Journal Classic Cars

Straightforward, simple designs were the name of the game when it came to trucks of the late 20th century. As I’ve observed with my 1994 Ford F-Series, it seems like the 1990s marked the last era of a truly analog driving experience – without the computer-aided tech features we see commonly today. Many modern pickups have power tailgates, trailer-backing aids, self-driving gear, and electronic side steps. While those are handy to have, as my dad would always say, “Sounds like just one more thing that can break.”

If you tend to like your trucks old-school like I do, you’ll appreciate this Arctic White gem. The Pick of the Day is a 1991 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 4×4 pickup listed for sale on ClassicCars.com by a private seller in Deep River, Connecticut.

“Completely original except for the addition of back rack, bedliner, and running boards,” the listing says. “Exterior and interior are nearly perfect.”

General Motors’ “GMT 400” chassis underpinned the company’s Chevrolet and GMC full-sized pickup trucks beginning in 1988 with the C/K Series. The platform had a nearly 14-year production run – a testament to both its durability and its popularity. The rivalry between Ford and Chevrolet was brewing in full force during the 1990s: Chevy had one ad in particular that said, “Kickin’ Dirt and Takin’ Names.” It went on to say, “When you’re charging down trails with your lug nuts to the wall, who wants to settle for second best? Get the 4×4 power, fuel economy and Insta-Trac to keep you winning.”

This clean, original example is optioned in “Z71 Off-Road” equipment, which means it came with an upgraded Rancho suspension, skid plates, an automatic locking rear differential, and, of course, the obligatory decals on the bed sides. The burgundy interior is perfectly ’90s, complete with a patterned cloth bench seat for three-abreast seating. Controls for the transfer case are floor-mounted, and the cab is rounded out by a set of bowtie-embroidered floor mats and a period-correct AM/FM cassette audio system.

Some GMT 400 trucks came with a 4.6-liter Vortec V6, but this one was ordered with a larger engine. Power comes from a 350ci small-block V8 mated to an automatic transmission and a dual-range transfer case. The odometer shows just 81,750 miles.

Most people don’t buy a pickup with the intent of preserving it like a future collectible, but in this case, we’re glad they did. “Perfect starting point for a beautiful 4×4 mod, or keep stock for car shows,” the listing concludes. “This truck turns heads and is a joy to drive.”

The asking price is $22,500.

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

If you were swept up in the news coming out of Monterey Car Week and the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, we can’t blame you. How could you not be distracted by all the cool vehicles showcased and introduced in such a short amount of time? But that means you may have missed the Bronco Roadster Concept that Ford rolled out as part of the legendary off-roader’s 60th birthday festivities.

Today, you can get the sixth-generation Bronco with two or four doors and with a soft top and/or a removable hardtop. But when the original Bronco entered the market as a 1966 model, it was available in three basic forms: the Sports Utility (essentially a single-cab pickup), the two-door Wagon, and the roofless and doorless Roadster. Robert Gelardi, the current model’s chief designer, said, “During the development of the 2021 Bronco and Bronco Sport, we worked with a group of experts and enthusiasts who helped guide our vision. One of them, who has since become a good friend, owns a beautifully spartan 1966 Wimbledon White roadster. We’ve admired that vehicle for a long time, and it served as the design team’s inspiration, as well as a tangible link to the Bronco’s original design DNA, for this Roadster Concept.”

To give the concept vehicle the same “Go Anywhere, Open Air” personality as the original model, Gelardi and his team kept things simple. Of course, there’s no roof or doors on the Wimbledon White one-off, but there’s also a clear lack of the kind of gear you see on many classic and modern Broncos, such as a winch, light bar, or sky-high lift. Silver bumpers cap both ends of the concept and visually connect it to the vehicle that inspired it. The stock wheels were swapped out for a set of silver Fifteen52 Analog HDs.

Behind the largely white interior’s manual shifter and metallic silver bucket seats, the cargo area was gutted to make room for a spare tire. Maroon graphics over the rear fender flares commemorate the Bronco’s 60th and connect near the bottom of the throwback fold-down tailgate.

Unfortunately, the Bronco Roadster, like many concept vehicles, has no shot of making it into production. Perhaps at this year’s SEMA show we’ll see aftermarket companies offering conversion kits that provide the same old-school look.

At the Electrify Expo Phoenix 2025, we saw all sorts of electric cars, trucks, and SUVs, including the updated 2025 Ford Mustang Mach-E lineup. As Mustang Mach-E Assistant Brand Manager James Duszkiewicz explains in this video, customer feedback led to some of the changes made to the all-electric Mustang, such as the standard heat pump and the Premium model’s heated and ventilated front seats.

Duszkiewicz also tells us more about the GT-style Sport Appearance Package and the Mustang Mach-E Rally, a lifted model designed to blast over trails with 480 horsepower and 700 lb-ft of torque. Later on, we get into the things traditional Mustang fans and those who have never driven a Mustang at all should know about the Mach-E.

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Every Friday, my colleague Diego brings you a list of vehicles that caught his eye on AutoHunter.com, but he is on a much-deserved vacation so I will be filling in for him today. Other than the color white, there’s not a theme to my selections, although they would make for a well-rounded collection of cars: a wagon, a hardtop convertible, and German and British roadsters.

1956 Pontiac Star Chief Safari (Auction ends August 26, 2025, at 12:15 p.m. PDT)

If you’ve seen some of my previous AutoHunter Spotlights or Pick of the Day pieces, you can probably guess I have a thing for wagons, which partially explains this Safari’s presence on this list. But there are other reasons too.

The Shadow Gray and Cream White paint colors go so well together and are applied in just the right areas. Then there’s the bold vertical trim on the hood and the upright brightwork at the rear end. The interior is just as eye-catching yet subtle, furnished with gray leather seats with black, gray, and white striped cloth inserts.

Updates can sometimes ruin the looks or personality of a vintage car, but in this case, the power front buckets, 350 V8, and 700R4 four-speed automatic are nice additions. This Safari would be great for a family night at a local drive-in movie or a run to get ice cream in this seemingly endless summer heat.

1957 Porsche 356 Replica (Auction ends August 27, 2025, at 11:45 a.m. PDT)

Ideal convertible weather is coming and this Porsche 356 replica made by Vintage Motorcars looks like a perfect car for it. Finished in the pleasant combination of Ivory over a Cognac Brown leather interior, it brings to mind languid, top-down drives along the coast.

To where? That doesn’t really matter – the journey is the best part. But if there are twists and turns along the way that are too enticing, the dual-carb, air-cooled 1,915cc four-cylinder engine and the four-speed manual are ready for action.

1959 Ford Galaxie Skyliner (Auction ends August 28, 2025, at 12:45 p.m. PDT)

This is a great example of how forward-thinking certain automakers can be. In the mid-1990s, Mercedes-Benz made a big splash with its first-generation SLK roadster, which wowed people with its power-retractable hardtop. There’s no denying that that’s a cool feature, but it wasn’t an industry first. Way back in the 1950s, Ford’s Galaxie Skyliner had that kind of roof and it covered two rows of passengers.

This ’57 Skyliner benefits from a total restoration that resulted in the attractive pairing of Colonial White with a two-tone blue vinyl and fabric interior. A 300-horsepower Thunderbird 352 Special V8 keeps the breeze blowing during top-down driving.

If the weather turns nasty, the power Hide-Away hardtop will keep it out – but it won’t stop people from staring at it when it’s transforming this Galaxie from a convertible to a coupe.

1969 MG MGC (Auction ends August 27, 2025, at 12:00 p.m. PDT)

Before the Toyota Prius came along in the late-1990s, the term “hybrid” had a very different meaning in the automotive industry. Cars such as the Facel Vega, Iso Grifo, and De Tomaso Pantera combined European styling with American V8 power. Thanks to an Oldsmobile 215ci V8 engine swap, this MG roadster falls into that same category. In addition, the transmission was upgraded to a TREMEC T-5 five-speed manual.

But there’s more to this MG than what’s under its hood. The entire car was restored, repainted Wimbledon White, and fitted with a new red leather interior from MG specialist Moss Motors, which provides the perfect pop of color to contrast with the low-key exterior.

Much like the Mercury Marauder X-100 we recently featured, the Mercury Cougar also suffers from misconceptions. In this case, enthusiasts tend to call the Cougar a luxury pony car, but have you bothered to look at a 1967 Cougar’s interior? “Upscale Mustang” seems to be a better descriptor. However, several years later, the Cougar had moved into different territory, certainly becoming more luxurious, as evidenced by our Pick of the Day. This 1971 Mercury Cougar XR-7 convertible is listed for sale on ClassicCars.com by a dealership in Lillington, North Carolina.

Ford Motor Company was correct in determining the car-buying public was ready for an upscale pony car, and the Mercury Cougar was it. Only available as a distinctive hardtop, and featuring an electric shaver-like grille and taillights (with the latter featuring sequential operation, no less), the new Mercury was a runaway hit, selling just under 151,000 units. A standard 289 V8 offered distinction from the crop of pony cars in the market at the time (including the also-just-introduced Chevrolet Camaro and Pontiac Firebird), and a big-block 390 was available both as an option or as part of the GT package. A mid-year introduction of the upscale XR-7 added true luxury to the Cougar lineup with leather seating surfaces and a cockpit that would make a European proud.

The distinctiveness that made the XR-7 was lost with the 1969 redesign, though most certainly the XR-7 continued to be a more luxurious version of the Cougar. However, what luxury car didn’t come standard with air conditioning and power windows? No, the Cougar was not a luxury car, even in XR-7 guise, but it was moving in a personal luxury direction. This was a natural evolution for what the Cougar was created, and the timing was perfect because the performance and sporty market was evolving—sales began to fall after 1968 as the younger set that was interested in performance was starting families and whose values as a consumer were changing.

By the Cougar’s second redesign (for the 1971 model year) the Cougar had ditched much of what made it unique and was steeped in something more sophisticated. Fat cat? Originally a term to describe a political donor flush with cash, the Cougar certainly was a fat cat in presence, though its weight between 1970 and 1971 was practically unchanged despite being longer and wider. The connection to the Mustang was still there, but it certainly looked less like a brother and more like a cousin. For the first time, headlights were exposed, with the horizontal grille divided by an upright center grille that imparted a more prestigious look. Taillights also were much different than before, though the Cougar still retained its sequential operation. Model series stayed the same, with the Eliminator package replaced by the GT package that came with a standard 351-2V for the base Cougar coupe. A new 429 Cobra Jet was available, both with and without ram air, though the Drag Pack was not.

Though the Cougar was more entrenched as a personal luxury pony car—a small Thunderbird, if you will—performance options were still available, such as the aforementioned Cobra Jet as well as a four-speed transmission. This 1971 Mercury Cougar XR-7 convertible features the “M-code” 351-4V along with a Hurst shifter in the console, which means it’s equipped with a four-speed manual. Both close- and wide-ratio four-speeds were available, with is car being one of only 47 equipped with the latter and the M-code engine. Other features originally ordered by the original buyer include Traction-Lok differential with 3.25 gears, power steering, power front disc brakes, air conditioning, AM/FM stereo, tinted glass, and Competition Suspension.

There’s a lot of cars out there that are WAY overpriced despite being easy to find. Conversely, here we have one extremely rare convertible that is affordable. In addition, the mature you would appreciate the leather and A/C while rowing through the gears. For $22,500 you can play the role of fat cat as the money you save from not overspending on more popular collectibles will allow you to attend to other interests.

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

I’ve never been much of a reader, having read my last fiction book over five years ago. However, I read the news daily, and I tend to gravitate toward non-fiction. Does that count? In that case, I am a voracious reader, constantly going down Internet rabbit holes for things that pique my curiosity. (Will I remember everything I read? To discuss at a later date…)

The lack of fiction under my belt slightly bothers me, as most people who consider themselves voracious readers always choose fiction. However, I don’t get hung up on it because I know cars are the reason I know the things I know.

You may point out that there is little value in knowing the grille differences between a 1961 Dodge Polara and a 1962 Custom 880, but that’s not what I’m talking about. Look beyond the style of cars and you’ll find the style of people—how they dress, how they wear their hair, and the sensibilities that fall in line with them. Am I familiar with a particular type of mid-century item? Likely not by name (sorry, I don’t read GQ), but I can look at an image and identify the approximate year based on the style of the people in the image.

Car colors are a major gold mine (excuse the pun) for knowledge, especially about animals, locales, and the natural world.

• I would not know what an atoll is if it wasn’t for the 1970 Pontiac GTO and the Atoll Blue hue. Ditto Oldsmobile’s Aegean Aqua.
• The same could be said of a certain kind of horse that was the inspiration for Palomino Copper.
• Palisade Green presumably refers to the tree-lined cliffs in a part of northern New Jersey.
• Chevrolet had a color named Ermine White. That’s an animal related to the weasel.
• While Dodge’s Polara is nonsense (inspired by the Space Race), Monaco is a wealthy city-state in the French Riviera (my, another car reference!).
• My dad test-drove a Cadillac that was painted Sonora Saddle, which I realized (after moving to Arizona) may be a tip of the hat to the Sonoran Desert, though it could be the name of the Sonora state in Mexico.

Other musings:

• My mom is an architect, but I didn’t know what a flying buttress was until I read something from the designer of the 1968 Dodge Charger.
• I am not a chemical engineer, but I know lead raises octane.
• Brougham may invoke images of velour interiors, but it’s the name of a carriage design.
• Plaza may sound like a dumb name for a car model, but it was a fancy hotel (among several) that Plymouth used to name its lineup in the 1950s.
• Speaking of hotels, I know what the Bellevue-Stratford was because it was pictured in a Cadillac ad in 1958. I know about Legionnaires’ disease because of this hotel as well.
• I know nothing about airplanes, but apparently Messerschmitt built them before gravitating to cars.
• I learned about the star cluster “Pleiades” (and how to pronounce it) when I learned what “Subaru” meant in English (though admittedly it first came on my radar due to the classic video game by Centuri—did you know it’s named after the seven daughters of Atlas? I didn’t!).

As you can see, it runs the gamut. Aside from cursing, what things that surround our lives have you learned from cars?

Every new generation of drivers becomes accustomed to certain technologies while losing – or never even developing – connection to older ones. Many young drivers don’t know how to drive a manual transmission; others have never been behind the wheel of a car with a cassette player. In a recent video, David Swift, the executive producer of Jay Leno’s Garage, learns how to drive a car that came out 25 years before Jay Leno himself was born: a 1925 Ford Model T.

Leno’s Model T is a deceptively simple car. As a “Mennonite” Model T marketed toward members of the Anabaptist Christian faith, it’s all-black and devoid of chrome or flash. The four-cylinder engine doesn’t have water or oil pumps. There isn’t even a speedometer on the dashboard.

As Swift learns, the Model T isn’t quite as straightforward as it seems. Hand-cranking the engine is both physically taxing and difficult (luckily Leno’s Model T has an electric starter). There is no PRND layout to the two-speed transmission. There are three pedals, but they aren’t clutch, gas, and brake as many modern drivers would expect them to be. Instead, the handbrake on the far left is used as a sort of neutral, the left pedal is for switching between high and low gear, the middle pedal is reverse, and the one on the right is the brake – for the rear wheels only. So where is the gas? Technically, it’s on the steering wheel, where a lever is used to control the throttle.

Swift gets the privilege of driving Leno’s car and receiving a private lesson from him, but he’s also under the pressure of quickly memorizing complex instructions while not grenading the Model T’s hardware or crashing into somebody as Leno (and millions of viewers) watch him. How does he do? Take a deep breath to calm your nerves, then click the play button on the video below.

If you’ve ever wanted to own a street-legal racecar, today is your lucky day.

Featured on AutoHunter is this 2019 Porsche 911 GT3 RS Coupe. The car is being sold by a dealer in North Andover, Massachusetts, and the auction will end Tuesday, August 26, 2025, at 11:45 a.m. (PDT).

The GT3 was a homologation version of the 911—in other words, it was developed in limited numbers in order to comply with the requirements of a racing series. That is because many races (especially those governed by the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile, or FIA) require that the cars in competition be based on publicly available production cars. The GT3 nameplate was first introduced in 1999 and, over the past quarter-century, it has become a revered nameplate among Porsche aficionados and collectors.

This black-and-white-themed GT3 RS shows just 40,707 miles on the odometer and looks like it’s ready for a race circuit even while standing still. Car and Driver called the GT3 RS the “hardest-core” 911, saying that it was a “rabid yet tamable performance machine.” Power comes from a naturally-aspirated, 520-horsepower 4.0-liter flat-six that revs to 9,000 rpm, making it the most powerful naturally-aspirated, road-legal 911 in history. A seven-speed Porsche Doppelkupplung (PDK) dual-clutch automatic transmission sends power to the rear wheels.

A sports car needs to handle as well as it accelerates, so extensive chassis tuning was done to the GT3 when it was engineered in order to optimize balance and poise. The car uses spherical bearings on all the suspension links, as well as front and rear helper springs. Aerodynamics were a key part of the philosophy, with the front splitter, the side skirts, and the rear wing were all designed to generate downforce (and therefore maximize grip).

Special note about this vehicle’s history: the CARFAX report shows an accident was reported in June 2020 involving damage to the left front corner. The vehicle was declared a total loss by an insurance company and received a salvage title a few months later. However, the car was returned to roadworthiness and was back to logging miles by 2022 when the next CARFAX record shows it was serviced in Sacramento at 33,560 miles.

There are a lot of factors that go into whether a salvage title vehicle is right for you. A salvage vehicle usually has a significantly lower purchase price when compared to its clean-title counterpart. Also, not all vehicles declared salvage are severely damaged—in some vehicles, an insurance might “total out” a car for mere paint scrapes or hail damage, even though mechanically it’s still in top condition. Finally, a salvage vehicle is likely to experience less depreciation than a clean-title car because it’s already been devalued.

Points to ponder, right? If you’ve ever wanted a Porsche supercar for a fraction of the market price, your opportunity is right here.

The auction for this 2019 Porsche 911 GT3 RS Coupe ends Tuesday, August 26, 2025, at 11:45 a.m. (PDT).

Visit the AutoHunter listing for more information and a photo gallery

You know what makes off-roading even better? When you can get out of your rig and shoot pictures and video of it and your location without your phone over-heating (I know from experience). Luckily, cooler weather is coming. But if you want our Pick of the Day so you can take it wheeling, you have to go after it. You can find this 1975 Chevrolet K5 Blazer 4X4 on ClassicCars.com listed by a private seller in Sonoma, California.

Vintage SUVs are so hot these days but, 20 years ago, someone made the right decision to restore this full-size rig. No word on what color(s) this Blazer originally had, but now it wears the attractive combination of red and white on its body (perhaps Crimson Red and Frost White?) and white on its removable top.

Chevrolet offered the 1975 Blazer with two-wheel drive, but this one sends the power from its four-barrel 350ci V8 through a TH350 automatic and a transfer case to all four of its 31-inch BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A KO2s. Dual Rough Country steering stabilizers combat the bump steer caused by the challenging terrain a vehicle like this was made to get over.

The interior was both updated and upgraded with the tan leather seats from a later-model Chevrolet Suburban or Tahoe. Those, as well as air conditioning, JVC AM/FM/cassette radio with a Sony Xplod CD changer, and center console with a pair of cup holders, should make any off-road trip a more pleasant experience.

You know better wheeling weather is coming, but you won’t really know how nice this 1975 Chevrolet K5 Blazer 4X4 is in the wild unless you buy it. It’ll take $44,000 to find out.

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

Acura has a 10-year tradition of being part of “Car Week” festivities along California’s central coast at the Monterey Peninsula each August. The activities – which span about 10 days – culminate with the famous Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. Each year, about 100,000 people take part in Car Week and, this year, I was one of them. Always eager for a road trip, I made the 11-hour one-way trek out to the area in my 1986 Acura, which I’m happy to report was mechanically sound despite being nearly 40 years old.

Movie Star Car

The Carmel Valley Ranch played host to a private reception where Acura showcased parts of its current and future strategic visions. Parked in front of the lodge was a movie star in the form of a one-off Acura NSX convertible. The car was driven by Tony Stark (played by Robert Downey Jr.) in a 2012 film based on the Marvel Comics superhero team called “The Avengers.”

The interesting thing is that the car, according to a recent press release, was actually built using a 1991 Acura NSX with 252,000 miles on it. I was able to get up close to the car, but I did not touch it or open anything. The cockpit looks mostly unchanged from its 1991-era origins, but the exterior is vastly remolded to resemble what later became the second-generation “NC1” chassis Acura NSX. Acura elected to bring the car out of storage – after over a decade – and showcase it at events during Car Week to commemorate the 35th anniversary of the NSX. The car will go up for charity auction in 2026, but the details on that are still forthcoming.

New Directions

In other news, Acura discontinued production of its TLX sedan model after a 10-year run. The brand’s efforts are now focused on electric-vehicle initiatives, and at the core of the vision is a new “RSX” model.  

The previous RSX, sold between model years 2002 and 2006, was a three-door hatchback with a rev-happy VTEC four-cylinder and an available six-speed manual transmission. The new version takes a different approach entirely. Acura says the RSX is the “first model engineered in-house on the new Honda-developed EV platform.” It will be manufactured in Ohio and is expected to arrive in dealerships in the second half of 2026. Engineering wise, it will use dual motors and be equipped with all-wheel drive, a double-wishbone front suspension, and Brembo brakes. While not able to see the interior, I did get to make a walk-around and hear a few words from Acura Creative Director Yasutake Tsuchida about the design of the car.

The automotive industry is evolving at warp speed, and alternative-fuel initiatives have taken center stage in recent years. It remains to be seen how Acura’s latest creations will be received in the marketplace. Does the new RSX catch your eye?