Archive for the ‘Feature’ Category

Shoebox Alternative – 1949 DeSoto Custom

July 13, 2016

Does it ever happen that you’re looking at a listing for a classic car, and you wonder why it’s so inexpensive? No doubt for most people it’s the opposite – why is this so expensive – but sometimes you come across a car that not only seems cheap, but also doesn’t appear to be bait for people hoping to steal your email address and sell it. Because if you were going to try to steal email addresses, you’d probably use the aforementioned expensive brands, not an orphan brand like DeSoto. Anyhow, proving that there must still be good values out there for the open-minded enthusiast is this 1949 DeSoto Custom for sale for $4000 in Redmond, OR.

1949 DeSoto Custom right side

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More Grey-Market – 1983 Mercedes 230E

July 12, 2016

So, let’s start off with an apology to readers in Europe, Asia, Africa, and Oceania, because you’re looking at what was until recently an ordinary used car. To make up for it, the next feature will have to be a North American-market car with oversized impact bumpers, a nose-high stance, rectangular sealed beam headlights, and, uh, an 85mph speedometer. With that out of the way, on to the feature car – Mercedes’ W123 is one of the pillars upon which the company’s reputation was built, and depending on your experiences, you could say the one upon which they are now resting. While the diesel-powered cars dominated sales in North America, the gasoline-powered cars were a little more lively, the 136hp M102 four-cylinder giving 136hp and 148 lb.-ft. of torque. Let’s take a look at this 1983 Mercedes 230E for sale for $1300 in Veneta, OR.

1983 Mercedes 230E left front

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Opposite of Curvy – 1984 Volvo 240 DL TurboDiesel

July 11, 2016

With the giant charlie-foxtrot that is the plight of the only new manually-shifted turbodiesel car in North America, what possibilities are there for drivers who still lust after that formula? There’s not much on the new market, and now’s probably not the right time to trawl the market for a used VW TDI. So that leaves earlier used VWs, and European cars of the late 1970s and early 1980s like Peugeots, Mercedes, and the odd Volvo here and there. Sometimes you’ll have to turn to grey-market cars, like this 1984 Volvo 240 DL TurboDiesel for sale for $3100 in Clearview, WA.

1984 Volvo 240 TurboDiesel left front

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