Real Life Transformer: 1989 Mercedes-Benz Unimog

The Unimog (UNIversal-MOtor-Gerät) is a multi-purpose medium duty truck built by Mercedes-Benz and exported around the planet for various heavy transportation needs.  It might seem strange to find one offered on a US Gov't surplus website listed as a Freightliner, until you remember that Freightliner Trucks is a Daimler AG subsidiary that sold the Unimog in the USA.  Find this 1989 Mercedes-Benz Unimog (aka Freightliner FLU10344 High Mobility Material Handler) offered for starting bid of $9,000 in Ft Wainright, AK via govplanet. Tip from Charles.

1UZFE V8 Swap: 1980 Toyota Cressida Woody Wagon

The third generation Toyota Cressida (1976-1980) was part of Toyota's Mark II family of sedans, and featured a Jaguar/Mercedes style front end unabashedly plastered onto a plain vanilla Japanese econobox body.  It looked like the 70s equivalent of what comes out of the Chinese automakers these days, and the woody version looks like a 7/8ths scale Ford Fairmont wagon...not that there is anything wrong with that.  Find this 1980 Toyota Cressida Woody Wagon offered for $8,000 in North Bend, WA via craigslist.  Tip from Karl.

Green Hornet: 1970 AMC Ambassador SST Sedan

What is so attractive about cars that are ugly, but just cool/funky enough to pull it off?  This next feature might be covered in the greens that remind you of cat vomit on the inside and out, but it has just the right amount of hipster street cred to pull it off.  Find this 1970 AMC Ambassador SST Sedan here on eBay bidding for $1,875 with 2 days to go, located in Indianapolis, IN.

What Am I? Not Another Mystery Kar

Last week's picture of K2's desktop PC fan What Am I? was such an oddball that it is still unsolved (at the time of writing this), so perhaps that one is a bit too obscure...or maybe that is the future for the What Am I feature -- a totally obscure and unrecognizable, instead of slightly obscure or unrecognizable. Regardless, here is an easy one.

Bug or Frog? 1960 Austin Healey Sprite Mk I

The Austin Healey Bugeye (or Frogeye if you are British) Sprite is a car that can always put a smile on your face.  Its own bug eating grill is permanently frozen with a look of glee and optimism -- you just can't hate the little guy.  Find this 1960 Austin Healey Sprite Mk I here on eBay bidding for $9,382 reserve-not-met with 1 day to go, located in Bingen, WA.

White Walls, Black Vinyl: 1979 Ford Granada

As a vintage Mustang owner, my own exposure to the Ford Granada is limited to scavenging parts for the rear end.  Early Mustangs were often equipped with 8 inch pumpkins and always had drum brakes in the back, but Granada (and Lincoln Versailles) featured a 9 inch rear with disc brakes.  Getting that fancy rear end into your 67 Fastback was as easy as heading to the nearest pick-n-pull where Granadas littered the yard like groupies at a Kiss concert -- a few custom brackets, and presto you were in business.  Little did I know, but you could actually find a Granada outside of the confines of the nations scrap yards, like this 1979 Ford Granada offered for $1700 in Arcadia, FL via craigslist.  Tip from dascpcu.

Little Red Wagon: 1965 Buick Sport Wagon

The midsized Buick Sport Wagon was the sister car to Oldsmobile's Vista Cruiser and offered the same wacky raised roof/skylight over the cargo area.  It offers a great combination of vintage style and usability that is difficult to beat.  Haul a load of firewood on the weekend, haul some ashes at the drag strip, or head down to your local car show -- your choice.  But first, you gotta buy this 1965 Buick Sport Wagon found here on eBay bidding for $8,700 reserve-not-met with $15,500 buy-it-now, with 1 day to go, located in Waymart, PA.

The German Job: 2003 Mini Cooper S

When the model year 2000 Mini reboot (brought to you by those guys in Bavaria) was released, it hit with a big splash.  Magazine pundits raved about the handling, people flocked to pickup base Coopers, supercharged Cooper Ss, and plus sized Clubman versions (available in both base and S).  For the first few years prices of used Coopers were only a few dimes shy of MSRP, but the wonderful magic of depreciation finally hit a few years ago and now -- now you can buy one for cheap.  Like this 2003 Mini Cooper S offered for $4,200 in San Francisco, CA via craigslist.  Tip from FuelTruck.

Seller Submission: 1988 Jaguar XJS V12 Coupe

Ask any 80s Jaguar owner and they tell you that maintenance costs are somewhere between a Ferrari and a Fiat.  Despite what the pundits might say, the reliability of Britain's greatest grand tourer from the 1980s isn't that bad and you can own/drive one without selling your kids on the black market if you start with a nice example.  Find this 1988 Jaguar XJS V12 Coupe here on eBay currently bidding for $1,225 with 6 days to go, located in Wilton, CT.  Seller submission from Peter.

LBGP Pro-Am Racer? 1994 Toyota Celica GT

The sixth generation Toyota Celica was produced from 1993 through 1999 and offered a reliable, compact, and sporty driving experience for the common man.  It wasn't expensive like the Supra, but it offered a reasonable amount of power mated to a manual gearbox for a decent price.  Not much has changed, except today's feature handles better than when it left the factory.  Find this 1994 Toyota Celica GT racecar offered here on eBay for $4,700 buy-it-now located in Costa Mesa, CA.

DT Radio Show: Seeking Questions and Sponsors

We are recording the third episode of the Daily Turismo Radio Show tomorrow afternoon (Sunday).  DT's logo guru and resident space pirate/time traveler Kaibeezy will join DT Editor-in-Chief Vince in the studio -- if you have a question, just drop it in the comments below or send us an e-mail.  We are also searching for sponsors, if you've got a business cleaning submarine screen doors, teaching French language courses to mollusks, or launching bricks into space, we'd love to have you as a title sponsor, send us an e-mail here: tips@dailyturismo.com.

Varg I Fårakläder: 1986 Volvo 745 Wagon, Ford V8

DT E-i-C Vince: This next feature is written by John Harbinson, who you may recognize as the teenage car collector from the BringATrailer.com People's Choice Best Feature of 2014 that he won for buying an old rusting pile of Jensen parts.  John raised his hand when we offered folks the chance to write for Daily Turismo and this is his first (hopefully of many) feature:  The above Swedish phrase, translates to "a wolf in sheep's clothing", and this impressive Volvo 740 wagon epitomizes the phrase. This particular 740 wagon started life with a diesel powerplant, but was converted to Mustang power in 1998 with a kit from Converse Engineering, the same company who built the 960 wagon for David Letterman and Paul Newman. Find this 1986 Volvo 745 wagon with Ford V8 swap offered for $6,000 in Richland, WA via craigslist.

V8 Powered: 1960 Studebaker Lark Coupe

The Lark was launched in 1959 by what was then known as the Studebaker-Packard Corporation.  It was an odd combination of body-on-frame chassis in a compact sized car, but Studebaker was the "other Cola" car company and didn't follow the norm when it did anything.  Find this 1960 Studebaker Lark Coupe bidding here on eBay for $8,600 reserve-not-met with a $13,900 buy-it-now located in Glen Ellyn, IL.

DT Radio Show: Episode 2, Co-Host CFlo Joins The Show -- We Talk Trash

Episode 2: New Co-Host CFlo joins the show, new features,same old Vince. Enjoy #DTRadio
Listen to all DT Radio Shows here on this page or click here to listen via podbean.

Repeels: 1981 Toyota Starlet KP61

What better way to keep up today's string of Toyotas than with a classic Starlet? The KP61 generation Toyota Starlet was the first and only generation of its model sold new for the North American Market. In 1985, the little rear wheel drive compact was replaced by the front wheel drive Toyota Corolla FX-16, a great car in its own right, but prone to fits of understeer.  Find this 1981 Toyota Starlet KP61 offered for $7,900 in Long Beach, CA via craigslist.  Tip from FuelTruck.

Hybrid: 1981 Toyota Celica Supra Hatchback

All Toyotas, All Day continues with this next Yota that combines the classic Celica name with Supra attitude.  It was really just a Celica with an inline-6 shoved where the inline-4 normally lived (and a longer snout) but it was the start of a few decades of competition with Nissan over who makes the better 6-cylinder sports car (spoiler alert -- it was BMW).  Find this 1981 Toyota Celica Supra Hatchback here on eBay bidding for $5,500 buy-it-now or make-offer located in Cornelius, NC with 5 days to go.

Sheep In Wolf's Clothes: 1993 Toyota Supra Mk IV

A refrigerator white, automatic, non-turbo Mk IV Supra on the front page of Daily Turismo -- sacrilege!! Needs a 2-stroke swap stat!!  Listen folks, drop the pitch forks and hear me out on this one...after all, it is All Toyota, All Day. Remember how for years the Porsche 912 was this derelict model only driven by the creepy old guy down the street who you swore was a child molester?  Anybody who was somebody drove a proper flat-6 powered 911, so prices for the 912 languished for years, but one day (in 2010 to be precise) it became cool to drive slow and the 912 became as ludicrously priced as it is slow.  Bring that same perspective into the Mk IV Supra world and you'll see that prices for the 6-speed Turbo models haven't cooled in the slightest since the Fast and Furious bump, but you might be able score a deal on a non-turbo slushbox.  Like this 1993 Toyota Supra Mk IV bidding here on eBay for $16,225 reserve-not-met with less than one day to go, located in Fairmont, WV.