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The eighties would be an end of an era for people wanting to privately import their own example of a vehicle not officially offered for US sale. Mounting legislation would make it impossible to import a vehicle under 25 years of age unless it met federal safety and emissions standards or if it was granted an exception under show and display status. Truth be told, the number of folks willing to go to the expense and trouble of private vehicle importation is rather small, but now the door was closed to bringing over cars such as this 1986 Mercedes-Benz 500SEC, with its higher output V8 and slimmer bumpers that connoisseurs of the marque love. The C126 coupe was a masterfully graceful design, sandwiched between the somewhat awkwardly proportioned C107 SLC coupe and the large and in charge C140 coupe.
In the world of race cars, there’s something that gives enthusiasts like me raised hairs on the back of the neck. ‘Body in white’ cars are cars that were never sold to the public, but turned directly into racers either by a third party or by the manufacturer itself. What is extra special about them is that as more or less dedicated race cars, they were often sent with less options or even devoid of items that racers love to rip off. It might be no interior, less wiring, or a lack of undercoating but it all translates to the same thing – less weight, faster lap times and more wins. Today’s Volkswagen Golf may look like a run of the mill pocket-rocket racer that someone built in their garage, but it has an interesting history:
Earlier this week I posted a DoKa of such questionable taste that I would have posted it in our Friday Fail series if the auction had lasted long enough. Well, today we’ll right those wrongs with a Friday Win in the form of a gorgeous but barely-modified DoKa. It comes one owner removed from GoWesty, who, for all my gripes about their ludicrous prices, certainly do things right and take excellent care of Volkswagen vans. This one has been repainted in the Playmobil-perfect and T2-correct light blue with black bedliner on the lower portions as well as the bed and hinged sides. With just 95k miles, it has decades of life left in it. It may be on the utilitarian side of things with no frills inside or out (not even a Euro-map GPS!), but you can bet that the condition and GoWesty history will help it collect some serious interest.
We’ve seen some cool examples of the standard 535i recently, and today we have another clean, low-mileage example that is coming from its original owner. With just 116k miles, it looks pretty impeccable inside and out. The one main detraction is the automatic, but on the flipside it was just replaced. Having to drop some serious cash on the transmission and brakes was apparently enough for him to decide it was time to move on, as it’s up for sale with no reserve.
The E28 M5 was one of those cars that moved the chains forward in the automotive spectrum. These were sedans that would popularize the idea that a four-door car need not be boring family transport. The inaugural year for the M5 would be 1985, but North America would not see this performance sedan until the 1988 model year rolled around. At that time, all destined for that market would be painted black, replete with crash bumpers and most coming equipped with a tan leather interior. In other markets, the options were a bit more diverse, as is the case with this 1985 M5 for sale in Minnesota. With its slim bumpers and headlamp wipe/wash system, it has that Euro look so many strive for. In this case, however, the look is authentic. Also, the aftermarket McIntosh stereo is also a nice touch, given that these are not cheap systems and replicate the look of period head units quite nicely.
