Roundie.

I found this 1971 BMW 2002 when I took a wrong turn into a shipping business in Davis County in 2005. It hasn't moved since but is apparently not for sale. Too bad, it's in fairly decent shape (Andrew will tell you the shock towers are probably trash, which is likely) and I doubt it'd take much to get it running and driving, though restoring it to concours condition would be a chore. Early round taillight models are less common than later 2002s so it's a bit of a shame to see it sitting like that.

Old, orange, Italian and rusty.

This Fiat 128 was sitting off of Main Street in Salt Lake City. A true testament to the quality of metal Fiat used in the late 70s, every body panel was rusty. The floor pans had deteriorated into nothing. That aside it was fairly complete but it hadn't been run in a long time.

If I remember right, the owner was asking $500 for it. I passed on it and the car is now gone, off to the Italian car heaven in the sky.. where they hopefully don't salt the roads.

'02 number two.

This BMW 2002 is sitting behind a gas station in Salt Lake City. Cosmetically it's okay, it doesn't have any major issues, the body is straight and rust free. It's missing some trim and those hubcaps are less than desirable. I can't speak for the mechanicals other than that everything is there.

Austin-Healey.

It is my opinion that most British cars are less than sellar. With that said, it's unlikely I will personally feature very many of them on this blog.

This Austin-Healey 3000 is a notable exception. Fresh out of a barn, or so it seems, it was sitting outside a shop in Ogden, Utah. The amount of patina this car has is unbelieveable. It needs serious work but I'm sure it'll be a good driver for somebody with the right amount of work put into it.

Road Test: 1974 Porsche 914 2.0

Despite its troubled past with an identity crisis, the 914 is finally getting the respect it deserves from the vintage sports car community, especially fellow Porsche people. Perhaps it's because hindsight is 20/20 as they say, or perhaps its because a new generation of sports car owners are discovering this mid-engined classic and realizing how drastically overlooked it's been.
As with most vintage sports cars of this era, the Porsche 914 is a very basic machine in most respects. In many respects, moreso than its contemporaries. There is no wood trim inside, polished aluminum, or excessively pleated leather seats; only basketweave vinyl and black plastic. When you open the light, low, and wide doors with their unique simi-circular handles, you really do sit DOWN in the car. Your legs strech out in front of you to the bottom-hinged pedals and the backs of your legs are only a few inches from the floor, which is only a few inches from the road. Your body sits comfortably in the firm, but very supportive and surprisingly comfortable seats, which are merely some foam, covered in black vinyl over a fiberglass shell. Three large VDO gauges face you purposely from behind the skinny yet distinctive Porsche 4-spoke steering wheel. Porsche purists will recognize that unlike it's predecessors, the ignition is on the right side of the steering collumn. The Volkswagen parts-bin was used heavily in the production of the 914, but that's not to say that this vehicle feels "cheap" by any means. All controlls are well-made and perfectly suited to this machine as a true driver's car that spares extravagances. A twist of the key one stop to the right engages electrics and the fuel pump starts to tick from the front of the car. Three pumps of the throttle primes the Weber 40 IDF carbs and with a moderate turning of the starter, the air-cooled flat-four comes to life. It's loud, smells of oil and gasoline, vibrates, and spits black soot out of the exhaust pipe. This car is a bit brutish. It's not trying to win friends with it's charm, but it will definately show you a good time if you know how to handle it. The 5-speed manual transmission is straight out of the early 911 and maintains the unique doglegged 1st gear shift pattern. The mid-engine placement makes for a somewhat elaborate shift linkage that can certainly be challenging to anyone used to a Honda Civic or a VW Golf. Once it's understood however, the shifts can be made very quickly despite the long throws. The VW Type-4 powerplant is no Porsche flat-6, but its certainly well suited to this very light weight car. It has more than adequate torque, and effortlessly pulls evenly from a stoplight, right up to 5500 RPMs. Passing other cars in 5th gear is a breeze on a two lane road. The steering mechanisim and torsion bar front suspension is straight from a 911 and thanks to that, and the 914's near perfect weight ballance, this car handles not too unlike a Lotus Seven. If pushed hard into a turn, there is a tendency to oversteer, but nothing a good driver can't easily catch - or for that matter, be thoroughly ammused by. Back country roads are not the only situation in which this car is perfectly in its element. It cruises wonderfully and smoothly at 80mph on an interstate and has no troubles in stop and go city traffic. With its two trunks and comfortable seating, it's perfect for a weekend trip to the track. When the weather gets cold out, the fiberglass hard top easily clamps on, and the heater from the car's exhaust heat exchangers keeps things very warm inside. This particular example has been an ongoing project car with my father and I for nearly a decade. It's always improving slightly, and never ceases to be great fun. While it may have been badged the "Poor man's Porsche" back in its day, the 914 is in actuallity every bit as worth of attention as its relative the 911 and dare I say, in some respects better.

Over the pond and into... a Dallas junkyard.

Today, bringing a fairly new car in from Europe or Asia to the United States is virtually impossible. No, it's not impossible; you can bring a Porsche 959 in, but you'd better have pockets as deep as Jerry Seinfeld's. Realistically, a European model of a standard car, like a Mercedes-Benz E220 CDI or a BMW 330d, is not going to be legally imported to the United States for on-road use unless you're a diplomat or are willing to buy several cars for the government to crash and sniff tailpipes.

But it wasn't always so. Once upon a time, it was so common to import a specific model from Europe that we had a term for it: Gray Market. Yes, that term still exists today, but we don't use it for newer cars in the United States. A huge industry in the past, importing European models of common cars is now a mere relic of the past.


So why did people once want European models? Often, it was because they were cheaper than the ones distributed officially through the dealer network. You could scrimp on luxury options and have the same basic goodness in a less expensive package. Rather than getting leather or MB Tex seats, you'd end up with plaid cloth; electric motors went out the window to be replaced by manual cranks; air conditioning, a "must have" for U.S. consumers wasn't so necessary to Europeans. Lots of little differences.


Sometimes it was for performance. Less stringent European emissions standards in the '70s and '80s meant that simpler, more reliable powertrain options were available on the cars U.S. buyers wanted. Instead of suffering through complex fuel injection systems, expensive catalytic converters and seemingly dangerous reactors.


And, maybe, some buyers just wanted something a little more exotic. A slightly different badge on the back, less aggressive bumpers, unique color combinations, and the like.

Regardless, all Gray Market cars came over for a reason and it seems that most were just used as daily transportation, just like the U.S. cars. No doubt all of the cars pictured - Mercedes W123s found in a Dallas area junkyard - each have their own interesting story. Too bad they'll never be back on the road.


Do you have a good Gray Market car story? Please share in the comments section below.

21 window.

A friend of mine has this 1961 Volkswagen Bus sitting in his garage. It's a 21 window model which is quite valuable today. It's seen better days-- it doesn't have an interior, doesn't have an engine, has some body issues and some broken glass but it's a perfect candidate for a restoration.