1966 Plymouth Barracuda Formula S

Mopar fans will gleefully point out that Ford's "original pony car" was actually beaten to the showroom floor by Plymouth's offering in the youthful sporty coupe category, the Barracuda. (Maybe the category should be called fishy cars?)

This was possible because the Mustang was one of the most poorly-kept secrets in Detroit and, while it relied heavily on shared mechanicals with the compact Falcon, the Barracuda was simply a Valiant hardtop coupe with a new glass fastback and bucket seats.

Like the Valiant (and the Mustang, for that matter) the base engine in the Barracuda was a thrifty inline six. For 1966 this meant the bulletproof 225 cubic inch Slant Six rated at 145 horsepower, with an optional 273 cubic inch V-8 breathing through a single 2-barrel carb and single exhaust, making 180 ponies.

The performance-oriented Formula S model got the four-barrel, dual-exhaust Commando 273 V-8, which had a 10.5:1 compression ratio and put out 235 gross horsepower. Formula S buyers could get a floor-shifted four-speed manual or three-speed automatic.

Car and Driver tested a Formula S with the three-speed auto and 3.23 rear end. They clocked a zero-to-sixty time of 9.1 seconds and a 17.6 quarter at 81mph through the traps. With an auto transmission, front disc brakes, and factory racing stripes, the well-optioned test car stickered at $3,011.81 which is about $31,000 in today's dough.

Alas, the purple color on this one is a repaint job. "In Violet" wouldn't be a factory Barracuda color for another few years.

This one was photographed with a Canon EOS R5 and an RF 24-240mm f/3.5-6.3 zoom lens in June of 2026.

1971 Maverick Grabber

Ford's Maverick debuted for the 1970 model year as a compact intended to compete against the likes of Chevy's Nova and the Dodge Dart. It was initially only available as a base two- or four-door sedan, but for the 1971 model year, a sportily-styled version was introduced, known as the Maverick Grabber.

While it came with snarly-looking scoops on the hood and a ducktail spoiler on the decklid, it was all bark and no bite. The scoops were non-functional dummies and the base motor was still the 170 cubic inch pushrod inline six with a one-barrel carb making a bare hundred horsepower.

The base transmission was a three-speed manual. Optional engines for '71 were the 200 and 250 cubic inch sixes, rated at 115 and 145 horsepower, respectively. With the bigger sixes, a buyer could also order a three speed C4 SelectShift automatic.

Late in the model year Ford finally offered a V-8 option for the Maverick, albeit a two-barrel 302 Windsor rated at 210 SAE gross horsepower. Hot Rod magazine tested a 302 Grabber with a three-on-the-tree in April of 1971 and recorded a best quarter mile e.t. of 17.1 seconds at 85mph. 

The example in the photos, in Medium Yellow Gold, has lost its original grille and front bumper. Since the grille is where the turn signals were mounted, the current owner has rigged amber lamps in the dummy hood scoop inlets to serve as front turn signals.

This one was photographed in Peru, Indiana in April of 2014 using a Canon EOS Rebel XTi and an EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS zoom lens.

2009 Buick Lucerne CXL

With Oldsmobile getting shuttered in 2004, Buick's portfolio had a bit of room to expand into sportier territory, but this happened at a time when the US auto market was careening SUV-ward at an increasing pace.

In response, Buick shrank their sedan selection by half. The midsize Century and Regal were replaced with the W-body LaCrosse, while the full-size LeSabre and Park Avenue nameplates were binned in favor of the new Lucerne.

The Lucerne shared the G-body front wheel drive platform with the Cadillac DTS. For the 2009 model year, the base version was known as the CX, and there were optional CXL (like the Crystal Red example in the future) and Super packages, with the former being luxury-oriented and the latter more sporting.

Riding on a 115.6" wheelbase, the engine in the CX and CXL was the 3.9L corporate pushrod V-6 rated at 227 horsepower. The Super buyer got the 4.6L DOHC Northstar V-8, making 292 ponies. 

Buick was on one of its heritage styling kicks again, and so "Ventiports" were back on the front fenders, three per side in six cylinder cars and four each on ones with the Northstar. MSRP for the Lucerne CXL was $32,520 which is about $50,600 in current dollars.

This one was photographed with a Nikon D4 and 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6 VR zoom lens in July of 2026.

1959 Triumph TR3A

The TR3 succeeded the TR2 in late 1955 as Triumph's flagship sports roadster. In late '57 several new features were added and the resulting car is called the TR3A (although the badges still just say TR3).

The features included such luxuries as exterior door handles, a locking latch on the trunk, as well as a wider grille which makes it distinguishable from earlier models at a distance.

Under the hood of this Litchfield Green example would be an undersquare 121.5 cubic inch pushrod inline four breathing through a brace of SU carbs. With a compression ratio of 8.5:1, the output was a claimed 100 horsepower, which was quite adequate for a 2200-pound car.

You can see how tiny this thing is relative to the parking space. It's about the same length and height as an original Miata, but almost an entire foot narrower.

It's a dictionary-definition real roadster, too. My BMW Z3 may claim to be a roadster... it actually says as much on the scuff plates in the door sills ...but it has a built-in folding top, which makes it a convertible by definition and the scuff plates stolen valor.

The TR3, on the other hand, is a true roadster: an open car with only rudimentary weather protection. Namely, it has a sort of pup-tent apparatus of bows and sheeting that can be erected and snapped down in order to, notionally at least, divide the world into the part where it's raining and the part where it's raining a little less...provided you don't drive too fast and have the whole thing blow off the car.

The driver of this one made it out of Fresh Market and motored off just in time to not wind up wishing he hadn't left the top at home. Well, it might be stowed in the boot, I suppose.

Ah, the towel in the passenger seat! A standard roadster accessory, usually slightly redolent of mildew. It serves a variety of uses, from drying off the driver's seat after an unexpected sprinkling, to emergency backup windshield defogger, to privacy screen for stuff you leave in the passenger footwell while running into the store.

When Motor Trend tested a TR3 in 1957, it returned a 9.2 second zero-to-sixty time and managed a 16.9 quarter at 82mph, while returning a test average 23.1 miles per gallon. Price as tested was $2,625, or a bit over $31,100 in inflation-adjusted dollars.

The top and bottom photos were taken with a Canon EOS R and an RF 24-105mm f/4L IS zoom lens in May of 2026 while the middle two were snapped with a Nikon D800 and a 24-105mm f/4 VR zoom lens in July of 2022.

1976 Plymouth Duster

The Duster was the fastback coupe version of Plymouth's Valiant compact car, the platform mate of the Dodge Dart Sport, and had been soldiering on since 1969, when it had been introduced as a 1970 model.

By the middle of the decade its days were numbered and after the 1976 model year it would be replaced in the lineup by the Plymouth Volaré coupe. (The two cars shared space on dealer lots for '76.)

The base motor was the trusty 225 cubic inch Slant Six with a single-throat carburetor, with optional 2bbl 318 or 4bbl 360 small-block V-8s available. The Slant Six and 318 both had catalytic converters now and were rated at 90 and 150 SAE net horsepower while the 360 remained converterless and put out 225 ponies. 

In the dark days of the early Malaise Era, a 360-powered Duster with a 3.21:1 Sure Grip rear end would crack off sub-15 second quarters, and took surprisingly little fettling to put out acceleration numbers hearkening back to the Muscle Car days of a half decade earlier.

Road Test magazine, on the other hand, tested a Duster with the Slant Six and three-speed manual and the result was as Malaise-y as you'd expect. Zero-to-sixty took an agonizing 14.8 seconds and the car dawdled through the quarter in 19.5 at 70mph. Top speed was reported at 94 and the car took 172 feet to stop from sixty. At least it got 16.3 miles per gallon?

The single exhaust and the bumper overriders on this one have me leaning towards it packing a 318 under the hood. My ex had a '75 with a 318 in it that he'd put mag wheels on, as well as a little ducktail of a spoiler on the decklid. He'd added a true dual exhaust that sounded a lot healthier than the 2-bbl smog motor actually was, and between that, the unsilenced air cleaner, and the Direct Connection front license plate, its bark was entirely worse than its bite. Those were my peak redneck girlfriend days.

This Rallye Red specimen on steel wheels was photographed in White Rock, New Mexico using a Sony a7 II and an FE 24-240mm f/3.5-6.3 OSS zoom lens in October of 2018.

1994 Mitsubishi 3000GT VR4

After its launch as a 1991 model, the Mitsubishi 3000GT received a serious makeover for '94. Gone were the popup headlights and separate caps over the strut towers that distinguished the previous version, giving a smoother, more up-to-date appearance to the coupe's snout. Likewise gone were the quadruple strakes that sliced up the scoops on the original's flanks.

In the US market the car could be had in the base 3000GT form, the plusher 3000GT SL, and the twin-turbo AWD 3000GT VR-4, like the Caracas Red one in the photo.

While the lesser two models had a normally-aspirated 222hp 3.0L DOHC V-6 driving the front wheels, the VR4's motor sent 320hp to all four wheels through your choice of four-speed slushbox or a Getrag six-speed manual.

Car and Driver's test of a '94 model with a manual recorded a zero-to-sixty time of 5.1 seconds and a quarter mile E.T. of 13.9 at an even hundo through the traps. Top speed was measured at 153 miles per hour and cornering at 0.92g. Price as tested was $43,190 in 1994 dollars, or a bit over $97k in today's money.

This one was photographed using a Fujifilm X-E1 and a Zeiss 32mm f/1.8 Touit lens in September of 2018.

2016 Cadillac ATS-V Coupe

The Cimarron faceplanted and the Catera stumbled so this car could fly.

With the ATS, especially in its ATS-V coupe configuration, General Motors' most bougie division finally produced a genuinely desirable sporty car in a size comparable with the more compact offerings from the high-end Euro manufacturers.

Built on a shortened version of the GM Alpha platform, the ATS  had a wheelbase something like five inches shorter than its CTS sibling and even an inch shorter than the sixth generation Camaro.

Powered by a twin-turbo direct-injected 3.6L DOHC alloy V-6 cranking out 464 ponies, the ATS-V coupe came standard with a Tremec six-speed manual, although if your soul was dead inside you could get a six-speed automatic.

When Car and Driver tested a manual transmission car it managed a 4.2 second zero-to-sixty dash and put away the quarter in 12.6 at 115. It circled the skidpad at a hold-on-to-your-Big-Gulp 0.97g. Price as tested was $74,450 or about $103,600 in today's smaller dollars.

The Radiant Silver Metallic example in the picture was photographed with a Canon EOS R and an RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS zoom lens in August of 2025.

2015 BMW M4

The M4 designation was new in the US for the 2015 model year at BMW. No longer would there be two- and four-door 3-series cars. Now the 4-series would be the name for the two-doors and their four-door siblings would retain the 3-series moniker... unless they had fastback hatches in which case they were "Gran Coupes" and badged as a 4-series. BMW's naming was getting a little incoherent if you ask me, but I don't have a degree in marketing so probably you shouldn't.

The F82 was the designation for the M coupe derived from the regular F32 4-series. Motorvated by BMW's S55 twin-turbo 3.0L DOHC inline six rated at 425 SAE net horsepower, the car could be had with the buyer's choice of a ZF six-speed manual or a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic.

When Car and Driver put a 2015 car with the dual-clutch gearbox through its testing procedure, the 3,615 pound coupe laid down a 3.7 second sprint to sixty and scorched the quarter in twelve flat at a buck nineteen. The governor shut off the fun at 163mph.

The base price for the M4 was $65,150 but options like the $8,150 carbon-ceramic brakes and $2,900 DCT box pushed the MSRP of the test car up to $86,225, which is about $121,500 in current coins.

The Yas Marina Blue example in the photos was snapped a couple times back in July of 2021 using a Sony RX100.

1972 Triumph TR6

Another Triumph TR6, predating the gnarly bumper overriders. That and the Saffron color would seem to indicate a 1971 or 1972 model.

This one was photographed with a Canon EOS R5 and a 24-240mm f/3.5-6.3 IS zoom lens in June of 2026. 

1965 Chevrolet Impala Super Sport

The 1965 model year debuted a whole new generation of full-size Chevrolets. Gone was the X-shaped frame, replaced with a conventional perimeter frame. Dubbed the "Girder Guard" frame by Chevy, this allowed a lower central transmission tunnel and floor.

The new Impala retained the iconic six round taillights of the outgoing fourth-generation cars, and gained almost three inches in length, although wheelbase remained largely unchanged (the new cars was actually a hairsbreadth shorter.)

Midway through the '65 model year the old W-series Turbo Thrust big block went away, replaced with the new 396 cubic inch Turbo-Jet V-8, which would provide the basic Chevy big block architecture through 1990.

While regular Impalas could be had in a variety of shapes, pillared and hardtop, coupe or sedan or convertible, the Impala Super Sport only came as a convertible or a hardtop Sport Coupe like the Mist Blue example in the photos. While boring people could order a Super Sport with any Impala powerplant, including the 140hp Turbo-Thrift 230cid inline six... we've seen '65 Impalas with 283 and 327 small blocks on these pages before ...the "396 Turbo-Jet" fender badges tell us this Impala is ready to party.

Most 396 Impalas had the hydraulic lifter 325hp version of the motor, but for maximum performance a solid-lifter 425 pony variant was available. Motor Trend tested a 325hp 396 backed by a three-speed Turbo-Hydramatic in a Caprice hardtop sedan. With a 3.08 rear end the big Chevy managed an 8.9 second time to sixty and a trip through the quarter in 16.7 at 85mph on the way to a top speed of 103.

The one in the pictures was photographed with a Canon EOS R5 and an RF 24-240mm f/3.5-6.3 IS zoom lens in June of 2026.

1965 Buick Electra 225 Convertible

Buick was the second-tier brand in the General Motors "Ladder of Success" hierarchy, just behind Cadillac, and the Electra 225 was at the top of the Buick heap.

The Electra had been introduced in 1959 and was named after Texas socialite Electra Waggoner Biggs, sister-in-law of GM President Harlowe Curtice, replacing the Roadmaster nameplate as the flagship offering from Buick.

1965 marked the debut of the third generation of the Electra, available as a pillared sedan, two- or four-door hardtop, or a convertible, like the Bamboo Cream one in the photos here.

Several versions of the "Nailhead" Buick V-8 could be had, with the 401 cubic inch 325 horsepower motor as standard equipment. For more money, the buyer could opt for the 340 horsepower 425 cubic inch V-8 with a single four-barrel or a dual-quad 425 rated at 360 horses.

Buick advertised these engines by their torque output, calling them the Wildcat 445, Wildcat 465, and the Super Wildcat. All three were backed by the Super Turbine 400 three-speed automatic (Buick's house name for the TH400 Turbo Hydramatic.)

This example was photographed with a Sony a77 and a Sony Zeiss 16-8mm f/3.4-4.5 zoom lens in May of 2026.