I learned a new word salad string to add to my lexicon of automotive nonsense today; “a true black pearl find”. I’m not sure if that relates to the secretions of a mollusk or the movie based on a Disneyland amusement park ride, but I think that it is meant to indicate some sort of […]
I love it when folks are realistic in the asking price for their old heap of metal. And this next car is a really cool old piece of iron…it even has a modern fuel injected Chevy Vortec V8 (probaby an LM7 or other iron block 5.3) shoved under the hood, but the seller isn’t asking […]
tiac 6000 was a mid-sized mid-market front-drive offering from GM’s “sporty” Pontiac brand that shared its plebian underpinnings with GM’s other A-body machines like the Buick Century, Chevy Celebrity, and Olds Cutlass Ciera. The 6000 sold relatively well and did the job of shuttling around the kids, but it wasn’t in the least bit sporty (although there was a Special Touring Edition STE that added a high output option to the V6 pushing the original 112 horsepower up to 135. Anyway, the builder of this next car shoved a small block Chevy up front and the result is going to be some wicked front-wheel-peelage. Find this 1985 Pontiac 6000 offered for $6,700 in Mahopac, NY via facemelt merklebrook. Tip from Cory.
You’ve heard the term “trash panda” as a derogatory term for our friend the raccoon — but I’ve got a new one for ya; The “dumpster unicorn.” That is a car that is indeed a rare thing, but should be recycled into fridge magnets. Or it is a pipe of parts in a bin that could be turned into a rare mythical beast. This next car is a 4th generation Buick Century — I’ve probably not seen one on the road for a good 20 years (for good reason?) but this next version is the rarest of the rare because it has a turbo V6. Find this 1979 Buick Century Turbo Coupe offered for $3,500 in Catskill, MA via craigslist. Tip from Cory.
Toyota started using the Century name way back in 1967 on a V8 powered luxury liner that was based on the Crown Eight. The same basic design continued in production through 1997..yes…a staggering 30 year production run. Imagine if you could buy the same Tesla Model S that you see in the showroom today in 2042…actually, that is looking like a good probability. But nobody wants a used electric car, so save your money and buy this 1992 Toyota Century offered for $13,500 in Gaithersburg, MD via craigslist.
I saw this next car and thought to myself; another 3-row, 8-passenger, wood paneled Buick station wagon from the mid 90s, must be a Roadmaster…except that it didn’t have the space ship styling or the longitudinally mounted V8 engine. Could it be possible that Buick thought the market for 8 passenger station wagons was so great in 1994 that they needed to offer multiple levels of wagonness. This wasn’t 1965…what were they thinking? I’m not sure, but what am I sure of is that I love the idea of an A-body with transverse mounted Buick V6 that was designed in the 1970s (this generation lasted from 1982-1996) was still available for sale in 1994 with wood sides and a set of rear facing jump seats. Find this 1994 Buick Century Wagon offered for $2,850 in Somers, CT via craigslist. Tip from Cory.
If you were part of the Japanese royal family shopping for a properly prestigious ride in the early 1990s, it didn’t make much sense to buy a Cadillac, a Lincoln, a Rolls Royce or a Mercedes S-Class. What you needed was something domestic to demonstrate your Japanese pride, but a Supra doesn’t have a back seat […]
If you’ve spent any time behind the wheel of a modern Toyota Camry you won’t be impressed by much of anything. Reliable…sure…but fun? Nope. Not even in the slightest. There is a blandness and safety against anything sport that hat pervades the entire driving experience and reminds me of a 90s front drive Buick. This […]
If you’re not watching the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, then you’re missing out. There has been plenty of action and drama, like a Czech snowboarder winning the women’s Super-G skiing competition, Russia and various atheletes from Russia being banned from the games due to the huge doping scandal, photo-finish Biathlons and of […]
If you were a well compensated Japanese executive shopping for a properly boss ride in the late 1980s, you didn’t have many domestic cars to pick from. You could get something imported like a Rolls Royce or a Mercedes S-Class…but many Japanese businessmen preferred to keep it local, perhaps with good reason. Find this 1988 Toyota […]