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2011 Porsche 911 GT3 RS 4.0

With the current iteration of Porsche’s 911 GT3 RS now having been on the streets for nearly a year why not take another look at its predecessor and, in some ways, most natural competitor, the 997 GT3 RS 4.0. Released right at the end of 997 production, the GT3 RS 4.0 appeared to extract every possible ounce of power from the usable space of the 997. It’s a tried-and-true formula of stuffing the largest engine into the smallest space and then keeping weight to a minimum. But for some the real comparison comes not in the design or the performance, though both are very important, but rather in the piloting. The GT3 RS 4.0 appears to be the last of the breed that will come with a fully manual transmission, with the current – and presumably all future – generations of the model all coming equipped standard with PDK. This is a distinction that may largely be of concern to collectors as the last manual GT3 RS should be a prized commodity over time, but I’m sure there are some who simply desire the ability to row their own gears. The GT3 RS 4.0 we see here may be aimed more squarely at that crowd as it shows with a few more miles than is typical with these machines, and as such has a somewhat lower price tag relative to lower-mileage examples we’ve come across. For those searching for that money-no-object toy the GT3 RS 4.0 ticks just about every box.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2011 Porsche 911 GT3 RS 4.0 on eBay

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Kermit’s Other Car: 1980 Volkswagen Dasher Diesel Wagon

In a strange twist of fate I promise was not entirely planned, we are heading from probably the most expensive and complicated Passat to the other end of the spectrum – the spiritual great-great Grandfather in this 1980 Dasher Diesel Wagon. A few weeks ago, I took a look at a very green 1980 5000 and suggested that it might be Kermit’s commuter. But if Kermit was a family man, something like this Volkswagen might have been the choice he’d make in 1980. The Dasher Diesel wasn’t sporty; you could read a Dan Brown novel in the time it would take you to leave a light and hit 60 miles per and hour at full chat. But it would get over 40 miles per a gallon and if properly (and sometimes improperly) maintained, these diesels are still clacking like new today. However, like the Passat W8, the Dasher falls into a strange gray area of lack of enthusiasm. For every other 1980 Volkswagen model you can find large groups of fans, but the Dasher – despite its unique three different configurations at that time – can’t find much love these days. Like the Audi 5000 from the other day, can this Onyx Green Metallic with matching green velour find a frog fanatic?

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1980 Volkswagen Dasher Diesel Wagon on eBay

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2003 Volkswagen Passat W8 4Motion Variant

Volkswagen is really great at theory, but not so much at execution. They’ve had a long line of really strange marketing decisions which have at times left the company in dire straights. One wonders how Volkswagen will emerge in the wake of the recent diesel scandal, for example, though many other manufacturers like Mitsubishi (you forgot they still made cars, didn’t you? Me too.) are doing their best to usurp VW’s crown as a manufacturing pariah. Yet, Volkswagen has so many debacles it has run its customers through that it should be amazing they come back for more at all. In the early 1990s, they mis-rated the timing belt service intervals on the early V8 quattros. The result was, predictably, a bunch of engine replacements. The 1.8T became notorious for turbo sludge problems, too – rectified with larger filters and synthetic-only oil, but a fair number (including my Passat) had factory turbo replacement. The 3.0 V6? A timebomb of metal shards working their way from the passenger rear of the motor through the engine, thanks to what appears to be an oil starvation design flaw. The 2.7Ts, 4.2s and all of the FSi motors? Known issues, sometimes very large and expensive. Coil packs, unnecessarily complicated PSV systems, transmissions made of glass and clogging sunroof channels? All the norm in your VAG experience. But Volkswagen really outdid themselves by making a complicated system even more complicated when they introduced the 4.0 W8 into the Passat. Sure, it was a test bed for later W12 models, and viewed in that light it makes some sense. But then, the Passat shown here is much more rare than the Bentleys and even some of the A8 W12 models that derived experience from the B5.5. Volkswagen could simply have taken any one of their proven engines and provided the answer to whatever question they were posing when they conceived this vehicle. Instead, they did things differently. That’s both something to celebrate and something to point out as an inherent character flaw:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2003 Volkswagen Passat W8 4Motion Variant on eBay

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1999 BMW M3 Convertible

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The E36 M3 has a curious reputation. Not quite a legendary track machine like its predecessor, the E30, and not quite a sublimely complete driver’s car like its successor, the E46, the E36 is the awkward middle child of the M family. Even BMW themselves seemed only half-heartedly committed to the car in America, choosing to offer it here with a less powerful engine than its European cousin. The resulting antipathy felt toward the car by some M-purists, who regard it as little more than a 328i with M-badging, has kept values low on these for quite some time. As a result, many of the used examples you find on Craigslist have been bought cheaply and thrashed, crashed or otherwise abused.

Still, they are very good cars – torquey, well-balanced and offering a dynamic driving experience. It’s always nice to come across a low mileage example in mint condition that has been kept in stock form. This convertible in stunning Techno Violet is such a car.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1999 BMW M3 Convertible on Hemmings

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1989 Mercedes-Benz 300SE

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$7,000 doesn’t get you a whole lot of new car these days, but it is surprising just how much old Mercedes it will buy you. In fact that’s the asking price for this W126 S-class. Produced between 1979 and 1991, the W126 represents the pinnacle of Mercedes-Benz design and engineering from the period. Penned by the illustrious Bruno Sacco, it remains an extraordinarily handsome car, with taut lines and stately proportions. I saw one parked on the streets of Washington, DC the other day and literally got off my bike to stop and admire it for a few minutes. These cars are timeless and, even today, look perfectly at home parked in front of an embassy, ready to ferry a diplomat to some high level meeting.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1989 Mercedes-Benz 300SE on Autotrader

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