Modern Classic Archives

January 22 2021

Texas Jeepney: 1979 Jeep CJ5

I’m somewhat conflicted by this next vehicle. On one hand, I’ve been told over and over again by various civic and private entities that I should not drink and drive…but then I see a car that is styled to be a bottle of beer, complete with Bud Light and Budweiser stickers, emblems, and the worlds first giant bottle cap shaped tire cover. This is the equivalent of Dr Fauci wearing a “masks are for p*****s” t-shirt at a press conference. Find this 1979 Jeep CJ5 offered for $13,000 in Sugar Land, TX via facemask meetingplace. Tip from shart89.

January 21 2021

Sherman McCoy Approved: 1990 Mercedes-Benz 560TEL Estate by Caro

DailyTurismo Modern Classic 560SEL, 560TEL, German, Mercedes-Benz, W124 11

RM Auctions is a Canadian brick and mortar classic car auction house along the lines of Barrett-Jackson and Mecum that started auctioning cars in 1991. In 2015, Sotheby’s (a British auction company founded in 1744, run by a dude named Lord Dalmeny, owned largely by a Chinese life insurance company called…can’t make this up…Taiking Life) […]

January 21 2021

Antarctic Blue Super Sports Wagon With The CB: 1986 Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser Wagon

DailyTurismo Modern Classic 'Murica, Custom Cruiser, Oldsmobile, Sport Wagon, Wagon 5

The Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser needs no introduction around these parts, but I’ll give you the short version because I’m in a sharing mood. Oldsmobile was a brand founded by Ransom E Olds in 1897 and was folded into the general morters corporate machine in 1908. For the next 100 years, GM squeezed every last drop of blood from that turnip and shockingly managed to sell over a million Oldsmobiles in 1986. One of them was this full sized beasty called the Custom Cruiser. You can find them for about $4k around the interweb (in fact there is an ’89 example on eBay with Maroon paint and wood trim) but this next example seems especially nice for the asking price. Find this 1986 Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser offered for $4400 in Medford, OR via craigslist. Tip from Rock On!

January 20 2021

Tercel By Any Other Name: 1992 Toyota Corolla II Windy

DailyTurismo Modern Classic Corolla, Corolla II, Tercel, Toyota, Windy 3

I responded to the sight of this car with a visceral utterance that was something between an “uggg” and a “whoa”. What happened to the boxy lines of the 80s Corolla? Was it really necessary to turn it into a giant 4-wheeled suppository? Oh. This is a Tercel, which Toyota occasionally badged as the Corolla II and Windy. Find this 1992 Toyota Corolla Windy II offered for $4750 in Seattle, WA via craigslist. Tip from JB1025.

January 19 2021

DT’s Christmas Star: 1985 Volvo 240DL Wagon

DailyTurismo Modern Classic 240, 240DL, 245, Thorsday, Volvo, Wagon 8

I’d love to post every tip that we get into the DT inbox (well, maybe not the strange “missed connection” links that Kaibeezy always sends in…those we’ll keep for…ummm…nevermind). The point is…I’d post every single tip if I had the time, but I’ve got a job and a mortgage and kids that need to be driven to soccer practice and Buicks that need maintenance and a tinnitus in my right ear from welding on a muffler filled with unburnt exhaust gases and then there are those “missed connections.” Regardless, despite that, incongruently, I’ve got to report an event on the level of a cosmic conjunction, similar to the 2020 Christmas star when Jupiter and Saturn were seen on top of each other late last year. This next car was tipped by not just one, but by two legends of car hunting, juggernauts of the DT tips line — imagine Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan teaming up to kick some ass at the same time. Yes, that level of awesome. This next car was tipped simultaneously by both FuelTruck and Rock On! Find this 1985 Volvo 240DL Wagon offered for $3,600 in Palo Alto, CA via craigslist.

January 18 2021

That’ll Never Leak: 1996 BMW 318Ti California Edition

DailyTurismo Modern Classic 318ti, BMW, California Edition, E36, E36/5, German 4

The BMW 318Ti was launched in 1994 and has the dubious honor of being the first hatchback offered from BMW since the 2002 Touring was canceled in 1974. The E36/5 318Ti is interesting because it uses the previous generation (E30) semi-trailing arm rear suspension and a 1.8 liter 4-banger for the ultimate in “sport compact” […]

January 15 2021

500kms, Not Bad: 1995 Ford Taurus SHO

DailyTurismo Modern Classic 'Murica, Ford, SHO, Taurus 1

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.

January 14 2021

Manual Everything: 1993 Toyota Tercel DX

DailyTurismo Modern Classic Japanese, Manual, Tercel, Toyota 4

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.

January 13 2021

Slammin Gears: 1999 BMW 528iT Wagon E39

DailyTurismo Modern Classic 540i, 540iT, BMW, e39, German 6

We posted a nice E39 the other day that had two things wrong with it — first it wasn’t a wagon, and second it had two too many cylinders. I know the 4.4-liter V8 (why didn’t they call it a 544i…eh?) in the 540i is a sweet piece of machinery, but it isn’t an inline-6, and BMW is known primarily for its supremacy with the inline-6. Smooth, fuel efficient, and long is an inline-6 and BMW has made some of the best ever produced. So if you are going to step back into a 90s BMW, why not make it a wagon (that is grounded to the ground low) that is manual gearbox and inline-6 equipped, because BMW didn’t make a manual V8 wagon for the USA market. Find this 1999 BMW 528iT Wagon E39 offered for $11,995 in Los Gatos, CA via craigslist. Tip from Jeff.

January 12 2021

Fast n Furryious: 1997 BMW 540i E39

DailyTurismo Modern Classic 540i, BMW, e39 1

The BMW 540i wasn’t the fastest of the E39 generation 5-series, but the V8 powered machine came awfully close to dethroning its big brother, the infamous tire shredding M5. Imagine a world where a young Eli Manning juiced some steroids (or more steroids?) and managed to score a victory in one of the games against his legendary older brother Peyton and you get an idea of where the builder of this 540i is going. I like it. Find this 1997 BMW 540i offered for $4,850 in Sacramento, CA via craigslist.

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