vintage cars

Ford Mustang, 1965 car review

Some argue a collectible car must have been built in fairly small numbers to make it exclusive, and thus more desirable and valuable. So how do they explain why the 1965 Ford Mustang is such a popular collectible? After all, it attracted a staggering 680,989 buyers after its early public introduction at the New York World’s Fair in April, 1964. The 1965 Mustang set an all-time record for first-year sales of any new model. Today’s auto market is too fragmented with different types of cars for a single model to ever get the wildly enthusiastic reception of the first Ford Mustang in America. The top-selling car in 2008, for instance, was the Toyota Camry, with 436,616 buyers. Since its arrival,

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Ferrari owned briefly by John Lennon set for Paris auction

A restored 1965 Ferrari 330 GT 2+2 Coupe, one of the least desirable models of famed Italian sports car but one briefly owned by former Beatle John Lennon, will be auctioned in February. The light-blue Ferrari is expected to attract a final bid of more than $200,000 in the Feb. 5 auction, according to Bonhams’ auction officials. The Ferrari 330, sometimes called the four-eye model, is not often considered a coveted model by collectors. The car was said to be Lennon’s first vehicle purchased after he passed his driving test in Britain. He purchased it at age 24 for 2000 pounds. Lennon was murdered in 1980. Restored closely to original specification, Bonhams said the exterior paint is a deeper hue

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Vast display of new, autos, airplanes at Half Moon Bay show

One of the West Coast’s most diverse offerings of automobiles and airplanes will be featured at the 21st Annual Pacific Coast Dream Machines Show on Sunday, May 1, 2011 in Half Moon Bay, California. Half Moon Bay Airport will host about 2,000 antique, vintage, classic, custom and exotic cars and other motorized mechanical wonders celebrating ingenuity, power and style from the 20th and 21st centuries. Antique horseless carriages and Ford Model T’s, fanciful touring and luxury cars, powerful sports cars, custom cars and street rods and muscle cars will be on display. And there will also be vintage and modern era high-performance race cars, quirky art and pedal cars, modified street machines with cutting edge styles, exotic high-performance cars, stylish

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Ferrari tops list of most expensive car auction buys in 2010

The most coveted vintage cars sold at auction in 2010 didn’t command the sky-high, record-setting prices of last year. But there were still collectors’ stunning rare purchases this year — Aston Martin to Talbot, BMW to Mercerdes Benz. Six of the most expensive cars sold at auction during 2010 occurred during Monterey Auto Week, the now nearly two-week festival of new and vintage cars scattered throughout the Monterey Peninsula. The most expensive auctioned car in 2010 was a 1959 Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider Competizione. It sold for $7.26 million at the Gooding & Co. auction at Pebble Beach in August. According to the web site, Luxist.com, the Ferrari 250: “Is the only LWB California to feature an alloy

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Most Unsafe Cars in History: Ford Pinto to Chevrolet Corvair

The Chevrolet Corvair earned the dubious honor in part when the book “Unsafe At Any Speed” paid homage to its horrible reputation for crashing disasters. The Ford Pinto is on the list because its gas tank was in the optimal place for exploding after even a minor accident. What these cars and eight other infamous vehicles have in common is that they’ve been selected as the Most Dangerous Cars In History. The websites, The Consumerist. and Auto Shippers.com have combined to present a list of common vehicles and some not so common that earn honors they’d prefer not have. The subjective list, according to The Consumerist.com, was compiled when “Auto Shippers combed through the auto industry’s storied history of catastrophic

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Great American classic cars: Buick, Mercury, Ford, Rambler

Or how about a head-turning 1955 Nash Rambler cross country wagon or a 1958 Mercury Turnpike Cruiser? Owning a Duesenberg you don’t drive is fine. But how about taking a Sunday afternoon cruise in 1951 Chrysler Thunderbolt? Here are 10 vehicles The Weekly Driver would like to own and drive: James RaiaA sports, travel and business journalist for more than 45 years, James has written the new car review column The Weekly Driver since 2004. In addition to founding this site in 2004, James writes a Sunday automotive column for The San Jose Mercury and East Bay Times in Walnut Creek, Calif., and monthly auto review and wellness columns for Gulfshore Business, a magazine in Southwest Florida. An author and

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Rare Porsche models honored for automaker’s 60th anniversary

As part of its 60th anniversary celebration, Porsche Cars North America embarked on a quest to find the oldest Porsche sold in America via The Porsche Classic Search. It encouraged individuals to submit documentation their Porsche was one of the earliest in its category sold in the United States. With awards and bragging rights at stake, the entries are an impressive collection of finalists, including the oldest U.S.-retailed model found, a restored 1952 Strawberry Red 356 Cabriolet. Among the hundreds of submissions from Porsche owners across the country since last August was a rare 1952 356 Cabriolet owned by Dr. Robert Wilson of Oklahoma City, Okla. Wilson’s car was imported in November of 1952 by Austrian businessman Max Hoffman, in

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Rare Mercedes Benz, purchased new by Elvis Presley, set for Bonham's auction

The article details that Presley kept the car for two years before giving it to a friend, James Leroy Robertson. The car also had another owner but was auctioned at the Important Motor Cars and Fine Automobilia sale at Mercedes-Benz World in Surrey, England, last December. The restored Mercedes has an estimated value of $230-$300,000, and is among only a handful of vehicles Presley registered in his name. James RaiaA sports, travel and business journalist for more than 45 years, James has written the new car review column The Weekly Driver since 2004. In addition to founding this site in 2004, James writes a Sunday automotive column for The San Jose Mercury and East Bay Times in Walnut Creek, Calif.,

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Driving Miss Rachel (age 92): Jay Leno talks cars with Mercury queen

The original video that detailed the purchase of her car and the-now 600,000 miles she’s driven it, has been viewed more than six million times. One of Veitch’s recent media appearances was as a guest on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, the late-night talk show host and car-collecting mogul. Veitch, who calls her car “Chariot,” bought the Mercury new on Feb. 17, 1964. She and her husband sought cheaper transportation than their 1959 Cadillac Coupe DeVille. Veitch settled on a four-door Caliente model with tan interior, a 164-horsepower/260-cubic-inch V-8, automatic transmission, air conditioning, power steering and every other available option except power brakes. The 2,700-pound sedan cost $3,289. The spry, witty Veitch has driven the car about 1,000 miles

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Monterey Auto Week records: 16 cars, Ferrari to Jaguar, auctioned for at least $1 million, $67M in total sales

Sixteen vehicles were sold for more than $1 million, the most recorded by any single auction house during this year’s Monterey auto week. The 1933 Delage D8S de Villars Roadster, owned by The Patterson Collection in Louisville, Kentucky, and restored by RM Auto Restoration, was named ‘Best of Show’ at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. RM Auctions’ 2010 ‘Sports & Classics of Monterey’ Million-Dollar-Plus Sales: 1938 Talbot-Lago T150-C Lago Speciale Teardrop Coupe, $4,620,000 1954 Ferrari 375 MM Berlinetta, $4,620,000 1949 Delahaye Type 175 S Roadster by Saoutchik, $3,300,000 1959 Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spyder, $2,612,500 1955 Jaguar D-Type, $2,090,000 2007 Ferrari FXX Evoluzione, $1,925,000 1959 Ferrari 410 Superamerica Series III Coupe, $1,760,000 1933 Packard Twelve Coupe, $1,622,500 1958 Ferrari

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Monterey Auto Week: rare car auctions to vintage racing

There’s no official “umbrella organization.” It’s just known as Monterey Auto Week. Events come and go, themes and locations change, and it’s all traditionally wrapped up with the Concours d’Elegance at Pebble Beach. But for car enthusiasts, it’s an entire week of all things automotive – vintage racing to memorabilia to rare car auctions. It’s car nirvana. Although some of the events have already occurred, here’s the full calendar of event the Monterey Auto Week, 2010. Monday, August 9th * The Quail Rally – 8 a.m.—10 p.m., Quail Lodge Resort/8205 Valley Greens Drive, Carmel CA 93923 Tuesday, August 10th * The Quail Rally – 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., Quail Lodge Resort | 8205 Valley Greens Drive, Carmel CA 93923

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Rare Bugatti could fetch record price at Monterey Auto Week auction

The Bugatti, boasting its original bodywork, engine and gearbox, is predicted to sell for $4.5 million, which would be the highest price ever paid for a grand prix racing Bugatti. The car is being sold by the British private collector who paid the current world record sum for a Type 35 Bugatti two years ago. Bugatti historian David Sewell said the latest sale, 1931-built chassis 51132, is “a remarkably complete and original car and there is no doubt to its authenticity. It ranks among the finest survivors of the highly desirable Bugatti Type 51 Grand Prix.” The last time a Bugatti Type 51 came to auction, nearly ten years ago in 2001, it sold for more than $1.5 million. Dan

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Concours on the Avenue in Carmel canceled for 2010

Concours on the Avenue, the free, hip and arguably most enjoyable component of Monterey Auto Week, has been canceled this year due to what owners call an “insurmountable financial gap.” “It’s suspended for 2010, but we have every hope that the momentum that we lose can somehow be regained,” said Doug Friedman who ran the show with his wife. “We’re eternally optimistic, even at this tough moment. We have to look to the future. I’ve never given up on anything, so we won’t give up on Concours on the Avenue and Carmel deserving its own signature moment.” Held for the past three years in downtown Carmel, the Concours on the Avenue featured a variety of collectible cars and motorcycles on

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Lamborghini gets dubious honor: least efficient EPA gas mileage averages in 2010

The Italian luxury car has two of the country’s three most inefficient 2010  cars. The Lamborghini Murcielago with manual and automatic transmission have the top and third worst gas mileage, according to the new cars guide released by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Here’s the list: 1. Lamborghini Murcielago (manual) 8 mpg (city), 13 mpg (highway); 2. Bugatti Veyron 8/14; 3. Lamborghini Murcielago (automatic) 9/14; 4. Bentley Azure Bentley Brooklands 9/15; 5. Ferrari 612 Scaglietti (automatic) 10/17; 6. Ferrari 612 Scaglietti (manual) 10/16; 7. Maybach 57 10/15; 8. Bentley Continental Flying Spur Bentley Continental GTC 10/17; 9. Mercedes-Benz ML 63 AMG Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano 11/15; 10. Several BMW, Aston Martin and Porsche vehicles, 11/17. James RaiaA sports, travel and

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Old Cars Weekly: Global database for vintage, race cars

With a foundation of facts on 5,000-plus makes and 15,000 models, Old Cars Report makes available the massive databases accumulated over the past four decades by the publishers of Old Cars Weekly and Old Cars Price Guide. Current market pricing, market trends, historic values, recent auction prices realized, historic data on your make and model car, condition rating scales, photos. Old Cars Report has got it all on a scale that has never been attempted. To get started, visit oldcarsweekly.com and click on the Old Cars Report. Select the make, model and year of the car you want to learn more about. If you aren’t sure of one of those categories, we offer a guided search to help you find

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Monterey Auto Week: Best of show: Concours on the Avenue in Carmel

But since its debut in 2007, Concours on the Avenue in Carmel was the best thing about Monterey Auto Week. Compared to other activities, all with great appeal, the Concours on the Avenue had the most appeal, at least for me, because of its collective calm and coolness factors. How much better does it get than  attainable vintage cars, presented on Ocean Ave., and accompanying side streets in Carmel, jazz playing the background and at an extraordinarily fair price — free. Last year, Porsche and Ferrari were featured Monday, and the other marquees were exhibited Tuesday. This year, the one-day program will include Porsche and Ferrari and a post-WWII marquess on the same day. The concours will be limited to

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