Rest in Peace; Hunsbloger 1954-2019

DT E-i-C Vince: It is with some degree of difficulty and much sorrow that I inform you, our readers, of the passing of a DT writer and dear friend.  Hunsbloger has joined those who have flown to the great junk yard in the sky...and he will be missed.  I've known Huns for over 20 years, and in that time I've found him to be a fantastic car builder, a prolific storyteller, a great dad, a dedicated husband, and a wonderful friend.

Pacer Memories or A Visit to The PX: 1976 AMC Pacer X

To close out the week, we'd like to share with you a bit of old-school car sales knowledge and Pacer memories from our resident ex-dealer, Hunsbloger. Huns starts by saying: "The worst part about looking at this horribly vague ad is that it dredges up memories that I wish had stayed buried." Find this 1976 AMC Pacer X with rare manual trans option in Anchorage, AK for $3,500 via craigslist. Tip from Zach Z.

Daily Turismo Fleet Update

It's been about a year since the last update on the goings on with the cars that make up the DT fleet.   There has been some additions, sales, crashes and a couple of new guys have staff  joined the staff since the last update in July, 2015.

Not the DT fleet, but there have been a few Volvos and Miatas and even a 911 in the fleet.

So, here's what's been going on with the cars in the DT fleet. 

Coffee Brake: DT Book Review -- Six Men Who Built the Modern Auto Industry

-by Hunsbloger: Today's Coffee Brake will be a short review of the book Six Men Who Built the Modern Auto Industry by Richard A. Johnson.  I highly recommend this book which is a very quick and entertaining read which does an outstanding job of outlining the relevant portions of each of these six men's biographies as well as inviting the reader behind the scenes to the less well known dynamics of the 'what-if's' or 'what could have been's which were so heavily reliant upon their interpersonal relationships.

Miscellaneous Ramblings and Musings From The Coronado Speed Festival

-by Hunsbloger: I miss Andy Rooney on Sunday nights.  As I get older and my eyebrows are starting to look more like his, I'm beginning to understand how certain things just caught his attention, even though they escaped the notice of others (Squirrel!)  Vince gave a more complete account of the races, so I figured I'd pry the microphone out of Andy's cold dead fingers to point out some of the things that would have otherwise gone unnoticed.  (Feel free to read in his voice)

 "What're you thinking?" or "Ethan Hunt's Car" 

Someone having taken the time to get up extra early in the morning, drove early to the base, paid extra to get their car parked in  the car show area, only to leave it protected from the admiring gaze of the public...by leaving it under cover all day. Don't waste your time trying to decode the model of car cover as it was made by the now defunct North Coast Tarpaulin Works and there is no online catalog.

DT Radio Show Ep 10: We Talk Meat, Buicks, And Pakistan With Hunsbloger

In our diamond show (is that a thing?) we talk about all kinds of things with DT contributor Hunsbloger who stayed awake for the entire recording and is one of the nicest guys you will ever meet.  Listen to all the shows here. Big thanks to producer Ben for hacking together another great show.

DT Birthday Celebration: The Daily Turismo Fleet

A look at DT's own cars, past and present...

Not actually DT cars...but who doesn't like E30s and E34s?

Continuing our 3rd Birthday Celebration from Friday, we turn the focus inward for a minute to reflect on our own cars and experiences with them.

5k: Not For Fun, For FUNDS: 2000 Ford Taurus SE Wagon for $3k

 We here at DT have a mission to get as many cars into our garages as possible for as many different types of driving; but there's one type of vehicle that is hard for many of us to escape.  Something to haul the wife and kids to work/school everyday that isn't prone to unexpected delays due to mechanical failure.  Hunsbloger keeps pounding us with his low cost of ownership and operation of no less than 4 Tauri/Sable as the cheapest way to get something safe, economical and most of all cheap enough to afford us the opportunity to spend our hard earned cash elsewhere.  Trust us when we tell you that is the only reason this 80,000 mile 2000 Ford Taurus Wagon, with Duratec V6 offered at $3,400 here on eBay  is gracing our pages this morning.  The low mileage ones are all but gone, which makes this 80,000 mile example worth your time to consider.

5k: Craiglsist vs eBay: 1993 Mercedes 400 SEL W140

We scour the internet looking for car deals.  Each of us has our favorite sites and search engines that we use trying to find our unicorns.  I tend to prefer Ebay over Craigslist just because eBay's search features are so much better, even though I have to constantly keep an eye out for shill bidding on eBay.  I have developed a higher confidence level in the people I'm potentially dealing with on eBay and remain leery of what's lurking in the Craigslist world (too much time in the Detroit suburbs I guess).  This post is more of a comparison of the feature differences between Criagslist and eBay, but I was lucky enough to stumble across a really nice car that's featured on both sites. Find this 1993 Mercedes 400 SEL with just 43,000 miles listed both here on Craigslist and here on eBay. The seller is asking $6,500 on Craigslist (which we'll assume is his Buy-it-Now price) with bidding currently at $5,201 on his no reserve Ebay auction which will be at the end of the business day here in CA.

5k: Down But Not Out: 1977 Cadillac Sedan DeVille

1977 was a pivotal year for full sized Cadillac product offering.  Engine power from the fuel sucking V8s had been down since '73, but you could pick someone up in a one year old '76 Caddy and still kind of wow them with their overall hugeness. However the '77 was to Cadillac kind of what the Mustang II was to the Mustang.  Gone was the 500 cubic inch V8 and rear fender skirts, and in its place was a flimsy piece of engineering that required new paint within the decade...but today's example actually looks tempting.  Find this 1977 Cadillac Sedan DeVille offered for $5,000 in Billings, MT via craigslist.  Tip from Oldsmobuick.

Coffee Brake: FrankenCar

There is that special category of cars known as the FrankenCar. It is more than a simple engine swap or a fancy paint job, it is an unlikely pairing of engine, body and chassis for which the reader gets to decide if it's genius or folly.  A FrankenCar is a confluence of cacophony that can strike a chord or make you totally deaf.  This feature is meant to be a catalyst for discussion; First, find us some FrankenCars; Second, do we focus too much on the insane?  In the meantime, enjoy this Corbird (or Firevair?) -- it is a 1965 Corvair on a 1977 Firebird Chassis currently bidding for $5,000 in Los Angeles, CA via eBay.

Coffee Brake: Your Worst Car Buy

What's been your worst car, best learning experience?  This is mine -- Coffee Brake by Hunsbloger.

Mine-My first car was an unfortunate '62 Karmann Ghia which I managed to kill by literally flogging it to death, trying to reach speeds beyond 72 mph. I was near the end of my freshman year in college in 1973, when I was hitchhiking home on a rainy evening.  A guy picked me up in a '63 TR4.  We started talking and before I was dropped off, I got his phone number and found out he'd take $350 for the TR4.

Not my TR4, a pic from grassrootsgroundswell on flickr.

5k: Monza in Corsa Clothes: 1965 Corvair Monza Convertible

Sometimes we get lucky and life presents us with choices which are in black and white, but most of the time we live in the dog-eat-dog world where its all varying shades of gray, just like those stippled portraits in the NYTimes and this White/Black 1965 Corvair Monza convertible in Tumtum, WA which is currently offered on Ebay with a required opening bid of  $4,400 but no bids in play, with just one day left to run. This car's white/black color combination and generally decent appearance isn't enough to overcome its elements of gray which seem to be keeping the bidders away; making it ripe for a DT pick.

5k: Statesboro Beige: 1962 Pontiac Star Chief

Its a poorly kept secret that the unifying force behind the DT staff is ADD (no, not Advanced Dungeons and Dragons, we are talking about Attention Deficit...hey, lets go ride our bikes).  Case in point, how would anyone find a correlation between Taj Mahal, a 1962 Pontiac and the Allman Brothers?  Piece of cake, if you're willing to follow my down the rabbit hole of this affliction...

I heard the Statesboro Blues for the first time when Taj Mahal  played a free concert on the shores of the Duck Pond at UMass (Amherst) when I was 13 yrs old in 1967. While Taj Mahal is considered the consummate natch'l bluesman, he was in fact raised in Springfield, MA.  A couple of years later, Duane Allman, who was a bona fide Georgian, burst onto the scene with his incredible slide version of the same peach. For the past 44 years, I've always thought it would have been great if Taj and the Allman brothers could have collaborated.  Well, tonight, I came across this video where Derek Trucks stands in for Duane Allman as Taj Mahal sings the Statesboro Blues, but only because when I was 8 years old (in 1962), I was introduced to the 1962 Pontiac's in my uncle's Buick/Pontiac when my Dad test drove a Grand Prix. Unfortunately, we drove home in a '62 Catalina 4 door hardtop, even though  the  Star Chief could have been a compromise between those two.

Which brings us to today's DT where we find that this 1962 Pontiac Star Chief in Statesboro, GA whose owner is offering this 52 years old piece of 'Merican Iron on Craigslist for $5,000.

5k: Short Pants With Teeth: 1972 Mercury Capri V8 Perana Wannabe

UPDATE: 5/19/2014 The seller has re-listed this car on EBay claiming a non-paying bidder.  The previous Ebay listing closed at $4,683 and the seller has now lowered his price to $4,500, while still fishing for $5,500 on Craigslist.  Maybe the last high bidder noticed the plates expired in 2009. (See story below for details)

Sometimes my bleary eyed searches for Daily Turismos take me down hazy nostalgic paths reminding of gentler times and sporting cars of years gone by. Other times, most frequently after my third cup of coffee, I'm off too Hoonville where I latch onto cars like this V8 swapped 1972 Capri, in Granada Hills, CA via Craigslist for $6,500 as tipped by Dirk S. This 1972 Mercury Capri V8 Perana Wannabe is also on Ebay with more hi resolution pictures, currently bidding at $4,483 with a few hours left to go.

Coronado Roadkill - MotorCars on Main Street: 1972 Volvo 1800 E

Roadkill report by Hunsbloger
I attended the 2014 MotorCars on Main Street Car Show on Coronado yesterday and was very pleasantly surprised. Lots of very nice cars, most of which were from owners who live right there on Coronado. A slew of nice Corvettes, a gorgeous Jag XKE Coupe a handsome red Mercedes190SL with hardtop, and the gaggle of Volvisti shown below.

10k: The Thriftiest Buick: 1959 Buick LeSabre Survivor

The LeSabre name first appeared on a 1950 GM concept car, designed by Harley Earl, and credited for introducing revolutionary aerospace design elements such as wrap around windows and tailfins to the automotive universe.  The LeSabre name was not used on a Buick model until 1959 and it was a rebranding of the Buick Special, a low-end full sized car (remember that before 1961 Buick had offered nothing but full-sized cars).  Today a '59 LeSabre looks pretty nice, but it is the absolute entry level model/equipment for a '59 Buick.  Still a cool cruiser but its not very representative of the Buick level of luxury, even Buick referred to it as "the Thriftiest Buick" instead of using the word "Cheapest".  Find this 1959 Buick LeSabre Survivor currently bidding for $9,851 on ebay, located in Portland, OR with a few hours to go.

5k: Daily Commuter: 2003 Sable LS Premium Wagon aka Schlepmobile

Daily Turismos come in two very distinctly different flavors for me. The first is a car like a 1972 Mercedes W108 that transforms motoring monotony into a joyful symphony of great mechanical noises, while anticipating the admiring stares of the cars that will be getting passed at 80 mph on our wonderfully, dry, flat California highways. The other, which is a very distant but necessary second choice for most of us, is the more pedestrian Daily Turismo such as this 35,000 mile, one owner  2003 Mercury Sable LS Premium Wagon, listed on Autotrader.com at a Jaguar dealership in Houston, Texas for $5,981.  A car like this is so cheap and puts such a small dent one's pocket that it affords the opportunity to acquire a Weekend Turismo like this well kept 1974 Triumph TR6 currently on ebay.  Two very different Turismos, providing something to get to work in during weekdays and something fun to tinker with and enjoy on the weekends.    Read on to see the real merits of today's plebeian cruiser (a/k/a schlepmobile) blatantly dumped into your favorite auto enthusiast's blog without apology.

Carfaxfauxpas: 2003 Volkswagen W8 Passat 4MotionWagon

Like us, You probably spend most of your working day looking for cars on the internet busting your hump for an unappreciative boss, so it's only natural that you'll occasionally find a car worth pursuing.  You've read a million ebay, craigslist, Traderonline and Turbobricks ads which has given you a certain confidence. You now believe that you know how to spot a scam.  Besides, even if your own training lets you down, you know that you have the ultimate firewall between internet scammers and your wallet; the paid experts at CARFAX! If you're a frequent DT reader, you can already smell the unhappy ending to this. This is not about the car, it's about what we discovered about the car, so don't deprive us of the opportunity to tell our story...read on past the break, please.

ONCE UPON A TIME, You've just spotted this 2003 VW W8 Passat 4Motion wagon listed on Cars.com, for $6,995 at a used car dealership in El Cajon, CA (a suburb of San Diego)....but the saga has only just started on this one...