Enthusiasts Blogging Our Favorite Classifieds
My late-70s VW knowledge and interest usually circulate the Rabbit and the Vanagon, but today we have an impressively-kept example of the first water-cooled VW sold in the US – the Dasher. It may not be much of a prancer, but if you’re into brown 35 year old, 35mpg everymans cars with hubcaps, today is your day. It’s only covered 49k miles in those 35 years, leaving it crisp and clean inside and out.
I’ll make no excuses for my love of the Audi D2. Sure, it helps that I owned a D11 V8 Quattro, but the reality is that the D2 was, at least in my opinion, a better looking car than its competition from BMW and Mercedes-Benz. It was clear when the original “Aluminum Space Frame” (ASF) concept launched in 1993 that Audi had jumped the game up. No longer would they rely on a restyled mid-size car for their top of the range executive sedan; the A8 represented an entirely new direction for the company, with revised design language that would last two generations as well as substantially altered technology. That technology made the A8 much lighter than it looked; through use of aluminum, the curb weight of the large A8 was about the same – despite increased levels of luxury, legroom and soundproofing – as the outgoing V8 quattro. Sure, at around 4,000 lbs, it’s no featherlight; but it wore its weight well and elegantly, making it seem like a much sportier and livelier car than the numbers alone would suggest. Then there was the presence that the A8 just oozes; much like the beloved BMW E38, the D2 manages to look long, low and aggressive while still seeming elegant and refined. It’s a combination few large sedans are able to pull off, and from a looks perspective, it’s hard to argue that either of the successive generations of large Audi have surpassed the good looks of the D2.
From a buyers perspective, these cars are also the bargain of the “Big Three” German executives. Generally it’s hard to find a late 1990s A8 in very good condition, but when you do it’s a bit of a treat because they’re generally on offer for about the same money that gets you into a decent A4. If you’re looking for refinement, there’s simply no contest between the two; the A8 wins hands down any day. Coupled with all wheel drive and the quite capable 310 horsepower 40V V8, they’re no slouch on back roads or highways, either. Today, we’re excited to feature this lovely, great condition Canadian-spec 1998 A8 4.2 Quattro from Enthusiast Auto Sales:
Another week, another set of watercooled, front engined, 4-cylinder, non-turbo Porsche coupes. This time, though, it’s the cream of the crop; the highly regarded 968 Coupe. While recently I’ve covered several944 S and S2s, the 968 remains pretty firmly the most desirable of the non-turbo models by most enthusiasts. For good reason, too – it’s a good looking, relatively cheap to maintain Porsche that’s a great driver and combines the awesome look of the 928 and 944 turbo into one package. What’s not to like? Well, in some cases, the pricetag; we’ve featured a few lower mile examples and the asking prices seem to be quite high. The first example is a good illustration of this:
There’s always some debate when an E36 BMW M3 equipped with an automatic gearbox appears on GCFSB. Seems like an out of place option, but I’ve become more accepting of it as I age. A sign that I’m going soft? Perhaps. A bit further north of BMWs home turf, Mercedes-Benz was busy with AMG in the mid-1990s creating their first official in-house collaboration after the company absorbed the tuning firm a few years earlier. Available only with a 4-speed automatic gearbox, the C36 AMG was not what you would call a direct successor to the famous Cosworth tuned 190Es, but it took that prior concept in a more luxury oriented direction per the 500E/E500 formula. This C36 for sale in Arizona has a reasonable 77,000 miles on the clock and is a good way to enjoy your speed discreetly.
As the market for an air-cooled 911 continues to propel itself along the number of rare 1980’s variants we see coming up for sale appears to be increasing as well. Recently, we’ve seen a fairly large number of Slantnose 930s for sale and while there have been fewer we have also come across a number of Speedsters. There is a certain irony to all of this given that in most regards the 911SC and 3.2 Carrera of the ’80s represent some of the best values in the 911 line. The Slantnose and the Speedster, however, do not as most will easily sell for six figures. Here we have a Guards Red 1989 Porsche 911 Speedster with Black interior located in New York.