Tag: “Special” edition

  • The  Flintstones’ Autobianchi

    The Flintstones’ Autobianchi

    Yes, here we have yet another bottom-feeder mircocar.  Autobianchis were ‘upscale’ microcars based on Fiat 500s back in the day.  They had unique sheetmetal and upmarket interiors, at least as compared to basic Fiats.  This Bianchina Transfomabile is a coupe with canvas sunroof, which is the ‘transformable’ part.  This one was used as a display…

  • Worst “Special” Editions Ever?  The Tercel Hawks.

    Worst “Special” Editions Ever? The Tercel Hawks.

    For some reason, Toyota decided to make not one, not two, but three special edition Tercel variants in the late 90s.  Given Tercel was the predecessor to the Yaris and occupied the lowest position in the lineup, special editions may seem strange; but these were really what we call ‘buzz’ cars, designed to offer a…

  • Celebrate the 1972 Munich Olympics in Style!

    Celebrate the 1972 Munich Olympics in Style!

    You’ll just have to get through a full restoration to get the style part.  For the 1972 model year, Ford offered a Sprint package on the Pinto, Maverick and Mustang.  Both had white-over-blue paint with a red separating stripe, steel wheels with trim rings and “poverty dish” hubcaps with a matching blue stripe and a…

  • A Somewhat Special Seventies Scirocco

    A Somewhat Special Seventies Scirocco

    The Scirocco was Volkswagen’s sporty car offering after the retirement of the long-lived Karmann Ghia in the mid 1970s.  It was based on the same platform as the Rabbit, so it offered front-wheel drive and four-cylinder engines; but the Giugiaro-styled body was unique and the chassis had many upgrades to offer a more sporting drive.…

  • Salvageable ASC McLaren Mustang?

    Salvageable ASC McLaren Mustang?

    The ASC McLaren Mustang was an interesting car, as it’s a bit hard to define its purpose.  Originally, ASC converted Fox body Mercury Capris into convertibles – something that made some sense, given a convertible was never offered by the factory.  Later, however, they took to modifying Mustang convertibles with a different top, more raked…

  • The Most “Florida” Car Ever?

    The Most “Florida” Car Ever?

    A four-cylinder Camry with a dealer-created “special edition” package including gold badges and a puffy top.  Does it get more Florida?  I’ll bet this car has been parked squarely in front of every early bird buffet and bingo hall within a six-mile radius of its home.  Given it likely wasn’t driven locally much more than…

  • Scout this Out

    Scout this Out

    Here we have a Scout II Patriot Edition, claimed to be one of 200.  The Patriot edition came with a cool red, white and blue color scheme and has a hardtop, unlike the otherwise similar Spirit of ’76 edition.  This car also has the XLC package, which apparently means eXtra Load Capacity and was the…

  • “California Custom” Dodge Aspen

    “California Custom” Dodge Aspen

    What’s better than a Dodge Aspen? How about a custom Dodge Aspen which includes some questionable choices?  It seems some California Dodge dealers got a factory nod to make this ‘custom’ Aspen after a This car was apparently a throwback to the 50s based on the popularity of Happy Days.  This site has more info…way…

  • Psuedo Boss:  2007 Parnelli Jones Saleen Mustang

    Psuedo Boss: 2007 Parnelli Jones Saleen Mustang

    When the Mustang GT was still powered by a 4.6-liter V8 with 300 horsepower, the Saleen 302 was a badass with 400 horsepower on tap.  When the car was introduced for the 2007 model year, the first 500 cars were limited edition Parnelli Jones models and went as far as they legally could toward duplicating…

  • Best Version of One of the Most Boring Cars Ever!

    Best Version of One of the Most Boring Cars Ever!

    Ahh, the GM A-Body.  Examples include the Chevy Celebrity and Pontiac 6000, along with our feature car, the Cutlass Ciera.  These cars are not to be confused with the rear-wheel drive, two-door Cutlasses every family had in the early 80s, this is a front-wheel drive box. If you must own and/or drive an A-Body, the…