My junior year in HS, my dad and I took it from PA on a tour of colleges throughout the South. The A/C was very strong, and the car rode well. Cornering? Not so much, but hey, it's a Caddy.

Very fond memories of that great beast.

I agree that these 425cid's were the last great Caddies. After that, they just got weaker and weaker. Generic GM engines, and then the final insult: Front Wheel Drive.

My sister has a '78, looked just like this. I remember that the paint was flaking off, the body was rusting, and the Burgundy interior has changed to a strange Orange-y kind of color, except in the back where the sun had bleached it almost white.

But it ran like a top for more than 200K miles. It was interesting to see it next to her husband's '78 Alfa Sprint Veloce, which was a beautiful car that NEVER ran.

I second Tanshanomi on the first-gen Prelude, but it HAS to have the concentric gauges to be considered.

Great cruiser, killer a/c, and a rim-blow steering wheel (Yeah, I know that sounds like a pr0n-movie move, but...), and able to seat 6 with room to spare.

Handling? Braking? Steering? Not so much.

All that being said, Crack Pipe. $10K is all the money in the world for this car.

Rare? Yes.

But it's missing the original drivetrain, and it'll take a HUGE pile o' Benjamins to restore to its former glory.

I think we'll find that a couple of teenagers got into the bidding and ran it up as a joke. This will become a famous case of false bids on eBay.

With a fully restored Ford Thunderbolts running about $125K ASKING price in Hemmings, it's way overpriced.

Sprite? Call Moss motors, get our the checkbook, and you're done.

Lancia? Parts are practically nonexistent, the ones you CAN find are hideously expensive, and in the end, everyone asks you how much you like your X 1/9. Even in top shape, Scorpions are SLOW.

And 'Scorpion' is the way cooler name.

Parts are hard to find and insanely expensive, repairs and restoration costs are astronomical, and in the end you'll still be a Magnum PI wannabe with Rogaine stains on the seats.

The NSX is a HONDA, so once you get it running it'll be bulletproof, and where's the Hell in that?

Crack pipe.

Loads of room, rides well on the interstate, and would get 23-24 mpg at a steady 75 mph. Oil change and tranny service, and away you go.

What we've got here is Gallic-Italian Hell versus a ton and a half of scrap Italian steel.

They're Ferraris in the same way as my Bentley brake pedal coasters are actual Bentleys. I could go out and buy the rest of the parts to make a Bentley, but I ain't got no Bentley NOW. And a "clear title" doesn't do much good.

And I'm sure those Ferrari chassis are super straight and without a hint of rust...

I call Citroen by default.

There I was, screaming at Vettel to take Hamilton, which he did, handing the championship to Massa, only to have Glock go wide at the last corner and hand it back to Hamilton.

The next time I'm complaining about how boring F1 has become, I'll cue up the DVD of this race.

Hamilton fully deserved the championship, he won it fair and square. Massa did everything he could do, but it was just not enough. He handled himself in the interview room as a gentleman, acknowledging Lewis and not whining about losing.

Two points to take away:

1) Sebastien Vettel is a freak. The man deserves a front-line ride STAT. What he was able to do with the Toro Rosso was nothing short of a miracle. Coming on the back of his epic win at Monza, Vettel is the new star of F1.
With a budget probably smaller than Mclaren's catering bill, Vettel and STR were giant-killers this season, and I'd imagine he'll have every font-line team knocking on his door this week.
With buckets of cash.

2) I now have Reason #1,242 Not to Buy a Toyota. I can't believe Glock choked like that. Wait, yes I can...

[www.hemmings.com]

On the opposite end of the spectrum, ANY car (other than a Lamborghini), with "Lambo" doors.

The design of the DOHC heads means that there are too few teeth on the timing belt contacting each drive gear on the heads. This puts too much stress on the timing belt and leads to sheared teeth and jumped timing.

Where most designs have the belt driving one cam gear, and then the other cam driven by a slave chain in the head, the Alfa design had the timing belt driving each cam independently. While it look cool with the covers removed, it's very prone to failure.

Oh, and the Alfa V-6 is an "interference" engine, in that the pistons WILL hit the valves if the belt fails. Pistons vs. valves is very much NOT a Good Thing.

Then you're looking at a $6,500 engine rebuild. Not. Fun. Do not ask me how I know this.

All that being said, ANY Alfa is cool by me.

The sound of the Alfa V-6 at full song is a thing of beauty.

But a Russian FIAT? A real-to-life-put-together-by-vodka-swilling-They-Pretend-To-Pay-Us-And-We-Pretend-To-Work peasants with 5 Year Plan machine tools?

A Goddamn RUSSIAN FIAT? The best of 70's Italian engineering backed up with the best Soviet-era craftsmanship?

A RUSSIAN FIAT?

C'mon people, LADA in a walk.

Yeah, you could drop in a Lightning 5.4, but you still have a Grand Marquis with cool wheels. You'll be the Big Dog at the Piccadilly, so there IS an upside...

The BMW, however, is HELL defined. BMW's V-12's are notoriously expensive to fix, and with 200K on the clock, there's gonna be lots of fixin'.

I noticed the seller says the interior (no pictures, natch) is in "age-appropriate" condition, which means the leather's cracked, split, and discolored. And the dash has a crack in it you could drop a golf ball through. And someone probably put in a $150 stereo that required a Sawzall-enabled retrofit.

BMW FTW

Two people can walk into a new car dealership and buy the same car, yet one could pay thousands more due to poor negotiating.

I buy used, that way I know that the broad market says it's worth. I trust the used market much more than a new car dealer.

Tacky body kit...check!
Ugly Steering wheel...check!
Unbelievably tacky interior...check!
Dumb Ass wing...check!
Poseur slushbox...check!

Reliving your "Corvette Summer" daydreams? Priceless.

Well, if not priceless, then about $85,000.

Up until '65, IIRC, they rode on 4-wheel drum brakes. You gotta check out the size of those drums....HUGE.

The Caddy is nice, and the Imperial is super rare (and a good buy) these days, but this series Lincoln is one of FoMoCo's finest. Worthy of the great KB's, Zephyrs, and Continental Mark II's.

Lincoln FTW

Even the finest Cordoba is still a ...Cordoba.

Without the Ricardo Montalban coolness factor, this is just a crappy '77 luxe coupe, with drooping doors and incomprehensible pollution controls.

Sorry, but $5K is the end of the world for these.

Cheap, bulletproof, and easy to fix.

The 600, it's just too easy. All you really need is a checkbook. It's a Mercedes, so everything will be hideously expensive, but you can get it.

The Uracco? There are NO sources for trim, electrics, or interior bits. ANd even if you do manage to find all thos unobtanium parts, you still have a shit-ugly old lamborghini that wil get bitch-slapped by a Camry SE.

I'd be happy to run either, though I figure I'll have to pack more to run the Cali Mille (Like a corkscrew, since I'm sure they have a no-screwcap rule).

And since I see lots of Alfisti on the Melee, I'll be right at home.

Followed closely by the ginormous rally wings on old Civics with stock wheels.

Restoring two old caddies is to easy; hell, you can cannibalize one and get one car working.

Nash and Hudson parts? Oh, I'm sure trim is easy to find.

"Look, a moose with an AK-47!"

Biden does get props for the 'Vette. I wonder if Neal Kinnock owned one...

Prayers for him and the family. Godspeed, Phil!

1) old GM cars with 22" wheels
2) Ricers with fart cans
3) BMW 3-series
4) Morons who drive around with their fog lights on.
5) Prius drivers. All of 'em.

Take my advise: keep the L. The Quad, while it has a beast of an engine, is a future PCH.

The design of the DOHC heads means that there are too few teeth on the timing belt contacting each drive gear on the heads. This puts too much stress on the timing belt and leads to sheared teeth and jumped timing.

Where most designs have the belt driving one cam gear, and then the other cam driven by a slave chain in the head, the Alfa design had the timing belt driving each cam independently. While it look cool with the covers removed, it's very prone to failure.

Oh, and the Alfa V-6 is an "interference" engine, in that the pistons WILL hit the valves if the belt fails. Pistons vs. valves is very much NOT a Good Thing.

Stay with the SOHC V-6 and keep the belt changed.

Then you're looking at a $6,500 engine rebuild. Not. Fun.

Be happy to share info.

I need a 1986 GTV-6 bad.

As for the P3, it's the shit.

Spares are available for both cars, but the Triumph has been sitting for so long that the paint is all that holds the metal together anymore.

X1/9 in a walk. Commie steel that rusted before it was even on the car, insane Magneti Marelli electrics, and no power.

Add in the funky-monkey driving position, plus the bonus of having to endure Fix-It-Again-Tony jokes for the rest of your life, and you have Hell.

And if you do sell your soul and restore it, you'll only be $50K in the hole, and everyone will compliment your shiny new....FUEGO!