1971 Chevrolet Monte Carlo

The Monte Carlo was launched for 1970 as a personal luxury coupe to compete against Ford's Thunderbird. Riding on a 116" wheelbase shared with the midsize A-body Chevelle sedan's, it slotted in between the Chevelle Sport Coupe and the two-door Caprice, price-wise.

Featuring classic "long hood and short deck" lines, its longer wheelbase and more rearward engine placement brought it to the attention of NASCAR teams and it became the preferred Chevy in that motorsport starting in 1971.

For '71 the base Monte Carlo came with a 245 horsepower (165 net) two-barrel Turbo-Fire 350 V-8, and an optional four-barrel Turbo-Fire 350 made 270 horses (175 net). There was also a Turbo-Jet 400 rated at 300 (260 net), and 1971 was the last year for the Monte Carlo SS with the 365 horsepower (285 net) LS-5 Turbo-Jet 454 V-8.

In a comparison test of 1970 models, Motor Trend's sample Monte Carlo SS ran a 7.0 second zero-to-sixty dash and laid down a 14.9 quarter at 92 mph, showing its heels to the Ford Thunderbird and Pontiac Grand Prix competition.

The Tuxedo Black example in the picture is one of 112,599 Montes sold in 1971, with production having been interrupted for two months due to an auto workers' strike. Only 1,919 of those were SS models.

This one was photographed in September of 2022 with a Canon EOS 7D and EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS zoom lens.

1972 Chevrolet Chevelle SS Convertible

1972 was the final model year for the second generation of the Chevrolet Chevelle. As was still Detroit practice at the time, it could be told apart from the previous year's model by subtle differences, in this case the grille and front turn signal/side marker light assemblies are the tells.

You could get your '72 in regular Chevelle, Malibu, Heavy Chevy, and SS trim levels. The latter two were performance-oriented, with the Heavy Chevy being a more spartan car that was only available as a hardtop coupe, while the SS had more plush, Malibu-type accoutrements like the remote control driver's side mirror and could be had as a coupe or convertible.

Is this Mohave Gold one actually an SS, or has someone just badged a regular Malibu ragtop up as one? Only the VIN knows for sure, but it's a cool looking ride either way.

The 1972 model year was right at the precipice of the Malaise Era abyss. GM had already dropped compression ratios to allow all motors to operate on regular gas, and horsepower outputs were now given in SAE net, rather than gross, terms. The base engine in the SS was the two-barrel L65 Turbo-Fire 350 V-8 rated at 165 SAE net horsepower. The optional small block was the L48 Turbo-Fire 350 V-8 with a four-barrel carb and 175 horsepower.

Two Turbo-Jet big block V-8s were on the menu as well: The LS3 400, making 240 ponies, or the brawny LS5 454, which still put out 290 horses. The 454 was exclusive to the SS model, while the other motors could be had in lesser Chevelles.

All the V-8 motors could be had with a 3- or 4-speed manual or the 3-speed Turbo-Hydramatic auto, except the 454 which could only be had with the 4-speed or automatic.

The one in the picture was snapped with a Canon EOS-1D Mark III and EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS zoom lens in August of 2022.

1951 Ford Custom Deluxe Victoria

Top of the line in Ford coupes for 1951 was the Victoria hardtop, with its distinctive stainless trim panels on the graceful C-pillars.

This was the third model year for the all-new "shoebox" postwar Ford body design, with its modern, integrated fenders.

Riding on a 114" wheelbase and weighing 3,370 pounds, the full-size Ford coupes were about 16½ feet long. On the Victoria, the base (and only) engine was Ford's 249 cubic inch flathead V-8 with a two-barrel carb, rated at 100 SAE gross horsepower. Buyers could opt for a three-speed manual (with an optional automatic fourth, overdrive gear available) or the three-speed Ford-O-Matic gearbox.

Visible on the Alpine Blue coupe in the photo are the stainless steel gravel guards on the front fenders behind the wheel wells, which were dealer-installed options.

This one was photographed in June of 2021 using a Canon EOS 5DS and an EF 24-105mm f/4L IS.

1969 Pontiac Catalina Convertible

The third generation of the Catalina, along with the other full-size Pontiacs, had launched in 1965. For 1968 they received a mid-cycle refresh, going from stacked quad headlamps to a sleeker side-by-side headlight arrangement, but retaining the coke-bottle flanks of the previous years.

The Catalina was the bottom rung of the full-size Pontiac ladder. The rung above it was split between the sportier Ventura and the posher Executive (née the Star Chief Executive), and the Bonneville and Bonneville Brougham sat at the summit. 

The standard engine was a 290hp Pontiac 400 V-8 with a two-barrel carb and a 10.5:1 compression ratio. A 265hp 400 with an 8.6:1 compression ratio that could turn regular fuel was a no-cost option. There was an optional 428 large-journal V-8 making 360 horsepower, but the pair of tailpipes on this Antique Gold example would indicate that it has sportiest Catalina motor on offer: The 428 V-8 with an unsilenced air cleaner, low back pressure duals, and a 10.75:1 compression ratio that belted out 390 SAE gross horsepower.

The quickest way to tell the ‘68 full-size Ponchos from the very similar 1968 models is that the chrome front bumper on the 1969 cars had a vertical body-colored “Endura” insert in the center of the chrome beak dividing the grille.

This one was snapped with a Nikon Coolpix P7000 in August of 2015.

1952 Bentley Mark VI

Launched in 1946, the Bentley Mark VI standard steel sports saloon represented a number of firsts for the company, as their first postwar luxury car, their first car with all-steel coachwork, and the first Bentley assembled entirely, from the bottom of the tires to the top of the roof, at the Rolls-Royce plant in Crewe.

 

Riding on a 120" wheelbase and weighing a bit over two tons, the Mark VI was initially powered by a 4.3L "F-head" engine, in which the intake valve was in the cylinder head, but the exhaust exited a sidevalve in the block.

In 1951 this motor was bored out to give a displacement of 4.5L. With a 6.4:1 compression ratio, a brace of SU carburetors, and dual exhausts, it put out... well, the manufacturer famously never reported horsepower as anything but "adequate".

A contemporary road test in The Autocar of a 4.5L car comparable to the 1952 model seen in the photos returned a zero-to-sixty acceleration of 15.2 seconds and a top speed of 100 miles per hour.

   

This one was photographed with a Panasonic GM1 and an M. Zuiko Digital 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 zoom lens in July of 2019.

2003 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible 50th Anniversary Edition

In 2003 the fifth generation of the Chevrolet Corvette was getting long in the tooth, being on its eighth model year. But it was a special year because it was the fiftieth birthday of Chevy's fiberglass two-seat sports car.

Every 2003 'Vette got special 50th Anniversary badging but buyers could opt for a special 50th Anniversary commemorative package and over 11,600 of them did.

Those fans got the lustrous metallic Anniversary Red paint job and the Shale interior which even covered the dash, the first C5 with anything other than a black dash.

Mechanically, the 50th Anniversary models were like any regular '03 Corvette, with a 5.7L pushrod LS1 V-8 pumping out 350 SAE net horsepower through either a Borg-Warner T56 six-speed manual or a GM 4L60E four-speed slushbox.

Motor Week recorded a 4.9 second zero-to-sixty dash and a 13.4 second quarter at 106mph from their test convertible, which had a base sticker price of $55,745, the equivalent of about $96,242 in today's money.

The one in the photo was snapped in September of 2023 using a Canon EOS-1D Mark IV and an EF 24-105mm f/4L IS zoom lens.

1998 Chevrolet Camaro SS

The fourth generation of Chevrolet's Camaro debuted for the 1994 model year on a heavily-evolved version of the third gen F-body platform. The driveline tunnel was big enough to accommodate a proper Borg-Warner T56 six-speed manual, so the 5.7L V-8 was no longer limited to an automatic transmission. The repackaging involved relocating the catalytic converter, which now lurked under a large lump in the front passenger footwell.

Unlike the previous generations where a certain amount of fiddling with the option sheet could get you an extra fun version of the Sport Coupe or RS, the new Camaros came as the base model with only the V6 available (there was an RS appearance package, still), or the 5.7L-only Z28, with the 302 small block having exited the lineup.

For 1998 the Camaro got a mid-cycle refresh. The new snout was less pointy, had a more prominent grille, and swapped the deeply inset quad rectangular headlamps with more flush ovoid composite assemblies.

The base Camaro coupe or convertible had the GM corporate 3800 V-6, rated at 200 SAE net horsepower. The RS badge was gone. The '98 Z28 replaced the previous year's 285hp 5.7L LT1 V-8, a direct lineal descendant of the small blocks that had powered the first Camaros thirty years earlier, with the new all-aluminum 5.7L LS1, which was a whole new OHV V-8 that was rated at 305hp.

For the gnarliest Camaro in '98, Z28 buyers could opt for the SS performance/appearance package. It came with 17" wheels and tires, suspension upgrades, and an LS1 whose output was bumped to 320 horsepower by, among other things, a functional cold-air induction hood, like on the Navy Blue Metallic car in the photo.

When Car and Driver included a six-speed '98 SS in a group 0-150-0 test, it managed that feat in 43.7 seconds, actually edging out a contemporary 911 Carrera. It ran zero-to-sixty in 4.9 seconds and put away the quarter in 13.5 seconds at 107mph. Not bad for a car that was under thirty grand; C/D's as-tested price was $27,141, or just short of $53k in today's money.

The one in the photo was caught with a Nikon D800 and 24-120mm f/4 VR zoom lens in October of 2022.

1978 Ford Granada

The original idea for the Ford Granada was a "luxury compact" that would be available in every trim level from spartan to fairly plush. Size and styling wise, they were aiming at the Mercedes-Benz 280SE, but were intended to replace the Maverick as the compact in the Ford lineup.

The '73 Oil Crisis and the general economic slump that followed caused the Maverick to stay in the catalog for a couple years longer as an economy option while the Granada debuted as a 1975 model that was advertised a sort of pocket-sized, more fuel efficient alternative to an LTD or Elite.

The price was held down by the fact that they used the same Falcon-derived chassis that underpinned the first generation Mustang as well as the Maverick. Riding on a 109.9" wheelbase and with a leaf-sprung live rear axle, the original '75 Granada could be had with a range of engines from the standard 200 cid inline six, the bigger 250 six, or the 302 or 351 Windsor V-8s.

For '78 the Granada's snout got a revised grille and the round sealed beam headlights were replaced with rectangular ones atop amber turn signals, as can be seen on the Light Blue sedan with optional Midnight Blue vinyl roof in the picture, giving a familial resemblance to the then-current LTD.

By this time, the engine choices had dwindled to the base 250 cubic inch OHV inline six with a 1-barrel carburetor and DuraSpark ignition making 97 SAE net horsepower, or the two-barrel 302 Windsor V-8 rated at 133 horses. Either could be had with a 4-spd manual or SelectShift three-speed slushbox.

Road & Track tested a 1975 Granada sedan with the 302 and automatic and noted a zero-to-sixty time of 12.0 seconds and an 18.7 second quarter mile at 73 mph. The car topped out at 101 miles per hour, circled a skidpad at 0.668g and stopped from sixty in 172 feet.

The one in the photo was snapped with a Canon EOS-1D Mark IV and EF 24-105mm f/4L IS zoom lens in June of 2023.

2002 BMW M3

The first BMW M3 debuted in the latter Eighties as a homologation special for touring car racing based on the E30 3-series coupes, powered by a gnarly DOHC 2.3L 4-banger.

The second generation, based on the E36, upped to an inline six and added a sedan version, the latter to supposedly cover a gap in the generations of M5 sedans.

The E46 third generation, like the Alpine White example in the photo, returned to being offered only as a coupe. Debuting as an '01 model, it was the first version where the US market and Euro cars used the same engine (although the NA imports were still down a couple ponies, 333 vs. 338, to their overseas counterparts.)

Car and Driver tested a 2001 sample and managed a 4.5 second sprint to sixty and a 13.1 second quarter at 107 miles per hour through the traps. On the skidpad it displayed 0.87g roadholding and stopped from seventy in a mere 160 feet. Just ten years earlier those were the sort of acceleration numbers returned by Vipers and 911 Turbos.

This one was photographed in May of 2021 using a Nikon D5000 and 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 VR II zoom lens.

2008 Volkswagen Rabbit

When Volkswagen introduced the facelift Golf Mk V to the U.S. market as a 2006 model, they inexplicably revived the Rabbit name that had originally been dumped with the introduction of the second generation back in the mid-1980s

It was available as a 3-door or 5-door hatchback and was powered by the company's 2.5L 20V inline-five, originally making 150bhp but bumped to 170 SAE net horses for the 2008 model year. A five-speed manual was standard with a six-speed Tiptronic optional.

This Tornado Red 5-door is fairly basic, with the 15" stamped steel wheels and plastic covers.

When Car and Driver tested a 2008 3-door with the manual transmission, it came in first place in an eight-car comparison test of cheap rides. It notched a 7.6 second zero-to-sixty time and a sixteen flat quarter at 88mph, circling the skidpad at 0.81g. The as-tested price was $16,435, which is about $24k in today's dough.

It was photographed with a Canon EOS M and EF-M 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS zoom lens in May of 2019.

2018 Maserati GranTurismo Convertible MC

The end of the road for the first generation M145 Maserati GranTurismo came after the 2019 model year. The 2+2 GT coupes were based on a shortened version of the M139 platform that underpinned the company's Quattroporte sedans.

The GranTurismo was offered in regular and convertible form here (the latter was called the GranCabrio elsewhere) and in regular Sport or MC trim. The MC, like the Blu Sofisticato one in the photo, was festooned with scoops and vents and spoilers and carbon fiber accents for the full aggro vibe.

Under the hood was Maserati's Ferrari-derived F136Y 4.7L DOHC 32V V-8, backed with a ZF six-speed automatic. The 454-horse motor was enough to push the GranTurismo convertible MC to sixty in a hair under five seconds and to a claimed top speed of 181 miles per hour, only a few MPH slower than Joe Walsh's.

The one in the picture was snapped with a Canon EOS M and EF-M 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS zoom lens in May of 2019.