Rare-Vintage

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Rare Corvair once deemed unsafe now collectors’ car

The Chevrolet Corvair has a unique status in automotive history. It was named car of the year. It was once defined as unsafe at any speed. And it was the first American-designed, mass-produced passenger car to feature a rear-mounted, air-cooled engine. Produced in model years 1960 to 1969 and featuring an air-cooled rear-mounted flat-six engine, the Corvair was available in several trims including a two-door coupe, convertible, four-door sedan and four-door station wagon. The Corvair was also available as a passenger van, commercial van and a pickup truck. Tom Davenport of Sacramento, California, owns a 1964 Corvair convertible couple. He purchased the car from a relative three years ago and is the third owner of the now 50-year-old machine. In

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Jerry Seinfeld does coffee, cars with Jon Stewart

Eighteen-wheelers, station wagons, vintage AMC cars and Jaguars have little in common. Unless, of course, Jerry Seinfeld and one of his comedian friends are the occupants in one of the vehicles and they’re going for coffee. The fourth season of the web series, “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee” will debut June 19. It will be the first episode in a new five-season deal with the Crackle network. The new season introduction video (see below) shows Seinfeld in short clips with his guests for this season, Jon Stewart, George Wallace, Sarah Jessica Parker, Robert Klein and Aziz Ansari. Since its debut, the show’s premise has been simple. Seinfeld drives fellow comedians around in rare and expensive cars (and sometimes not-so rare

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Jerry Seinfeld is back with rare cars, comedians, coffee

Jerry Seinfeld’s passion for cars and comedy has proven the right formula for the web series, “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee. The fourth season and the first in a new five-season deal with the Crackle network will debut June 19. Crackle.com, a unit of Sony (SNE) Pictures TV, reports luxury automaker Acura has extended its exclusive deal to sponsor 24 new episodes of the car & comedy mashup. “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee” is an online series appearing on Crackle.com that revolves around Seinfeld driving fellow comedians around in rare and expensive cars (and sometimes not-so rare and inexpensive cars) and then going for coffee. David Letterman, Don Rickles, Seth Meyers, Mel Brooks, Sarah Silverman, Michael Richards, Tina Fey, Chris

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Rare Used Cars: 1993 Cadillac Allanté

The Cadillac Allanté, now considered among recent rare used cars, is a two-door luxury roadster manufactured by General Motors. It was designed by Pininfarina of Italy and sold for only seven years despite its superior performance and unique styling. About 21,500 Allanté units were made, equating to slightly more than 3,000 per year. In its final year, 1993, Cadillac made 4,670 Allanté units with a high-end price of $65,000. Originally designed under the code name “Callisto” to compete with the Mercedes-Benz SL and Jaguar XJS, the Allanté featured a modified variant of the 4.1-liter V8 used across Cadillac’s lineup. The Allanté is noted for an unusual production arrangement. Completed bodies, designed and manufactured in Italy, were shipped 4,600 miles from

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Rare Ford Mustang display in Sacramento honors iconic car

Universal Technical Institute (UTI) in Sacramento will be celebrating Ford Mustang’s 50th birthday on April 16 with a display of the iconic cars, including the first Ford Mustang to enter the State of California. The celebration, which will also include a birthday cake in the shape of a Ford Mustang, will be held at UTI, 4100 Duckhorn Blvd., from 8 a.m. until noon. Ford Motor Co. unveiled the first Mustang on the 86th floor of the Empire State Building on April 17, 1964. More than nine million Ford Mustangs have been sold since. The cherry red 1965 Mustang entered the state of California in November 1964 by train from Michigan. This Mustang will be the focal point for  UTI’s Ford

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Kaiser-Darrin: Odd, elegant sports car in demand

I’ve been fascinated by the Kaiser-Darrin for the past several years. It looks unlike any other sports car. Its prototype debuted in 1952 and it was available in dealerships two years later. Built from fiberglass, the Kaiser-Darrin is both odd-looking and elegant. It has odd-shaped front grille, sliding doors and its was the second carmaker after Nash to have seat belts. The 1954 Kaiser-Darrin also had bucket seats, full sports-car instrumentation, a floor shifter and cost $3,668, slightly more than the newly arriving Corvette. The buying public was at first enamored by the Kaiser-Darrin. It had a standard three-speed manual overdrive transmission and got 30 mpg delivered 30 mpg. Even though the Kaiser-Darrin had a top speed of about 100

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Rare 50-year-old Corvette set for pending Mecum Auction

A 1963 Corvette Sting Ray, one of only four ever made and given to automotive pioneer who brought the iconic sports car to the public’s attention, will soon be auctioned in Chicago. The Corvette, which features factory-customized side exhaust, is a longtime member of the Corvette Hall of Fame. The rare car, given to Harley J. Earl, will be among about 1,000 cars auctioned Oct. 10-12 by Mecum Auctions. Earl joined General Motors in 1928 and became the head of the GM design team before retiring in 1958. The 1963 Corvette will be auctioned in the final day of the three-day show. The auction will open at 8 a.m. daily with some of the auction broadcast live on Discovery’s Velocity

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John Lennon’s rare Ferrari and his first ticket to ride set for Bonhams auction

Nearly five decades since John Lennon received his first driver’s license and purchased his first car, a 1965 Ferrari 330GT, the former Beatle’s classic sports car will be featured at Bonhams auction July 12 at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in England. Lennon, who owned the classic Ferrari for about three years, paid slightly more than $10,000 for the new right-hand driver Ferrari and drove it for about 20,000 miles. Now restored to its original status, the Ferrari is expected to sell for between $275,000-$340,00 as one of only 500 330GT of its type built. According to Bohhams, the car comes with its original DUL 4C registration, vast documentation of its history, including a correspondence with Lennon. Lennon bought the

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Bugatti Veyron thrives on enduring mystique

Buying a supercar like Bugatti or an entry level auto like the Nissan Versa is the same in one respect — it’s a subjective choice. But then the similarity ends suddenly. Beyond the obvious financial differences between a $10,000 car and a $2 million car, the major difference between a Versa and a Bugatti is exposure. Drive a Versa and you’re invisible, always. Drive a Bugatti and it’s impossible not to seen. Every new edition of the Bugatti is automotive industry extravaganza, particularly if it’s the manufacturer’s most powerful roadster to date. That occurred in April 2012 when the open-top version of the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesse at the Beijing Auto Show. The new Bugatti has remarkable numbers:

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Rare Ferrari sells for $35 million, assumes most expensive car record

A 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO made for race driver Stirling Moss and one of 39 of the rare vehicles manufactured during its three-year run, has become the world’s most expensive car. It sold in a private transaction in May for $35 million. Bloomberg News reports the apple-green Ferrari is listed among May’s high-end sales on the classic car dealers website, anamera.com. The sale was confirmed, according to Bloomberg, by two sources. The car was sold by the Dutch-born businessman Eric Heerema, owner of the Nyetimber vineyard in Sussex, southern England. American collector Craig McCaw is the new owner. Neither seller nor buyer could be reached for comment. The green GTO was acquired by Heerema a decade ago for about $8.5

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Rare 1957 Ford Thunderbird convertible set for national TV auction

An original, unrestored 1957 Ford Thunderbird, which has been driven 20,000 miles, had one owner and garage kept, will be auctioned May 19 on national television as part of Dana Mecum’s 25th Original Spring Classic Auction. Sold new at O’Shea-Rogers Ford in Lincoln, Nebraska, the Thunderbird is still painted in its original factory-applied Starmist Blue paint. The V-8 powered Ford classic is offered with its original porthole hardtop and wide whitewall tires and is documented with the original bill of sale and a signed affidavit attesting to its actual mileage.

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Mercury no longer rising, Rachel Veitch stops driving her 1964 Comet 'Chariot'

Five years after becoming an international celebrity at age 88 as the sole owner and sole driver of a 1964 Mercury Comet Caliente, Rachel Veitch has stopped driving. Veitch, who recently turned age 93, told FoxNews.com that she is legally blind and will no longer drive the yellow Comet she called “Chariot.” “They don’t have to take it away,” Veitch said of the car with about 576,000 miles on its chassis. “I would not dream of driving that car again.” After running a red light in March, Veitch volunteered to stopped driving the car she bought new on Feb. 17, 1964 for $3,289. The four-door Caliente has a tan interior, a 164-horsepower/260-cubic-inch V-8, automatic transmission, air conditioning, power steering and

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Rare Ayrton Senna F1 Toleman set for UK auction

A Toleman TG184-2 Formula One car driven by Brazilian Ayrton Senna in his debut F1 season will be auctioned May 16 at The Spring Sale to be hosted by Silverstone Auctions in Northamptonshire, United Kingdom. Senna, who died at age 34 in 1994 while leading the San Marino Grand Prix, finished second while driving the same Toleman in the rain-soaked 1984 Monaco GP. Senna, a three-time world titlist, also raced to 3rd in the British and 7th in the Canadian Grand Prix in the Toleman, which has been privately owned for the past 16 years. Senna’s life was portrayed in the 2011 documentary, SENNA. A 1973 Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7 will also be part of the auction. For additional

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Record price expected for 117-year-old steam motorcycle

A historic 1894 Roper Steam Motorcycle is expected to establish a new world record for a motorcycle sold at auction when more than 400 motorcycles are offered Jan. 12-14 at Auctions America in RM’s debut at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. The second of only two steam-powered motorcycles built by Sylvester Roper of Roxbury, Massachusetts, arguably one of America’s first auto manufacturers, the 117-year-old motorcycle is regarded as one of the world’s oldest, predating early examples produced by Orient, Indian and Harley-Davidson. The current world record for a motorcycle sold at auction is held by a 1915 Cyclone Board Track Racer OHC, which sold for $520,000 USD in 2008. Based on the frame of a Columbia

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World's oldest running car sells for record $4.62 million

A 1884 De Dion Bouton et Trepardoux Dos-a-Dos Steam Runabout, the world’s oldest running car, attracted twice its predicted value and sold for $4.62 million Oct. 7 before a packed house at RM Auctions in Hershey, Pa. The sale price is a world record for an early motor car sold at auction. Commissioned by French entrepreneur, Count de Dion and named ‘La Marquise’ after his mother, the 127-year-old vehicle drew a standing ovation from the audience as it drove onto RM’s Hershey auction stage. Attracting a starting bid of $500,000 and immediately jumping to $1,000,000, bidding moved swiftly to applause from the crowd, with the gavel eventually falling at an extraordinary $4,200,000. The final sales price of $4,620,000 includes a

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Rare Presidential limousine offered for auction

A 1955 Cadillac Series 75 Presidential Limousine from the Eisenhower White House, unused for more than two decades, will go on auction Sept. 1 at Auctions America in Auburn, Ind. Custom built by Hess & Eisenhardt for the Eisenhower White House, the special order limousine, chassis 557555865, is one of approximately 1,200 collector cars on offer at the auction. The multi-day sale in Auburn, Indiana, will also present a select range of vintage motorcycles to cater for collectors of classic two wheelers. Commissioned in 1955 for the First Lady, Mrs. Eisenhower’s use, as well as to serve as a formal and parade vehicle when needed, the parade car was delivered from the factory in March 1955 to Hess & Eisenhardt,

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