Moto Guzzi.

Want a three wheeled vehicle that can haul around more stuff than an Ape? Here you go, the Moto Guzzi Motocarro. Built in the 60s, it is basically a standard Moto Guzzi motorcycle with a pickup like back and a cab. It came with doors which have been removed on this one. They're rather rare because few were produced.

Due cavale.

I'll let the "owner" tell the story: (translated from Italian)

"When this car came in it was in bad shape. Interestingly enough it's from San Marino. We did a lot of work to it and got it looking good and running even better. When we gave the owner the bill, he said he had no money. Well, why the hell are you bringing me a car to fix if you don't have the money? So we kept it in the shop. Eventually we realized he wasn't going to pay us.. we had the car but no title, he had the title but no car. We needed the space so we parked it here. It's been, ohh.. about 15 years now, we never heard from the guy again. You can take some parts from it if you want."

Fiat 600.

This was Fiat's first attempt to counter the VW Kombi. It was based on the 600 so it used its water cooled 4-cylinder engine. Like in the sedan, it was rear mounted. This example is sitting at a shop near Messina, Sicily and is still running despite being a good example of what Ian refers to as "water soluable". Oh and those wheels were pulled off of a Fiat Uno, they're not original.

Sleeping Cat

Near Bellefonte, PA this Jaguar XJS HE seems to be in a state of hibernation, parked between a road and a cliff-face near a few other retired vehicles. It's certainly out of place, like finding a fine English tea set on a table that's nothing more than a door laying on cinder blocks. It would appear that it's more or less road worthy and has current registration, though it's unlikely place of residence would indicate that it may have fallen victim to any number of British-Leyland or Lucas Electric related issues somewhat unexpectedly. It hasn't moved recently anyway... Perhaps just another vehicle that will one day be described in an advertisement as having "ran when parked".

The Elusive Italian

Look closely, it's back there behind the Nissan...

For the last couple of months, I've been seeing a 1985 Alfa Romeo GTV6 2.5 running about the State College area and I've been trying like hell to get a good look at it. (I know it's an 85 thanks to the license plate "85 GTV6" ) It's a bit like trying to capture a picture of a Borneo rhinocerous. Every time I see it, I'm always driving and so is it, and either can't get to my camera in time or don't have my camera with me. So, you'll excuse me if this shot from my rear view mirror taken on Atherton St. is the best I can do at the moment. 

This car gets used. It's not a baby for sure. I've seen it in rain, light snow, and sunshine alike and it would appear it could use a good coat of polish on it. As I've said before in other posts, I'm glad these cars gets driven, but I hate to see a notoriously water soluable 1980s Italian car being subjected to central Pennsylvania weather. 

300SD.

If you live in America, chances are you see one of these every day. It probably has 400,000 miles, blown out rear suspension, faded clearcoat, and is followed by a thick cloud of smoke. (If by chance it also has a for sale sign on it, contact me)

So what makes this one special? The diesel W126 was a U.S. market thing only so they were all U.S. spec (headlights/bumpers/etc). I took this photo in Barcelona, Spain. Somebody had it imported from the North American continent. Odd, European cars usually get imported TO America, not from.

280SE

This car is a bit of an enigma.. yes, it's as nice as it looks in the photos, possibly even nicer. It has 193,000 kilometers which is barely broken in for one of these, the body is as straight as an arrow, the paint shiny, not a spec of rust to be found, overall it's a great looking car. However, it has it been sitting in the same spot on a Toulon street for about a month and the insurance/registration both expired in 2006.

Note the headlights, the bumpers and the wheels, all of which are different from a U.S. spec model. The first two are due to EPA regulations and the latter is because U.S. consumers would gawk at buying a Mercedes S-Class with steel wheels and hubcaps.