THE Place for Automotive Oddities
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Did someone chop the top on a Porsche 959?!
Uh…no. This is a replica which will offer almost none of the 959’s performance. Still, how can you put a price on silliness? Will Karmann Ghia fans be offended? Is that what’s under here? The seller indicates it’s registered as a 1990 VW. Click for eBay ad Kew Gardens, NY $10,600 BIN price 09/02/2013 update:…
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Our first Encore presentation!
We like forgotten cars, so we love this Renault Encore ad. The owner apparently spent a lot of time and money on this, possibly making it the nicest Encore extant. See ad text for remarkable detail. The only downside is the automatic transmission; but, really, how fun was this to drive in any form? Click…
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Quickie: A better 323GTX?
Recently, we featured a Mazda 323GTX with some frame rust issues. Here we have what might be a better one, but one which still raises a few questions and also mentioned undercarriage rust. This one has clear coat issues and some admitted idle trouble. The clapping-up isn’t bad on this car, so maybe someone with…
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Quickie: This Festiva is too weird to ever really go away
We featured this Festiva a while back as part of our Two homemade shitboxes story. It appears that it sold and buyer’s remorse set in quickly. This seller actually provides more information and pictures than the last one, even though the last seller was apparently the builder. Odd note: This seller bought this strange beast for his…
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Tesla Accessory?
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Can this 80s oddity be saved?
We miss the Isuzu Impulse. It offered cool Italian styling (in the first generation), Turbo power and a cool 80s-modern interior. These were never record-breaking sellers, but Impulses – turbo or otherwise – used to be fairly common sightings. What happened? We can’t think when we last saw one in person and they only come…
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Strange on these shores: 1969 Ford T-5
Though there must not have been much volume, the early Ford Mustang was sold in some parts of Europe. Due to a copyright dispute, the Mustang was called the T-5 when sold in Germany. These pop up from time to time, usually representing the mid 1960s. This 1969 model is particularly unusual and appears to…
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Celebrating failure?
So far, this millennium has been sad for an assortment of brands that had the misfortune of being tangled up with US domestic automakers. GM axed Oldsmobile, Pontiac and short-lived Saturn (poor Geo didn’t make it out of the 90s) Of course, the GM cancer extended to Isuzu back in the 90s and, very recently,…
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Irvine Cars and Coffee sightings: August 10, 2013
Today’s visit was quick and spectator-only in order to catch up with a good friend I hadn’t seen in too long. As such, I didn’t get too many photos, but the oddness level is still pretty high. This seems to be a crowdfunded project called Pendler Motors. It’s a motorcycle/car combo, obviously. Pretty interesting! This…
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Bring a black light! (Van content)
Where to begin with this? This van appears to have it all – ugly custom paint, textured shag carpet, wood paneling, bar, fridge, accessory AC and plaid on the seats AND headliner. It’s also being sold by a charity, so this is for a good cause! It truth, this vehicle may stand as proof that…