Tag: Cars

Jeremy Clarkson, who knows a thing or two about these things, once suggested that the only reason you should buy a car is how it makes you feel when you walk into your garage in the morning.  If it causes feelings of pride, vanity or even a slight protuberance in the trousers, then that’s the car you should get instead of that Honda Civic or Toyota Camry.

As threatened promised earlier in the week, today we are going to take a look at Sotheby’s 2024 Arizona auction catalogue.

Your job, should you choose to accept it, is to pick the top five (and only the Top 5) that would give you the above-mentioned feelings if you were to walk into your five-car garage in the morning for the purpose of selecting the car that you were going to drive that day. (And if you’re perfectly happy with your 1995 Chevy C-10 pickup and can’t imagine wanting one of these, feel free not to share that with us.)

As I said earlier in the week, please ignore the prices because they’re just suggestions — some or most of which may turn out to be hopelessly unrealistic come next Thursday’s auction.

I would recommend that you spend some time looking at the descriptions for each of the cars offered, because (as I discovered) your choices may well be influenced thereby.

What I’m looking for is a feeling of desire, and not investment. Please rank your choices, therefore, in order of desirability;  and feel free to add the purpose of your drive that day (hot date, cross-country trip, visiting family, getting groceries, whatever).

My Top 5 are listed below the fold.

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Harry takes us through his garage in a 2023 review.  The maintenance costs are staggering, underlining that owning exotic sports cars is not for the faint of heart (nor of wallet).

The interesting thing is that of all his cars, I’d only want to own one:  the 1968-70 Lancia Fulvia Sport Zagato (but with LHD, thank you).  Watch the video to see its (too-brief) cameo (or the whole Zagato episode — headphones recommended if you’re not alone;  that little 1600cc engine shouts, oh yes it does).

Want.

I see with some regret that Audi is discontinuing both the R8 supercar and its baby brother, the TT sports car.

For obvious reason$$$ I was never in the market for either, but I still feel somewhat melancholy because the thought of the loss of any car built for the pure enjoyment of driving is not a happy one.

A hundred years ago I talked about the joys of open-topped sports cars, and my feelings have not changed one iota. If anything, my desire to own a convertible sports car has increased, not lessened,  even though I know that I’d probably need some kind of crane or lift to get my decrepit fat ass out of the thing.

Hence my lottery dream of the exquisite BMW Z8:

(horrifyingly, since sold)

…or more reasonably, the Mazda MX-5:

Which leads me to today’s little thought exercise.

Below is a list of 20 sports cars (not supercars).  Assuming that all were driveable and in excellent condition, and had assurance of some kind of reliability (and please note that last factor)…

…rank your top 5 of the 20 (and only of these 20, no substitutions) with reasons if so desired.  Consider whatever factors you feel are important:  “wow” (that feeling when you walk into your garage and realize that it’s yours, all yours), reliability, chick-appeal, speed, handling, trunk size, whatever.

Note that there’s a mixture of old and new.  Feel free to mix ‘n match.  Also, I’ve left off some obvious ones (pure performance cars like the E-type, Corvette, Ferrari, AC Cobra etc. so that you end up having more choices).

Sunbeam Alpine

Honda S2000

Austin Healey 3000 MkIII

Jaguar XK120

Mercedes 230 SL

Alfa Romeo 1750 Spider

MGB GT

VW Eos

Toyota 2000 GT

Audi TT

Morgan Plus 8

BMW Z4

Ford Mustang

MG TF

Toyota MR2

Lotus / Caterham Seven

Triumph TR4

Fiat Dino 2400 Spider

Porsche 356 C

Jensen Interceptor

My Top 5 below the fold:

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A Reader (lost yer email, sorry) sent me this little look at The Most Odd-Looking Vintage Muscle Cars Ever Made.  I have several problems with said list, mostly because more than a few of the cars cannot be termed “muscle” cars by any stretch of the imagination, e.g. the Heinkel Kabine of the late 1940s:

…which featured a 174cc engine which generated 9hp.  That’s “muscular” only if you’re a Gen Z snowflake or an eco-moron.

Of course, there are a few strange ones on the list, but I have to say that more than a few did catch my eye, and I would have no problem owning / driving one of them, even today.  Here they are:

BMW Z1 (early 1990s) Sorry, but that’s just lovely.  The retractable doors (!!!) make it strange, but I’d still take one in a heartbeat.

E-type Jaguar (1960s)

That’s not “odd”, you morons, it’s a classic.  Even back then, it wasn’t odd, just beautiful (pace Enzo Ferrari, who knew a thing or two about the topic).

Lotus Europa (1970s)

Yeah, it looks a little strange, but it handled better than any road car of the time.  You could take corners at speeds that would have killed you in any other car.

Corvette station wagon (1970s) 
Yeah, I’d have one of these.  It looks a little like the Europa, but it solves the perennial problem of “How do I fit both my girlfriend and my rifle/shotgun cases into a sports car?”

Toyota 2000 GT (1970)

Sorry, but 150hp in a car that weighed almost nothing, handled like a dream and should never have ceased production?  That’s not weird;  the decision to stop making it was weird.  Like the E-type, it was a classic.

The one that really caught my eye, however, was this one:

Buick Centurion (late 1950s)

I think it’s glorious, not weird — and I’d take one in a heartbeat.

Feel free to peruse the others, and make your own choices in Comments if you want.

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There’s also a list that contains some weird motorcycles, but to me they all look the same (like people in various non-European racial groups), so I couldn’t pass judgment.