Generally speaking, 1974 was the final year for chrome bumpers on US-market cars, so at this point, we’re at the 40th anniversary of FMVSS 215 and its diving-board-bumper impact on automotive styling. Some manufacturers (BMW and Mercedes, for example) were proactive and had their 1974 model year cars already restyled, but smaller volume manufacturers like Alfa Romeo, Fiat and most British makes were given some leeway. The Alfa Spider was one of those cars, and while you can see the 1974 bumpers protrude more and have little nipples on the strike face, they’re still much cleaner than the updated 1975 battering rams. Check out this 1974 Alfa Romeo Spider Veloce, for sale for $2700 in Austin, TX.
Posts Tagged ‘sportscar’
40 This Year – 1974 Alfa Romeo Spider Veloce
May 22, 20147 and 7 – 1980 Triumph TR7 duo
May 9, 2014When it debuted in 1975, the Triumph TR7 was marketed as “the shape of things to come”, which, incidentally, is also the title of an H. G. Wells book establishing a world state as the solution to humanity’s problems. Both were a pretty dramatic change from the past – in the case of the British sports car, it was going from a traditional roadster with its roots in the 1960s to a modern car that often fails to get attention nowadays because it was indeed what its tagline predicted. Much more successful, common cars like the Mazda RX-7, any front-engine Porsche sportscar, and the eighties Nissan Z-cars were all wedges, which makes the TR7 seem less radical these days. Despite being panned among car enthusiasts (partly well-deserved due to the build quality of the early cars), they sold quite well and are very usable as a modern classic. There were several variations of the wedge body, and we have two for today. Check out this 1980 Triumph TR7 for sale for $3000 in San Rafael, CA.
Number 500 for $500 – 1972 MG Midget
April 21, 2014Today, we’re celebrating the 500th posting here, and what makes more sense than a $500 car to go with the theme? Poking around does not reveal many viable, interesting vehicles at that price – even 20-year-old beater cars seem to fetch more than that. So finding a British classic for that price prompted a sigh of relief, almost – check out this 1972 MG Midget, for sale for $500 in Kendall, WA.


