And then right next to the great big '69 Mercury coupe is a great big Chrysler coupe. Both cars came from the factory with monstrous big-block V8s- a 360-horse 429 for the Marauder and a 350-horse 440 for the 300. What's wrong with the world, when a pair of over-the-top, single-digit-gas-mileage, two-ton two-doors can survive through all the oil crises and recessions and only now land in the Crusher's waiting room? It gets worse; this is one of the now-defunct NorCal Pick Your Part yards, which means we can assume both these cars have now been rendered into China-bound scrap metal by now.

It has a GTO hood and grille emblem, but a Tempest grille and column-shifted automatic. Even though you could a '68 GTO with the chrome grille instead of the sledgehammer-proof Endura snout, hardly any buyers did so. As for the column shifter, I'm pretty sure the Hurst dual-gate was standard issue on automatic GTOs and Pontiac stopped installing Powerglides in GTOs after 1966… but I betcha there's some guy out there with a PhD in Tedious General Motors Facts who can cite chapter and verse about the 18 1968 GTOs that got chrome grilles and column-shifted Turbo 400s via some renegade dealership in Alaska. Fine. I'm still going to say that we're looking at a '68 Tempest or LeMans with some GTO parts bolted on.

Or, hell, maybe it's a '69 Cutlass with some Tempest sheet metal welded in; that might explain the Oldsmobile Rally Wheels. You can see where this game will drive you nuts in a hurry, and it's one of the reasons I avoid most classic muscle car shows. Anyway, who cares what DNA this car has? It's a cool-looking GM A-body that lives on the street and gets regular real-world driving action, while most of its siblings have been crushed or turned into coddled garage queens. I suspect that its owner is the same person who once owned this 1966 Mustang, since it parks in the same spot once occupied by the Ford. Perhaps he or she celebrated the date on the car's "Bush's Last Day" bumper sticker by upgrading to a bigger, more powerful Detroit classic.

Somehow, this big Chrysler made it through a pair of Energy Crises, the Malaise Era, and the Rise Of The SUV- 41 years of survival before being brought down by the Financiapocalypse. Or maybe it had been sitting in a back yard since 1974 prior to being hauled off to The Crusher's waiting room. Either way, plenty of good parts left on this wagon, so let's hope they get pulled prior to being melted down to make brand-new Cherys.

Bad people, that's who doesn't love happy little Triumphs! You're not a bad person, are you? Of course not! Thing is, most of the affordable Triumph projects these days are Malaise Era TR7s and Spitfires with huge bumpers. Is it even possible to find a pre-Malaise Triumph project for cheap? Really cheap, that is. What's that sound? Why, it's the doors to Project Car Hell opening, and they don't squeak one bit… because they're lubed with the blood of Triumph owners!

After you saw James May turn a Triumph Herald into a sailboat, you probably thought something like "Whoa, I haven't seen a Triumph Herald in… well, ever!" They didn't sell particularly well in North America, and that's a damned shame. You see, the Herald combined simplicity with Italian styling and woefully underpowered nimble performance, at a time when Americans had to buy Datsun 411s for such features. That doesn't mean you can't find them for reasonable prices nowadays, provided you're willing to overlook a bit of the ol' iron oxide. We've found this '64 Herald convertible in Baltimore (go here if the ad disappears), and it's only 400 bucks! Sure, sure, you should could turn this staggeringly terrible basket case TLC-deprived project into an awesome 24 Hours Of LeMons car, but that's taking the easy way out! We say you ought to do an obsessive frame-off restoration, correct down to the original warm-beer-influenced Coventry chalk marks and OEM Lucas Electrics components. The seller doesn't go into any detail about the rust situation, but then he doesn't have to. But hey, it has a clear title!

The Herald really wasn't a proper sports car, with a one-main-bearing four-cylinder displacing 18 Whitworth cubic inches or some such (slight exaggeration) and all. You need more engine in your Triumph! You could go for a Stag- which we strongly, in fact overwhelmingly recommend- but for the purposes of this challenge we're going to stick with smaller Triumph offerings. The GT6 is a truly wretched fine machine, and certainly affordable if you look hard enough, but we really like the iconic TR6 when it comes time for a six-banger Triumph. But dang, have you seen what sellers are asking for the pretty and/or running TR6s? These are hard times we're in, and you need your shillings to feed the gas meter in your dismal, mildew-coated flat! That's what makes this '68 Triumph TR6 (go here if the ad disappears) so appealing. It ran when parked, and that phrase always means eternal torment an easy walk in the park! The seller isn't trying to do a hard sell here, freely admitting that the "CAR IS RUSTY & ROT BUT HAS MANY GOOD PARTS," and it's true that it's composed entirely of rust and fungus a little rough, but you couldn't possibley can solve those problems with a cubic yard of $100 bills little elbow grease in your pit full of boiling sulfur garage! Come on, it's only 500 bucks!

There's just something extra cool about a full-sized fastback Ford from this era; all the NASCAR-inspired style of the Torino/Cyclone fastbacks, but with the added presence of the big machines. An up-and-coming young mobster might have chosen a fastback Galaxie, but the really hip ones would have gone with the slightly snazzier Monterey coupe- slick, but not trying to outshine the high rankers' Continentals and Fleetwoods.

How about one of these cars with a 428, four-speed, and fat rubber on big steel spoked wheels, maybe with a few inches taken out of the springs? Not for this one, though… next stop, Crusher!

SCROGGS!! (who, just like Yahoo!, uses exclamation points as part of his name) has found us a treasure trove of vintage European Rally videos on YouTube:

1963 Alpine Rally, Part 1

1963 Alpine Rally, Part 2

1965 Monte Carlo Rally

1968 Rally Of Sweden, Part 1

1968 Rally Of Sweden, Part 2

1971 RAC Rally Of Great Britain, Part 1

1971 RAC Rally Of Great Britain, Part 2

1971 RAC Rally Of Great Britain, Part 3

I spotted a fairly intact looking '68 Mercedes-Benz 280S at my local self-service junkyard. Old Benzes always have cool switches and gadgets inside, so I took a look. Wow! The speedometer was in KM/H and the radio wasn't the usual thing. AM, FM, shortwave, and medium-wave! The knobs were there, the chrome was pretty nice, and the original Blaupunkt amplifier was in its rightful spot on the firewall. Got the radio, got the amp, got all the cables and hardware. Haven't had a chance to test it yet, but I know it's worth more than 10 bucks. Score!

Do you think the rubber-burning pipe smoker is supposed to be driving some sort of British sports car, or a small-block-powered Deuce Coupe? Thanks to BoingBoing for the inspiration.

Ford's marketers seemed to have a special focus on pitching the Mustang's transformative powers to the ladies. A dowdy, lab-coated scientist- no doubt cooking up new varieties of napalm to drop on Charlie Cong- becomes an irresistible man-magnet when she grabs the keys to a new '68 Mustang, while an '81 turns your average Jane into the Queen Of The Club Herpes Discothèque. We've got some good examples of this in our Top Ten Mustang Ads (plus a bonus pair of Mustang siblings to round out the selection).

You like the old-timey car ads? Oh, we got us plenty more! When you're done here, you can head over to the Top 20 Vintage Renault Ads, Top 20 Vintage GM ads, Top 20 Vintage Chevrolet Ads, Top 20 Vintage Datsun ads, Top 20 Vintage Toyota ads, and Top 20 Vintage Chrysler ads. Not enough for you? Go to the Top Car Commercials Of The 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.

1981 Mustang	1978 Mustang II Ghia	1985 Mustang
1968 Mustang	1986 Mustang	1979 Mustang
1969 Mustang Mach 1	1968 Shelby Mustang GT	1974 Mustang II
1968 Mustang	1980 Mercury Capri	1968 Mercury Cougar

The General doesn't change his truck styling very often- at least, he didn't during the 1960s and 1970s- so this one presents a challenge when it comes to identifying the year. The California smog-check history site says it's a '74, but the black license plates were replaced with blue ones in 1969 and the bulk of body parts appear to be of late 1960s vintage. The way junkyard drivetrains, cabs, and beds get swapped around on million-mile work trucks, there's just no telling, so I'm going to say it's a 1968.


We've seen a few other GMC pickups of this era in the series, including this '66, and this '68, this '71. In fact, this is one of the rare DOTS vehicles that lives right next to another DOTS vehicle; in this case, it's the 1965 Chevy Suburban.

Looks like we've got three decades represented here: a '71-73 Dodge Tradesman 200 custom van, a star-spangled '67 or '68 Jeep Commando, and a well-worn '48-50 Dodge pickup. Here's what DodgePolara500 has to say:

I had to stop and get this one. A 70's Dodge Van tricked out in pimpin glory with a 1960's vintage Jeep Commander decked out in Bicentenial Garb! They were captured on a busy blvd in San Jose CA. which i think is home to many DOTs vehicles worthy of notoriety.
The Van is parked there regularly and they owner seems to move it often given the lack of debris and dirt on the tires. The Jeep is a new edition and I only saw it this morning. In one of the Snaps, you can see a VERY NICE 65 Caddy Couple deVille drive by. A veritable trifecta! I wish my shutter was quicker to grab some more shots.
I'll have to let your reader pick out the dates of the Jeep. The Dodge is most likely a 1972-3 model given the grill. The jeep has a sticker on the other side that says "This is not an abandoned vehicle" I didn't get it due to the heavy traffic, but I'll try again later.
This Dodge Pickup pilot house is around the corner from my house and has been on the street for as long as I have lived in my home (1992). It looks to be 100% original and unrestored with some great patina to it. The owner drives it regularly and has a model T tucked away along with a 64 Buick Wildcat Convertible which his son drives. I haven't seen it in a while, but when it comes home again, i'll snag that one too.

When I first caught sight of this thing from a block or so away, I thought I'd found a Triumph. Hooray! I wasn't disappointed when I saw it came from an island nation other than the UK, because we've only seen one of these before in this series. I can't figure out the exact year on this machine, but the side marker lights make it a '68, '69, or '70. Note: It appears that the non-teardrop-shape side marker lights indicate that this is a 1970 model year car.


There's always the name problem with these cars; Nissan marketed this car as the Datsun Sports 1600 in North America, but I've yet to hear anyone use that name. In Japan, it was sold as the Fairlady, the official company designation was SPL311, and most Americans call it the Datsun Roadster. When you see Keith Maney's GM V6-powered Datsun at LeMons South, you'll call it madness!


Look, it's the DOTS 1975 Celica, with the Evil Primer Chevelle parked right in front of it! The '71 510 lives nearby as well. Great neighborhood for old iron.

Back in high school and middle school the wedgie (or as we called it, the wedge) was something you most certainly didn't want, under any circumstance and you definitely didn't appreciate it when it came along. But in car design, the wedge is something you can appreciate.

The beautiful and technical shape was used by many of the top design houses of the seventies and was a signal the future had officially arrived. While not the most aerodynamic form in practice, it certainly looked the part and helped usher in a new era of automotive design. Italian design houses ItalDesign, Bertone and Pininfarina were at the forefront of the movement, but the Japanese, Germans and the U.S. jumped on the bandwagon shortly thereafter

10) 1972 Lotus Esprit M70

First displayed at the Turin Motor Show in 1972, the Lotus Esprit M70 was designed by Giugiaro at Ital Design and was built on a widened and lengthened Europa chassis. After positive reviews from the public Colin Chapman decided to put the Esprit into production. The final design was completed in 1973 with many of the concept cues intact and when the then GM owned Lotus decided to build Peter Stevens redesign in 1987, many of those original cues remained.

Fun fact: that you couldn't call yourself a car guy without knowing already: Roger Moore drove a submersible version in the 1977 James Bond movie, The Spy Who Loved Me.

9) 1989 Vector W8

In 1989, after nearly two decades of development, Gerald Wiegert revealed his Vector W8 to the public. Extensive use of aeronautical building techniques were to be W8s selling point, but shoddy quality and a lack of funding eventually brought down the U.S.-built Lamborghini competitor in the mid-nineties. The W8 drew its inspiration from the 1968 Alfa Romeo Carabo and many other wedge cars in our list and is still a beautiful car today and you can pick up one of the few examples for a steal; nearly 20 percent of the original $685,000 asking price.

Fun fact: The Vector W8 was featured briefly in the 1993 movie, Rising Sun.

8) 1972 E25 BMW Turbo

The E25 BMW Turbo was initially built to celebrate the upcoming 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, but was later used as the inspiration for the M1, 8-Series, Z1 and the new M1 Homage concept. BMW built the Turbo concept as a rolling display for new safety and engineering technologies as well as showing that BMW had officially left the difficult 60's behind. Penned by BMW's French head of design, Paul Bracq, the Turbo concept was styled after the most dramatic Italian supercars of the day and featured an advanced radar system that warned the driver of close objects such as curbs and cars.

Fun fact: The Turbo featured two BMW badges on the rear – symbolizing BMW's exceptional quality – a cue that made it onto the production M1 and M1 Homage concept.

7) 1978 Dome Zero

Dome was and still is a race car manufacturer in Japan and in 1978 they gave the world the Dome Zero concept at the Geneva Motor Show. Intended to show Dome's intention of building a homologation special for a new line of sportscars; it was unable to pass Japanese homologation. In 1979, Dome debuted a revised Zero, dubbed the P2, with U.S. market bumpers and safety equipment added to the design. In the same year, a racing effort was launched at Le Mans but the ‘Zero RL' failed to finish the race. Shortly after, investors pulled their funds and the Dome Zero was officially dead.

Fun fact: The Dome Zero was featured in Gran Turismo 4, Auto Modellista on the PS2 and Sega GT on the XBOX.

6) 1970 Lancia Stratos Zero

At the 1970 Turin Motor Show, Bertone showed off a styling exercise called the Lancia Stratos Zero. The Lancia Stratos HF roadcar was based very loosely off of this concept though the similarities are few and far between. The futuristic Zero stood 838mm tall and was so low that conventional doors could not be used and to gain access, drivers would have to raise the windshield and walk into the car.

Fun fact: The Stratos Zero appeared in Michael Jackson's 1988 film, Moonwalker.

5) 1972 Maserati Boomerang

In 1971 the Maserati Boomerang was shown at the Turin Motor Show as a mockup and then in 1972 the Geneva Motor Show saw the debut of the fully realized Maserati Boomerang concept. It sat next to the Lotus Esprit M70 as both were designed by Giugiaro at ItalDesign. At 1070mm high, it's not the shortest wedge in the list, but it did have a 15 degree windshield rake – the steepest rake you could achieve while maintaining visibility, albeit very little. ItalDesign used the Boomerang as inspiration when designing the DMC Delorean (most noticeable in the rear view) in the eighties.

Fun fact: Intended as a showcar, the Boomerang was registered as a roadcar and was actually sold in 1974 to a private collector which brings us to 2005 when it was auctioned at Christie's for a cool $1,000,000.

4) 1969 Holden Hurricane RD001

The Holden Hurricane was an experimental concept built in 1969 and was the first product of the GM Holden Research and Development group. The Hurricane's ultra low 990mm stance would have made ingress and egress difficult with traditional doors, so an electro-mechanical powered canopy was used and swung forward over the front wheels. Also included were power elevated seats that both rose up and out of the way along with the steering column to make exiting the Hurricane easier. When climbing into the car the seats would lower to a semi-reclined position and the roof would close overhead.

Fun fact: A similar canopy design was used on both the Saab Aero X and the Batmobile from the Tim Burton Batman movies.

3) 1970 Ferrari PF Modulo

Painted black for the 1970 Geneva Motor Show and then re-sprayed white for its debut at the 1970 Turin Motor Show; the Paulo Martin penned Pininfarina-Ferrari Modulo concept gained quite a reputation and won numerous international design awards – 22 of them – for a car that almost wasn't produced. The cars release was held for over a year because of an apprehensive Sergio Pininfarina. Developed using the Ferrari 512-S racer as a basis, the 935mm high PF Modulo was built to explore new construction technologies and to show off the raw passion of the Italian design house.

Fun fact: Paulo Martin was sketching a Rolls-Royce Camargue dashboard when the idea struck him to make the first sketch of the Modulo. You could say he was more than a little bored with the Rolls.

2) 1971 Lamborghini Countach

Designed by Gandini for Bertone in 1971, the original Lamborghini Countach concept was the most pure version the public would ever see of this car. The wild scissor doors were first seen on another car in our list (the Alfa Romeo Carabo concept) and were used primarily because of the extremely wide chassis, but we think the real reason is because Gandini knew every rice boy would want them on their econo-hatch some day. The Countach name was derived from the dialect of the Piedmont region in northern Italy, literally meaning astonishment and amazement. The pure design of the concept translated loosely into the production LP400 though it was short lived when splitters, wings and U.S. bumper requirements were added to the mix in the LP400S, LP500 and QV models.

Fun fact: The Countach was featured in the 1981 movie, The Cannonball Run, and is one of the most replicated cars to date.

1) 1968 Alfa Romeo Carabo

The 1968 Alfa Romeo Carabo is the most significant wedge car and paved the way for many of the cars on this list. Designed by Marcello Gandini of Bertone fame, it was revealed at Porte de Versailles in Paris in 1968 to an absolutely stunned crowd. The Lamborghini Countach concept that arrived 3 years later drew inspiration from the Carabo in its wedge form, wheel house openings and its notoriously cool scissor-doors, though the Countach wasn't the only car that took inspiration from the Carabo. You can see inspired cues from many sports cars and supercars like the Diablo, 4th gen Camaro and Vector. Vector took the inspiration quite literally by duplicating many of the shapes of the front and side profile in its W8. Many wealthy individuals tried to purchase the Carabo including an Arab prince or two, but thankfully Bertone decided to hold on to it and now the Carabo spends its days relaxing inside the Alfa Romeo museum in Arese, Italy.

Fun fact: The unique name "Carabo" and its green paint were derived from the small green beetle, Carabus Olympiae.

Honorable Mentions

Narrowing down our search for the top ten wedge cars was difficult and we couldn't let this list pass without mention of a few other notable wedges. The DMC DeLorean was the hardest to leave off the list based on its cult follow from the Back to the Future films. Another difficult car to omit was the popular Triumph TR7/TR8 which was produced from 1974 to 1981. In the gallery below you'll find the rest of the cars that we thought were worth mentioning. Enjoy!

[via Lotus Esprit Turbo]

I'm not 100% convinced this isn't a 1969 model; the front side marker lights and grille surround look like '68 units, but the license plate appears to sport a 1969 number. Junkyard part transplants were incredibly common with these cars, so it could have '68 fenders, a '69 trunk lid, etc. The distinction is pretty much meaningless to all but the most obsessed Nova zealots, because the 1968 and 1969 models are nearly identical vehicles.


Speaking of junkyard parts swappage, the Rambler side mirror is a nice touch. Since these things were pretty much the same thing as first-gen Camaros under the skin, small-block hoonage sent vast numbers of them to early graves. This car keeps on earning its keep as a daily driver, though;

Looking for a James Bond Aston Martin? Of course you are, but you're not one of those run-with-the-herd types who gets seduced by gadgets and impulse-buys a project DB5. No, you watch On Her Majesty's Secret Service for the 19th time and impulse-buy this 1968 Aston Martin DBS. What are the first words that come to mind when you see this fine British automobile? I mean, after "basket case" and "burn victim," that is? Exactly: Beautiful car. Even sitting in a dirt lot in California's Meth Gold Country, where it spends every winter beneath a layer of snow and every summer baking in the relentless high-altitude sun, even though it's what the seller himself describes as "barely a rolling chassis," this Aston is still a great-looking car. This one will need an engine and transmission, but is that even a challenge? You've got the world's economy collapsing, buddy- desperate sellers will give you anything from a Toyota 1JZGTE to this Countach drivetrain, for next to nothing! Then you just need to fix the interior, body, suspension, electrical system, brakes, and… well, you get the picture. Thanks to Jon for the tip!

You like the Aston Martin, but you know you'd get sick of the Bond jokes once you finished it? Yeah, even though you'd be 92 years old by that point, the Bond jokes would get tiresome. What you need is a product of the illustrious Rootes Group, Chrysler's henchmen on the Continent, and we don't mean any damn Simca or Hillman here. No, we're talking Humber now, the class of the British Rootes lineup, and we've found us this nice 1965 Humber Super Snipe up in Canada. It failed to sell at 700 bucks, so you should be able to snag it for a few cases of Moosehead. It runs, even… well, actually, it "fires right up right away," but that means a tiny part most of the journey is already done! There's some rust "just starting" in the usual spots, but how bad could that be? It's a good-looking car with a big six-cylinder (and room for an even bigger one) with that hard-to-find Anglo-Detroit styling, for dirt cheap- what are you waiting for? Thanks to Armand Bengle for the tip!

It's got a very 1970s two-tone paint job, which has taken some punishment from the California sun, but it still looks pretty good and it gets its owner to work every day. This car may be a '68, but my DOTS Sense tells me it's a '69; I'm not enough of a Cougar expert to distinguish a '68 from a '69, so you experts can correct me if I've made a mistake.


Some 60s cars look best with the factory wheels and hubcaps, but I think this car has the exact right wheels right now. You think both flip-up headlights still work?

Even though the 230 was one of the less expensive Mercedes-Benz machines in '68 (being the entry-level 6-cylinder sedan), it was still quite expensive: $4,544. With a brand-new '68 Chevelle SS396- which was about the same size as the 230- going for $2,899 and even the '68 BMW 2002ti listed at $4,165, you had to be thinking long-term when you chose the Mercedes sedan. Long-term as in 40 years, in this case.



This car is used for everyday transportation nowadays, 40 years and who knows how many Astronomical Units of travel later; the interior still looks pretty good.

I was buying bamboo stakes for the punji pits in my front yard at the time- hey, got to be ready for the Financiapocalypse- so I didn't have my good camera on hand. Fortunately, my cellphone has a not-too-crappy camera built in. Then the owner emerged from the store, but fortunately he was proud enough of his car that he was willing to wait while I photographed it. He'd been shopping around for a restored SL for a few years and he finally found the one he wanted. Yes, it's his daily driver.


The 280SL roadster would have set you back $6,485 back in 1968. That's $350 more than a brand-new Crown Imperial convertible, more than twice as much as a '68 GTO convertible, and way more than twice as much as a Datsun Fairlady roadster. But I'm willing to bet that a majority of '68 380SLs are still alive today, unlike those other cars.

The Skylark Custom came with the luxury trim package, including fender skirts and plush padded vinyl interior. The standard engine was a 250-inch six, but just about all buyers opened their wallets for the 230-horse Buick 350 (and some went ahead and paid for the 300 horsepower 400).


Mmmm, padded vinyl! This car listed at $3,098 new, which was 97 bucks more than the Fairlane GT convertible (and 700 bucks less than the '68 Lotus Europa).


These photographs date from more than a year ago; it was actually one of the first cars I shot for this series, but I saved it "for a special occasion" for so long that I forgot the photos even existed.

You superpatriots might be screaming about the inclusion of a British car in this matchup- especially on a holiday celebrating the day we told our cruel colonial masters to hit the road (thanks for the backup, France!)- but Britain gave us our language, the basis for our legal system, and Top Gear. And come on, how can you not love a car named for its target market? What if Chrysler had made a version of the Dart called the Dodge Deutschland and sold it in Germany? OK, we admit that argument isn't so compelling, but you won't care once you take a look at this '68 Austin America, which is priced to move- though not under its own power- at just $500. The seller wants us to know it's an "easy restoration," and we couldn't agree more! The "motor is not frozen up," the glass is all there, and it's a California car so you get yellow-on-black plates and (maybe) not much rust. It's conceivable- though not likely- that you could get away with buying and shipping just a handful of parts from the UK to finish this project.

That Austin would be fun, but front-wheel-drive from 40 years back is still front-wheel-drive. How could you do good old-fashioned American donuts in the Circle K parking lot without a rear-wheel-drive car? Exactly. That's why a Rambler American, made by the American Motor Company, is the only choice approved by the House Un-American Burnout Activities Committee. If you've got 600 bucks in your pocket (and plenty of welding expertise), this somewhat rusty '60 Rambler American could be yours right now. In stark contrast to the Austin America, the American's engine is seized... but that's no problem, because you'll need to ditch that antique flathead six and replace it with a great big thirsty AMC 401, equipped with a huge tunnel-ram intake and Cherry Bombs. While you're building this engine- which will be the easy part of the project- you can also start fixing the rusted-out floor pan. Don't despair, because at least "all glass, head lights, tail lights all in tact." It can't be that hard, right?

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