Yesterday's Audi Doody, didn't pull your strings as it, and it's $15,000 starting price, tipped the scales to a surprisingly close 54% Crack Pipe vote. Today we have a car that's not quite as old, nor quite as expensive, and not nearly as rare.

Honda. If you the type who demands the utmost in reliability, but is as yet unwilling to buy a Toyota, and hence sell your soul to the satan of boredom, then Soichiro Honda's your man. Well built, and still with a semblance of character, Honda's products have gained an envied reputation. And what a depth of products they offer- everything from lawn mowers to ATVs and motorcycles, to cars, light trucks, even business jets. And for the past 37 years they've built the typically humble, occasionally hot, Civic.

Introduced as the solution to the gas crisis plaguing the nation, the two-box Civic was the first car Honda had designed with the U.S. market in mind. Not only was it fuel efficient, but the wickedly brilliant 3-valve CVCC four cylinder- introduced in 1975 - managed to meet the new, and at the time extremely stringent, U.S. emissions standards without a catalytic convertor. Leaded gas FTW!

That first generation Civic became beloved by owners, and lasted until 1979, which is the year from which today's car hails. You still see first-gen Civics on the road, a testament to their durability and their attractiveness to their owners, but few are as nice as this three-door hatch. The seller has given the 1,488-cc powered car a full refreshening both inside and out, and details the respray in the ad for your pleasure. New Houndstooth upholstery and a rebuilt 20K-mile replacement engine complete the package in this 99,000-miler. The CVCC put out 60 ponies this year, but at less than 1,500-lbs, the car is good for both around town and, with that five speed, decent highway cruising. And it should also be good for damn-near 50-mpg on that highway.

Now, all this goodness does come at a price, and in this case that's $8,000. That's a lot of cheddar for a 30-year old econo-box, and nearly twice what the car cost new. But if Civics class taught us anything, it was that the more people find you desirable, the more they'll be willing to pony up for you.

So, are you civic-minded enough to drop eight large for this silver Civic? Or, does that price move this car out of your civic center?

You decide!

San Francisco Craigslist or go here if the ad disappears. A pop of the hatch to Spritle for the tip

Help me out with NPOCP. Click here to send a me a tip, and remember to include your commenter handle.

Yesterday, a high price and a peek under the skirt that resulted in some disappointment resulted in the Prince becoming a pauper as 62% of you told us twenty large was too much for a single-cam wannabe. Today's contender is the real deal, and it has but a single cam as well, however it keeps it on the down-low.

Upon the transfer of ownership of Auto Union from Mercedes Benz to Volkswagen, development of new Audi cars was halted. But much like a German Unibomber, Ludwig Kraus continued in secret to advance the progress of the C1 platform- to be known as the 100. VW leadership gave the car a green light for production having been impressed by a fully realized prototype, as well as some unflattering photos of them that Kraus claimed to possess. Well, that last part may or may not be true.

The 100ls arrived in 1968 and came to the U.S. the following year as a four-door sedan and two-door coupe. Handsome and conservative, the 100 looked like the form a front-drive Mercedes might take, and with good reason as the car is filled with elements of MB ownership. The 1.8-litre four cylinder is similar to the Benz fours of the time- although the Audi four is canted over at 40 degrees. Even its numerical nomenclature is Benz-ish.

The 100 did reasonably well here in the U.S., paired in dealerships with the much pricier Porsches, but durability issues and unfavorable exchange rates eventually drove down sales. That's unfortunate, because, had it been more popular, perhaps Audi could have been persuaded to bring over the lovely fastback version- the coupé S, an example of which is our subject today.

The Coupé S received a bored 1.9-litre version of the 100's four, bumping power to 113-bhp from the 1.8's 100 and making for acceleration that still belied the car's bodystyle as a fastback. The seller of this clean 1971 edition claims it to be one of only two in the States, and that may be the case as I've never seen one here, and I've lived here all my life. Also noted is the replacement of the Solex carbs with more modern Webers, but that the originals will come with the purchase. Unspoken, but obvious in the pictures, is that the seller is not an ace photographer. Still, he does have a taste for obscure and interesting cars, of which the Coupé S is in spades. In the car's favor is that, while extremely rare, parts shouldn't be, other than internals for the 1.9.

There's no Buy It Now option, so rabid Audi fanatics (you know who you are) will need to do the bid-wait two step on this auction, and while the starting point is $15,000, that doesn't meet the reserve, which remains a mystery. But lets use fifteen large as our baseline today, because this is too interesting a car to leave un-ruminated upon.

So, what do you say, are you willing to plunk down $15,000, plus whatever, for as rare an Audi as you are likely to find here in the states? Or, does that price make this an Auto Union that'll have to be without you?

You decide!

eBay or go here if the ad disappears. This week we are thankful for camp6ell for the tip

Help me out with NPOCP. Click here to send a me a tip, and remember to include your commenter handle.

The Skyline dates back to days before Nissan purchased the Prince Motor Company, but despite its birth parentage, the car is one of the best known of its adopted parent's children. First introduced in 1968, the C1 model was one of the last developed under Prince, though it was introduced post-merger, and arrived with a Nissan badge on its boxy ass.

By 1970, when today's candidate rolled off the Tochigi assembly line, a new model and engine was made available- the 120-bhp 2.0-litre six powered 2000GT-X. Officially the KC10, the 2000GT-X offered an additional 15-kabukis over the 1.8-litre four that had previously been the top engine offering.

Today's JDM refugee is a GT-X with some mods made to make it look the part of a GT-R. The rear flares and black-painted alloys help it play the part, as does the expected PMC.S sicker. But pop the hood and things look less GT-R and more GT-Are your Kidding? In place of the GT-R's 160-bhp DOHC 2-litre is the stock single cam unit. Despite that disappointment, the engine is clean and original, from its SU-aping Mikunis, to the creepy sperm-like plug wires wriggling over the brushed aluminum cam cover. Backing up the 2000GT's little six is Nissan's 4-speed that will feel very familiar to anyone that's driven a 510 or 240Z. The shifter is topped by a period-correct beer-tap lever, and falls readily to your. . . left hand. One bit of JDM authenticity you'll need to get used to is leaning waaay over to get your food at the drive-thru, as the car is right-hand drive.

Overall, the car looks good in pictures, but the seller does the honest thing and has included some shots of the bubbly rust that permeates cars of a certain age, much like liver spots do people who have managed to stick around as long. That being said, there doesn't appear to be anything that would require a firm understanding of ordering parts in Japanese, or a wallet deep enough to afford the shipping of body panels across the Pacific.

So, it's not a real GT-R (and in fact there never were any 1970 GT-Rs), it's got some uglies hiding under the paint, and you have to drive it from the passenger seat- although that could make for vexing of those pesky red-light cameras. But does all that outweigh the fact that it's a pretty cool car, and there just aren't that many of these things rolling around here where the buffalo roam? And does that make the $20,000 asking price seem like a deal? Or, is that a penthouse-worthy price to view this Skyline?

You decide!

eBay or go here if the ad disappears. Tip of the toque to Syrax for the tip!

Help me out with NPOCP. Click here to send a me a tip, and remember to include your commenter handle.

Okay, let's all get together here and have a group hug over the '86 Eagle from yesterday. Rarely comes along a car, at such a price, that generates such unanimity among the Nice Pricians and Crack Piperarians, but this was such a car. Perhaps it was the surprise at seeing so nice an example of a piece of American automotive history at such a low price. Or, maybe it was just the warm glow the thought of a four-wheeling granny elicits in us all. Whatever the reason, grandma's Eagle received a nearly unprecedented 87% Nice Price vote. For the other 13% of you, you're still welcome here, but don't expect to get the first batch of Maw-maw's cookies- the special ingredient of which is love.

That Eagle was an AMC product with a transmission sourced from Chrysler, and was as comforting as an old sweater. Today, we've got a Mopar product with a transmission built by Tremec, and that is as comforting as an out of control freight train overrun with nut-sac chewing rabid chipmunks and with you, tied naked to the nose.

The Dodge Viper debuted as a limited-production car - and mind-blowing example of what Chrysler was capable of when somebody slips "E" in the drinking water - in 1992, five years after rocking the Motor City Auto Show as a concept. Powered by a Lamborghini-cast aluminum version of the then-new 490-cid pushrod V10 from the Ram pickup, the 400-bhp and 465 lb-ft of titty twist would provide eyeball-squeezing performance, and fuel economy only an OPEC minister could love. The acceleration of the Viper was so brutal that flabby men rocking the car would have their torsos re-shaped by the force - man-boobs flattened, beer bellies squeezed into six packs - exciting their 30-year younger female passengers until the next stop light when everything would return to its natural state of Dick Cheneyness.

Here's a '96 RT/10, the condition of which is, like all aspects of the Viper, a little rough. For that aura of hard use and patina of I'm not gonna' bother to blow all the dust out from under the hood, the car comes with an aggressive, Buy It Now of only $22,995. As the picture show some wear and tear that you might expect with an odometer rolling six, it's surprising that the seller claims only 50K on the clock. That's until you remember the stories of owners complaints about the build quality of the first generation Vipers. But it's not that bad, and a torn side bolster on the driver's seat isn't going to impede your tire-melting, full-throttle runs from gas station to gas station. And who wouldn't drop 23 large just for the RE DQLUS license plate?

So, check it out and and let's get down to bee's wax. It's a Viper; it's white with blue stripes, which isn't wood-causing, but could be worse; it's claimed to be rough but running, so barring any major mechanical issues, the Lambo-originated engine should be solid; and it costs less than your average V6 Camry. Now, comparing a used Viper to a new Camry is kind of stupid, I realize, but it's a handy point of reference, sort of like using Megan Fox to describe how attractive other women are- there's no comparison, but at least you get the idea.

But $22,995? What do you think, for that price, is this something you could sink your fangs into? Or, would spending that much mean you'd be taking it in the asp?

You decide!

eBay or go here if the ad disappears.

Help me out with NPOCP. Click here to send a me a tip, and remember to include your commenter handle.

Yesterday we took a turn to the dark side, but the mystery of the turd-like Rot Rod Miata was easily unraveled - you all deduced the owner to be a freak, and feted his freakdom with a 85% Crack Pipe vote. Good work people, get yourselves a Scooby snack.

Today we're going over the river and through the woods to grandma's house, and Granny's 1986 AMC Eagle will make that trip all the easier.

The Concord-based Eagle arrived in 1979 as a 1980 model, and took the honor of being the first full-time all wheel drive production car (discounting the 320 Jensen FFs built), providing AMC with a stay of execution. The Eagle uses a single-speed transfer case with a viscous coupling to smoothly shift power to the end with the most traction. The rear end is a live axle with a 2.73 final drive, and the front is a novel independent setup where the differential is bolted to the engine and half shafts carry power to the wheels via double cardans. Engine choices included the AMC 2.5-litre four, their 4.2-litre straight six, and for a time, GMs craptacular Iron Duke 151-cid wheezer. The most common trnsmission choice was the Chrysler's A998-based 3-speed automatic, but manuals could be had as well.

It would unlikely to expect grandma to row her own, so, as the seller of this '86 Eagle Wagon notes that he is selling it for his Maw-Maw, it comes as no surprise that it's sporting only two pedals. Fortunately, it also has the 4.2-litre six, which is good for 110-ponies. In 1986, AMC dropped the lock-up torque converter from the car, and added an open differential transfer case. There were 6,943 wagons built that year. A common problem with the Eagle is right-rear axle failures, but they're easy and cheap to fix.

Aside from the radio, this Eagle scouts out as complete and functional. The 97,000 miles under its tires look like they've been gentle ones, and that's not too many for a 23 year old car. Then there's that price. It's possible grandma is still living in the past, and that works to the buyer's favor as the asking price is from a bygone era as well. At $2,700, this car is in the realm of an impulse purchase. Not only that but there's at least three Jalopnikadians here whose eyes have bugged out, and whose jaws have dropped on their keyboards just at the sight of the car. But, is it really a deal?

What do you think about $2,700 for a 23 year old Eagle? Does that price fill you with all the warmth of a grandma's hug? Or, does that make you think that granny's on crack?

You decide!


Johnny Knoxville Craigslist or go here if the ad disappears. Fedora tilt to theallpowerfulme for the tip!

Help me out with NPOCP. Click here to send a me a tip, and remember to include your commenter handle.

The '88 M3 drove you all to frothing-at-the-mouth levels of indignation over just what a first-gen M3 was, much less what it was worth. Despite the healthy discourse over the merits of the E30-based super-de-duper coupe, the $39,000 asking price was still deemed a crack attack by 83% of you.

Now that that mystery has been solved, let's take on another, which may require a quartet of teens and horse-sized dog to unravel- that of the Rot-Rod Miata.

By now, most everyone is familiar with the main characters and typical plotlines of the Scobby Doo Mysteries: muscle-man Fred; smokin' hot Daphne; filthy pot-head Shaggy; and plain but smart Velma, roll around the country in their shag-carpeted sin-bin, the Mystery Machine. Along the way they get mixed up in odd goings on and eventually foil the plans of disgruntled employees, ne'er do well siblings and corrupt land developers. Keeping them company is Scooby doo, their talking great dane.

Today's mystery machine is a 1995 Mazda Miata that has gone full goth. The seller calls it a Rot Rod meaning Rat Rod, but the Scooby infused pronunciation is more fitting for this little Japanese sportscar. The body has been given a matte black paint job that's darker than the lyrics to a Bauhaus dirge. Skulls adorn the mirrors, windblocker and windows, and the air inlets in the nose look like fangs. Hugging the asphalt like Morticia Addams' skirt is a ground effects package, also in the key of strife.

Typically, when you wipe off their makeup and unstrap them from their combat boots and NIN tee shirts, Goths turn out to be just regular folks, only angrier and more sardonic. This Miata is much the same, as underneath the skulls and sorrow lurks a standard 1.8-litre Mazda DOHC four, the slick 5-speed manual, butt-thumper seats and easy to erect top. No mystery there.

Unsolved goes the impetus for its creation, however. A more typical canvas for this kind of treatment would have been a '59 Lincoln, or not owning a car at all. And while that riddle may have been too tough for even Velma, the question of how much it costs is one even Shaggy could deduce- $6,000.

Now it's up to you to solve the mystery of the $6,000 Gothiata. Is that a price that makes you say Jinkies? Or, will your response cause the seller to claim he would have gotten away with it if not for those meddling Jalopniks?

You decide!

eBay or go here if the ad disappears. A tip of the helmet to BZR for finding this!

Help me out with NPOCP. Click here to send a me a tip, and remember to include your commenter handle.

The love flowed rich and fast yesterday for the Datsun 510- just not for a 510 that happened to have been shoved through the ricer on its way to the West Coast JDM-gasm show. That bad boy racked up a 75% Crack Pipe vote despite its clean enough to eat off of it VG30 installation.

As we noted yesterday, the 510 had been considered the poor-man's BMW due to its similar boxy shape and sporting pretensions. At the time, BMW gave little notice to the aspirations of the Japanese wannabes, because they were too busy taking the racing technologies that their M-Technik group had been developing into their road cars. The first fruit of this labor was the homologation of the M1 supercar, and the next was the the E30-based M3, an example of which is our debate club subject for today.

Now, BMW drivers have a reputation as being a bit egotistical, and wearing their cars as extensions of their manhood for all to see. Whether that's true or not, the cars themselves are almost always a cut above the ordinary. The M-series cars have also always been a cut above that.

This 1988 M3, in steel gray with a charcoal interior, has stepped out of a time machine. While many of the first generation M3s have been beaten to death, this car, with only 37,000 on the clock, appears factory fresh. The second-owner seller claims the car has been consistently garaged, and, while not restored, has been refreshed as needed. That condition is reflected in the asking price, which is sitting in the nose-bleed seats at $39,000. Actually, he'll sell it without the Evo pieces for $5,000 less.

Now, KBB doesn't go back to '88, but for an 1989 M3 in excellent condition, they quote a private party price of $12,650! This M3 had better do more than just carve canyons, it should also bring you your beer and slippers when you're done, and feign ignorance of your whereabouts when the cops arrive shortly after.

But that's not to say this is an outrageous price- after all how many low-milage E30 M3s do you come across? So, do you think $39,000 is a fair price for so ultimate an example of this driving machine? Or, does that ultimately drive you to look somewhere else?

You decide!

Autotrader or go here if the ad disappears. Hat tip to jogales!

Help me out with NPOCP. Click here to send a me a tip, and remember to include your commenter handle.

The 510, with its SOHC four cylinder, clean, boxy styling, and rare for the class IRS, paved the way for Datsun's expansion in the US. The 2/3rds a 240 Z motor put out a healthy 96 horses, and when coupled with their slick-shifting 4-speed, made for a 100-mph top end.

The Teruo Uchino-styled car's popularity on the road translated to the track, where Pete Brock's BRE Trans Am 2.5-class racers took the championship in 1972. BRE enjoyed unparalleled Factory support for their effort, and made available to the public many of the go-faster parts that they, and Nissan, had developed.

This '71 510 (home-market cars went by Bluebird) four-door doesn't wear that racing heritage, nor does it really maintain any pretense of its era at all. That raucous and meldable 1.6-litre has been replaced by a 160-bhp VG30E out of a 300ZX. The six squeezes into the nose of the car with little trouble, but with it weighing in at about 120-lbs more that the L-series, it's questionable whether the sweet tossability of the 510 remains.

That may be a moot point as the car has been built for show despite the updates to the go. The discs at all corners (also from a 300Zx) and T5 row-your-own, says let's drive, but the slammed suspension, modern 6-spoke alloys and modded interior scream let's just park somewhere and you can buff me obsessively while making sure nobody touches me. And if that's your thing then the molded-in flames on the interior door panels, as well as the Optma and sub-woofer-filled trunk will likely appeal to you. The price might not appeal, but the car does show where your $19,000 is going- which is in the mods, not the car.

So, what do you think of this expression of the maker's individuality and creativity? Is $19,000 too high a price to get this show on the road for you? Or, is that a price that would make you go for this show?

You decide!

eBay Motors or go here if the ad disappears.

Help me out with NPOCP. Click here to send a me a tip, and remember to include your commenter handle.

While traditionally a Gremlin was described as something that caused woe for army flyers, yesterday's AMC product had the opposite effect, and 75% of you found it bootilicious. One element making that Gremlin X so appealing to many was the V8-manual combo. A heavy application of torque, made available in any gear of your choosing, makes for a tire-chirping good time. That's why we think you might like today's contender Porsche, as it too is rocking an eight. But this Porsche isn't a 928. It's (thankfully) neither a Cayenne, or Panamera, as it left the factory with only half the number of fire pots under its hood as it has now.

The 944 was a pretty sweet handling car, but the 9+ second zero-sixty time meant its 150-bhp wasn't enough to meet owner's expectations of its Porsche-ness. The Turbo, with 70 more ponies helped immeasurably, and eventually the 944 Turbo became a car that was almost as fast on the straights as it was through the corners.

But it still suffered from that demon turbo lag, and despite the boost, for some people too much horsepower is never enough. That's the case with this 944 Turbo that has been LS1ified. That's right, out there in a junkyard somewhere is a GM F-body (yeah, I know- not a Vette) with a honkin' big nothing under its hood. That's because its 365-bhp 350-cid FI motor has found a new home with its crazy German girlfriend. And with this American torque monster inside her, Lola indeed will run. The seller has included a short clip of the car on the dyno, but it doesn't say much about the car other than that it runs-

It would have been nice to show the dyno read-out there, but this marriage of convenience does make some sweet sounds. And lest you think this is some odd-ball one-off conversion, it's not. In fact, it's really fairly common- as Cardomain can attest.

So, big-ass motor; lots-o-power; and the upgraded suspension, brakes and transmission of the 944 Turbo, which make that car a better choice for the conversion than the normally aspirated version. Is that enough to make you say I do? An interesting factoid in the ad is that, while the engine has only done about 20K, the car itself has, over its life, done over 215,000 miles. That moves its milage from a lot to impressive.

The seller claims that he never intended to divorce himself of the car, but it looks like couples therapy didn't work because he's moving out. He's asking $15,000 in alimony for it, and from the looks of the car, more than that was invested in the marriage to begin with.

Now we come to the part where you have to do some work. What do you think of this Marshall Plan of a car, and more importantly, its $15,000 asking price? Does that price make you think this is an arranged marriage, doomed to fail? Or, does that make it something you could see having a long-term relationship with?

You decide!

Los Angeles Craigslist or go here if the ad disappears. Hat tip to hotballs! Yeah, that's right, hotballs.

Help me out with NPOCP. Click here to send a me a tip, and remember to include your commenter handle.

Yesterday's mid-engined S10 wedged a 60% Nice Price vote next to the Caddy mill in its bed, and wheelied out of town. Another short-wheelbase car that needed a a set of skateboard trucks outrigged behind it when at the drag strip was the AMC Gremlin.

As Bugs Bunny can attest, Gremlins can be trouble. Trouble that is for anybody disparaging the little coupe within ear-shot of its owner. AMC's little economy car shared its front clip with the mid-size Hornet, facilitating an under-hood option list that over the years included everything from a VAG 2.0-litre 4 cylinder to the 258-cid six - which must have arrived on the Mayflower- to the 304-cid V8 which powers today's Gremlin X candidate. This flexibility, and the car's enduring quirkiness have emboldened hundreds of like-minded Gremlin owners to band together and form a club.

The Gremlin, as noted, shared much with its big-brother the Hornet, but it was in the back, where a truncated hatchback and swoop-up window line gave the car an iconic style. That back end, with its original step ladder-requiring liftover, defined the physicality of the Gremlin, and made the car almost as popular an object of derision as its Pacer stablemate.

But we've not come here to dun the Gremlin, we're here to see if $4,600 is a decent price for this '74 edition with the desirable X package and a 150-bhp, 245 lb-ft of torque V8. The fact that that small block is backed up by a three-speed stick works in its favor, as do the Cragar mags. In 1974, that X package consisted of the noted hockey-stick side stripe, rallye wheels (missing here), body-color grill surround (painted black here, uh-oh) and an engine-turned dash appliqué (phew, its still got that!) as well as high-back bucket seats and a space-saver spare.

On the downside here are the missing original wheels, that fiberglass hood with "working" scoop, and the claim of a Gremlin having appeared in a swiffer ad. There was a Pontiac Astre in a Tampax ad once, and when was the last time you gave a damn about one of those?

So what's your take on this AMC X with the big booty? Does $4,600 make you want to cross out any competitors for your ardor? Or, does that make you want to draw Xs on your eyelids and feign death until it's gone?

You decide!

New York Craigslist or go here if the ad disappears. Hat tip to HiImDannyGanz!

Help me out with NPOCP. Click here to send a me a tip, and remember to include your commenter handle.

Suffering a a fate worse than the 1906 earthquake, yesterday's custom '75 caprice convertible fell to a 78% Crack Pipe vote. Its pristine restoration was overcome by its questionable presentation, something today's candidate doesn't suffer from.

The Chevy S10 pickup truck- workhorse of gardeners nationwide- would not be the first choice of many for hot-rodding. While the engine bay is roomy enough for a pony-packing motor, the light rear end means putting the power down requires sandbags or a sextet of drunken frat boys in the bed to keep it from hopping around like a horny rabbit. But all that changes when you shift the center of mass to be more rear-weighted. That's the thinking (and apparently a lot of beers) that went into this 1987 S10 with a Cadillac 500-cid engine in the back. Looking at the pictures, you can see that not much thought has been given to practicality, but that's okay, this is more of a "watch this" than "help me with this" kind of truck.

The seller doesn't say, but we assume the original S10 motor and transmission have been yanked, which will change the driving dynamics from pickup truck oversteer to why won't it turn, doesn't it see that tree! understeer. But you get the impression that this truck was intended only to be turning at the end of a quarter mile run. The ad claims 500-bhp, and makes the recommendation of wheelie bars. Whether that's pure hyperbole or not, it's fun to imagine lighting it up and popping that nose in the air.

While it looks like a redneck special, and the seller's grasp of spelling and grammar indicates an unfamiliarity with anything higher than 6th grade, that's not to say it hasn't been well done, and possibly wouldn't try and kill you the first chance it gets. And Dr. Papstinstein is only asking $2,500 for his creation, which he says is crasy crasy

Would you also be crasy crasy to plunk down $2,500 for the opportunity to bed this pickup? Or, does that price make you pop a wheelie in your pants?

You decide!

Madison "crasy crasy" Craigslist or go here if the ad disappears. Hat tip to tempesjo!

Help me out with NPOCP. Click here to send a me a tip, and remember to include your commenter handle.

Yesterday's 1979 Cadillac Eldorado drank from the diesel teat, which was part of the reason that 83% of you downed the haterade in its condemnation. But enough about the hate, let's talk about some love- and if you love sourdough bread, foggy summer mornings, and the enduring legend of an island prison escape, then have we got the car for you!

This 1975 Chevy Caprice convertible would be an interesting car even if it were bone stock. Seventy five was the last year for the convertible Caprice, and only 8,349 drop tops left the factory that year. But this Caprice Classic is no ordinary Chevy- and its $14,000 asking price reflects this fact. No, the seller has pimped out this car, not in donktastic or low-ri-duhr fashion, but as a jaunty sky blue and white tribute to California's FOURTH largest city. What the color scheme has to do with San Francisco is a bit of a head scratcher, but the trunklid mural (and this last of the gargantuan Caprices has room for the entire cityscape) depicting the iconic structures of the city, including its bridge which is neither golden, nor possesses a gate. The only thing lacking on the car is to have oro en paz, fierro en guerra in script below the driver's window.

Not lacking, is what's under the hood of this 4,321-lb boulevarder. The seller claims an over-bored 460 with all the friction-reducing, power-adding mods you could think of, and topped by a cherry of a 670-cfm 4-barrel to feed those hungry, hungry hippos. A 400 THM and 373 Posi rear-end keep the power to the pavement, and the billet grill and HID headlamps will left everybody know you're coming through.

So, could you leave your heart in this $14,000 Caprice convertible? Or, does the price and the city homage styling make you want to move out of town?

You decide!

Left my heart in Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.

Help me out with NPOCP. Click here to send a me a tip, and remember to include your commenter handle.

The Eldorado had been a halo product for Cadillac, and a premier personal coupe for decades. The 1979 model year saw a number of changes for the Eldo, among which was a switch to a new platform - along with the Buick Riviera and Oldmobile Toronado - that positioned the cars as large size, rather than the previous grizzly behemoth.

Another change for '79, and a first for Cadillac, was the adoption of the Oldsmobile 350-cid Diesel V8. GM had jumped into the diesel pool with both feet, bringing to market everything from the littlest Chevettes to the most massive B-Bodies, that clattered and smoked, and necessitated gloves for refueling.

Sadly, the Olds diesel was a piece of crap, having been a derivation of a gas engine, (albeit with a specially-deigned, and strengthened block) rather than as a proprietary oil-burner. Under-spec'd head bolts stretched and broke in reaction to 22:1 compression, and fuel system failures proved common due to the lack of a water separator and owners unfamiliarity with the peculiarities of diesel engines. Many of the diesel Cadillacs went back to the dealers for gas engine retrofits after owners complained of the onerously poor durability of their clattery compression-ignition powered cars.

That makes this 1979 Eldorado Biarritz a bit of a survivor as not only is it apparently in decent shape, but still has the Olds oil-burner under its massive hood. That engine lacks every form of modern emissions controls so, while enjoying the Exxon Valdez-like turning radius and agoraphobic's-delight distance between you and everyone else on the road afforded by that massive size and acrid cloud of carcinogenics that follows you, you'll have the satisfaction of knowing that every time you start it, somewhere a tree-hugger dies.

The Biarritz was the top of the line of the top of the line- and shows that off to everyone with its Delorean-taunting stainless steel roof panel. In addition to that snazzy feature, this car is rocking the moonroof so you can let the sun shine down on the hooker's lipstick-red and coney island whitefish interior. There's also an acre of wood on the dash, but don't fear, it's of the dead dinosaur variety, rather than the object of the tree-hugger's affection variety.

That's a lot-o-car. And its has an engine that has withstood the test of time, when many of its brethren didn't. Not only that, but it's only rocking 80K on the clock! And it could be clattering like a school bus in your driveway for only $6,500.

So, $6,500 for a 30-year old diesel Caddy? Is that a Nice Price for this oil-burning luxo-barge? Or, was the seller sniffing the tailpipe when setting that price?

You decide!

Burlington Coat Factory or go here if the ad disappears. Hat tip to camp6ell!

Help me out with NPOCP. Click here to send a me a tip, and remember to include your commenter handle.

Rarely does a group as disparate as this join together as one in a collective dry heave of revulsion over a contender, but that's what yesterday's Auto Zoned-out Jeep Grand Cherokee engendered in 93% of you. To clear that acrid taste form your mouths, today we're going to look at a lovely latin- one you wouldn't be surprised to find sunning topless in San Tropez.

Not San Tropez, but sunny Brentwood California was where disillusioned and kind of creepy Ben Braddock bedded his father's business partner's wife, and then attempted to do the same with her daughter in the movie The Graduate. As played by Dustin Hoffman, Ben's unrequited advances upon daughter Elaine required multiple trips between LA and Berkeley, which were accomplished to the toe-tapping sounds of Simon and Garfunkel, and in an Alfa Romeo boat-tail Duetto. That was back in 1967, and for the next 26 years, the Alfa spider creaked along, receiving the occasional egregious body appendage and cabin-confining safety equipment. In the late ‘80s, Alfa set to the task in replacing the aging Giulia spider with a new, front-wheel drive car that would meet all the requirements of a modern automobile, and would put them in good stead against competitors from BMW and Mercedes.

That car went by the internal model number 916, and was designated in the market as the GTV (in 2+2 coupe form) and Spider (for the 2-seat droptop), both based on the Fiat Tipo platform and featuring a choice of transverse 4 and 6-cylinder engines. Introduced in 1995, these cars were designed with the North American market in mind, however Alfa Romeo folded their tent here before the cars could launch. They did debut elsewhere, and were reasonably successful in the market for the next 10 years.

This yellow 1998 Spider has been spinning its webs in Oregon - where it is claimed to be legally licensed - and has an asking price of $24,950. It has the 1,747-cc Twin Spark 4-V engine, which is good for about 145-bhp. That's due to the variable valve timing and multi-length intake runners which provide, not only a healthy power output, but a flatter torque curve than you would expect out of an Italian four cylinder. Despite that, the variocam is a maintenance issue on these engines, and, like waterpumps, you should replace the variator when you do the timing belt, just in case.

The interior is in excellent shape, but the fight-club black and blue color choice is a bit strange. The Spider is strictly a two-seater, and the roof is made of traditional canvas rather than the metal that is fashionable in today's upper-end drop tops. But that just makes this car's appearance all the more unique. And unique it is with a Pininfarina-designed wedge shape that is still arresting today, 14 years following its launch. There don't appear to be any major issues with the body, nor do the double-five spoke alloy rims seem to have been curbed at any time. The 33,000 kilos on the clock indicate that there hasn't been much opportunity for either to have happened.

With the exception of the rare and expensive 8C, Alfa Romeo doesn't appear to be making a comeback in the U.S. anytime soon. This lovely and, potentially equally rare, spider may be one of the few ways to get into a modern Alfa here, and as the saying goes- you're not a true car person unless you've owned an Alfa. So what do you think of that $24,950 price? Does that put the curds in your whey? Or, like the tuffet-warming miss, does that amount scare you away?

You decide!

Grand Prix Imports or go here if the ad disappears.

Help me out with NPOCP. Click here to send a me a tip, and remember to include your commenter handle.

Yesterday we took a breather from the SEMA craziness for a 1980 Cressida that 58% of you took a shine to. That car was dull as dishwater, and wouldn't do much to improve your scoring score, but today we've got a Jeep that, while not donktastic, will at least let you roll with the playas in the ‘Slades.

Here's a '96 Grand Cherokee that's had some work. While Jeep modifications usually lean toward the Brawny paper towel end of things, this one doesn't look like it enjoys getting dirty. But that doesn't mean it's not the quicker-picker-upper! Along with the requisite brush guards and 4" lift, it's rocking a marblized paint job, two-toned seats and shaved Lambo doors. Ice, Ice, baby!

Underneath all that is a K&N-filtered 5.2-litre V8, fat radial T/As, and all-the time all-wheel drive. And while you usually expect a Jeep's rims to be coated mainly in mud, you might think this seller has lost his marbles as he's extended the marbleized paint to those as well.

What does cost for you to be Rollin' with my homies (sippin' yak all night, yeah) in this marbleized masterpiece? Well, the Buy It Now is a there'll be enough left over for a couple a 40s $8,500. Now, it does have a busted A/C and 162,000 on the clock, but who needs A/C when you've got a ride as cool as this? And you know those miles have been mostly racked up cruising for some chronic-by-the-tree.

So, are you down with $8,500 for this custom Jeep? Or, does that price make this Cherokee less Grand?

You decide!

eBay or go here if the ad disappears.

Help me out with NPOCP. Click here to send a me a tip, and remember to include your commenter handle.

The loathing and rabble rousing ran fast and thick yesterday for the hack-job 6.9 Mercedes, and in the end, it gained a 66% Crack Pipe vote for the loss of its roof and donktastic rims. That Benz would have looked right at home at the SEMA show, which is being held this week in Las Vegas. In fact, it's over the top orgy of chrome and toplessness could be slipped onto the floor today without anyone questioning its pedigree. SEMA is full of wretched excess as accessory makers pile on every oversized wheel, 10,000 watt stereo and metallic-goldfish fade paint job their demo vehicles can handle. Jalopnik is your prime source for all things weird and wonderful from the SEMA show, but you may go into overload with all the Scion-aminos and soulless-eyed Lingenfelter Trans-Am homages. So, as a public service - sort of an aperitif from the high-calorie SEMA gorging - we bring you. . . a 1980 Toyota Cressida.

The Cressida has made the rounds on NPOCP previously, and even Murillee's obsessive documenting of all things patina'd has brought us a number of Toyota's flagship from later in the Reagan era, but the first-gens have been few and far between. This 1980 Cressida comes with 85,000 miles on the odo, and its original engine. That engine is the 4M-E SOHC six, which sports one of Toyota's first attempts at FI in a U.S. model. Backing that is their rock-stock reliable 4-speed overdrive auto box to help keep things calm, and yes, wrapping that all up is a body that brings the brown. You can't get much more soothing than brown. Add to that the killer find of an 8-track tape player so you can whip out those vintage Larry Welk tapes and you're going to be on Golden Pond with this one. And like Frankie, that beige vinyl roof says relax.

And what does this rolling Ambien cost, you ask? Why, it's priced at a sane and sensible $3,250. For that, you'll be getting the ultimate in stealth- why even the Highway Patrol following you would nod-off before lighting you up for speeding after a few miles. Have a hyperactive child? $3,250 is a lot cheaper than pumping him full of Ritalin- just lock him in the back seat and let him wind down in the crushed velour upholstery, cosseted by the fold-down armrest. This is the perfect car for those who are wound too tight as it come from an age before "Cup Holder" entered the OED, and will, as such, limit you to the amount of coffee you are willing to carry wedged between your legs- hence curtailing your intake of caffeine and sugar. Do you have a dog that's too rambunctious, and is always chewing up your shoes and collection of "Classic Hustlers"? This would be the perfect car to run him over with! Why, just having this car parked in your driveway would mean overcoming those weeks of insufferable insomnia caused by the newlyweds next door and their apparent aversion to window coverings.

So, what say you regarding this 1980 Cressida and its $3,250 price tag? Does that get you dreaming of a Nice Price? Or, is that like getting awakened by a cold splash of water to the face, and a swift kick to the nuts?

You decide!

Holy Toledo Craigslist or go here if the ad disappears.

Props to Dealkiller for the tip!

Help me out with NPOCP. Click here to send a me a tip, and remember to include your commenter handle.

Yesterday we chatted up a high-mileage 840Ci until the owner showed up and we all had to look busy. But that wasn't before 55% of you bought a ticket for the Nice Price express. That car's attraction was in its originality and nearly factory-fresh appearance, and today we have another product of der Fatherland, but if this one went home, its own mother might not recognize it.

Mercedes Benz has a long history of making autobahn-chewing locomotives. When the W116 S-Class superseded the W109 in 1974, the opportunity was taken to upgrade the M100 from 6.3 litres to 6.9. The 450SEL 6.9 was built on its own assembly line, and debuted with a number of advanced technologies including Citroen-sourced hydropneumatic suspension and an early attempt at anti-lock brakes, co-developed with Bosch.

That mighty 6.9 put out like a porn star. Factory specs are 286-bhp and 405-ft-lb of twisty-twist, enough to pull the 4,200-lb car to sixty from a standstill in a hair over seven ticks. The iron block V8 uses a forged crank and connecting rods along with sodium-filled valves for strength and durability. After being hand-built, each engine was bench-tested prior to being dropped under the hood of the 116-inch wheelbase sedans. Very limited in production numbers, and at over $16,000 new, the top of the line Benz competed with Ferrari and Rolls for executive car buyer's dollars.

But that's not the case today, as we have a 1978 example that's asking only $6,000 to plop down behind the driver's seat. Not only that but it comes with a litany of upgrades, euro-spec parts, and one option that isn't from that exclusive assembly line- a roadster top. Yeah, this is a 450 SEL not an SL, and it's still rocking the four doors. What it's missing is the frame around those doors as well as all the metal that connected those frames together. You could lament the loss of the sunroof, which would give you the option of open or closed motoring, because this bad boy lacks any kind of top whatsoever. That means that those living in rainy climates, or lacking covered parking should probably just keep walking here.

Now this is a Euro-spec car so it sports the pencil bumpers rather than the federal car's battering rams, but with the structural integrity of the top gone, it'd probably be best not to run into anything harder than an old friend at the mall.

So, one man's meat is another man's 6.9 without a roof, and while this is a unique property, it may not be for everybody, what about that $6,000? Does that price blow the doors off as well as the roof? Or, is this one 6.9 that you think should be 86'd?

You decide!

San Francisco Craigslist or go here if the ad disappears.

Help me out with NPOCP. Click here to send a me a tip, and remember to include your commenter handle.

A halo car must have a presence, whether it be in its dramatic countenance or commanding proportions. The BMW E-31 8-series had both these factors playing in its favor when it was introduced at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 1989. With a nose reminiscent of the original BMW turbo, pillar-less coupe body and originally the M7B50 V12 engine, it was positioned above the older 6-series coupe, and against the competing Mercedes S-class coupes.

Despite having so much going for it, the 850 was somewhat unloved, and sales reflected that. In an attempt to provide a broader price range - and greater sales - for the coupe, V8-engined versions were introduced to supplement the big twelves. And while sales never really took off, the lighter, and less thirsty V8s proved to overcome the 850s reputation as a ponderous handler, which was due to the engine weight and despite being their first car with the now ubiquitous multilink rear end.

Today's candidate is a 1995 example of that lighter V8-powered car, dubbed the 840Ci. This is one of 7,232 8-series cars sold in the U.S., and sports the M60B40 4 litre eight, which is good for a healthy 280-bhp. That's backed up by the 5-speed automatic, and pretty much everything else on the car is automatic as well.

The seller is asking $10,995, and while he claims KBB retail of $13,070. Fair market for private party comes up $10,700. The funny thing is his reason for selling it. He's big into BMWs, but apparently his wife isn't into big BMWs! The seller claims that he bought it for her - even dumping $3,000 into maintenance - only to have her complain that it was too big, and that- in her best goldilocks voice - a Z4 would be juuuuust right.

One hundred and eighty-five thousand on the clock don't seem to have taken too great a toll on the car, and as these are pretty sturdy beasts it wouldn't be untoward to expect another hundred thou before something serious goes tits up.

So, is this V8-series desirable enough that you might find that $10,999 price tag to be just right? Or does that price give you size issues as well?

You decide!

eBay-Em-Dubbu or go here if the ad disappears.

Help me out with NPOCP. Click here to send a me a tip, and remember to include your commenter handle.

It turns out $18,500 for a Mini ragtop doesn't let the sunshine in, as 73% of you pointed out with your Crack Pipe votes yesterday. If that British icon didn't crown your jewels, let's hop over the channel and take a look at a frog that got turned into a prince which just might warm your brie.

The R5 Turbo was planned as a WRC racer, intended to dominate the tarmac events across Europe. To that end, it did win at Monte Carlo, and took the chequered twice at the Tour De Corse. Up against the mighty all-wheel drive competitors from Audi, Peugeot and Lancia, the rear-driven R5 never captured the ultimate goal of a WRC title.

The basis for the R5 Turbo was, of course, the R5, or Le Car here in the States. Tiny, slow, and of dubious reliability, the 5 seemed an odd choice upon which to mount a serious factory racing effort. But while popping out R5s to pay the bills, Louis Renault's namesake was using some of those profits to invest in hyper-horsepower turbo engines for Formula One. In a you got your peanut butter turbo in my chocolate R5 rear end moment, their engineers realized that WRC cars needed horsepower, but not back seats and the R5 Turbo was born from that F1 technology and Le Car body.

The result of that mating arrived wearing only the roof and window glass of the plebeian R5, but looked enough like its dad that paternity testing wouldn't be required. Homologation requirements meant producing road-going versions of the rally car, however none of those was deemed appropriate for U.S. shores, where we got the Alliance and Encore instead.

A few, including today's 1985 Turbo II have been brought in by private owners, as well as about 200 that were imported and federalized by Sun International Racing, of Manhattan Beach, Calif. They show up from time to time in the classifieds, and in fact this one has come up on more than one occasion - appearing on the market for $35,000 a little more than a year ago. Like many near-exotics it's current price reflects a diminished demand for such investments.

Powering the R5 T2 is Renault's 1.4-liter pushrod four, fitted with a big-valve Alpine hemi head, and intercooled AirResearch T03 turbocharger. That was good for 160-bhp in standard trim, and the 5-speed close-ratio gearbox from the R30 was stout enough to handle those ponies.

While the first version rocked a county lockup jumpsuit-orange interior, unique seats and blue- or red-only paint. The Turbo II, as exemplified here, changed that out for a wider color palette and standard R5 GT interior trim. That makes it a pretty nice place to be while using the car for its intended purpose- switchback sailing - and, if you keep it in the revs, it's good for 6 ticks to sixty. Maintaining boost is critical to keeping the car from getting bogged down as there is some lag and torque is mostly just a theory below 3K rpm.

Another thing that'll need to be rev'd up is your bank account because this R5 is asking $27,000 for driving privileges. As I noted, it was on the market last year for nearly a 30% premium, and If it's not selling now, maybe it'll come down even further. So what do you think, is it time to jump on this little frog at $27,000? Or, is that price still le creuset de crack?

You decide!

The OC Craigslist or go here if the ad disappears.

Help me out with NPOCP. Click here to send a me a tip, and remember to include your commenter handle.

After yesterday's Baur-roofed BMW drew a 75% Nice Price vote, we thought it might be a good idea to keep the convertible vibe alive today with a Mini that also doesn't shun the sun, but may be a bit too twee for its own good.

When Alec Issigonis first designed the Mini, he felt that he had created the purest form of family transportation. Ads showed a family of four and enough luggage to choke a hippo that supposedly all fit inside the tiny car, all at the same time. Utilizing several clever packaging measures, such as side-mounted radiator and sump-sharing gearbox, the Mini managed to be microcar small without actually seeming so. Not only that, but it was powered by one of the best engines to ever come out of BMC - the A-series four cylinder, and its (at first rubber cone, then later Hydrolastic displacer) suspension makes the car flingable and easy to manage regardless of road condition. Add to that the security of front wheel drive and the Mini was positioned as the most advanced small car in the world.

One thing the Mini originally lacked at its launch was a variety of body styles. Eventually Clubman wagons, booted Riley Elfs and Italianate Innocentis plied the road, and then, somebody thought it would be a good idea to hack the roof off.

Today's car is presented as a 1970, but it isn't from that year. The choice of that year may be due to eBay's VIN number requirements, or perhaps a end-run around DOT and EPA requirements. Regardless, the car is equipped with the dual-point fuel injected Plus version of the long-serving 1275-cc A-series, which wasn't made available until 1991. The interior, filled with luxurious walnut burl and red-piped leather also belies the year, as that dash was introduced with the Mini Cooper 1.3i. Finally, this is one of 75 Lamm Autohaus Mini conversions done by a German Mini dealer prior to the official Rover Mini Cabriolet. The difference between the two cars is evident in the rear side windows- the Rover has wind-down glass, the Lamm cars have plastic windows sewn into what is reminiscent of a very poorly fitting Wrangler top. And, in fact with that top up, the car is woefully fugly, looking like a Mini that is wearing a poor-fitting toupee.

But that's not why you buy a convertible, you buy it for top-down driving enjoyment. And the Mini looks much better with the top stowed under the bustle-capping tonneau, although in a car this small, there's not much room for the folded hood, and it does lend the appearance of a shopping trolly when down. The Rover version sits even higher.

The Lamm conversion adds about 20-lbs to the Mini's weight, bringing it up to 1530-lbs. The 63-bhp engine will move that to sixty in about 12 ticks, and further, all the way up to its hood-up top speed of 92 mph.

The BRG over walnut and leather is a very appropriate color match for this littlest Brit, and the 32,000 miles showing on the clock fall somewhere in between it's a dried-up garage queen and somebody musta' unscrewed the speedo cable. And while that top is pretty hideous, it is one of only 75, and there's even fewer here in the U.S. than that. And it still has all that Mini goodness that all of Issigonis' offspring possess. Which brings us to the price. The seller of this micro-brute is asking $18,500 to drive it away. For that kind of scratch you could buy a whole bunch of less-rare drop-tops, including miatas, Mustangs, and even several of yesterday's Baur 318is. But just because there are options doesn't mean this isn't a valid choice. Mini ragtops are rare, the base car is fun, and what the hell, it's a good way to determine if you're gay or not- not that there's anything wrong with that.

So what do you vote for this $18,500 soft-top Mini? Do you swing Nice Price? Or, are you not curious yellow, and call the Crack Pipe?

You decide!

eBay or go here if the ad disappears.

Help me out with NPOCP. Click here to send a me a tip, and remember to include your commenter handle.