mod@tech

Every April, the tourist town of Pigeon Forge, Tennessee fills to capacity with all types of cars and trucks. The Pigeon Forge Rod Run happens twice a year (Spring and Fall) and it never fails to draw a huge crowd of enthusiasts. The event has an interesting formula for success, and it has a lot of history in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains. Although it is known as the Rod Run, the event went by another name for most of its early years. It was originally held in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, another nearby tourist town. It was first an unofficial gathering that grew into a huge street party that led Gatlinburg city officials to push the event out of town in 1982. The next town over, Pigeon Forge, was a growing tourist town with the Dollywood theme park and many other attractions and welcomed the hot rods to town for the 1983 event.

1.Chris Ryan’s 1966 Corvette coupe features a deep green hue, covering flawless bodywork. Horsepower comes from a stack-injected LS engine.

At the time, the event was known as the Grand Run, as the show was held at the Grand Hotel and Convention Center, but most folks called it the Rod Run even back then. As the event grew, MCS Promotions took over the event and added a spring event to the schedule. In 2014, the event moved to the new LeConte Center, and the name officially changed to the Pigeon Forge Rod Run. The LeConte Center is the perfect home for the Rod Run, as it provides indoor and outdoor space for hundreds of cars and hundreds of vendors. The event is held Thursday through Saturday, and there are lots of great awards for the hot rods, muscle cars and classic cars in attendance. In addition to the awards is the Dirty Dozen, a special invitation-only feature area organized by ScottieDTV. High-end, head-turning builds make up the Dirty Dozen, but that’s just a fraction of the show cars on display at the LeConte Center.

1.The Pigeon Forge Rod Run is known for its wild builds, and this Nova funny car is a prime example. It features a twin-blown big block Chevy engine, and rumor has it this Nova was spotted driving on the street after the show closed.

We enjoyed the weekend of activities at the Spring Pigeon Forge Rod Run and assembled this gallery of photos from the show field. Stay tuned for another coverage of the action that takes place outside of the show. Every available parking place in town is packed with old cars, and people love to get out and cruise when the sun goes down. If you want to see the Pigeon Forge Rod Run for yourself, mark your calendar for the fall event, which takes place September 12-14, 2023 or check out www.rodrun-pigeonforge.com for more information.

Cars from the 2023 Spring Pigeon Forge Rod Run

Earlier this year, the internet caught wind of an electrical fire that sparked in a F-150 Lightning at Ford’s Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Dearborn, Michigan. The fire damaged two other Lightning pickups and put a pause on the popular truck’s production. More on that story here.

We found a video on YouTube by CNBC TV that shows the extent of the damage. In the video, an officer can be heard saying, “Let’s hope it doesn’t blow up.”

New video shows fire involving Ford F-150 Lightning electric pickup

youtu.be

The video supports concerns around the challenges of extinguishing electrical fires, which are challenging to put out due to a chain reaction known as “thermal runaway.” Typically, lots of water is what firefighters have available to combat a fire, but stopping electrical fires can take thousands of gallons of water. That topic is covered in this article about a Tesla Model S that caught fire in January 2023.

“In a lot of ways, the Super Beetle wasn’t that super,” Jake Raby said. It’s an odd quote to come from a guy who may be the biggest fan and expert of the Seventies Beetle, and it’s an odd quote to use to lead a story meant, in part, to get people enthused about the cars. On the other hand, it’s how Volkswagen enthusiasts – typically much more interested in the earlier Bugs – have long seen the last-of-the-line Super Beetle, and ironically it’s something that anybody needs to understand in order to fully appreciate the cars, either for what they were or for their potential as restomods.

Road & Track‘s review of the new-for-’71 Super Beetle noted that it did a good job of reiterating the long-standing qualities of the Bug in the face of increasing competition from Japanese economy cars and from a new wave of domestic cars like the Pinto, Gremlin, and Vega. “The Beetle, whether in standard or Super form, has three main points to recommend it: fuel economy, workmanship, and its reputation for long life and service. If you value those three virtues above all others, then the Beetle is for you. Otherwise it is hopelessly outdated.”

Still, for better or worse, the Super Beetle helped cement Volkswagen’s legacy. Intended to keep the familiar Type 1 on the U.S. and European markets for just a few years longer, until a suitable replacement for the aging car could be developed, the Super Beetle may have been choked by smog equipment, may have been hastily altered to meet safety regulations, and may not have looked quite right to fans of the Beetles that came before it, but it also saw the Type 1 surpass the Model T’s global sales record and eased Volkswagen’s transition from builder of quirky people’s cars to a full-fledged modern automaker.

“In a lot of ways, the Beetle is like an old friend,” Road Test magazine noted in 1977. “It’s a car nearly anybody can feel comfortable in right away.”

Why Buy a Super Beetle?

Raby, the chief technical director for the Vintage Volkswagen Club of America, noted that the Super Beetle, particularly the sedan, doesn’t have the same sort of universal appeal as its predecessors. The larger body doesn’t look right to many, the MacPherson strut front suspension is a radical departure from the old beam front ends, and the cars introduced diagnostic ports, electronic fuel injection, and even catalytic converters – complexities that go against the ideal of a simple car that anybody could maintain and repair.

But that’s not to say that the Super Beetle doesn’t have its admirers.

“I’m one of the few people who appreciate the Super Beetle over the standard Beetle,” Raby said. “It rode better and had added capabilities when it came to handling. There are things we do to Super Beetles that you can’t do to a regular Beetle.”

In fact, many Porsche components from that era swap over to the Super Beetle, and the discovery of that fact by younger Eurocar enthusiasts in recent years has led them to seek out Super Beetles to modify for the “German Look,” a movement that aims to build a sports car out of the Beetle rather than try to build the Super Beetle to conform to the “Cal Look” so popular with pre-1967 Beetles.

“Super Beetles can be made to handle as well as a 911,” Raby said. “I’m not kidding about that.”

Beyond how easily they can be modified, Super Beetles also presented the last chance to purchase a convertible Beetle. While the standard Beetle sedan continued to sell alongside the Super Beetle sedan after the latter’s introduction (and even outlasted it, remaining on the market through 1977 while the Super Beetle sedan was discontinued after 1975), all convertibles from 1971 onward were Super Beetles.

As with the “instant collectibles” of the late Seventies like the 1976 Cadillac Eldorado convertible, many Super Beetles of that era immediately went into “mothballing for their children to unwrap,” Terry Shuler wrote in “The Origin and Evolution of the VW Beetle.”

In addition, Volkswagen churned out special editions left and right during the Super Beetle era. There was the 1972 Baja Bug; the 1973 Sports Bug; the 1974 Love Bug, Sun Bug, and Fun Bug; the 1975 LaGrande Bug; and the 1978 and 1979 Champagne Edition convertibles. European buyers got even more: the Yellow and Black edition, the Jeans Beetle, the City Beetle, the Big Beetle.

“It was another sign that VW was preparing to abandon the Beetle to its fate,” Graham Robson wrote in “Volkswagen Chronicle.” “Special-trim models are a telltale that the marketing department is anxious to prop up a declining car.”

Still, plenty of enthusiasts have since taken a shine to those special editions to the point of restoring them, complete with original graphics and other special equipment.

Even without all that foofaraw, Raby said the Super Beetle offers the basic enjoyment of driving an old Volkswagen. “It’s got better creature comforts, more room, and a better ride,” he said. “The earlier cars always have a bigger following, but the Super Beetle is for people who want to drive their car.”

How to Identify a Super Beetle

So what made a Super Beetle different from the standard Beetle? Mainly, it comes down to the MacPherson strut independent front suspension that Volkswagen engineered for the car. “Volkswagen never officially said why they did it, but a lot of it was due to safety,” Raby said. “This was right after the Nader thing and the switch to independent rear suspension.”

To make room for the new front suspension, Volkswagen had to lengthen the wheelbase by about 0.8 inches and stretch the hood and front sheetmetal by about 3.2 inches. Those added inches aren’t easy to spot in a side profile view; instead look at the bonnet – it’s broader and flatter at the leading edge than the earlier bonnets with Vee-shaped leading edges. Super Beetles also adopted a slotted front apron under the front bumper while all sedans – regular and Super – got narrow crescent-moon-shaped vents just behind the rear windows in 1971. Under the bonnet, the additional room afforded by the MacPherson strut IFS allowed a larger trunk as well as a lay-flat spare tire instead of the more upright spare in standard Beetles.

For what it’s worth, the Super Beetle name was only applied to North American models with the MacPherson-strut IFS. European models saw the same changes but were sold under the 1302/1303 model names.

Changes then took place almost on a year-by-year basis. In 1972, the Super Beetle received a taller rear window. In 1973, all Beetles received a curved windshield, deeper dashboard, so-called “elephant’s foot” taillamps, and an alternator instead of a generator. In 1975, all Beetles received electronic fuel injection, rack-and-pinion steering, and turn signals mounted in the bumper instead of atop the front fenders. And, as noted above, the Super Beetle sedan existed only from 1971 through 1975 while the standard Beetle sedan lasted through 1977.

Dozens more minor changes from redesigned front seats to the presence of fender beading took place during the Super Beetle’s run. Bob Cropsey detailed those in his book, “Volkswagen History to Hobby: All the Facts – All the Fun,” noting that only one part remained the same throughout the Volkswagen Beetle’s entire run: the clamping strip that holds down the weatherstripping around the bonnet and the engine lid. That said, according to Raby, Super Beetles are essentially the same as standard Beetles from the A-pillar back.

When doing a VIN check, look for the VINs stamped on a tag in the lower driver’s side corner of the windshield, on a tag on the driver’s side B-pillar, and stamped directly into the floorpan under the carpet under the center of the rear seat. Standard Beetle VINs start with 11 throughout the Seventies. Super Beetle sedan VINs also start with 11 in 1971 and 1972 then switch to 13 from 1973 through 1975. Super Beetle convertible VINs start with 15 throughout the Super Beetle run. The third digit in the VIN for all three models is the last digit of the model year. Online sources including TheSamba and JBugs have charts that indicate serial number range for each model year.

Where Do Super Beetles Rust?

Essentially the same places that standard Beetles rust, according to Raby. “The big one is the heater channels. With cold air going through them and getting humidified, that builds condensation, so just the act of using the heater will make the car rust.” Nor does it help that the heater channels, which double as the rocker panels, rust from the inside out, leaving owners unaware of the problem until it’s almost too late.

In addition to closely inspecting those channels, Raby suggested looking at the floorpans, where water accumulates and remains trapped by under-carpet insulation, and under the battery, where spilled acid often causes the floor to rot out. And that crescent-moon vent behind the quarter windows tended to allow water to seep in, he said, so look for rust behind that vent and near the rear window.

Super Beetles are susceptible to rust around the front suspension mounts, which will make the car dangerous to drive because that area is the strongest part of the car, Raby said. However, that’s a problem that has more or less taken care of itself over the last 40 to 50 years. “We don’t really see that anymore because that’s the sort of rust that kills a car,” he said.

That said, that area around the front suspension mounts can be difficult to repair if the car has been in an accident and if it was put back on the road after straightening the cosmetic damage. “Look at the tires to see if they wear improperly, then look at the strut tower area for signs of damage,” he said. He also noted that the most common sheetmetal damage to these cars comes from getting rear-ended, in which case the rear apron will show signs of damage.

Replacement sheetmetal, interior, and restoration parts are all widely available for these cars, but Raby said many of the reproduction sheetmetal parts are questionable at best, and he’d much rather pull body panels off a junkyard car and spend the time straightening them than trying to get reproduction parts to fit. “Good, used German-made parts are highly sought after,” he said. “There’s still some good junkyards in California with tons of cars for the picking.”

What Engine and Transmission Did the Super Beetle Have?

All U.S.-market Beetles built from 1971 on, including the Super Beetle, had the 1,584cc flat-four engine, commonly known as the 1600. Initially rated at 60 horsepower, the 1600 dropped to 48 horsepower in 1973 with the addition of emission control equipment and remained there through the end of production.

The 1600 was equipped with a diagnostic port as early as 1971, but it wasn’t until 1975 that Volkswagen added Bosch L-Jetronic fuel injection to the engine, and even then it was analog. Similar to the fuel injection systems found on Volkswagen Type 2s, Porsche 914s, and Volkswagen 411s, it was often removed because mechanics in the Seventies didn’t know how to work on it, Raby said.

“It’s rare to find a Super Beetle with the fuel injection unit on it now, that’d be a total unicorn,” he said. And even if one were to find an extant fuel-injected Beetle, keeping it running in its original form would be next to impossible. “They heavily relied on a feed from the cylinder head temperature sensor, and you can’t find those at all now. Even the parts that cross over to the Porsche systems are tough to find – the 914 restorers search the world over for those parts.” And they pay top dollar for L-Jetronic parts too.

The solution, Raby said, is to either swap to a carburetor or to retrofit the fuel-injected engines to the modern EFI systems available from the performance aftermarket.

The Automatic Stick Shift – a clutchless vacuum-operated three-speed transmission that debuted in 1968 – remained an option on Super Beetles through 1975 and partway into the 1976 model year. Otherwise, all Super Beetles received the standard Volkswagen four-speed manual transmission designed to be used with Volkswagen’s independent rear suspension.

Rebuilding Super Beetle engines and transmissions is no more difficult today than it has ever been, Raby said. Parts are readily available, and Volkswagen engine specialists remain plentiful. “That’s one of the easier things to do,” he said.

How Do Super Beetle Chassis and Brakes Hold Up?

With all the improvements in ride and handling that the MacPherson strut independent front suspension brought and with all the development work done on the Super Beetle front ends by the German Look modifiers, the cars are still known for developing a shimmy at around 45 to 50 miles per hour.

“Some cars did that right off the lot,” Raby said. “They just couldn’t get rid of it.”

He said that bushings and idler arms tend to be the main culprits of the shimmy, though some cars will need more extensive front-end rebuilds to eliminate it. For that reason, he recommended test driving any Super Beetle at speed before purchase.

While Super Beetles did receive larger front drum brakes, they didn’t get disc brakes before the end of the line. That said, disc brake swaps, stainless steel brake lines, and other brake upgrades are widely available through the Volkswagen performance aftermarket.

What’s a Super Beetle Worth?

About the same as what it’s been worth the last few years. With so many produced and still available – thanks, in part, to the aforementioned instant collectible status of the convertibles in the late Seventies – Super Beetle prices are fairly predictable and steady. Of the dozens of Volkswagen Super Beetles currently listed for sale on Hemmings.com, only a couple outliers on the top end approach the upper $30,000 range, and all but one are listed for $12,000 or more.

While the ranges of asking prices don’t seem to vary much based on whether the Super Beetles came equipped with a flat windshield versus curved windshield, carburetor versus fuel injection, or any other factory equipment, asking prices do vary based on sedan versus convertible, with prices for the latter generally 25 to 30 percent higher.

While Classic.com does not differentiate hardtop versus convertible Super Beetles, the prices there generally correspond to those on Hemmings.com, with a running average of about $18,000 and most sales taking place in a cluster between $8,000 and $25,000.

Additional Super Beetle Resources

Vintage Volkswagen Club of America

membership@vvwca.com
VVWCA.com

JBugs
800-231-1784

sales@jbugs.com
JBugs.com

The Samba

thesamba.com

Perhaps the most documented seven-year Corvair restoration is now listed on Hemmings Auctions. Completing this 1966 Chevrolet Corvair Corsa Convertible was a labor of love for owner and seller Don Homuth. Now in nearly concours condition, the classic car features all era-correct parts, including its air-cooled flat-six engine and four-speed manual transmission.

It was early-1968 when Homuth set eyes on the Corvair for the first time. He purchased it a day before he had to return to Vietnam after a 30-day leave. It was love at first sight; “to my eye it was a vision of automotive perfection,” he wrote in a 2015 Hemmings article. Homuth’s honest and in-depth progress updates soon became a regular occurrence in the Hemmings Daily series until the restoration was completed in 2021.

Aside from missing his family upon his return to Vietnam, getting back home to drive the Corvair was all he dreamed about. After returning, he drove it for a year, then sold it to the woman who he eventually married to chase a 1966 Corvette Roadster. Once married, the Corvair re-entered his life and he sold the ‘Vette, but bought five other Corvairs, including the rare #042 Yenko Corvair Stinger. As time passed, life circumstances caused him to sell it and the other cars for good, or so he thought, sometime between 1977 and ‘78. Life went on, and in late-2014 Homuth began wondering what happened to his first Corvair love. Just three days after putting an ad on Craigslist, he received an email from the owner. After exchanging stories, an agreement was met. Homuth welcomed the Corvair home in August, 2015 and began the restoration soon after.

The plan was to restore the Corvair to concours condition, and a glance through the photo galleries found in the auction listing show just that.

In locating the car and completing the restoration, Homuth revisited a memory; “For an old man, that’s irreplaceable,” he said. “I’m convinced that first drive in 1968 saved me from the worst of PTSD. That afternoon in 2021 when I finally had this car finished and was driving it around with the top down, I was 24 years old again for a couple of hours, having just returned from Viet Nam. That’s not something I know how to put a dollar value on.”

The convertible is currently stored “under a fleece-lined car cover inside an inflatable bubble in my shop.” Homuth states decided to sell it due to his age, and because he wants to spend more time traveling with his wife.

As the famous quote from Oscar Wilde goes, “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery,” but Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) did not take kindly to a couple who fabricated a replica of the famous C-type. After appealing the decision by the Swedish court in 2021 which backed JLR’s copyright infringement case against Creare AG, a replica C-type builder, the original verdict has been overturned in the SVEA Court of Appeal in Stockholm.

When owners of Creare AG, retired Swedish car designer Karl Magnusson and his wife Ann-Christine Magnusson, built a replica C-type with plans to create two more for commercial purposes, the couple was not anticipating a five-year legal battle with the Jaguar brand that would nearly bring them to bankruptcy. The Magnussons received their first letter from JLR in February 2018 and after a lengthy combat, the Swedish court backed JDL’s copyright infringement case giving copyright protection to the C-type’s shape, much like how the system works when referencing works of art.

The court also reportedly ordered the Magnussons to destroy their replica C-type dream car and held them liable for JLR’s £450,000 (nearly $560,000 USD) in legal costs. The Magnussons opted to appeal instead of obliging, fighting to keep the Jaguar replica they already built and to avoid personal bankruptcy. In late-March 2023, the 2021 ruling was overturned, concluding that EU copyright law allows for private use of a copyrighted item. JLR is now liable for the Magnussons’ accumulated legal costs, which reached around £800,000 ($995,400 USD).

Karl Magnusson and his wife Ann-Christine Magnusson in their home garage next to their completed Jaguar C-type replicaSFRO

In a March 2023, press release, Karl Magnusson stated that he does not want to speculate why JLR chose to sue him and his wife in Sweden, considering that there are thousands of C-type replicas in the world. “What’s worse is that Jaguar, with its heritage and position, chooses to put its entire trust at stake and make itself infinitely unpopular in the classical car community, which they themselves benefit from. It is surprising, to say the least,” he said.

JLR began replicating its own iconic models in 2015, starting with the E-type Lightweight, followed by XKSS, D-type and, most recently, the C-type. The brand declined to speak to the most recent ruling in regard to the possibility of a reciprocated appeal, but the brand released the statement, “Jaguar Land Rover takes the protection of its intellectual property very seriously, and reserves the right to protect it from those intending to infringe it for profit.

“We are committed to the preservation and heritage of our brands and classic iconic designs, and we are pleased with the court’s decision to recognize our ownership of copyright in the shape of the C-type. The judgement reinforces that JLR has the exclusive right to decide if the shape may be commercially exploited by companies other than JLR.”

Despite the appeal which will presumably save the Magnussons from bankruptcy, the court still recognizes the Jaguar brand’s copyright on the C-type design. This ruling could prevent other third parties from replicating the C-type for commercial purposes.

As for the Magnussons’ replica, it has only seen 500 miles since the 2018 completion as it was not allowed to be driven during the hearings. It still sits in the garage as a constant memory of the stressful legal disputes.

iSeeCars recently referenced the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) list of recalls from 2014 to 2023 and concluded that all four Tesla models earned a place amongst the top five most recalled vehicles. The Tesla Model Y ranked first, and the Model 3, Model X and Model S are the runners-up. Porsche Panamera also appears in second place on the list. Lexus, Mercedes-Benz, and Toyota are among the least recalled brands.

The main goal of iSeeCars’ study was to learn which of today’s production vehicles are expected to issue the most and the least recalls over a 30-year span. The average vehicle is expected to be recalled around four times in its lifecycle. The Tesla Model Y is expected to have 62.4 recalls and the Porsche Panamera is nipping at its heals with 61.8 anticipated recalls. The below chart lists the top ten most recalled vehicles, and the full study can be found here.

iSeeCars

“There are two critical components to think about when analyzing recalls,” said Karl Brauer, iSeeCars’ Executive Analyst. “Obviously the number of recall campaigns is the first factor, but the timing of the campaigns is also important. Most vehicles behave like the Toyota Camry–most of their recalls are issued when they are first introduced, with a rapid decline after 1-3 years. But some cars, like the Tesla Model S, see a pattern of ongoing recalls, or even an increasing number of recalls, as time passes. Owners of vehicles with that pattern will continue to face recall hassles for years after they acquire their car.

“Looking through NHTSA’s recall data confirmed a wide spectrum of recall activity between the most and least recalled models. A car like the Lexus NX 300h or Nissan 370Z is projected to have less than one recall over a 30-year lifespan. Conversely, the most recalled cars, including all four Tesla models, a Porsche, and two Volkswagens, are projected to have between 20 and 62 recalls.”

Regarding the high recall likelihood for Tesla models, iSeeCars mentions that Tesla can address many of the recalls through software updates, which doesn’t require the vehicle owner to schedule time with the dealership for a fix.

The 25-year rolling cutoff for cars to generally be considered collectible is either a blessing or a curse, depending on how one views 25-year-old vehicles. On the one hand, it’s an acknowledgement that time marches on, that the collector car scene is generational, and that the best way to get younger enthusiasts involved in the scene is to welcome the cars they grew up with instead of gatekeeping the scene around a set list of vehicles as if Moses brought that list etched in stone down from the mountain.

On the other hand, it’s a sign that change is inevitable whether we care for what comes next or not.

The Antique Automobile Club of America reminded us all of these things recently when it released a list of 10 vehicles that are now a quarter century old and thus eligible for participation in its events, including the big show at Hershey every fall. It’s not the entire list of vehicles now eligible, of course, just a sampling of some of the more significant and potentially collectible cars and trucks that went on sale in the United States in 1998. It’s a good list, too, and we thought it bore repeating with some additional photos to illustrate, some context on what makes the cars and trucks on the list noteworthy, and the likelihood these vehicles will show up at an AACA event anytime soon.

Agree? Disagree? Got any to add to the list? Let us know in the comments.

Volkswagen New Beetle

It wasn’t the first vehicle to take advantage of pre-millennia nostalgia-driven retro styling, and now that retro seems to be endemic to automotive styling, it certainly won’t be the last, but the New Beetle epitomized peak retro more than any other vehicle, thanks in part to its resurrection of one of the most iconic vehicles of all time and in part to the fidelity that designers Freeman Thomas and J Mays kept to the original Type 1’s appearance and proportions.

That fidelity, however, was only skin deep. Underneath, instead of the familiar air-cooled flat-four mounted in the back that couldn’t pass an emissions test if it had all the answers written on the back of the kid who sat in front of him at class, it was all Golf Mk IV: front-mounted transverse water-cooled engine, front-wheel drive, and much much more difficult to work on.

That said, the New Beetle had its fans and sold well enough to warrant a convertible and a second generation, the Jetta-platform A5, debuted in 2012 and ran through to the 2019 model year.

Likelihood of one showing up at Hershey this year: 60 percent. They had an enthusiast following from day one, and though many New Beetles went on to daily driver duty, the cars were plentiful enough for a good many to escape such a fate.

Mercedes-Benz ML320

The idea of a luxury car maker building SUVs was a radical one in the late Nineties and led to a sea change since then in which every brand – regardless of whether it was previously known for exclusively building luxury cars or supercars – had to have an SUV in its lineup.

But it shouldn’t have been that radical to think about Mercedes-Benz offering an SUV. After all, this is the same company that has for decades produced the Unimog and the Gelandewagen, both formidable and well regarded four-wheel-drive and off-road vehicles. In fact, the first M-Class – the W164 chassis – was ostensibly meant to replace the G-Wagen with a softer, more suburbanized all-wheel-drive experience while still riding a body-on-frame chassis.

It debuted in the United States as the ML320 with its 3.2-liter V-6, got plenty of screen time in one of the Jurassic Park sequels, and won a number of awards, including North American Truck of the Year. But the Vance, Alabama-built SUV also quickly earned a reputation for poor assembly quality that wasn’t fully addressed for a few years. After a few facelifts and a couple of generations, it’s still in Mercedes-Benz’s lineup, though with a name change to GLE.

Likelihood of one showing up at Hershey this year: We’ve seen a few attempts in recent years to gin these up as future collectibles. Indeed, they’re currently in that lull between their “I haven’t seen one of them on the road in I don’t know how long” era and that point when somebody devoted enough to them attempts a full restoration on one. If one does show up at Hershey, it won’t be for a few years.

Ford Crown Victoria

The Crown Vic inherited the Checker’s place as the taxi-cab-slash-livery-car of choice in the Nineties, but it had far more than just that in common with the car from Kalamazoo. Consider that it became so ubiquitous during the Nineties and Oughts that it became impossible to film chase scenes without them, but it seems to be only the hardcore fleet car fans, Blue Oval devotees, and junkyard scroungers who really paid any attention to them.

Take, for instance, the fact that the Crown Vic introduced in 1998 was different enough from the Crown Vic that had been in production for the prior six years that it warranted a new chassis code from Ford. How many of you knew that before opening this article? Or the fact that the last four years of Crown Vic production were exclusively for fleet sales? Or which generation of Crown Vic was in the “Superbad” scene with McLovin without clicking on that link?

Likelihood of one showing up at Hershey this year: 70 percent. The Crown Vic wasn’t ever an exciting car unless it had its red-and-blues flashing, but the civilian versions weren’t sold to people who abused them and the fleet versions might just be niche enough to warrant an enthusiast bringing one out of storage.

Toyota Sienna

The AACA called the Sienna the “Camry of minivans” and, well, they’re not wrong. It’s a front-wheel-drive, V-6-powered minivan with sliding doors on both sides that was built to be as unassuming, unremarkable, and unoffensive as possible. It also hit on a formula that Toyota ran with and continues to this day with the fourth-generation Sienna.

Likelihood of one showing up at Hershey this year: 1 percent. The Previa before it was quirky enough to get interest from car wonks and JDM fans. The R20/R30 Van before that was solid and utilitarian enough to still have a place in the heart of painters and Toyota-trucks-for-life guys. The XL10 might’ve ferried a billion kids to dance recitals and piano practice, but it has nowhere near the following as its predecessors, certainly not enough for anybody to consider one as car show material.

Minivans on the Hershey show field have made headlines in the past, however, so the Sienna shouldn’t be counted out entirely.

Chevrolet Camaro / Pontiac Firebird

Technically just a mid-cycle refresh, the 1998 F-bodies saw a ready-for-the-millennia front end, bigger brakes, and the arrival of the LS1. Otherwise, they’re not substantially different from the prior fourth-generation Camaros and Firebirds. Production only continued another five years.

Likelihood of one showing up at Hershey this year: 75 percent. The LS in the F-body was a big deal at the time, though it seemed everybody knew the F-body wasn’t long for the world and was buying the cars to sock away for the day when they’d be accepted at classic car shows.

BMW Z3 M

The Z3 had already been on the U.S. market since it infamously replaced the Aston Martin DB5 in “GoldenEye” in 1995, but the Z3 M version that debuted for 1998 gave it the 240hp S52B32 straight-six, no transmission options save for the five-speed manual, bigger brakes, and a wider rear track. It was, as the AACA noted, BMW’s “last analog sports car,” and would remain on the market another four years, until the Z4 replaced it.

Likelihood of one showing up at Hershey this year: 85 percent. It’s a safe bet that every Z3 M within a 500-mile radius of Hershey, Pennsylvania, has never seen snow or rain and has only ever parked in a meticulous garage under a sheepskin-lined cover. Survival rate is high, enthusiast rate is high; the only thing holding back those owners from showing it will be the potential for a nice fall drive.

Mercedes-Benz SLK

Another light German sports car, the R170 SLK had a couple of things going for it. First, it was available with a supercharged 2.3-liter four-cylinder engine in addition to its normally aspirated 2.0-liter four. Both engines were respectable performers, though the Kompressor version could push the SLK from zero to 100 kilometers per hour in 7.6 seconds.

Second, it had a retractable steel convertible top, a feature not seen in a production vehicle in the United States since the Ford Skyliner of the Fifties. A number of other convertible hardtops soon followed from several other carmakers.

As for the SLK, it remained on the market through two more generations through 2020.

Likelihood of one showing up at Hershey this year: 30 percent. I’m spitballing here. These were seemingly everywhere for a while and no longer appear on the roads with any regularity, but as with the Z3 M, the attrition rate is likely very low, so there’s probably some out there in garages ready for a show.

Mercedes-Benz CLK320

Not the GTR version that Mercedes-Benz built for FIA GT Championship racing in 1998, rather the coupe version with the 3.2-liter V-6 that Mercedes-Benz built to emulate the E-Class but on the C-Class platform.

Likelihood of one showing up at Hershey this year: 5 percent. More likely to see a convertible than a coupe.

Lincoln Navigator

Ford had just introduced the F-150-based Expedition the year prior, giving the company its first SUV to compete against the Tahoe/Yukon. While the GM SUVs could be sold as both Chevrolets and GMCs, Ford couldn’t replicate that. It could, however, put a Lincoln Town Car grille on it and beat the Cadillac Escalade to the domestic luxury SUV market by a year.

Essentially the same as the Expedition from the A-pillar back and under the skin, the Navigator did see one substantial upgrade that the Expedition didn’t: the 300hp InTech DOHC 5.4L V-8. After three additional generations, it remains on the market today.

Likelihood of one showing up at Hershey this year: 10 percent. These first-generation Navigators tended to get used up and passed on to young families who need the room for their brood, and the only Lincoln enthusiasts who we’ve seen use these employ them as tow vehicles for their Full Classics. Maybe one of those tow vehicles has been well kept enough to make a last-minute show entry?

Dodge Ram Quad Cab

Dodge already made pickup history (as it claimed in its ads) with the Club Cab in 1973, the first extended-cab pickup body. As opposed to today’s pickup wars, in which pickups introduce new features seemingly every year, it took 25 years for Dodge to evolve the Club Cab into the Quad Cab by making that added space accessible by a second pair of doors. Sure, four-door crew cab pickups had been around since the Fifties, but it was the Quad Cab that popularized the more-door pickup body styles that have since proliferated as pickups became status vehicles and replacements for the typical American sedan.

Likelihood of one showing up at Hershey this year: 25 percent. Plenty of these still exist rust free outside of the Northeast and Midwest, and Dodge pickup fans are well versed in their significance, so it’s a sure bet somebody has one polished and ready for this day. It’s just a question of how far that one person wants to travel.

By its very nature, the automobile has identity issues. Rarely can automakers afford to conceive, develop, and market a vehicle with just one customer set in mind, so they either find an acceptable compromise or offer a slate of options to reach a broad range of customers. That can then lead to some strange bedfellows on the showroom floor, including dozens of instances of cars, trucks, and vans that offer four-, six-, and eight-cylinder engine options all at once.

While praising the remarkably long-lasting Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana full-size vans, I noted that the vans had, late in their run, joined a small list of vehicles available with factory-available fours, sixes, and eights all in the same model year. Predictably, several commenters noted other vehicles on that list, which of course warranted an afternoon spent further researching all the vehicles I could think of that might qualify for that list.

Not saying I exhausted every single instance of a vehicle offering such a wide variety of powerplants, thus covering the spectrum from economy to power, but I came up with enough to offer some broad generalized insights about postwar American history and to justify that afternoon. (If you can think of any more, keep your suggestions coming in the comments.)

4/6/8 Criteria

First, some ground rules for my search. I didn’t care about the type of fuel or the cylinder configuration, only the actual cylinder count. I also didn’t consider the recent (and not-so-recent) multi-displacement systems that electronically shut off certain cylinders; I wanted actual effort on the part of the automakers to build a vehicle small or light enough for a four-cylinder to push around but also with enough room in the engine bay for a V-8. And I’m not counting versions built with an additional engine choice by a company other than the original carmaker (sorry, Ford Capri Mk1). Some British models did offer fours, sixes, and eights at various times in their model runs, but not at the same time, so I’m not counting them. I am counting vehicles that used engines in a hybrid configuration as well as vehicles that offered fours, sixes, and eights at the same time but not in the same market.

Based on those criteria, this appears to be a phenomenon that generally occurred in three different time periods in postwar history: the mid- to late Sixties, when American carmakers engaged in a horsepower war at the same time that the American car-buying public started to demand greater thrift in their cars; the mid-Seventies into the Eighties, when American carmakers and car buyers, shocked by the oil crises and the need for greater pollution controls, nevertheless still wanted power, still wanted size, and still hadn’t processed the geopolitical implications of the price of oil; and the mid-2010s to the present, when the carmakers’ addiction to ratcheting vehicle size (and ratcheting profits) put them at odds with equally more stringent CAFE figures, leading them to implement technological solutions like turbocharged and hybridized four-cylinders to try to maximize power from minimal engine sizes.

That said, not every vehicle that I or our readers identified fits neatly into those eras, and other than a few gaps here and there, 4/6/8 vehicles have been with us pretty consistently since the Sixties.

Many thanks to those of you who chimed in on the original version of this article with your suggestions for further models to investigate. I’ve tried to include all of those below.

1964 to 1970 Chevrolet Chevy II

The earliest instance of a postwar American 4/6/8 vehicle we’ve found dates back to 1964 when Chevrolet dropped a 283-cu.in. V-8 into the Chevy II. The compact already had the Super-Thrift 153 four-cylinder and the Hi-Thrift 194 six-cylinder, and both engines used the small-block V-8’s bellhousing bolt pattern, so it didn’t take much engineering to add the V-8. In 1966, Chevrolet relegated the 153 to the basest of base-model Chevy IIs, but the division still kept the engine on the books through the 1970 model year.

1966 to 1969 Checker

If thrifty Sixties cars make perfect candidates for the 4/6/8 trifecta, then of course we have to include Checker (we considered Rambler and Studebaker, but both of those carmakers used six-cylinders as base engines), which, as it turns out, qualified for the list sometime in the mid- to late Sixties when it offered Perkins four-cylinder diesels alongside the Chevrolet-sourced 230-cu.in. straight-six and 327-cu.in. V-8. According to the Internet Checker Taxi Archives, the Perkins option lasted from 1967 to 1969 here in the States, while Israel-bound Checkers received the diesels starting in 1966. The ICTA also notes that Studebaker offered a Perkins diesel in 1963, which would put that car on the list as well.

1967 to 1971 International Harvester Scout 800

International Harvester, like Pontiac, took a unique approach to crafting a four-cylinder by essentially lobbing off half of a V-8’s cylinders, so the IH Scout 800, with a base 152-cu.in. slant-four, easily accommodated International’s V-8 starting in 1967. To fill the gap between the two, International used AMC’s 232-cu.in. straight-six for a brief period in the late Sixties, though as we can see from the brochure pages above, the company didn’t seem to publicize that option well.

1974 to 1976 Holden LH/LX Torana

The Torana had started out as a four-cylinder car in 1967 but quickly added sixes and then, with the third generation LH, gained a V-8. Its 1.9L Opel cam-in-head four-cylinder was the same as the Opel GT’s and shared spec lists with the Holden 2.85- and 3.3-liter six-cylinders and 4.2-liter and 5.0-liter V-8s. Or, at least, it did until midway through the LX run, when Holden decided to split off the four-cylinder-powered cars into a separate model called the Sunbird, leaving the Torana with just the sixes and 5.0L.

1975 to 1986 Ford Mustang

With the move to the Pinto platform, the Ford Mustang II gained a four-cylinder, but lost a V-8. Ford rectified that in 1975 by offering the 2.3-liter four-cylinder, 2.8-liter V-6, and the 302-cu.in. V-8 all at the same time. That lineup remained the same until the Fox-platform era of the Mustang, when the 2.3-liter gained, lost, and regained a turbocharged version; the V-6 was replaced with a straight-six, which was in turn replaced with a 3.8-liter V-6; and when the 302 was briefly replaced with a smaller 255-cu.in. V-8. By the time the 1987 facelift came around, Ford decided to stick with just the 2.3-liter and the 302.

Various Fox-platform Fords

Speaking of the Fox platform and the 2.3-liter Pinto engine that soldiered on beyond the Pinto itself, plenty more Fords of the late Seventies and early to mid-Eighties offered fours, sixes, and eights in the same model year. The compact Ford Fairmont did so from its launch in 1978 through 1981, after which Ford dropped the 302 from its option sheet. The midsize Ford Granada took on a 3.8-liter V-6 and the 255-cu.in. V-8 to accompany the 2.3-liter four in its last model year. The Granada’s replacement, the Fox-platform LTD, eventually qualified for this list in mid-1984 and 1985 with the 5.0-liter-powered LTD LX. The ninth-generation Thunderbird also utilized the 2.3-, 3.8-, and 5.0-liter lineup for its entire run.

1977 to 1979 Chevrolet Monza

GM demanded a lot from its H-body cars. The Vega was supposed to be Chevrolet’s import-killer, but then it wasn’t. The Monza was supposed to be the rotary-powered economy car, but then it wasn’t. And with all that GM had invested into the platform, the company couldn’t simply drop it, so GM transformed the Monza into a sort of be-everything-for-everybody kind of car. The Vega engine gave way to the Pontiac-sourced 2.5-liter Iron Duke four-cylinder for the mileage-conscious customers in 1978; a pair of Buick-sourced V-6s helped the company wiggle around emissions laws; and the 305-cu.in. V-8 that had become an option the year prior continued through 1979 for those seeking what performance they could get in the late Seventies.

1977 to 1979 AMC Concord and Spirit

American Motors didn’t have a four-cylinder of its own until 1984, long after the company discontinued its passenger car V-8s. However, AMC did make a deal with Volkswagen/Audi to purchase a version of that company’s 121-cu.in. overhead-camshaft four-cylinder engine, starting in 1977. That engine, largely found in later Gremlins, also made its way into the Concord, which offered the venerable 232-cu.in. and 258-cu.in. straight-sixes out of the Jeep CJ and AMC’s 304-cu.in. V-8 in 1978 and 1979, as well as the Spirit, which could be had with the same lineup in 1979 only.

1980 to 1981 Jeep CJ series

Speaking of Jeep’s CJ series, it did indeed have a V-8 from 1972 to 1981. And of course it had straight-sixes during that time. It did not, however, get the Volkswagen/Audi four-cylinder. Instead, starting in 1980, American Motors plunked the Pontiac-sourced Iron Duke 2.5-liter four-cylinder under the CJ’s hood.

1980 to 1986 Holden VC/VH/VK Commodore

Similar to what Chevrolet did in the Sixties and what AMC did in the Eighties, Holden hoped a couple cylinders off its existing straight-six engine to create a four-cylinder that was meant to increase mileage called the Starfire. That Starfire 1.9-liter four-cylinder joined its 2.85-liter six-cylinder counterpart and a 4.2-liter V-8 across the early Eighties VC and VH Commodores in Australia and on through the VK in New Zealand.

1982 to 1985 Chevrolet Camaro and Pontiac Firebird

And while we’re on the topic of the Iron Duke, let’s not forget that for a few years the third-generation Camaro used the four-cylinder in its base Sport Coupe version, which also offered GM’s 2.8-liter V-6 and the 305-cu.in. small-block V-8 as options. The third-generation Firebird also offered the same engine lineup those same years, though in both its base and its luxury-focused S/E versions.

1982 to 1986 Rover SD1

When Rover revised the SD1 sedan for 1982, it added a Morris-produced 2.0-liter O-series four-cylinder for European-market versions. A VM Motor four-cylinder diesel also appeared as an option, along with a Leyland PE166 straight-six and the 3.5-liter V-8 best known for powering the American-market versions.

1991 to 2002 Dodge Dakota

From the start, the Dakota mid-size pickup had a four-cylinder from the K-cars as well as a 3.9-liter V-6, but in 1991 Dodge took a cue from Carroll Shelby’s version of the Dakota and started to offer the 5.2-liter LA-series V-8. The K-series four eventually gave way to an AMC-built 2.5-liter four-cylinder, but the Dakota remained a 4/6/8 pickup for a good 11 years – through 2002, when Chrysler put the 2.5-liter to bed.

1992 to 2020 Mercedes-Benz W124/W210/W211/W212/W213 E-Class

The Mercedes-Benz E-Class had been one of those cars defined by a solid and reliable straight-six with the occasional four-cylinder diesel for European cab drivers. That all changed with the 500E in the early Nineties, leading to what is probably the longest run for any vehicle to offer a four, a six, and an eight. The many permutations over those 28 years are too numerous to list here, but the E-Class seems to have seen it all, including some five-cylinder engines, until just recently.

Various years BMW 5-Series

BMW’s 5-series gets on the list, though sporadically. The inclusion of the V-8 in the E34 from 1992 to 1996 gave it at least one of each, then the diesel four-cylinders in the E39 landed it on the list again from 2000 to 2003. It wasn’t until 2007, though, that the 5-Series consistently had a four-, six-, and eight-cylinder engine in its lineup, and it appears to have consistently done so through the E60, F10, and G30 years. Also, at least during the E60 years, the 5-Series had a V10, making it the only 4/6/8/10 vehicle we’ve yet seen.

1998 to 2000 Mercedes-Benz W163

While we in the States saw V-6 and V-8 versions of the W163 chassis SUV in the ML320, ML430, and ML55 AMG, Mercedes-Benz also apparently offered a stripper version with its 2.3L four-cylinder and a manual transmission in Europe for a couple of years. A five-cylinder diesel also ran concurrent with those fours, sixes, and eights.

2001 to 2004 Volkswagen Passat

Like I said up above, I only care about cylinder count, not cylinder configuration, so the 4.0L W8 that appeared in the facelifted B5 Passat (apparently known as the B5.5) – offered alongside a 2.8-liter V-6 and multiple four-cylinders – gets it in the door. The Passat A5.5 even gets bonus points for offering a 2.3-liter VR5 during this period (through 2003).

2008 to 2012 BMW 3-Series

This one’s debatable, if only because some people might draw a distinction between the M3 and the rest of the 3-Series. For those that don’t, the E90/E92/E93 qualifies with its S65B40 4.0-liter V-8, offered at the same time as a variety of fours and sixes in the non-M 3-Series cars.

2009-2017 Mercedes-Benz S-Class

Diesels provide so many ways for so many German cars to get on this list, including the S-Class with its preponderance of V-6s, V-8s, and V-12s. The W221 had the S250 CDI with a 2.2-liter turbocharged diesel that provided surprising performance while the W222 used the same engine but in a twin-turbo hybrid configuration. A four-cylinder gas engine was also reportedly available in the S-Class in the Chinese market, though details on that are scant. Of note, the 5.98-liter V-12 available during these years puts the W221 and W222 into an even more rarified class: cars with four-, six-, eight-, and 12-cylinder engines.

2012 to 2016 Ford FG Falcon

As with all Australian Falcons, a straight-six engine was a must, and the Falcon FG carried over the 5.4-liter V-8 from the previous generation of Falcon (soon to be replaced with the Coyote 5.0-liter V-8). But by 2012, Ford of Australia also added a version of the Falcon FG powered by the 2.0-liter EcoBoost four-cylinder, which remained in the lineup until the end of Australian Ford production.

2015 to 2017 Ford Mustang

Speaking of the EcoBoost, in 2015 it became the first four-cylinder to power a Mustang since the end of the Fox-platform generation. It also turned the traditional 4, then 6, then 8 hierarchy on its head, with the 3.7-liter Cyclone V-6 as the S550 Mustang’s base engine and the 2.3-liter EcoBoost and the 5.0-liter Coyote V-8 as optional engines. After 2017, though, Ford decided the V-6 was unnecessary, leaving the Mustang with just the four- and eight-cylinder engines.

2016 to 2024 Chevrolet Camaro

In yet another instance of Ford and Chevrolet’s neverending tit-for-tat, the sixth-generation Camaro debuted a year after the S550 Mustang with a 2.0L turbocharged Ecotec four-cylinder, a 3.6-liter V-6, and a couple LT-series V-8s. Unlike the Mustang, however, the Camaro continues to offer a V-6.

2016 to 2019 Cadillac CTS

The third-generation CTS debuted in 2014 with a 2.0-liter Ecotec four-cylinder (a first for the CTS) and a pair of 3.6-liter V-6s, then in 2016 added the supercharged 6.2-liter LT4 V-8 for the CTS-V. All three remained in the lineup until the CT5 replaced the CTS after 2019.

2018 to present Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana

As previously discussed, the Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana seemed to use just more varieties of engines than any other platform in history, and GM keeps plugging more engines into the vans, including the Duramax 2.8-liter four-cylinder in 2017. Along with a 4.3-liter V-6, added to the lineup in 2018, and some variety of GM’s LS- or LT-series V-8s, the Express/Savana may be the largest vehicle to qualify for this list.

2022 Cadillac CT5 and 2019 to 2020 CT6

Bear with me, we’re almost done. Both the CT5 midsize Cadillac and the CT6 full-size Cadillac also qualify for this list with turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinders, 3.6-liter naturally aspirated and 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged V-6s, and V-8s (a 6.2-liter supercharged LT4 in the 2022 CT5-V Blackwing as well as a 4.2-liter LTA in the CT6 and a twin-turbocharged V-8 in the CT6-V). Good luck finding any of those LTA CT6s – Cadillac built just 1,500 of them before axing the model.

2019 to 2021 Chevrolet and GMC GMT T1XX pickups

Speaking of the 4.3-liter V-6, GM made it available in the GMT T1XX Chevrolet and GMC full-size pickups until 2021. Given that the 2.7-liter turbocharged four-cylinder has been with that generation of trucks from the beginning as well as the LT 5.3-liter V-8, these trucks can also claim 4/6/8 status.

2019 to present BMW G11 7-Series

The turbocharged four-cylinder trend of the late Teens extended to the 7-Series with a 2.0L turbocharged four available both on its own and in a hybrid system. In fact, BMW has turbocharged every engine it’s so far put in the 7-Series, including the 3.0-liter six-cylinder, 4.4-liter V-8, and the 6.6-liter V-12, the last putting it in the company of the S-Class as the only other 4/6/8/12 car.

Honorable Mentions

Finally, we have a few vehicles that don’t precisely meet our criteria, but still merit a mention anyway.

In 2004, GM did something it had never before done: offer an inline five-cylinder engine. The Colorado/Canyon twins and the Hummer H3 were the main benefactors of the straight-six substitute that accompanied the base four-cylinder engine. This probably wouldn’t be worth discussing in this context were it not for the LH8 version of the LS-series V-8s, which GM installed in those three trucks in 2008, making them the only known 4/5/8 vehicles.

Five-cylinder engines led to a couple of 5/6/8 lineups, first in the 1981 to 1985 Mercedes-Benz S-Class, then later in the 2007 to 2011 Volvo XC90

Then there’s the Porsche 914. We all know the story about its base flat-four and the 914-6 version with the flat-six, but Porsche also made two 914-8s with a 3.0-liter quad-cam flat-eight. Not quite production, but also not worth skipping over in this context.

If we want to go bigger, we could count the 1994 to 2003 Dodge Ram, which could be had with the six-cylinder Cummins, the LA-series V-8, and the Magnum V-10 (and the 2004-2006 Dodge Ram, with the Cummins, the Hemi V-8, and the Viper V-10). This list doesn’t include pre-war vehicles, but we could also point to Cadillac’s V-8, V-12, and V-16 offerings during the multi-cylinder wars.

Finally, if rotaries count, the Holden HJ/HX Premier had one alongside six- and eight-cylinder engines.

So, did we get ’em all? Are there others worth discussing? And with EVs on the horizon, will we ever see the likes of these vehicles again once the Camaro, Express, and CT5 ride off into the sunset? Or maybe we’ll start to see new trifectas, with gas, EV, and nuclear engines. Let’s revisit in the year 2065.

Editor’s Note: This article originally ran on March 18, 2021. It has since been updated with additional information and layout changes.