This next car's name reads like a smörgåsbord of terrible automotive cliches, starting with the defunct Ford spin-off known as Mercury and concluding with Brougham, the horse drawn carriage named after a Scottish Lord...but first we've some explaining to do. Find this 1977 Mercury Cougar Villager Brougham Wagon here on eBay
Last week's What Am I? was a particularly tricky puzzle put forward by K2, but this week we get back to the basics -- a highly cropped picture of the inside of a car. This might look difficult, but someone will have driven/owned/crashed one of these cars and will solve it in minutes.
Many sellers on Craigslist write preposterous statements about their BMW such as-- BMW 318i, M-Sport, basically an M3 with better fuel economy. This is good stuff, except that it isn't an M car any more than it is a cancer fighting cure for ebola on the end of a Q-tip. Simply put, a modern M-package 3/5-series isn't anything like a real M car and misses all the good stuff that takes the average BMW from a simple family luxo-sedan to a track monster. However, there was a time when the M-badge was actually placed by the factory on the E28 5-series for the European market, and it makes a case for a spot in your garage. Like this 1985 BMW M535i offered for $8250 in Lexington, KY via craigslist. Tip from FuelTruck.
This next bike comes from tipster Zach who writes: "No word as to what the actual condition is, but hey, a new 1981 inline 6 cylinder motorcycle. What isn't to like?" I can't argue with that, if this bike with 3 miles on it, is in as good of shape as the one picture in the ad indicates. Find this 1981 Honda CBX with 3 miles on the odometer here for sale in Fairbanks, AK for $6,000 via craigslist.
When you see car with an airbrushed black panther (or puma or cougar) on the hood you tend to take notice, especially if that car is an oddball French built sportscar with 3-wide seating. When this next tip came in from the slew of good stuff from the mysterious tipper only known as FuelTruck (don't ask me if he (she?) drives a fuel truck, fuels truck, or trucks fuel -- cause I dunno) and I instantly recognized it as something from the eclectic garage of a Jalopnik commenter named Junkman. Find this 1983 Matra Murena offered for $9,500 in Cleveland, OH via craigslist. Tip from FuelTruck.
BMWs legendary 3-series was enjoying the success of its 2nd generation 3-series when they released the freshly styled 3rd generation known as the E36 in 1992. It was available as a coupe, convertible, sedan, wagon, and even a hatchback...but BMW never built a ute* version. That job they left for the madmen with the tools and garage space. Find this 1997 BMW 328is Pickup Truck (El Camino!) offered for $5,500 in Long Beach, CA via craigslist.
For what seemed like decades the sight of Ford's Crown Victoria headlights in your mirror would reflexively bring a throttle lift to many an driver, ruining Porsches that happened to be mid turn and generally clogging up the roads. Ford ended fleet sales of the aging Crown Vic in 2011, but Police Departments around the country were finding new sources for their pursuit vehicles from Chrysler and GM -- and today's used cop car comes from the land of the ram horns. Find this 2010 Dodge Charger RT Police special offered for $9,999 in Yorba Linda, CA via craigslist.
Ford had a massive issue back in the 1990s with Explorers exploring the roll over integrity of their chassis on a regular basis. In the end Ford managed to transfer most of the blame to Firestone tires, but a top heavy truck equipped with tires that spontaneously combusted like a drummer from Spinal Tap was a bad combination for all involved. But today's sunny-side-down Explorer has a celebrity connection that is difficult to beliebe, but hilarious...Find this 1995 Ford Explorer offered for $14,000 in Venice, CA via craigslist. Tip from Tom.
Mercedes-Benz started competing against BMW's benchmark M3 way back in the 1980s with their W201 based 190E 2.3-16V. The Cossie tuned 190E was eventually replaced with the competent W202 C36 AMG, which was replaced by the brutish C43 AMG, but they were still playing catch-up until they released the W203 generation C32 AMG. Find this 2002 Mercedes-Benz C32 AMG offered for $4,700 in Hollywood, CA via craigslist. 
This week on the DT Radio Show Chris, Vince and Ben are back with another episode with special guest star Gianni who joins us via skype. We discuss cars, dirt fishing, and a new spec game that goes horribly awry. Enjoy!
As Volkswagen Beetles converted into Woodie wagons go, they aren't as rare as you might think. DT has featured three of them so far...better scratch another tally mark in the wall of your cell, dear reader, because here comes the fourth. Find this 1965 Volkswagen Beetle custom woodie for sale in Bloomington, MN for $10,800 via craigslist. Tip from Graeme in Minneapolis.
This next SUV masquerading as a sports car is a submission from seller TEAM Sportmachines which is a supplier of various Typhoon, Syclone, and Sonoma GT parts, service, and speed. The car is their shop truck which is covered in an appropriately nutty camo wrap and offered for a decent price. Find this 1993 GMC Typhoon offered for $12,800 in Victor, NY via craigslist or on the Sportmachines.net website.
We will record another lively episode of the DT Radio Show this afternoon (Friday 6pm PST). CFlo & Vince will be in the studio, and Gianni will join us via skype where we will talk about the homeless problem in So Cal. Got a question for anyone -- post it below or e-mail a voice/video recorded question to dtradio@dailyturismo.com
The car world is filled with all sorts of Hatfield vs McCoy style feuds, that seem to be based less on murder/incest and more on not liking how the other OEM designed the chrome on their grille. For this week's Coffee Brake, I want to open up the discussion about those feuds.
Update 28-Aug-2015: The Jaguar XJ6 sedan is a supreme highway car with ample supply of passing torque(s) from its silky smooth inline six, a calming aura of sophistication emanates from its finely chisel features -- and the only thing that would make it better is a pickup bed in the back. Find this 1989 Jaguar XJ6 Pickup still for sale, but now discounted to $9,500 in Seattle, WA. Tip from Dave.
The Citroën SM was originally built as a high end GT car with a
sophisticated Citroën suspension system and a Maserati V6, but today due to the magic of dépréciation, they are cheap cheap cheap! The French self leveling suspension
was a regressive system so that if you were a tycoon who weighed 300 lbs or a poor internet blogger who weighs 110 lbs, you would both sit
at the same level...très progressive! Find this 1972 Citroen SM offered here on eBay 
The Triumph TR7 was a wedged shaped 
Welcome back to another episode of the Thursday Twister, where the quiz reads like a Colorado public school exam for a hydroponics class -- everybody knows who they are, but nobody really knows where this bus is going. Today we are going to build a list of
all factory cars equipped with self leveling suspension, because...well...why not. |
| image from http://www.roversd1.info/misc/suspension.html |
