Archive for the ‘Feature’ Category

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Geely-licious! 1972 Volvo 145E

February 5, 2010

There’s been quite a bit of talk about Volvo lately, what with the sale of the company to Geely wrapping up, and in my little world, a recent feature of a 142S on BringATrailer.com. So I thought I’d try to find an interesting Volvo built in the times when things were simple. When Geely was just a glint in Li Shufu’s eye, and when Volvo was a purely Swedish company. When selling 3 versions of the same brick-shaped car (and a mildly sporting coupe/shooting brake) was considered sufficient to run a business.

So here it is, the 1966 Teknikens Värld car of the year, the fuel injected Volvo 140-series wagon, or 145E. My fantasy has always been that one of these might be fun to drive, or maybe to flog on a dirt road in the mountains. Like many older Volvos, it’s well-used, but underneath it appears to be a well-loved car that’s had some cleaning up already done to it. You can find this Volvo in North Portland, OR for $1500.

1972 Volvo 145 front

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Euro Ford Fever – 1987 Merkur XR4Ti plus bonus Capri

February 2, 2010

Along with the Alfa Milano and Peugeot 405 Mi16, the Merkur XR4Ti imported by Ford in the second half of the 80s is an under-appreciated alternative to more common cars in its category, such as E30 BMW 3-series or M3, Mercedes 190E 2.3-16, and Saab/Volvo turbos. It’s got unusual styling that was very modern in the 80s, keeping up with the baby Benz but making the 3-series and Swedes look very dated. Nonetheless, it did not get the same kind of popular appreciation, no doubt thanks to poor marketing on the part of Ford/Lincoln-Mercury, who were as excited about pushing high-margin floaty-boats like the Town Car and Cougar (couldn’t sell a car with that name nowadays!) as they were in the days of, say, the Capri.

As with many under-appreciated cars, good examples are hard to find. I’ve been keeping my eyes open for a clean example of one of these for many moons now, and this is the first one I’ve found which I would take seriously. Most are project cars that have blown turbos, missing exhaust components, and faded paint. The bonus of being under-appreciated is that even the really nice cars are affordable, and this one seems to be a case in point. Behold, for $2500, this solid looking example in Mesa, AZ. With only 123K miles and running great, it looks like a decent deal.

1987 Merkur XR4Ti front

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So many cars, so little time – 1972 BMW Bavaria

January 29, 2010

I’m sure I’m not the only one in the world to think this way, but every so often I’ll see a car I want, that really fits the bill for me, and hold back on acting on it because the angel on my right shoulder beats up the devil on my left, and I do nothing. That explains why in the last few weeks I’ve passively passed on a 1975 Alfetta GT, a 1969 Alfa Berlina, and now this car. Two of those are in my own back yard, and probably didn’t sell, but there are so many other things to do… home projects, moving, wedding planning, getting the Beta sedan through smog with an eye towards selling it, and hey, maybe spending a bit of time with friends and fiancee.

So let’s focus in on the most recent example of my tale of automotive woe. As you might have noticed from earlier posts, even reject cars from a popular marque pique my interest, and the Bavaria definitely qualifies here. I’ve written before about the many attractions of this model of car, and my only significant criteria with these are they be manual shift and reasonably rust-free, since the money’s not in them to fix their bodies up significantly. The most recent Bav to pop up is this 1972, for sale in Menlo Park for $2600.

1972 BMW Bavaria front

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