Enthusiasts Blogging Our Favorite Classifieds
Elvis Presley loved his cars. Or maybe he just liked being seen in cars. Either way, he had his far share of flashy automobiles in his life. Cadillac, Lincoln, Rolls-Royce, Mercedes-Benz highlighted a list which included other not-so-glorious makes that just looked flashy. Often when we see ”Elvis cars” come up for sale, they aren’t actually his cars. Usually they were bought by him and given as gifts to family or friends. Today’s featured 1971 Mercedes-Benz 280SEL isn’t that case.
It’s rather amazing to think it’s been over 20 years since the W124 Mercedes-Benz ceased production. The lines of this car are timeless, in my opinion. The W124 also set the template for the E-class model lineup for years to come. Sedan and estate variants were mainstays, while the E-class coupe and cabriolet transitioned to the CLK moniker for about a decade span only to return back to the E-class coupe and convertible recently. Fast versions have been ever present, as well, beginning with the legendary 500E/E500 in 1992. But we’ll focus on the estate variant today, and this final year E320 Estate for sale in Florida is a looker. With only 85,000 miles on the clock, this Brilliant Silver beauty is bound to make some discerning family happy.
I believe I’ve said this before, but red Porsches have pretty much gone out of style. I can’t remember the last time I saw one on the road and there’s a pretty good chance that if you do see one it will be an older model rather than a 997 or 991. I have no idea why this is the case as red cars still seem prevalent among other marques. But a red Porsche is now a rare thing. This wasn’t always the case. Or, since my memory of the ’80s may be lacking, at the very least we see red Porsches quite frequently on the second hand market. For me, the dearth of red 911s currently available is a negative. I love the look and just like with blue, red seems to contrast well with a wide variety of interior colors making for a good number of excellent color combinations. This particular red Porsche showcases that well as it sits with one of the more rare interior options. Here we have a Guards Red 1988 Porsche 930 Coupe, located in Wisconsin, with a Mahogany leather interior and 49,500 miles on it.
Since joining GCFSB, I’ve resisted the temptation to write up an E30, mostly out of irritation at the overbaked market for the 80s era 3-series. Although we’ve recently featured some nice examples on the site, I’m tired of seeing so many rusted out, half-finished projects for sale with unreasonable price tags attached. And while there are some admittedly well-preserved and desirable cars out there, I can only stare at $150k M3s for so long before becoming bored. What traditionally made the E30 such an attractive proposition was that it offered all the best features of a sporty German sedan – a sorted chassis, a zippy motor and a manual gearbox – for not a lot of money. But as their prices have climbed upwards, so that even tired examples are no longer very cheap, the allure of the E30 has faded, at least for me.
I’ve relented, however, for the sake of this example. That’s because it’s so nice to see such an apparently clean, well-preserved and original E30 on the market. The price isn’t too bad either.
The other day I was stuck behind a brand new Honda Accord Sport in traffic. When I think of modern day Accords, “Sport” is the last word that comes to my mind. I grew up in a household that had a few Accords back in the 1980s and 1990s. These were marvelously engineered machines and utterly reliable. But as the baby boomer generation got older, so did the Accord. Some might welcome the extra girth of the ninth generation Accord, but it is so far removed from the cars I knew and loved in my childhood. But hey, at least you can still spec one with a 6-speed manual. For that, I give Honda my propers.
Back during Accord’s heyday, Volkswagen was busy injecting a bit of sport into the Jetta. This 1988 Jetta GLI 16V is the sedan counterpart to the GTI 16V, perfect for those sporting motorists who might happen to have a child seat in tow. This Jetta has the 1.8 liter 16V four cylinder under the hood good for 127 hp. That doesn’t seem like a lot in this day and age but kept it on par power wise with top spec sedans of its class from Japan. If you couldn’t make the stretch to a BMW in those days, these Jettas were the next best thing when it came to German sport sedans.
