Rhymes With? – 1976 Pontiac Sunbird

December 1, 2015

Speaking of once-popular cars that are now largely forgotten, this is one that is popular because it was produced by GM with its strong distribution network, but not because it had much intrinsic virtue. Basically a rebadged, slightly refined Chevrolet Vega, it was only offered in the notchback body style and intended to compete with “sporty” coupes like the Mustang II, Capri, Datsun 200SX, and Toyota Celica. And it was certainly there on the field, but whether it truly competed was another question. Check out this 1976 Pontiac Sunbird for sale for $3995 in Foley, MN.

1976 Pontiac Sunbird left front

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Safety Orange – 1976 Mercury Capri II Pair

December 1, 2015

If you’re a music lover, you’ll most likely be familiar with the sensation of going back to an album you liked, but haven’t listened to in a long time, and rediscovering why you liked those songs or the musicians that created them. Part of the mission here is to do the same for once-popular (and sometimes not-so-popular) cars that have faded into obscurity, a good example of which is the Ford/Mercury Capri. The Capri was originally sold as the sexy European, but by the time the second generation car had arrived, the 2.3-liter car had gained 476 pounds over the original 1970 1.6 Kent-engined car, had lost several of the design flourishes of the original, and together with a new hatch, had matured into the “pleasantly plump and practical European”. Which might have been a great tagline for commercials, but a weakening dollar and the arrival of the Fox-body Mustang in 1978 meant North American Capris did not last long. Check out this 1976 Mercury Capri II for sale for $3000 in Rialto, CA.

1976 Mercury Capri right front

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Mean Greenie – 1988 Alfa Romeo Milano Verde

November 30, 2015

BMW’s E30 and E10 sedans are great, balanced cars, but while they are great cars with nice engines, what if you wanted something a little more, um, niche-y? Around the same time as BMW was selling their E30 sedan, Alfa Romeo offered the 161 sedan, with a 154hp 2.5-liter V6 as seen in the GTV6, or a 188hp 3.0-liter V6 for the top-of-the-line Verde version. While it’s not recognized as such, this car, by numbers and performance, is a viable alternative to an E30 M3 or Mercedes 190E 2.3-16 at a fraction of the cost of entry. Of course, let’s not mention the divisive styling, timing belt and tensioner changes, or the ARC, basically a renamed idiot light display panel. Check out this 1988 Alfa Romeo Milano Verde for sale for $4000 in Seattle, WA.

1988 Alfa Romeo Milano Verde right front

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