I know that we featured another Kammback Vega the other day, but that was a special Yenko Stinger tribute with a Buick V6, but today’s example is a bone stock survivor. So, how do you like your Vega wagons, modified or stock? Find this 1974 Chevrolet Vega Wagon bidding for $7,177 in Woodland, CA via ebay with 1 day to go. Tip from Rock On!
I hate to do this to you guys, because this next car is ugly. Real ugly. Uglier than a monkey’s armpit. Uglier than a Kardashian without a corset. Uglier than a mud fence. Uglier than a Bangle butt on a Bugatti. Uglier than a LeCar. U…G…L…Y, you ain’t got no alibi. Feel out of the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down to the ugly pit. Uglier than a shaved ape in a Birkenstocks. Ugg. Beauty may be skin deep, but ugly is to the bones…this car is bound for the crusher or nearest 24 Hours of LeMons racetrack, you decide. Find this 1989 BMW E34 540i 6-Speed offered for $500 in Glen Burnie, MD via craigslist. Tip from Cory.
This next car follows along with the theme of the MG Midget with Toyota power that we featured the other day…except that this one has the exhaust routing figured out. Classic British motoring style with reliable Japanese power…sounds like an MX-5 Miata without the reliable electrics. Find this 1972 Triumph TR6 with Toyota 20R power offered for $8500 in Santa Cruz, CA via craigslist.
The second generation Ford Taurus (1992-1995) wasn’t much of an enthusiasts car, at least until you consider the bundle-of-snakes manifold equipped Super High Output version that carried over from the previous generation. Ford pushed a surprising level of performance into their family sedan with a Yamaha built V6 and a 5-speed manual gearbox. Sixty miles per hour was hit in about 6.6 seconds and top speed as in excess of 140 mph, these were numbers that were reserved for real sports cars back in the early 1990s. Find this 1995 Ford Taurus SHO offered for $3,500 CAD ($2750 USD) in Edmonton, AB, Canada via kijiji.net. Tip from Erik202.
The Ford Maverick was released into the wild for the 1970 model year as a replacement for the compact pony car known as the Mustang that was being blown up into a fully fledged (from the zoology, a bird develops its plumage or fledge at maturity) muscle car (see 1971 Mustang). Anyway, the basic Maverick is interesting and I like it, but show me the corporate badged Mercury version known as the Comet and I’ll swoon like a teenage girl at an Elvis concert. Find this 1974 Mercury Comet offered for $7000 in Sacramento, CA via craigslist.
The Goggomobil was a microcar built by Hans Glas GmbH out of Bavarian town of Dingolfing with an aircooled V-twin mounted out back. If Dingolfing rings a bell, it’s because BMW acquired the substantial Glas factory (and the patent for belt driven overhead cam engine) located in that city. Today, production of BMW’s cars in Dingolfing is huge with a plant that employs 13,000 workers to assemble 1600 BMWs (and Rolls-Royce bodies) per day. Anyway, I still can’t imagine how the seller of this next car was able to occupy not one, but two, parking spots with the little Gogo. Find this 1962 Glas Goggomobil T400 offered for $9800 plus shipping from Spain via ebay. Tip from Hugh.
This next car has me tempted to violate my “no white car” rule. Trucks / vans / teeth / sneakers all look great in white, but cars should be a color…green, blue, red, orange, whatever. But this next car left the Sindelfingen factory in 2007 with a 388 horsepower V8 and a $90k MSRP before adding options, and I’m not as offended by the white paint as I should be. Today, it is offered for 1/9th of that original factory fresh price and it has at least 1/9th of its life left before it turns into scrap. Find this 2007 Mercedes-Benz S550 W221 offered for $10,995 in Burr Ridge, IL via autotrader. Tip from Jeff.
This next car comes as a tip from ME who writes; perhaps you can use this one on a slow day. Full stop. If this is what DT shows on a slow day…then I can’t imagine what we’d share on a fast day. This has everything you’d need in an analog world — manual brakes, manual steering, manual transmission, manual windows, manual headlights, manual ignition timing advance (okay, I made that last one up). All this thing needs is a set of stock wheels and a wingectomy to be perfect for your daily drive or your kid’s first car. Find this 1993 Toyota Tercel DX offered for $2900 in Staten Island, NY via craigslist.
This next Saab comes from late in the era of GM produced Saabs. The 2002-2014 Saab 9-3 had more in common with a Chevy Malibu than it did with the original Saab 99…not that its a bad thing. But the interesting thing about the 9-3 Turbo X is that 280 horsepower from a turbocharged 2.8 liter V6 goes into a 6-speed manual gearbox and eventually to all four wheels. Find this 2008 Saab 9-3 Turbo X bidding for $6,000 in Orefield, PA via carsandbids.com.
The first generation (Mark I) MG Midget was a pint sized little runabout from Morris Garage that shared mechanical parts with the Sprite from Austin-Healey from 1961-1964. The Midget shared basically every part of its bill-of-materials (except the badge) with the Sprite, but today’s example has a bigport 2T-C 4-cylinder 1.6-liter engine borrowed from an early 70s Toyota Celica or Corona. Find this 1964 MG Midget offered for $1900 in Olympia, WA via craigslist. Tip from JB1025.