Tag Archives: Car Spots

Car Spots

Car Spotting: Jeep Gladiator’s Great Great Grandpa

Leave a comment

Enjoying retirement in Florida

Florida is a great place to see classic cars since the weather is great. No salt on the roads means that a car can have a very long life. Take for example this Willys Jeep I spotted on a recent trip. As best I can tell, it began life as a pickup or wagon and was later converted to this flatbed. It has some restomoding but otherwise looks original. I couldn’t help but notice the shift knob that looks like it came from an AMC.

They were manufactured in the U.S. from 1946 to 1964, with production in Argentina and Brazil continuing until 1970 and 1977 respectively. They were the first mass-market all-steel station wagons designed and built as passenger vehicles. There were over 300,000 wagons and variants built in the U.S. It was one of Willys’ most successful post-World War II models.

It looks as if this Jeep’s tour of duty might be over as right now it spends the bulk of its time in front of a bar/restaurant on Matlacha Island located about an hour north of Ft. Myers, FL.

This Jeep lives in a northern clime but has never been on the roads during the winters. This 1950 Jeepster I discovered on a recent trip to The Automobile Gallery in Green Bay, WI. This is a fascinating place to visit and it’s run by my former TV boss and fellow car geek Darrel Burnett.

This Jeepster, and hundreds more vehicles, are part of a collection of Wm “Red” Lewis. Like all of the cars he owned, this one looks as if it just came off the assembly line in Toledo. 20,000 were produced from 1948 to 1950 but only 5,845 in its last year. For those looking for an entry into the collector car scene, these are very affordable going for around $20,000 and a blast to drive in the summer. And no, it’s not for sale. I already worked Darrel over on that. Be sure to check out my other car spots. A new one is added on Fridays.

Advertisement
Car Spots, Fun Stuff

Car Spotting: One of one Mercury

Leave a comment

Automotive icon steps in to make it happen

The Mercury Park Lane was a full-sized automobile that produced by the Mercury division of Ford Motor Company. It was the flagship of the Mercury model line upon its introduction. Typical of the big cars in the mid-60’s, long wheelbase, nicely appointed interior, and a big V-8. While it would easily keep up with traffic, it wasn’t really a speed demon. Except for this example.

John Kroll went to his local Lincoln-Mercury in Escanaba, MI, looking to take a Park Lane to the next level. Starting with the top-of-the-line Park Lane S55, he wanted it equipted with the Special Police Interceptor Package. Beyond the upgrades to the chassis and suspension, it included a Super High-Performance 428 V-8 with 400+ horsepower. An engine normally found in Cobras and Mustangs. The dealer sent the order along only to have it cancelled by Ford saying that the package is only available to police departments.

Not to be denied John picked up the phone and called Detroit to find out the reason for the order being cancelled. He made his case and it got sent up the line, way up the line. The next voice he heard was Lee Iacocca, yup Lido himself, asking if he could help John with something. Iacocca told John his order was cancelled because Ford Motor Company didn’t make Police Specials in 2-door hardtops with bucket seats and especially for civilians. But John persisted and on March 22nd of 1966 took delivery of the only car of its kind in the world with the Special Police Interceptor Package!

This car is located at The Automotive Gallery in Green Bay, WI. Oh, and just happens to be run by fellow car geek Darrel Burnett. My car spots run every Friday so check back next week to read about another interesting car I found.

Car Spots, Fun Stuff

Its mother was an S-10 Blazer

Leave a comment

Supercool Rodster

I love unusual cars. Maybe that’s why I like AMC cars so much. They tend to attract me. So I was at this car show in Florida recently where there were all kinds of cool Corvettes, Ford GTs, and even a 1970 AMX. But it was this Rodster that caught my eye. It’s called the Cruisin’ Machine and it’s a kit car.

The Rodster is the brainchild of Henry Caroselli, a talented designer with a background in award-winning advertising work for the Mazda RX-7, the Miata, and a stint at the Magic Kingdon. His intent with the Rodster was to design a cruisin’ machine with several styling traits of historic automobilia and place it on a stout, modern chassis that would make the build easy and make the finished car reliable and dependable and a drive-anywhere looker. The kit costs $3,999 and includes all the body parts and interior. The builder just needs to acquire a Chevy/GMC S-10 Blazer/Jimmy. If you like to build, this one is for you. It’s certainly something you don’t see every day.

Car Spots, Fun Stuff

Car Spotting: VW’s compact car, the Type 3

Leave a comment

A “wagon” comes to the VW line …

When just about anybody mentions VW, the first image is probably the bug. Not exactly a family-friendly vehicle and that’s part of the reason VW introduced the Type 3 at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 1961. In the U.S. it was to compete with Chevy’s Corvair which hit the market a year earlier. The Type 3 came in three body styles, Notchback, Fastback, and this Squareback (sort of a wagon) that I spotted near Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis., on a recent trip.

Car spotting

More than a million of these were manufactured in Germany, Brazil, and Australia until production ended in 1973. What are they worth? I checked on Classic.com and found them just as affordable as the bug ranging from $3,000 all the way up to $43,000 while averaging around $15,000.

Check back next Friday for another car spot.

Car Spots, Fun Stuff

Car Spotting: Giving this one the boot

Leave a comment

Meet the Bootmobile

No, I do not mean the Batmobile. Outdoor retailer L.L. Bean decided that it needed something to celebrate its 100th anniversary by creating this memorable vehicle. I was stopped at a major intersection not far from my home when I spotted it across from me in the oncoming lane. I could not get my phone up fast enough to grab this picture and I’m sure that’s the thought behind it.

Imagine the looks this gets in traffic.

The Bootmobile is 20.5 feet long, 7.5 feet wide, 13 feet tall, and of course, street legal. The base vehicle is a Ford F-250a Super Duty Power Stroke with a fiberglass body. What size would this be in real life? Picture a man that’s 143 feet tall.

Car Spots, Fun Stuff

Car Spotting: A rare Ferrari

Leave a comment

California Dreaming in Wisconsin …

What normal car person doesn’t turn their head when they see a Ferrari? I had one drive right up to me this past summer while working at Ironwood Golf Course in Wisconsin. My duties at bag drop for a charity golf outing were put on hold as I grabbed my phone to take these pictures. All my co-workers know what a car geek I am and laughed as I started drooling. I mean first, it was a Ferrari and second, a California.

Introduced in 2008, it’s powered by a front-mid-mounted 4.3-liter V8. Later models were powered by a twin-turbo 3.9-liter V8. I have to be honest with you, I’m not sure what year this was. Forgot to ask. This car incorporates a bunch of Ferrari firsts:

  • First front-engined Ferrari with a V8
  • First to feature a 7-speed dual-clutch transmission
  • First hardtop convertible with a folding metal roof
  • First with a multi-link rear suspension
  • First with direct fuel injection

As far as I could find there were not a lot of these built each year, less than 1,500, which makes them rare, even rarer for one to have made its way to Wisconsin.

Have a great weekend and come back next Friday for another Wisconsin car spot.

Car Spots, Fun Stuff, When they were new

Car Spotting: An under appreciated Mustang

Leave a comment

A Mustang fully loaded

Most of us think of the performance-based Mustangs targeted towards the youth market yet there was one that took a different direction, the upscale Grande. Produced from 1969 to 1973 it was only available as a hardtop. It had tons of options, 45 to be exact, which was a lot at the time and included “Comfortweave” hopsack upholstery, extra-thick carpet on the floorboards, two-tone narrow stripes, faux woodgrain dashboard, padded interior side panels, racing-style mirrors, chrome rocker panel moldings, and wire-style wheel covers.

Mustang Grande I spotted this summer while working at Ironwood Golf Course

Ford also gave drivers the option to order any Mustang engine for the Grande, even including the 428 Cobra Jet V8. This option drove up the price significantly, especially combined with the more elegant Grande package. That said, any surviving Grandes with miscellaneous engines have become very collectible, and only 62 Grandes were built with a 428 Cobra Jet in 1969. Hagery lists an average price for all four years of production at around $12,000 with almost $30,000 for a Concours level example making it a very affordable collectible like this one.

An excellent example. Bodywork looked great

My car spots appear every Friday here on SavageOnWheels.com. Be sure to check back and keep your phone out and ready to snap that next great spot. Have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Fun Stuff

Car Spotting: The forgotten Chevy

Leave a comment

A BMW beater

During the summer months, I work part-time at Ironwood Golf Course, a short drive from where I live. The area is a haven for cool cars like this Chevy SS, produced from 2014-2017. While this might look like just another four-door sedan, it will beat a ton of cars while doing it with less cash.

A wolf in sheep’s clothing

GM had to do little in the way of development for this car because it was a rebadged Holden Commodore. GM owned Holden at the time but later pulled out of the Australian market ceasing operations just last year. Too bad because Holden turned out some really badass cars.

A fast family sedan

This family sedan was only offered with a 6.2-liter V8 engine putting out 415 horsepower. It can with a six-speed manual or automatic and could do 0-60 in under 5 seconds. Inside It had ample seating for five and came standard with leather seats that were embroidered and luxuriously stitched all for just $45,000. Should have sold GM’s projected 12,000-15,000 units a year but this is GM you’re talking about. They only sold around 3,000. Why? Never advertised the car. You can still buy one today but don’t expect any deals. Now they are in demand and expect to pay close to what they retailed at.

More spots to come.