Sometimes you come across a listing that has to have an interesting back story – clues in the picture suggest it’s more than just hoarding or someone selling a no-longer-needed car. Today’s feature is such a listing – both cars look like they were once in great shape, and the seller had broad enough interests to have both an iconic American coupe and an unconventional Italian sedan. Check out this 1968 Alfa Romeo Berlina and 1965 Ford Mustang, for sale for $1500 (for both!) in Tampa, FL.
People like to make fun of American manufacturers’ products from the late 1970s, but while recognizing there were some real blunders in there, you have to look at what the manufacturers were going through. And for a good idea of that, just look at today’s pair of cars. They’re separated by a mere 12 years (okay, and the Atlantic separated the two product teams), but compare those two to, say, a 2003 Taurus and a 2015 Fiesta and you’ll notice how relatively drastic the transition was. Of course, the situation was uniquely disastrous in the short term – a fuel crisis combined with new safety and emissions controls gave them a repeated clobbering. Check out this 1968 Ford XL for sale for $3600 in Spokane, WA.
Let’s face it, when you think of a classic car with some outstanding technological features for the period and appeal for the entire family, Oldsmobile coupes are not necessarily the first thing that come to mind. But look a little deeper, and you’ll realize that not only were these one of GM’s most successful designs of the period, they were also one of the out-of-the-box GM cars of the 1960s (along with the Corvair, Tempest, and more), and being American, were only available with an automatic transmission. Conveniently, they’re also back in style with the influence of Mad Men on our aesthetic sensibilities. Check out this 1968 Oldsmobile Toronado for sale for $4500 in Winnsboro, TX.
Rusty But Trusty 