mod@tech

Artificial Intelligence is here and it’s wonderfulI! Our problems will be solved, efficiencies will be exploited, and you can have any kind of talent at your fingertips. What’s not to like?

Plenty. Have you asked a question on Google and noticed how the AI-generated response lacks accuracy? For example, let’s try a trick question: How many 1970 Dodge Coronet R/Ts were built with the Hemi?

This could have been a trick question because, among all the online resources, one may have U.S.-spec production (236) while the other may use total production (296). As you can see above, the correct number was used, but when the 426 Hemi was thrown in, the wrong answer was given. What’s the correct answer? Out of the 236 U.S.-spec cars, only one was built with the Hemi (this car is MIA). Another Canadian-spec car was built (which would be among the other 60), which is the “FT6” Dark Tan Metallic one that’s been around for over 40 years. And at least one export car, painted “FJ5” Sublime, was built (making at least two out of the 60). In total, there are three known Hemis out of the 296 convertibles built.

It is one thing to use a search engine to generate an answer via AI, but what about the things posted on Facebook, Reddit, or any other social media website? There are many entities (people or otherwise) that have set up profiles and created posts with AI-generated cars and bios. The issue is not so much with AI as it is with nefarious online characters who don’t care about facts—they just want clicks.

In the interest of undermining the onslaught of fake posters, here’s several that we tried—which AI failed spectacularly!

If Buick offered a GSX in 1969, what would it look like?

What would a 1970 Hurst/Olds look like?

Add hidden headlights to the 1963 Buick Riviera.

If Chevrolet built a 1975 Camaro Z28, what would it look like?

What would a 1958 Oldsmobile look like if GM was able to respond to Virgil Exner quicker?

If Pontiac was racing in NASCAR in 1970, what would the race car look like?

What if Yenko Chevrolet built a Beaumont in 1969?

Show me a 1957 Impala if Chevrolet built one.

All cars here were generated by the GenTube app. Visit the site and let your automotive imagination run wild—just be honest about it!

We love to see automotive enthusiasm among the next generation of car collectors. One of the many standout vehicles showcased at the Future Collector Car Show (FCCS) this past October was a 1993 Audi 90CS Quattro owned by a young Arizona resident named Max. Not only was his car eye-catching – there was no mistaking its Bugatti Blue paint job – but it also had a one-of-one configuration!

A letter displayed with the car from Volkswagen of America explained: “This special Audi 90 Quattro Sport was designed by the Audi Design Center in Simi Valley, California and manufactured in Ingolstadt, Germany. Pearl Ultramarine paint coats the exterior, while matching hand-sewn leather covers the interior. This prototype Quattro Sport’s color combination was chosen for the Porsche / Audi joint project, the RS2, [and was] shown at the Frankfurt Auto Show in 1993. Numerous refinements went into improving handling, instrumentation, audio, and performance. The total number (worldwide) of the Audi 90 Quattro Sport RS is 1.”

The Audi RennSport (or “RS”) nameplate has historically been reserved for vehicles that Audi’s performance division has taken to new levels of handling, performance, and style. Max’s car was built as an early pioneer of that division. The Audi 90, which itself was an upmarket version of the Audi 80, was an executive car that shared the “B-series” platform and many engineering components with Volkswagen vehicles of the time. The “B4” went into production in 1991 and was intended to compete in the same mid-sized luxury vehicle segment as its fellow German brands BMW and Mercedes-Benz.

The “Ultramarine” Bugatti Blue paint on Max’s Audi was the first thing to catch my eye when I saw Max’s car at FCCS. But the closer I looked, the more details set it apart from mainstream Audis of the era. Noteworthy exterior features of the car include RS2-sourced ellipsoid headlamps, headlight washers, fog lamps, a sunroof, and a decklid spoiler. The five-spoke wheels are 17-inch Azev units wrapped in 235/40 BFGoodrich G-Force tires – a nice meaty combination that, when combined with Audi’s signature Quattro all-wheel drive system, enable to car to skillfully grip in any terrain or weather conditions.

On the interior, the blue and black two-tone color scheme works well, although the leather seats show some wear consistent with 30-plus years of use. An RS2 shift knob was added, and the door panels have black material place of the original woodgrain inserts. The sound system is all-Alpine, consisting of a head unit, a trunk-mounted compact disc changer, and a cell phone (which, while period correct and fun to look at, is unfortunately not compatible with today’s mobile wireless networks). The white-faced instruments were sourced from an S2 model and are displayed in metric increments – the odometer shows over 300,000 kilometers, but the car looks like it could be a much lower-mileage specimen.

Service records obtained from a prior sale of the car show that it received a replacement 2.8-liter V6 back in 2003 – an engine that Audi rated when new at 172 horsepower and 184 lb-ft of torque. By today’s standards, those numbers aren’t remarkable, but 30 years ago it was a big deal for a sport sedan to be able to accelerate from zero to 60 in about eight seconds. A five-speed manual transaxle sends power to all four corners of the car – “Quattro” style, of course. There is no doubt about it – Max’s unique 90CS is a future collectible if we’ve ever seen one. We are excited to see the car at upcoming community events. Thanks for bringing out your one-of-a-kind Audi!

The letter M in the world of BMW is reserved for their highest-performance models. Older, more classic M-model BMWs such as the M3, M5, and M6 have become serious collector cars over the past few years, with their prices rising and the supply of good cars dwindling. The prices of second-generation E36 M3 cars have just about doubled in the last two years, and the third-generation M3 is also coming up fast as a collector car, with prices rising accordingly. BMW fans completely understand the reason for this: The M designation does not just mean higher-horsepower engines shoehorned into an existing model, but instead represents a complete reengineering – with suspension, brakes, interior, exterior and chassis all improved.

However, one true M-model car seems to have been largely forgotten – and what is surprising is that it is one of the most fun-to-drive M cars BMW ever built: the Z3 M Roadster. Depending on the year, these cars use the BMW S52 or S54 inline 6-cylinder engines. Yes, the later S54-powered cars are faster, but both received all the suspension and chassis magic that BMW could throw at the cars. They are also the least-expensive entry into classic BMW M-car ownership – and, in addition, the top goes down!

Our Pick of the Day is one of these cars, a 2000 BMW Z3 M Roadster offered by a dealer located in Lutz, Florida.

The seller describes this Roadster as one of only 326 Dakar Yellow examples produced for North America in 2000.

The car has covered a total of only 60,000 miles from new and looks to be in truly excellent condition. In my opinion, the Dakar Yellow paint makes this one especially desirable, as it is one of those signature BMW colors you don’t see every day.

The two-tone black and gray leather interior looks to be in excellent condition and the entire cockpit has a sort of jet fighter feel to it. The BMW sports seats are incredibly comfortable. The quality of materials in these cars is quite good – much better than, say, a Porsche Boxster of the same generation.

Being a 2000-model-year car, this Z3 M is powered by BMW’s S52 inline 6-cylinder engine. It may not offer the extra horsepower of the later S54-powered Z3M but still delivers 0-60 times of 5.4 seconds and has all the extra suspension modifications: the wide body and huge fender flares needed for the staggered 225/45X17 front and 245/45X17 rear tires.

This tire combination, combined with tons of factory M chassis mods, gives the car incredible grip – and the short wheelbase of the Z3 M means it rotates better than any other sports car of the period. Feed too much power to the rear tires on the exit of a corner and you will find it can over-rotate; you might end up facing the cars behind you! This, to me, makes it a super fun car to drive and the very essence of what the BMW M cars stand for. Due to its somewhat tail-happy nature, it’s also a car that is liked by many Porsche 911 fans. Don’t think this is true? Well, my friend Ray Schaffer – formerly of Porsche Classic and now at Broad Arrow Auctions, a Porsche fanatic once birth – bought one last year.

Now, I am a Z3 owner myself, having just bought back my 007-edition Z3 last fall. Since making that purchase, I have had the opportunity to drive four different Z3 M roadsters, and I have recently found myself thinking about adding another Z3 to my garage, this time with an M badge. With an asking price of only $21,995, this car makes a compelling argument for adding another fun car to the garage, especially one with such low mileage and in such a rare color.

If you love BMWs, you might want to seriously consider this specific Z3 M Roadster. It looks like the right example to get before everyone else wakes up to just how cool these cars are.

Click here to view this Pick of the Day on ClassicCars.com

It used to be that you could go to a car show and any muscle car would be replete with mag wheels, whether factory or aftermarket. Then, a trend towards poverty caps started to take hold, with proponents claiming that plenty of performance cars were ordered without an optional wheel, as enthusiasts would then go to his or her local speed shop to slap on aftermarket mags. How true was that? Let’s find out.

Since 1970 is considered the high-water mark of the muscle car era, let’s focus on several mid-size performance cars and learn about the available wheel choices. First up: the Plymouth Road Runner. It was available with a standard hubcap, plus Wire and Deluxe wheel covers. There also were two wheel options: Road Wheel and Rallye wheel. Here’s how they rank in popularity when new. (Note that Plymouth Options & Accessories Report only reflects U.S.-market cars and not total production.)

Let’s move a bit upmarket and focus on the Oldsmobile 4-4-2. Like Plymouth, Oldsmobile offered several hubcaps plus two wheel choices. (Note that the below statistics from the GM Heritage Center is through June 1970, so a month’s production is missing.)

Lastly, let’s note Buick’s hubcap and wheel distribution for the Gran Sport, with the latter two being very similar in design. These numbers, which come from the Sloan Museum of Discovery, include both the 350-powered GS and the GS 455.

The big surprise here is the Buick Gran Sport had the highest percentage of poverty caps—much more than the Plain Jane Plymouth Road Runner. However, when it comes to mag wheels, it seem that, in general, the factory consistently installed a very large percentage of its home-grown wheels. This dispels the myth that aftermarket mags had a big market share among new new performance vehicles. Sure, you statisticians may point out this exercise has not yet produced a statistically significant conclusion, but the trend is there, with only more evaluations needed to solidify or dispel the conclusion.

Most 1960s cars associated with Carroll Shelby are expensive, starting at around $150K and moving well past a million dollars. Many enthusiasts think that the easiest/inexpensive way into a true classic Shelby vehicle is with one of the later GT350s. Honestly, there is a different option to get the Shelby experience that in some ways is more interesting than a comparable Shelby Mustang. That car is the Sunbeam Tiger. A 1967 example of this British-American hybrid is currently offered on AutoHunter by the selling dealer with spare 260 engine block, steel hood, certificate of authenticity, and clear title.

The Sunbeam Tiger was born due to the company’s need to make the Sunbeam Alpine (on which the Tiger is based) a higher-performance car. Sunbeam initially contacted Ferrari about using one of its four-cylinder engines, but eventually it would commission Shelby to develop a V8 version of the Alpine using the Ford 260ci small-block V8. There is more to the story but, in essence, Shelby developed the Tiger for $10,000, and Sunbeam bought a bunch of Ford V8s and built the Shelby-developed cars in England. Shelby supported the car with a number of LAT (Los Angeles Tiger) performance parts that made the Tiger an even better vehicle. Production ran from 1964-67, with a total of 7,083 Tigers produced.

The seller describes this Embassy Black 1967 Tiger being powered by a 289ci V8 mated to a five-speed manual transmission.

The seller goes on to say that this Tiger received a restoration roughly 25 years ago. During that time, it had its 260ci V8 swapped with a performance-enhanced 289ci V8, with a five-speed manual in place of the old factory four-speed. That should work to give this Tiger quite a power bump over a stock example. This Tiger also features a black soft top and a fiberglass MKII hood. The 13-inch aluminum mag wheels are wrapped in 185/70 series tires.

The interior of this Tiger looks to be in excellent condition, with both the black vinyl upholstery and wood trim needing no excuses. Other features include a wood rim steering wheel, Jaeger instrumentation, and floor-mounted manual shifter.

Under the lies the Ford 289 V8 with a Holley four-barrel carburetor mounted on an Edelbrock aluminum intake. It also features a chrome air cleaner, correct “Tiger Powered by Ford” aluminum valve covers, Racing Concepts aluminum radiator, electric fuel pump, and electric cooling fan.

Known imperfections include a soft top that has shrunk and will not attach properly, some solvent pop seen on a lower panel, and a minor ding on the passenger door.

On the plus side, the car includes a spare 260 engine block, original steel hood, and certificate of authenticity.

I have a bit of time behind the wheel of these cars, having driven three different examples. It is the fastest little British roadster ever and offers a lot of fun behind the wheel. It will surprise your friends driving muscle cars due to low weight combined with muscle-car levels of horsepower. The Tiger can be summed up with the word fun.

Yes, the Tiger may be the cheapest way to enter the Shelby automotive world, yet it is as substantial as more expensive Shelby creations. Skip the Mustang and step up to the plate to his hybrid because the auction for this 1967 Sunbeam Tiger ends Thursday, March 20, 2025, at 11:00 a.m. (PST).

Visit the AutoHunter listing for more information and a photo gallery

Passion is essential to creativity. If you’re not into what you’re doing, why would anyone else be interested? That enthusiasm has to start with the you. Otherwise, you might as well “create” coldly and clinically by committee. If other people happen to love what you make, even better. The man who commissioned the build of our Pick of the Day, a customized 1955 Chevrolet Cameo listed for sale by an Illinois dealership on ClassicCars.com, clearly had a vision and the determination to manifest it physically. And, once he did, his unique truck received what you could consider the ultimate seal of approval.

In 1955, Chevrolet switched from its “Advance Design” line of trucks to the “Task Force” series. One of the most distinguishing characteristics of the new pickups was the forward lean to the headlights, A-pillars, cabs, and bodies, which gave the rigs what Chevy called the “‘load-pulling’ look.” That was also the year Chevrolet introduced Model 3124, otherwise known as the Cameo Carrier (or just plain ol’ Cameo). The half-ton truck had a 114-inch wheelbase, “deluxe exterior, appointments and trim,” various reinforced plastic body components and, of course, style. One thing it didn’t have? An extended cab.

A previous owner of this first-year Cameo changed that—and a lot of other things. He had the original underpinnings replaced with the frame from a 1986 Suburban. That added more than a foot of length, leaving space for a custom extended cab. The resulting bespoke body was then finished in Bombay Ivory and Cardinal Red, and equipped with extended bright trim above and below the side glass that leads to the big rear window. Some one-off jobs can look a bit awkward and goofy, but this is not one of them. The change was made subtly and tastefully.

Behind that unique cab is a bed with an oak plank floor and an integrated gooseneck hitch with concealed wiring. Also hidden is the equipment for the navigation system, which fits behind the bed panels that obscure the wheel wells.

Inside that special cab is a 1999 Dodge bench seat that was recovered in red and white upholstery. Other more modern amenities include power windows and brakes, RainGear windshield wiper system, Flaming River tilt steering column, VDO gauges, and Vintage Air climate control system.

Just like the cab, the engine got up-sized. The original one was replaced with a fuel-injected 454ci V8, and the three-speed gearbox was tossed in favor of a Turbo 400 and Gear Vendors under/overdrive unit.

Altogether, those upgrades make this Cameo into a more capable tow rig. It’s an impressive build. In fact, it was so impressive that it received a thumbs-up from Chuck Jordan, the former VP of Design for General Motors and the man who penned the original Cameo’s lines.

If you approve of this one-off 1955 Chevrolet Cameo and want to use it to tow your restored vintage Camaro to the next event, it’ll cost you $99,500.

Click here to view this Pick of the Day on ClassicCars.com