Archive for the ‘Feature’ Category

The OG 9-5 – 1970 and 1972 Saab 95s

December 8, 2015

Saab did some pretty amazing things and had some pretty creative solutions to the question of making better, more efficient cars, but one of the less-celebrated ones was their ability to fit 7 passengers – consider that it’s shorter than the equally weird VW 412 wagon (though their wheelbases are equal), and that car and its Type 3 Squareback sibling will only fit 5 passengers (though with a trunk and frunk, they will take a ton of luggage). If you want to accommodate more than 5 passengers, you’re looking at one of the American mega-wagons, a Land Rover, or, say, a London cab. But that has no trunk to speak of. For today, you have the luxury of cross-shopping two of these creative, quirky cars – first, let’s look at this 1970 Saab 95 for sale for $3500 on Anderson Island, WA.

1970 Saab 95 left front

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Wotary Wagons – 1974 Mazda RX-3 and RX-4

December 7, 2015

You have to admire a company that commits to a concept as seriously as Mazda did with the rotary engine in the early 1970s. And not only did they do that, but they came up with several attractive cars in which to house their engines – even the pickup is one of the better looking compact trucks of its time. What’s more is, instead of keeping the cool, weird stuff to themselves in Japan, they sent it to some lucky North Americans who were blissfully unaware of the upcoming oil crisis. The RX-3 was the most popular of Mazda’s rotary products, though you wouldn’t think it was, given the survival rate. Check out this 1974 Mazda RX-3 wagon for sale for $3000 in Olympia, WA.

1974 Mazda RX-3 Wagon 2 left front

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No Edsel – 1979 AMC Pacer D/L Wagon

December 4, 2015

From a North American perspective, the AMC Pacer is mostly viewed as an albatross – not terribly successful, poor image, and overly futuristic (for 1975) styling. But step back a little to a global perspective, and let go of the cultural baggage, and this car is a real oddball, and for all the right reasons – AMC made an aggressive move during a time of crisis in the US auto industry, and unfortunately the gamble contributed to their demise. Think of it as America’s Citroen DS, or perhaps its Lancia Gamma – the latter is maybe a more apt analogue since it was very creative and interesting to a specific enthusiast subculture, but didn’t do anything to help its maker’s fortunes. Check out this 1979 AMC Pacer DL Wagon for sale for $2395 in Smith Ferry, ID.

1979 AMC Pacer wagon left front

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