Yes. I was mildly surprised to not see the 318/4spd Dodge Aspen R/T on this list. I did training at Keesler AFB in Biloxi with a mad Texan kid that had one. It was certainly not a "real" R/T, but could show taillights to the mustache Mustangs and most Camaros of the era (I say most because back then, you started mods the night you took your Camaro home from the lot). No race car, but I think a worthy effort for that time. ... View more

Any recommendations on polishers? ... View more

   Several years ago, I went to an out-of-town Ford dealership to buy a specific used Jeep that I had seen on their website. They had changed their closing time to an hour earlier and had not changed it on their website, so I had much less time than I thought I had. The salesman told me that the Jeep had passed the state inspection as well as the county's emissions inspection and was in fine shape, and he offered to let me test drive it. I was unfamiliar with the area, so I told him to direct me. It turned out that he was unfamiliar with the area as well, and the test drive took over 45 minutes to complete. Back at the dealership, as I negotiated, people were scurrying about closing up, and the salesman pointed out (several times) that we had very little time. When we reached a deal, the salesman told me that a paint repair firm was coming the next day to correct a number of flaws that I had pointed out and was told not to worry about. I told him that with my father, who was in a wheelchair at the time, it was difficult to come back. He told me they would deliver the car to me three days later. I asked if they could clean the front floor mats (carpet) as well. He agreed.    He showed up at my home a day late (a matter about which I had to call the dealership to find out why no one had come when they were supposed to), and only a very few of the paint flaws were corrected. He told me that he had stopped at a car wash to clean the carpet floor mats. When I opened the front door, I saw that he had hosed them off and promptly put them back in the car. I commented to him that I was unhappy, and I was nearly ready to cancel the deal. Because I liked the particular model, I didn't cancel and gave him my check, and he gave me the pink slip. As he left with his return driver in a company pick-up, the driver (a teen) had difficulty turning the truck and left about a dozen tear-up tracks in my rather freshly sealed driveway.    Apparently, when he got back to the dealership, he told his supervisor that I was unhappy with the deal and had commented that I was nearly ready to cancel it. Three days after that, I received a letter from the dealership apologizing for the botched deal and that included my check. At that point, the pink slip, my check, and the now cost-free Jeep were all in my possession! I called the dealership and described the situation to a very upset and most apologetic sales manager. I put the check in the mail.    I took the Jeep to my mechanic, and he told me that the muffler and two sections of exhaust pipe had rusted through on top, so the inspection story was a lie.    I sent a very lengthy letter to the dealership describing the fiasco. A few days later, I received a call from an upper-level manager who opened the conversation with, "I understand there were a FEW problems with your recent purchase." My response was, "Ma'am, that is the understatement of the millennium!" Since the dealership is still in business, I can only assume that they have not completed many deals like mine, or there are far more honest people in the world than we are led to believe!    ... View more

Mine is TA COUPE Obvious to most of the older crowd like me. Won't let me post a pic but if you go here to see my car you can probably figure it out: https://imgur.com/gallery/owWcE0q Roy ... View more

Ok, but that seems like a dangerous mindset. This isn't Amazon after all.  ... View more

30+ years ago the USENET group rec.autos.vw was (IMHO) a great resource for VW owner/repair. Those people knew the their cars well, and gladly shared what they had learned with newbs. Even Rabbit owners were welcome! B^) ... View more

Hidden light 69 Impala is one of my favorites of all vehicle front ends.   Pictures of me as a two year old standing in the driver seat of a my parents (rather beat) convertible probably helped seed this appreciation. ... View more

This article just goes to say that older cars like these don't always bring top dollar Some of these might ok daily drivers, but most may not. Until one buys a car that appears to be a bargain at first sight. One must then evaluate their purchase and check for things like hidden body rust and worn out components. Once all said and done the purchase price may only the beginning of costs and deferred maintenance. At least most of these do pass the looks test. ... View more

(J81) Go Wing Mid year 1970 option. 1971 wing didn't angle down on the ends. (looked better) ... View more

very true worked for a dealer where everything was phony also believe that all car dealers that charge more then $50 $60 documentary Fee are Outright CROOKS when in our part of the world registering a new vehicle with the provincial authority is no more then that ... View more

The title of the article said "Chevrolet vs Ford". ... View more

What! No PT Cruiser GT. Room for four adults and an adult body in the trunk! Oh, the humanity. ... View more

Watch closely, there may be some deals coming up based on the Heard/Depp case(s).   😎 ... View more

You can never say never with cars of this era. Often things could be done if you knew the right people to push the right paperwork. Even GM did not document every change or move.    Same applies to the Firebird. What is interesting is many fail to notice the Sheetmetal on the Firebird was the same less vents or other add on's. The front fenders were interchange able on the 67-68.  They did do some suspension tricks and all the early birds were one inch lower.  It was a fun era for making cars more to their own vs later on where it was styling alone. ... View more

Actually they did away with a lot of that during the later S197 years. My 2010 GT is as tight as a drum 12 years on. ... View more

That's why they invented the seatcover. ... View more

Griot's  ... View more

True Dat, @Sajeev.  But in the jazz arena I suspect it had a context more related to music than in either the Hippie days or the Shagalicious world of Goldmember.  As in, "that cat really gets in the groove with that slap bass!"  Which sort of morphed into, "that Saxman is groovy!" ... View more

Was the vin plate reattached using the proper rivets? ... View more

I realize it's a quality car but the looks never worked for me. ... View more

How about the taillights that were hardly even there?  Seems to me to be a dumb idea practicality-wise, but they are recognized by most and surely were unique.  They get commented on many times at car shows. 1966 ... View more

In my opinion one of the best looking Cadillacs of all time. ... View more

Man, you hit on some good ones, @CamaroMike!  As I read through your list, each image popped into my head immediately (except the Judge "emblem" - not sure I remember there was a specific emblem for those).  And when I got to the '65-'66 Impalas, I also remembered the "leaping Impala within a circle" emblem on the flanks (and steering wheel center cap) of my mother's '66.  It wasn't an SS, but the "just plain" Impala logo was pretty neat as it was. ... View more

Have another kid, worked for me. I have three boys - two love cars, watches and anything else mechanical/tactile, but the third can’t be arsed by anything of the sort. You’re lucky that you share a love of music and riding bikes with him, just as I share a love of music & cinema with my third son. 🍺 ... View more

I bought a 1966 Volvo 1800S - the last year with the swoop side trim.  This lovely form was designed in the late 1950s but sold through 1974.  In two years it's jumped in value. But the most undervalued classic I know of is the 1978-1979 Alfa Romeo Sport Sedan.  It handles the same as its transaxle Alfetta GTV cousin (it out-handled my 240Z on the track back in the day) but had velour seats, leg room and understated elegance.  As such, it's not the same as the earlier Alfetta Sedan. Nearly all mechanical parts are shared with the more common Alfetta GTV. Alfa sold only a few thousand Sport Sedans in the US - with no power windows, seats, locks or even steering, it wasn't an American consumer oriented car - and most have long since been scrapped; rarely have I seen one on the market, unlike other Alfas of the era.  There may be only a few hundred in the country. In other words, it's rare, it's lovely, and it's a fun Alfa.  And the last one I saw on the market, very clean, was under 20K. ... View more

Amen, Brother...A-men!   I too try to let people sit in my car whenever they look interested - especially kids.  But it's also fun to see grown-ups get a little grin on as they possibly imagine themselves tooling down the road.  And to just spend a little time and attention with folks - maybe telling the story of the car's build, or pointing out some special feature that maybe they didn't know about - is worth a ton.  Good on ya, DaveA! ... View more

Currently have a 2000 DTS, 2005 XLR and 2015 XTS. The DTS feels like a big, comfortable GM car, but quicker and more agile than 70s cars. The XLR is a little race car, sort of an upscale Corvette. Could be appointed better inside. Most fun with the top down. The XTS might as well be an Impala. Far from a Cadillac of the past. Good enough car quality-wise, but doesn’t even feel like a Cadillac. They definitely lost their mojo somewhere along the line, and didn’t seem courageous enough to really compete with Mercedes and BMW. My supercharged Jag XJL is more like the modern Cadillac should be. Of course, to be fair, the XJL didn’t make it either! Discontinued. ... View more

Cool, thanks for letting me know. Take care.  ... View more

I had an LS1 powered Z28 Camaro that GM listed at 305 fwhp. I had it on a chassis dyno in pretty much stock form and it pulled 318 rwhp. If I assume even 10% drive train loss for the 4 speed automatic the car was equipped with, that comes out to 353 fwhp. GM has always let other criteria get in the way of their hp claims. BTW, that car equipped as described with 2.73 gears and on stock street tires ran a best of 13.44 sec. @ 107.43 mph at the local drag strip. ... View more

Just awesome. ... View more

Two other issues. No real extensive racing history like the Cobra. Two it is a street car not an old race car.  Also not every Shelby is worth a ton of money.  ... View more

Viper bodies are fiberglass! 👍 ... View more

"I just read National Geographic for the car ads" - yeah, right.  And I just read Playboy for the articles.   😄 ... View more

These cars were something special. They created a new class of car with the mis size luxury class of cars that everyone copied. Before the Riviera, GP, and Eldorado brought personal luxury to a limited group but the 69 GP brought it and special styling to the masses. ... View more

I came of car buying age in the early 70s. Hub caps were made for new car delivery, the cragers or tourqe thrusts were waiting at home! I worked at a dealership for a bit of time and some people would actually order the cars and when the delivery notice came in they would drop off the new wheels so they would never see the hubcaps! Most that were disposed of were of the dog dish variety as they were standard equip. As far as ugly hubcaps I hated the fake wire wheel ones. And I admit to once owning a car with them....one of my family station wagons was an 88 ciera  with them. In my defence we got a good deal on it used and we had a young family and no money. ... View more

My 1970 Camaro SS RS has 396 badges from the factory but the factory bored the engine .30 over and it is actually a 402. ... View more

You were fortunate to have David North’s contribution to this story as he was key to the design of the Reatta. As noted, he selected the name having been involved with the movie Giant where Reata was the name of the ranch. A special Reatta was also made for David’s wife by Buick, which she still owns. They were kind enough to show it to us when we visited their home several years ago. The Reatta, like the Fiero and Allanté never really came close to its potential until the end and by then it was too late. Considering the fully depreciated prices at present, the convertible from the final year could provide a great deal of driving fun. ... View more

Amen, @DaveA!  I've no truck with folks who buy and sell vehicles with the intent to profit from it, but I'm 100% with you.  My vehicles (cars, trucks, motorcycles, go-carts, everything really) were all because I wanted them.  Never a thought for resale value - not even once.  In fact, I lost several pairs of shorts more than once when trading out - and never batted an eye or had a tear in one, except maybe for the "goodbye" mistiness in getting rid of something I'd really enjoyed driving and having. ... View more

So what’s up with the old school Mazda rotary prices ... View more

Oh well, I missed it. I also forgot to celebrate 2/89 at the end of April this yr. ... View more

I owned a Datsun 240 Z back in 1973, my Brother and had it painted Corvette Yellow from the Common orange that was vey popular then . Oh how wish I would not have sold that car, I loved the color as well as many other items ... View more

Nice find, Richard. I remember when these cars came out that many folks found the styling polarizing, to say the least. One of my bosses at the time had a Jaguar XJ-6 that was entirely troublesome and he bought one of these Sevilles thinking it would be a better car. While the FWD was appreciated in the winter, the car had one of the 4-6-8 motors and never seemed to run right. I think he kept it the length of a lease (2-3 years) and then bought a Toyota Cressida. Like it or not, the car set the tone for the 80's for Cadillac. Some the later FWD versions looked better to me (the post-1986 versions in particular), but not until the 1992 Sevilles were released di they really pick up from where the left off with the 1975-1980 cars. ... View more

What about the 427/425 hp Corvettes? ... View more

Sam, Wonderful article! I agree 100% in the important role that "tribute cars" play in the car world. Having spent the last decade building a painstakingly accurate tribute of a 1967 Ferrari 412P with the help of racing legend David Piper, I personally couldn't agree more with your thoughts. For many enthusiasts like myself, creating a "tribute car" provides an rewarding and fulfilling path to making your dream come true. Thanks for recognizing this... Salute! ... View more

Hey that power steering can really burn the fuel. How much you use it determines the fuel consumption. Just kidding! ... View more

Fire your headline writer and hire a copy editor. ... View more

Agree with SCHNELL.  Ever notice liquid dripping or spurting out from a tailpipe?  That's water (or mostly so).  It's there for a variety of reasons, including the quality of gas being used, and the inherent intake of humidity in the air that feeds in through an intake system.  More moisture than can be burned off equals pooling within the "innards" of the exhaust system.  Pooled moisture equals corrosion, rusting, and eventually cancer from the inside out.  If your exhaust manifold or headers are only coated on the outside they are actually only protected from the outside (duh), so even if you don't drive in rain or through puddles, a certain amount of moisture is always going to be attacking the inside of those items.  And you likely won't see it until it's too late... ... View more

I don't understand why you are calling this transaction stupid. Did you have seller's remorse or did you find that this type of transaction to be so stressful that you would not do it again? Or was it something else not apparent to us? So many things could go wrong. ... View more

nota truck, a jeep. Highly modified eh? Super provenance no? Hope it went to someone w/a unmodified one. This one? donate toa museum & geta big tax write off, do a public service! 8^ 0 - -Chad ... View more

I "heart" Toyota, but I like to think I am objective. Based on experience I find they deliver balanced performance and above average reliability. That is what daily drivers are about. Even experiencing benign neglect, exceptional engineering delivers acceptable performance. Good for the masses whether they know it or not. As I have noted in other columns here, I buy used, durability and aberrant trends are in my metrics. Camry is a safe bet. The Camry has also been the ubiquitous platform for variants, somewhat like an award winning actor. Don't type cast him, he will surprise you. I remember the first Lexus ES250, then a Camry wagon, the Avalon, ES350, All great at their job, but the IS-F. that I drove was disappointing. Sam, you do not draw comparisons in the "Camry market", but I will. I identify "Chevrolet" in Cadillacs, "Ford" in Lincolns, and Lexus in Toyotas, specifically the Camry. ... View more