1975 Oldsmobile Delta 88 Royale Convertible

1975 was the last year for the Oldsmobile Delta 88 Royale convertible... and the last Olds ragtop, period, until the 1990 Cutlass Supreme.

Like the 1976 Cadillac Eldorado convertible, Oldsmobile really leaned into the future collectible hype, and they sold just shy of 7,200 units, including this beaut of a Horizon Blue example.

For the Delta 88 Royale, which was more upscale than the base Delta 88, the standard engine was the 350 Oldsmobile Rocket V-8 with a four-barrel Rochester carburetor. Optionally, the buyer could spring for the 455 Rocket four-barrel.

1975 was the first year for catalytic converters at Oldsmobile. This required the use of unleaded gas and saw greatly lowered compression ratios, and also meant dual exhausts went away (the exhaust system in the photo is therefore an aftermarket setup.) All this dropped output to 170 SAE net horsepower for the 350 and only 190 ponies for the big 455. A three-speed Turbo Hydra-matic was the only transmission on offer.

Among the available options was GM's then-new air cushion restraint system, but it couldn't be had on the convertible.

This one was photographed using a Canon EOS RP and an RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS zoom lens in September of 2026.

2010 Mercury Milan Hybrid

Starting in 2006, the mid-sized Milan was the entry level Mercury sedan, sharing its CD3 platform with the Ford Fusion and Lincoln MKZ.

It was available in I4 and V6 variants, with both powertrains sold in base, Premier, and AWD trim levels. While the bigger-motored version had the fairly snarly 221hp 3.0L Duratec 30, the I4 made do with the 160hp Duratec 23.

For the 2010 model year, the four-cylinder got a displacement and power bump to the 175hp 2.5L Duratec 25. A new model was also added, the Milan Hybrid. This car paired a 106hp AC motor with an Atkinson-cycle variant of the 2.5L Duratec four cylinder that made 156hp. These fed into an Aisin CVT to drive the front wheels.

When Car and Driver tested a well-optioned 2010 Milan Hybrid, they recorded an 8.5 second zero-to-sixty time and a 16.6 second quarter mile at 88mph through the traps. Not a bolt of lightning but more than adequate to keep up with traffic. Top speed was governed to 108.

Befitting its slightly more upmarket position than the Fusion, there was plenty of gingerbread available for the Milan and the test car had almost all of it, bringing the as-tested price to $33,075 (about $50,800 in current money.)

Only 2,884 Milan Hybrids were sold for the 2010-2011 model years before the Mercury division of FoMoCo was allowed to slip beneath the waves, making this Light Ice Blue Metallic example something of a rare bird.

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

2003 Saturn Vue

The Saturn division of General Motors had originally been launched as an entirely clean-sheet-of-paper project intended to revamp the way GM looked at building cars. While the corporation had long shared a great deal of componentry among divisions, the Saturn SL sedans and SC coupes were on their own chassis and used their own engines and shared next to nothing with any other division.

The first crack in the foundation was when Saturn added a midsize sedan to the previously compact-only lineup for the 2000 model year. The LS-series sedans used GM corporate four- and six-cylinder motors and shared the GM2900 platform with the Opel Vectra and Saab 9-3 & 9-5.

For 2002 Saturn jumped into the booming compact SUV market with the Vue, on the all-new unibody Theta platform. It had the platform to itself initially, but it was soon enough sharing it with the Chevy Equinox, Pontiac Torrent, and Suzuki XL7.

For the first few years the Vue could be had with the base 143hp 2.2L Ecotec four cylinder or an Opel-designed iron block 3.0L V-6 rated at 181 ponies. 

Car and Driver tested an AWD 2002 V-6 Vue with the 5-speed automatic and clocked an 8.4 second zero-to-sixty time and a 16.6 quarter at 83mph.

The Electric Blue example in the photo was snapped with a Canon EOS RP and an RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS zoom lens in July of 2026.

1966 Chevrolet Impala Super Sport Convertible

This Madeira Maroon 1966 Chevrolet Impala Super Sport has the 325 horsepower Turbo-Jet 396 cubic inch big block V-8.

The '66 models can be told apart from their 1965 predecessors by slightly different grilles and triple rectangular taillights rather than the previous round ones.

Pardon the potato quality cell phone photo. The car was parked in an awkward spot for photography. I used an iPhone 13 Pro Max to take the picture in Dayton, Ohio back in July of 2026. 

1967 Chevrolet Impala SS 427 Sport Coupe

For its third model year, the Fourth Generation Chevy Impala got refreshed styling, heavy on the "Coke bottle" shape. The Super Sport version, available as a hardtop Sport Coupe or a convertible, came with only one motor, the L36 427 cubic inch Turbo-Jet big block V-8.

With a four-barreled carburetor and the fames "porcupine" heads, the L36 had hydraulic lifters and a 10.25:1 compression ratio and was rated at 385 gross horsepower. It could be backed with three- or four-speed manuals or a Turbo Hydra-Matic, with the three-speed being a special heavy duty unit.

Car Life magazine tested a '67 Impala SS 427 Sport Coupe with the Turbo Hydra-Matic and the optional 3.07:1 rear end (The standard unit was a 3.31, and a 3.55 rear was also available.) The sprint to sixty was accomplished in 8.4 seconds, with the quarter taking 15.8 seconds at 87mph. Top speed was measured at 125.

Optioned like it was, the test car stickered at $4,903, which comes to $49,174 in current money.

The Marina Blue example in the photos was snapped using an iPhone 13 Pro Max in Dayton, Ohio back in July of 2026.

1993 Buick Regal Gran Sport

The third generation of the Buick Regal was the first front-wheel drive iteration of the nameplate. Having debuted for 1988, the '93 model year saw a light styling refresh.

The sedan version was available in Custom, Limited, and Gran Sport trims. The base motor in the Custom and Limited was the 3.1L MFI V-6 making 140 horsepower, with the GM corporate 3800 3.8L V-6 optional. The Gran Sport package came with the larger engine as standard, with its tuned port injection setup putting out 170hp at 4200 RPM.

Backed by a new-for-'93 electronically controlled four speed auto, the Regal GS managed zero-to-sixty times of 9.0 seconds in period testing. Interestingly, the Gran Sport package came with 16" alloy wheels standard, but this Black example's had them replaced by steelies with Chevy center caps, perhaps off a police-spec Lumina.

Pardon the slightly potato-quality photo. It was a terrifically humid late July day in 2026 and when I stuck the Canon EOS RP out the window of the air-conditioned car, the RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 zoom lens kept fogging almost instantly. 

2025 Ferrari Roma Spider

The front-engine (front/mid-engined, if you're that sort of dork) Ferrari Roma Spider fills the niche vacated by the departed Portofino.

Between the front wheels and the firewall nestles a twin-turbo 3.9L V-8 snarling out 612 horsepower. Backed by an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission, Ferrari claims it'll launch the Roma Spider to sixty in 3.4 seconds, but Motor Trend coaxed a 3.3 second run out of a 2022 coupe, so...

Anyway, it's a beautiful car and I guess if you have $279,965 burning a hole in your pocket, there are worse ways you could spend it.

This one was photographed in August of 2026 using a Nikon Zfc and a Tamron 17-70mm f/2.8 zoom lens.

1996 Chevrolet Camaro RS

When the fourth generation of Chevrolet's Camaro pony car debuted for the 1993 model year, it was pared down to just two models: the base Camaro with the 3.4L L32 V-6 and the performance Z28 boasting a 5.7L LT1 V-8, both in coupe and convertible form.

In 1996 the range was expanded to include the Camaro RS, slotted in between the base car and the Z28. While it had the same engine as the base Camaro, now GM's corporate 3800 V-6, making 200 SAE Net horsepower at 5200 RPM, it came with ground effects and an aggro-looking rear wing. Air conditioning and 16" alloy wheels were also standard on the RS.

In Motor Trend's testing, the car managed a 7.4 second 0-60 time... which would have been pretty typical of a 5.0L V-8 powered Third Generation IROC-Z, showing how quickly performance was returning to Detroit.

The Bright Red 1996 Chevrolet Camaro RS coupe in the photos was snapped in August of 2026 using an Olympus OM-D E-M1X and an M. Zuiko Digital 12-200mm f/3.5-6.3 zoom lens.

1965 Pontiac GTO

Technically the GTO wasn't a separate model yet, but rather an option package on the midsize Pontiac Tempest, and 1965 was its second model year.

Cosmetically distinguished from the original '64 most readily by its vertically-stacked quad headlamps, the GTO's crisp lines blended right in to the mid-Sixties Pontiac lineup.

Unlike the two ornamental fake intakes on the previous model year, the 1965 had a single bulged scoop in the center of the hood. However its two chrome nostrils were similarly non-functional, although a dealer-installed cold air intake kit was available.

Pontiac called its acrylic lacquer paint "Magic Mirror" back in '65 and this Goat is finished in Starlight Black.

It was available as a convertible, a hardtop coupe (like the car in the photo) or a pillared sport coupe. The base engine was a four-barrel 389 cubic inch pushrod V-8 making a claimed 335 gross horsepower, with a triple deuce 360 horsepower Tri-Power 389 as a $115.78 option (that's $1,227 in 2026 dollars.)

The car came with a Hurst-shifted three-speed manual as standard, with optional four-speed manual (in either close- or wide-ratio flavors) and two-speed automatics.

Car Life tested a well-optioned 1965 hardtop coupe with the Tri-Power motor, four-speed manual, and 3.90:1 Safe-T-Track rear axle and clocked a 5.8 second sprint to sixty and a 14.5 quarter at 100mph. Fuel mileage in the 3,590-lb car during the test was in the 11-14mpg range and top speed was measured at 114.

Total price, all optioned up, was $3,579, which is about $38k in current bucks.

The one in the photo was snapped in August of 2026 using a Nikon Zfc and a Tamron 17-70mm f/2.8 zoom lens.

2006 Volvo V70 2.5T

The V70 replaced the Volvo 850 wagon in the 1996 model year (the S70 replaced the 850 sedan). Compared to its predecessor it was much more rounded at the edges, with the company's traditionally staid boxiness bowing to aerodynamic realities.

That first generation ran for four years before getting replaced in the North American market by the even more rounded second generation of V70, which in turn received a mid-cycle refresh for '05.

The second generation of the V70 utilized Volvo's P2 platform, which had a transversely-mounted engine powering either the front or all four wheels.

The base motor for 2006 was a normally-aspirated 2.4L DOHC inline-five making 168 SAE net horsepower. The optional upgrade was a turbocharged 2.5L version of the same engine, featuring variable valve timing on both camshafts and cranking out 207 horses. With the standard five-speed automatic gearbox, these would do zero-to-sixty in a shade under seven seconds.

The Lunar Gold Metallic example in the photo was snapped in December of 2024 using an Olympus OM-D E-M1X and an M. Zuiko Digital 12-200mm f/3.5-6.3 zoom lens.

1975 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am

The Malaise Era was well and truly underway by the 1975 model year. At least initially, the 455 V-8 disappeared from the Firebird option list, leaving the 400 cubic inch L78 V-8 as the sole motive source for the Trans Am.

Compression had been reduced to 7.6:1 which slashed output to a dismal 185 SAE net horsepower. Standard transmission was a wide-ratio four-speed manual, with optional close ratio four-speed or a Turbo 350 three-speed slushbox.

When Road Test magazine clocked a three-speed auto car with a nosebleed-tall 2.56 rear end, the two-ton 'Bird dawdled down the quarter mile in 17.99 seconds, oozing through the traps at 79mph.

While the 455 was brought back halfway through the model year, it may have been labeled "HO" in the ad copy, but it was just a low-compression station wagon motor that only managed an output of 200 ponies.

'74 and '75 models are easily identified by the black rubber bumper strips, with the 1975 model having a larger, wraparound rear window.

The Cameo White one in the photos was captured in August of 2026 using a Canon EOS RP and an RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS zoom lens.