In the early 1980s, half-cars were a popular way for manufacturers to offer the flexibility of a pickup truck with the fuel economy of a compact car. For competition, there were the VW Rabbit Sportruck and the Subaru Brat, as well as the slightly larger Chevrolet El Camino and Ford Durango. Like the Sportruck, the Rampage/Scamp twins were based on their hatchback sibling, the Dodge Omni/Plymouth Horizon. Although the half-car concept was a certain success in the gas crisis years of the 1970s and early 1980s, Chrysler was only able to sell about 30,000 Rampages from 1982-84. The Scamp was only sold in 1983, and of all Scamps, the GT is the rarest – of about 3600 built, only 1300 were the GT version. To see one example of this future Barrett Jackson success story, check out this 1983 Plymouth Scamp GT, with bidding currently at $2550 and 8 hours left to go in Louisville, KY. Buy it now and you’ll have Hawaiian-shirted, trophy-wife-toting Gen-Xers lined up around the block to buy yours in 2040!
Posts Tagged ‘american’
Half-Car Fever – 1983 Plymouth Scamp
September 26, 2013American Innovation – 1962 Oldsmobile F-85
September 24, 2013Younger folks may remember now-defunct Oldsmobile as the brand that, in spite of advertising itself as “not your father’s Oldsmobile”, was the epitome of that tagline. Towards the end, they were having some success building good cars to try to compete with the Japanese luxury brands with cars such as the Aurora, Intrigue, and Alero. But what many people may not remember is that Olds used to have a reputation for innovation, beating other GM divisions to the punch with the first production turbocharged engine, an early aluminum V8 engine, and the comeback of front-wheel drive in a luxury car. Find today’s innovative 215 Rockette-powered 1962 Oldsmobile F-85 with bidding at $3000 and only 6 hours left in Liberty, KS.
Accessible Design Icon – 1968 Oldsmobile Toronado
September 23, 2013Even though they haven’t always had the lifelong recognition some instant classics like the Jaguar E-type have, partly due to going in and out of fashion, there are quite a few design icons in the post-war repertoire of American manufacturers. While many of the cars Americans love and remember from their childhoods are, with hindsight, oversize, cluttered, and overwrought. That said, there was a golden period for design minimalism in the mid-1960s, and one of the cars to benefit from this fashion is the Oldsmobile Toronado. You can find today’s 1968 Oldsmobile Toronado for $3995 in Malvern, OH.


