving my commissions and fees to those auction houses who still respect my need to put food on the table just the same as them. The ones I typically attend charge 5-7% commissions on either side of the transaction, and less if the unit is sold at "no reserve." The rest of the sheep can continue to be fleeced by these greedy auction houses, but not me. I hope others finally say they've "had enough" as well and simply walk away, or over, to the smaller houses who still respect their clientele. Or, maybe we can go back to "the olden days" and they can just bring me their cars directly and we can eliminate the middle man entirely.... ... View more

I want my 5 minutes back after having read this story. Uninteresting back story and idiotic ask. ... View more

Exactly this. As privacy and anonymity continue being utterly obliterated by Big Tech and the USG wanting to keep tabs on/control evermore aspects of our lives, we continue to blissfully give away our right not to be continuously tracked and monitored every time we download a game to our phone, take a small and fleeting discount from a vehicle insurer in exchange for it's dongle in our cars, and refuse to hold accountable our bought-and-sold USG bureaucrats for outright refusing to enforce existing law and preventing monopolistic practices and privacy-invading/manipulating of behaviors of said Big Tech. It's all just a matter of fun and convenience, until you wake up one day to realize nearly every aspect of your life is monitored and controlled by one mechanism or another, and you have no avenue to change that. I'm sure I'll be called "alarmist" or "conspiracy theorist" or any number of other names so that these realities can be easily dismissed and forgotten about, but anyone who values their privacy enough to have done the research on a macro scale knows exactly what I'm talking about. Electric, nanny cars will be the least of our worries when they finally crash the cash/US dollar-based system of monetary exchange and go completely digital, where every transaction is monitored, and your financial life can be turned on and off at the push of a button. Think it's not just over the horizon? Then you're just not paying attention. While I'm all for eco-friendly techological advancement, the carelessness with which maintenance of privacy/anonymity is treated, and thus one's ability to be independent in this pursuit is simply mind-boggling. Ok, heads down, back to your smartphones,The Bachelor, and ordering Alexa around the house..... ... View more

I'm sure Jay's brigade of hired automotive caretakers will be happy to hear such effusive praise of their work. Now, back to reality....10 below zero....just where ARE those jumper cables.... ... View more

Appreciate the creativity. Can't agree with the look. It's a fancier Corvette Kammback. Yuck. Also, photography was very "ungood." ... View more

Very surprised not to see the 1969 Hurst Olds hood scoop listed here, as well as the 1969 AMC Hurst SC/rambler hood scoop. Probably two of the top 5 most unique appearing factory hood scoops of all time. Either of these could have easily replaced the mundane-looking late model Mustang scoop cited in the article. Your mileage may vary. ... View more

I got lucky and found my future resto-mod project.  Back in Sept I ran across this uber-clean 1977 Pontiac Firebird and just had to check it out.  It is a completely original, 39000 mile, mint condition V6/PS/PDB/Cold AC car finished in Mandarin Orange.  It runs and drives perfect, and the interior is quite literally in showroom new condition.  Talk about the perfect "Rockford Files" tribute!  I've already located a complete set of 15" Rally II wheels, ordered a replica California blue plate "ROCKFORD" license plate, and will have plenty of miles to log as I plan out the updates to make this the low-slung, fuel-injected, superior-handling "J-turn Special" it was destined to be.  Could not have found a better basis from which to start.   ... View more

As a multi-lister on BaT, I can attest to everything Rob says in this article. Supremely frustrating how they write in bland, passive voice and make so many errors in describing their ice cream cones as "this cold, pointy consumbable is reported to taste like chocolate." Hey @drjim, any chance you repair older Japanese factory car stereos? I have a pretty rare, unmodified, and low mileage 1991 Nissan Sentra SE-R and the factory head unit doesn't power on. Would appreciate any advice/assistance on getting it fixed. Thanks. ... View more

I've owned 5 3rd Gen Preludes, both autos and manuals, 4WS and not.  They are great cars, and I'll always be on the lookout for my next one.  Thus, I can appreciate this kind of comparo.  However, this article was ENTIRELY too long.  All of the points could've been made in about half the space.  I found myself skipping entire paragraphs to get to the point/end.  Appreciate the effort, for sure, but the editors missed the boat on this one. ... View more

Can't really argue it from a collector car sales standpoint, I've had a lot of nice rods I've sold over the years, but nothing gets the phone ringing like a '32 Ford, whether original, hot rod, steel, or fiberglass.  The phone always rings.  I've got a beautiful black over red one right now, with classic color-keyed wire wheels, independent front suspension, etc. etc.  They are automotive fun, personified.   ... View more

Sold for 15 cents on the dollar of build cost.  Buyer got the deal of the century, hands down.  $300k covered only the actual cost of paint job.  Maybe that's a touch of poetic justice to someone who rented appliances to poor people at loan-sharky rates.    ... View more

"Heartbeat" anything. "Lightning" pinstriping on tinted windows.   Tweed interiors. Curb feelers. Aftermarket pop-up sunroofs. And one of my biggest pet peeves, "Pep Boys" pencil tip exhaust tips.  Nothing says "I have no sense of style or money" like those babies. ... View more

The transmission would've been a 3 speed automatic, not a 4 speed.  I'm sure some idiot with more money than sense will feel like he's got a real piece of automotive history and wildly overpay for it.  When in reality, he has a pile of parts that was in a movie for 2-3 minutes and got destroyed.  *Gigantic rolling eyes* ... View more

The single coolest TV ad for a car, ever.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8QKK5IDSXE ... View more

The idiocracy is real....and it's here to stay.  This is proof. ... View more

A telescoping magnetic pickup has been a lifesaver on multiple occasions.   ... View more

Well, it's such a relief to know the top 0.1% to 1.0% will have even more new choices at auction that the plebes will never have an opportunity to own, let alone drive.  Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay. ... View more

Running out of ideas, are we?   ... View more

Almost anyone who has driven a mid 80s Corvette would never put that dash on a list like this, simply because they were such piles of utter garbage, looks be damned.  If you even breathed on it wrong, it would chirp, creak, break, or have something randomly fall off.  The cheapness of GM in their construction of these (and C4 interiors in general), and in their apparent lack of (or interest in) quality control during this time is difficult to surpass (although I'm sure they gave it all they had in trying...)  Gauge clusters are more than just their looks.  They are just as much about functionality and visibility as design.  One thing's for sure, they are NOT about sounding like a wooden pirate ship listing badly on its way to its imminent demise at the bottom of the ocean... ... View more

I recently sold my unrestored, original paint, numbers-matching 1971 Dodge Superbee with factory N96 Ramcharger hood and hideaway headlights (both in working condition) to a classic dealer out of Denver.  No engine rebuild, every panel dented or with rust, and it still wore it's original front chin spoiler.  I never should have sold the car, but I knew I wouldn't have the time in the near future to give it what it needed.  It ran and drove down the highway at 80 mph just fine, although the 727 was starting to slip pretty bad.  That was only about 6 months ago, and then I see the car in the next issue of AutaBuy marked up $10k with no notable changes to the car.  Oh well. ... View more

Would've been nice if the article had addressed pricing, even if it's just to give us a ballpark number.  Not that I'm going to buy one.  Pretty much still looks like every other GT and up Mustang produced since 2013 or so. ... View more

Having cleaned literally hundreds of engine bays over the years as a lifelong hobbyist and classic car business owner, it is amazing how few products and tools will get the job done.  A toothbrush, 3 or 4 cleaning cloths, 409 or your favorite degreaser, effort, and an eye for detail will go 85% of the way.  The rest will involve removing parts to refinish, or touching them up in place with the appropriate finish, paint, polish, or abrasive tool.  And I can't emphasize how much taking your time will help.  Doing one section of the engine compartment at a time (however you choose to break it down) can also extend your patience and, ultimately, your satisfaction. ... View more

I always thought of them as a very "milquetoast" design from an aesthetics perspective, and I think history has confirmed this.  They languish at the very bottom of the collector car market, and nice, used examples can still be had at rock-bottom prices.  A decent V-8 may have helped, but it was still seen as a "grandma's roadster."   ... View more

These are extremely fun cars to drive.  Simple, straightforward, and plenty of pep even in the non-turbo versions.  I have a 2006 Solstice in Mysterious (Black) with just 7200 original miles on it, plus it was 1 of the 1st 1000 produced (badge on the dash); in fact, it was the 192nd Solstice produced.  It's for sale if anyone is interested.   kcturbodug at Yahoo dot com ... View more

My bet is the majority of them end up being scattered to the winds of classic car auction houses and sold mostly at no reserve or low reserves to get the cash infusion fast. ... View more