Thunder Stick: 1993 Ford Lightning 5 speed

The first generation Ford Lightning pick up truck was marketed as a Mustang GT with a pick up bed.  The good folks from SVT worked their magic on a F150 and created a muscle truck complete with a brawny 5.8 engine and suspension make over.  The 1993-95 Lightning was not particularly quick new (definitely not now), but it was able to haul a real payload unlike the GMC Syclone.  Ford only fitted these trucks with E4OD auto trans, but today's example has been converted to a M5R2 5 speed manual transmission making it a rare bird worthy of DT readership eyes.  Find this 1993 Ford Lightning for sale in Northeast, CT for $9,500 via craigslist.

Fancy Falcon: 1974 Ford Landau

The Australian breed of muscle car isn't especially rare, with GM, Ford, and Chrysler all building muscle cars somewhat analogous to their American counterparts. What was more rare was the Australian personal luxury car. 'Personal luxury car' isn't a term we use in Australia, instead we prefer to call everything with two doors, regardless of it being a Toyota Corolla or a Rolls-Royce Corniche, a coupe - even if they might be a hardtop. Interestingly, the Landau never featured a landau roof, which is as much of a blatant lie as calling your eighth child "Precious". Find this 1974 Ford Landau for sale in Williamstown, Victoria, for $20k AUD ($14,600 USD at the time of writing) via gumtree.

5k Presidential: 1974 Gerry Ford Gran Torino w/ 351 Grover Cleveland V8

Gerald Ford was the 38th president and is best known for pardoning recently impeached resigned president Nixon, presiding over a horrible economy and the malaise era: a period of time when the worst cars ever were built.  The cars built from 1974-1977 during Mr Ford's reign were heavy, ugly, slow and unreliable - assaulted from both ends manufacturer's desire for quick profit and the government's desire for safety and emissions.  This 1974 Gerry Ford Torino is powered by a Grover Cleveland V8 and for sale in Cranford, NJ, currently bidding on ebay for $4,164 with 3 days to go.