Heat Wave Weekend – 1982, 1979, and 1977 Alfa Romeo Spider Veloce

June 3, 2016

Something about the prospect of a very hot weekend on the western seaboard brings to mind the idea of a convertible in which to enjoy all that sun. And what’s better than spending a hot weekend like that in a car with vinyl seats, no roof, and no air conditioning, plus a noticeable lack of insulation from the engine’s heat? Kidding aside, what’s particularly nice about a convertible on very hot days is going out for an evening drive with the top down – you can enjoy the breeze and the engine sounds without having to layer up, and without the sun burning you up. So in honor of the heat wave, here are a handful of Alfa Spiders. Let’s start with this 1982 Alfa Romeo Spider Veloce for sale for $4500 in Rosamond, CA.

1982 Alfa Romeo Spider Veloce 2 left front

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Go to Heckflosse – 1963 Mercedes 220 Sb

June 2, 2016

If you’re looking for a classic that could make a solid daily driver, with good durability and reliability, but the usual Volvo/Toyota/American classics are not your thing, you could do worse than looking at the postwar Mercedes lineup. These were the years during which Mercedes built up their reputation for elegant, conservative, and cost-no-object engineered cars that would, with thoughtful maintenance, go far further into the six-figure mileage numbers than any of their contemporaries. That said, many of those cars involve a performance sacrifice, being equipped with not-so-powerful four cylinder diesel or gasoline engines, sometimes paired with automatic transmissions, so it’s nice to see an affordable old fintail with a six. Check out this 1963 Mercedes 220 for sale for $3250 in Portland, OR.

1963 Mercedes 220 right rear

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Before B4 – 1990 Audi 90 Quattro 20v

June 1, 2016

For their third generation of compact sedans, Audi moved away from VW and put the typ 89/8A on its own platform. And for the first time, Audi had a world wide naming convvention – no more Fox or 4000 (what about those names was any better than a 2-digit number, anyway?). While the previous generation B2 cars were said to target BMW and Mercedes, Audi took things a lot further in this generation, offering something more than an upgraded VW. Starting in 1989, you could get your Audi 90 with a 20v 2.3-liter inline 5-cylinder engine and quattro, continuing Audi’s indecisiveness – 4 was not good enough, while 6 was just too bourgeois – but also giving drivers a direct connection to Audi’s successful rally heritage. Not many were sold in North America, and even fewer survive 26 years on, but one of the survivors is this 1990 Audi 90 Quattro 20v for sale for $2999 (was $3000 too much?) in Lynnwood, WA.

1990 Audi 90 Quattro 20v left front

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