Press "Enter" to skip to content
Warning!
We have 15 years of archives. Links older than a year may have been updated to point to similar cars available to bid on eBay.

Year: 2017

This site contains Ebay partner affiliate links, which may earn us a commission at no additional cost to you.

1972 Mercedes-Benz 600

Sometimes cars and people just go together. Cars can mimic someones personality and mannerisms, both good and bad. So when it comes to matching up the legendary Mercedes-Benz 600, a car known as one of the most technologically advanced and complex cars ever, to someone who isn’t an entertainer or a dictator, who wants to own one of these? Enter Dr. Forrest Bird. You’ve probably never heard of that name before, just as I haven’t, but he is responsible for pioneering mechanical ventilators for people with acute and chronic heart and lung afflictions. In layman’s terms, he made the iron lung obsolete and helped millions of people over the years. Not only that, he was a certified pilot by the age of 16, served in WWII and assisted in the Korean and Vietnam wars, took his technology company public on the NASDAQ, opened up a museum, earned a M.D., Ph.D., Sc.D., D.S., started a charter school and just to top it all off, was awarded medals by not one, but two acting United States Presidents. Suddenly the problems of owning a 600 don’t seem so large.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1972 Mercedes-Benz 600 on eBay

1 Comment

1988 Porsche 911 Carrera Targa Police Car

From a purchasing perspective this car really will only be of interest to serious collectors, but that doesn’t mean we can’t just enjoy what it is. We’ve seen police versions of Porsches before. It’s kind of cool to consider such cars being used for patrol work. They’re certainly better than the ubiquitous Crown Vic in the US. Of course, US police roll in a few interesting coupes as well. I know I’ve seen Mustangs and Camaros pulling people, but those aren’t quite a 911. Given the typically higher speed limits of many European highways I can understand the need for better performing patrol cars.

This one went into duty for the Dutch Rijkspolitie. Based off of a 3.2 Carrera Targa it’s fitted with the standard police lights and sirens and even came with a set of the phone dial wheels, which we rarely see on 911s from this period. This one has a good number of miles on it and we always might wonder about the maintenance and severity of those miles given the sort of usage a police car is likely to see, but I don’t think most buyers would be expecting to use this as a daily driver. It’ll be tucked away and preserved. It’s current condition looks quite good though.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1988 Porsche 911 Carrera Targa Police Car on eBay

1 Comment

1984 Volkswagen GTI

We’ve had plenty of Volkswagen A1 chassis to look at recently, from the neat Jetta Turbo Diesel we’ll be seeing again soon through the string of very awesome Sciroccos from both the first and second generation. I’ve also looked at quite a few GTIs, from the second, third and fourth generation. But for all that love, I’ve somehow managed to avoid combining the two and covering what is arguably the most famous modern Volkswagen – the original GTI.

Today I hope to rectify that with today’s last-year example of what many consider to be the original ‘hot hatch’. While the U.S. example was somewhat watered-down and had chunkier styling than the truly Spartan 1976 design, it was still a revelation in performance and universally heralded as the benchmark by which all other sporty economy cars would be based moving forward. At a time when there were few do-it-all type cars, the GTI managed to be nearly all things to all people; it got good fuel economy thanks to a relatively miserly 1.8 liter inline-4 with efficient fuel injection. It looked neat, thanks to 14″ alloy wheels, wide fender flared and blacked-out detail work with red accent stripes. It was functional and flexible, with fold-down seats and a (for its size) spacious hatch area to transport goods. It was usable year-round, with front-wheel drive allowing for decent snow traction. And the sport suspension, heavily bolstered seats and close-ratio transmission made the whole package an athletic alternative to the norm, allowing practical-minded men and women to fling their family car through corners with aplomb. Near universal was its appeal, and infectious were the ad campaigns, which in the Volkswagen tradition used short phrases to capture attention like “They’re going fast” and “Serious Fun” – even the oft-used “It’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing”.

“So what do Germans do for fun? They love to drive. Preferably in a Volkswagen GTI. Because the GTI is designed to be fun. Not fun in the sense of a dashboard cluttered with all sorts of doodads. But fun in the sense of a precision machine that respects and answers its driver’s every wish.

Hyperbole? Certain, this is advertising after all. But it pointed towards the beautiful simplicity of the design, the functionality of the package, the elegance of the execution. The GTI didn’t pretend to be a Corvette like the Opel GT, or a luxury car like the Passat. It wasn’t competing with Mercedes-Benz, or even really Porsche, on any level. And that allowed the characteristically unfun Germans to let their hair down and have a bit of a ball:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1984 Volkswagen GTI on eBay

1 Comment

Tuner Tuesday: 1998 BMW M Roadster Dinan S3

Edit 11/3/2017 – I looked at this Dinan modified M Roadster last August, but there was little information and it hung around for quite a while at $25,000. It has now moved on to a new seller who has taken some more photos and raised the price $4,000. After last month claiming it was an ISR3, the seller has confirmed what our comment from Eric indicated – it’s “just” a S3 Roadster. It has about 1,000 more miles since last year but still looks relatively reasonably priced if you like the color combination and gutsy Dinan modifications – Ed

The other day I was talking with my friend about Turner Motorsports. I first met Will Turner when he was a BMWCCA instructor, just trying to establish his business of selling parts on the side. He and his compatriots all sported E30 M3s; this was, after all, the days before the launch of the U.S. E36 M3. Turner managed to parlay early success in a local modification scene outside of Boston into a countrywide business, and after some time in the club race scene he moved into the major leagues. Success against better funded teams was sometimes difficult, but today Turner is still alive and very much kicking, having become one of the two defacto factory-backed teams running the M6 GT3. To get to that point of factory involvement is an arduous journey to say the least, and few who start out make it.

One other who did was Steve Dinan, who took a niche tuning business from the 1980s into a factory option today. You can walk down to your dealer and order up a fully backed, Dinan modified car. That took a tremendous amount of work and is a testament to the quality of the products on offer from Dinan. They truly take the well-engineered BMWs to the next level, but modifying them to do so can be quite pricey. Take today’s M Roadster, for example. While it wasn’t exactly a cheap car to begin with, with entry level prices in 1998 starting around $42,000. This M Roadster, though, went on to get a further $36,000 in modifications from Dinan:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1998 BMW M Roadster Dinan S3 on eBay

1 Comment

1958 Porsche 356A Convertible D

Over the weekend I looked at a pretty nice 911 Speedster up for sale. It was, as usual, very expensive, but also quite desirable. That Speedster, of course, hearkens back to the ethos of the original 356 Speedster though it is far from as spartan a ride as those very early Porsches. In fact, we might see the 911 Speedster to have greater relation to the Speedster’s successor, which is the car we see here: the Convertible D.

The Speedster was a sales success for Porsche as a gentleman’s racer: a car that could be used during the weekly commute, but then on the weekend with its stripped down features it just as easily proved to be a capable car around the track. That said, it may have been too spartan for such dual purpose. It sold well initially and then those sales slowed. Porsche then introduced the Convertible D, which added a few creature comforts back. It borrowed a standard set of seats from the 356 Coupe to replace the Speedster’s hard buckets and raised the windshield height just a bit. It even gave you the option of winding the windows. Such luxury! The Convertible D was a little bit of a compromise, but these were still pretty much no frills open-top cars.

Like the Speedster the Convertible D remains very desirable, though a few notches down the value scale. The one we see here looks absolutely beautiful: a restored Meissen Blue 1958 Porsche 356A Convertible D, located in Colorado, with Red interior.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1958 Porsche 356A Convertible D on eBay

1 Comment