Latest news with #NicePrice
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
At $15,000, Is This 1966 Chevy Corvair Monza A Safe Bet?
Arguably the prettiest car in Chevy's '60s fleet, today's Nice Price or No Dice Corvair still holds up. Let's decide if there's any hold-up with its asking price. Wouldn't it be nice if we could do our part in saving the planet while still being able to have a little fun in the process? I mean, most conservation efforts, despite instilling an intense sense of noblesse and self-satisfaction, don't often engender any adrenal-exercising Kool-Aid "Oh Yeah!" moments. The 2011 Honda CR-Z Hybrid we looked at yesterday might very well be a notable exception to this unwritten rule. It, after all, had that rare commodity on any car, much less on a hybrid: a manual transmission. And it was a six-speed row-yer-own, to boot! That makes for some fun while sipping fuel and zipping through electrons to lower one's carbon footprint. Another fun factor was the Honda's $5,900 asking price. You all gave that a solid 65% Nice Price win. Read more: Popular Cars Consumer Reports Recommends You Skip In Favor Of Something Better The 1970s was a weird time for ironic deaths. Notably, There was the passing of Euell Gibbons, the healthy diet advocate whose eating habits didn't prevent his dying of a ruptured aorta. Then there was Jim Fixx. His fame arose from writing a best-selling book on the health benefits of running and died of a heart attack while, you guessed it, out running. Having demonstrated so cruel a sense of humor, it wouldn't have been surprising for fate to have marked safety advocate and perennial presidential candidate Ralph Nader for a fiery death behind the wheel of a Chevrolet Corvair, one of the targets of his screed against the auto industry's lackadaisical attitude toward occupant safety in the '50s and '60s. "Unsafe At Any Speed." Instead, Nader dodged that bullet and is still kicking it today at the ripe old age of 91. The Corvair, however, is not. First introduced for the 1960 model year, the Corvair was a very obvious answer to the best-selling import of the time, Volkswagen's Beetle. It became the unfortunate object of Nader's aggrievement due to the quirky handling characteristics of the early models. Those suffered from snap oversteer due to the back-forty engine placement and a cost-saving swing axle rear suspension. By the time the second generation arrived in 1965, those demons had been exorcised. A redesigned and fully articulating rear suspension tamed the handling and allowed for more horsepower out of the air-cooled pancake six. To fete the feat, Chevy's designers imbued the revamped models with knuckle-bitingly beautiful styling. On the downside, the model line was pared down to pillarless sedans and coupes, as well as a convertible. The previous generation's station wagon and forward-control vans and pickups were no more. This 1965 Chevy Corvair Monza proves that Chevy's stylings really knew what they were doing. The car's long, low, and clean design is immediately familial. It shares its subtle Coke bottle side profile with the Chevelle, but with more purpose in its shark nose and Corvette homage quad tail lamps. Under the deck lid is the 164 cubic-inch displacement flat-six, but in this Monza, it's fitted with four single-barrel carburetors. The carbs are set up like a four-barrel, with two primary carbs and two secondaries that only open upon full throttle. The benefit over a single 4BBL carb is better response and more torque down low. As fitted, the naturally-aspirated "Turbo-Air" engine offers 140 (gross) horsepower, which can move the 2,300-pound car smartly. Ahead of that is a four-speed manual shifted via a curvy lever sprouting from the Corvair's iconic flat floorboard. Other notable features of the Monza include a black crinkle finish on the dash and glovebox door, a tach in the instrument panel, and bucket seats for the driver and front passenger. According to the ad, this Monza also wears a set of SS wheels off a Chevelle or Camaro and features an older respray in the factory Aztec Red. Some bubbling under that paint is evident just ahead of the windshield, but there doesn't seem to be any major road rot anywhere structural. Things are just as nice in the cabin. The vinyl upholstery is wholly intact and doesn't suffer from fading. And while this is a sixties car with a reputation for danger, it has been updated with seat belts and a dual-circuit brake system. The seller says it also has had a "sporty exhaust" added to improve the sound. Overall, it appears to be a good ten-foot car, and aside from that bubbling under the paint, seems to need nothing to be a great classic weekend cruiser. A clean title and the seller's suggestion that "In these uncertain times, why not drop the top and enjoy the journey?" add to the car's advocacy. Any and all upgrades and replacement parts are said to have come from a Corvair specialist, so nothing janky or weird should pop up for the next owner. It's also fun to think that Chevy built this sports car, which offered more power than its next-closest layout competitor, Porsche's then-new 911, as well as a full convertible roof when the German car could only manage a Targa top. The only real question, then, is whether it's worth the seller's $15,000 asking price to gain that experience. What do you think? Is this Corvair a deal at that $15K asking? Or do you stand with Nader that this Chevy is unsafe at any spend? You decide! Nice Price or No Dice: Seattle, Washington, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears. Help me out with NPOND. Hit me up at robemslie@ and send me a fixed-price tip. Remember to include your commenter handle. Want more like this? Join the Jalopnik newsletter to get the latest auto news sent straight to your inbox... Read the original article on Jalopnik.
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
At $2,950, Would You Add This 2010 Saab 9-5 BioPower To Your Bio?
The ability to run on E85 makes today's Nice Price or No Dice Saab a flexible fueler. Let's see if this high-mileage ethanol imbiber comes with a price that's not too corny. In the relationships between journalists and businesses, the embargoing of information is an agreed-upon means for the former to meet deadlines while still allowing the latter to offer surprise and delight to its customers. The 1987 Toyota Supra we looked at last Friday brings to mind an instance when that tacit agreement was broken. Two years before our car hit the streets, and before Toyota had made any announcements about the impending model, a series of pictures of an undisguised version of the unannounced car crossed the desk of an editor at AutoWeek (then a print publication.) The magazine decided to run the images, breaking the embargo against their release and incurring the wrath of Toyota's marketing team. The blowback was AutoWeek losing out on some early access information for a time, but the scoop probably proved worth it for the journalistic feather in the cap it provided the publication. We had no such drama with our now well-known Supra. Featuring a fairly fresh coat of paint and a T-top roof, it proved pretty as a picture in the ad. That presentation, along with a $9,000 asking price, combined to earn the big Toyota a 59% Nice Price win in our voting. Read more: This Is Every Car Brand Killed By GM Toyota also wins when it comes to car production. The Japanese juggernaut is presently the world's largest car maker, with production totaling over 10 million cars and trucks last year. Saab, on the other hand, is... well, long out of business, the small Swedish manufacturer having shut its doors in 2011. Long before that, though, Saab established a modest but loyal fan base and a general reputation for the fun, safe, and arguably quirky nature of its cars. Bought by General Motors in 2000 (the company maintained a 50% stake in Saab all the way back in 1989), the company's cars started to lose some of that quirky nature as it was saddled with developing models from "off-the-rack" platforms from GM's German division Opel, and global platforms that tended to suffer from a one-size-fits-all approach to design. The 2010 Saab 9-5 we're looking at today is one of those GM-era cars. It is imbued with some Saab DNA—the ignition (here a button, not a key) is between the seats, and the car has unique styling that at least feels familial. Other than that and some suspension tuning, though, it's pretty much the same chassis as under an Opel Insignia or Buick Regal. The last 9-5 was also the last Saab to go into production. That run lasted less than a year before a bankrupt GM Old Yeller'd both company and car. In total, less than 12,000 9-5s were built before the lights went off for good. That makes this a fairly rare car, and the BioPower E85 engine makes it even rarer still. It's done a remarkable 220,000 miles, showing that the passing of a parent company need not spell doom for the models it produced. It's got some impressive deets, too: That flexi-fuel engine makes a solid 220 horsepower and 235 lb-ft of torque. Routed through an Aisin six-speed automatic transmission, those ponies spin all four wheels via an all-the-time AWD setup. According to the ad, it's fully loaded—although the absence of a center stack screen does date the car—and the seller says it "looks great!" On the exterior, the deep blue paint presents well, belying the car's age and miles. Those factors are evident in the factory wheels, though, which are a bit beat up. The cabin is in a similar state, with the leather on the driver's seat and the floor mat below that showing substantial evidence of occupancy. Only the latter has been worn through, though. Everything else appears to be in solid shape, and the styling has held up as well. The Saab comes with a panoramic roof, a clean title, and an unfortunate number of stickers on the boot lid and rear bumper. Those demonstrate an affinity for wire hair terrier dogs, among other things, and would likely need to be removed lest people think the new owner is someone who befouls their ride with bumper stickers. Nobody wants that. Of course, we must consider the car's $2,950 asking price before we even think about going all-in on de-stickering it. This is a fairly rare opportunity, and the car does seem to be in decent shape. Plus, while limited in its description, the ad at least doesn't call out any mechanical malarky that could call a purchase consideration into question. Where do you stand on this flexi-fuel Saab and that asking price? Does that feel like a steal despite the high miles, the dead brand, and the dog stickers? Or has this Saab's time come and gone? You decide! New York, New York, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears. Help me out with NPOND. Hit me up at robemslie@ and send me a fixed-price tip. Remember to include your commenter handle. Want more like this? Join the Jalopnik newsletter to get the latest auto news sent straight to your inbox... Read the original article on Jalopnik.
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
At $17,900, Is This 1955 Ford Country Squire A Killer Deal?
The ad for today's Nice Price or No Dice Country Squire notes it being the same model of Ford that James Dean used as the chase car for his racing exploits. We all know how that ended for Dean. Will this Ford's price ensure it has a happier outcome? The 1999 Mercedes-Benz SLK 230 Kompressor we looked at yesterday had a top that would come down easily, but was then reluctant to go back up. On top of that likely very expensive issue, the car had some tacky add-ons—vents, stripes, and whatnot—that could impact the appeal of its aesthetics. Ultimately, a $3,000 asking price overcame all such hurdles, capturing a narrow but decisive 60% Nice Price victory. The fake vents and stripes on yesterday's Benz were put on to give the car some added pizzazz. That's not an issue with today's 1955 Ford Country Squire station wagon, though. Its classic style, clad in factory woodgrain paneling, brings all the boys to the yard. Read more: What's The Stereotypical Old Person's New Car? According to the ad, this wagon is the same spec as method actor and amateur race car driver James Dean employed as his chase car, on the ill-fated day of his crash along Highway 466 on his way to the 1955 Salinas Road Races. Bill Hickman, the Hollywood stunt driver who would later go on to pilot the black Dodge Charger in the movie Bullitt, was driving the wagon and, upon arriving at the accident scene, reportedly was the one to pull Dean's dying body from the crumpled wreckage of his Porsche 550 Spyder. The seller doesn't go so far as to say that this IS Dean's car, but it's close enough for government work that the ad makes mention of such a connection with some validity. Per the listing, like Dean's car, this one is painted ivory over a red interior and was built at Ford's Long Beach production plant, which at the time was located on Terminal Island at the Port of Los Angeles. This Country Squire also has Ford's then almost-new Y-Block V8 in base 272 CI displacement and sporting 162 (gross) horsepower and 258 (also gross) lb-ft of torque. The Y-Block was so named for the deep skirt it employed and is notable for having replaced the famous flathead as Ford's go-to V8. It also stands out for having its distributor at the back of the engine in a style more commonly associated with arch-rival Chevrolet, rather than at the front like later Ford V8s. Behind that is a three-speed "Ford-O-Matic" automatic transmission powering the simple cart-sprung live rear axle. Other specs include single-circuit drum brakes, a six-volt electrical system (Ford wouldn't go 12 volts on the car line until 1956), and power steering, befitting the Squire's position as the top of the Fairlane range. Per the ad, the car "runs and drives amazing" and starts with little more than a pump of the gas and a twist of the key. The engine bay even looks like it's seen some work, with fresh black paint on the radiator support and valve covers. On the outside, things are a little rougher. The bodywork appears straight, and, as evidenced by the undercarriage shot in the ad, the frame looks wholly intact. It's the finish that could be seen as take it or leave it. That appears to be almost all-original and is showing its age. This being a Country Squire means it's fitted with fiberglass and vinyl woodgrain siding on the flanks and fenders, along with fancy full wheel covers. The wheel covers look great, but the splinter-free siding is a bit beat up. It should prove serviceable, however, if the goal is to keep the car looking original rather than restored. Things are much better in the cabin. The three rows of seats all have decent, likely refreshed upholstery, and the door cards and dash all look to be in good shape. That dashboard features high style with a wide-arc speedometer that, like the Thunderbird of the same era, has a smoked lens behind it for ambient backlighting during the day. The pod also included the fuel and temp gauges. Accompanying those are three roundels in the mid-dash that comprise the heat controls, AM radio, and clock. This car was not equipped with the safety package, so the dash is just hard metal, and the steering wheel is eager to flail a chest in the event of an accident. The seller positions the car's originality and patinaed paint as an advantage. That obviously will appeal to some folks interested in such things, but may turn off those looking for a pristine example of a classic car and are unwilling to do the work—or spend the money—that it would take to make this car like new. A major hurdle for any such work is the initial investment, and we now need to determine if this Country Squire's $17,900 asking price overwhelms even interest in keeping it as it is. What do you say? Is this faux-wood Ford worth that $17,900 asking as it sits? Or is that over the top for a car with aspirational provenance? You decide! Los Angeles, California, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears. Help me out with NPOND. Hit me up at robemslie@ and send me a fixed-price tip. Remember to include your commenter handle. Want more like this? Join the Jalopnik newsletter to get the latest auto news sent straight to your inbox... Read the original article on Jalopnik.
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
At $25,000, Is This 1993 Ford Mustang LX Kind Of A Drag?
Today's Nice Price or No Dice Mustang has been built for the strip, but according to the seller, it is equally at home on the street. Let's see how homey this dragster's price makes us all feel. It could be argued that the 1986 Nissan 300ZX we looked at yesterday represented the model line's "Fat Elvis" phase. Larger, heavier, and more ostentatious than earlier models, the 300ZX had evolved into more of a boulevardier than a corner-cutter. That's not necessarily a bad thing. After all, Elvis could still belt 'em out during his later Rubenesque era. Our T-topped coupe went the extra mile in the transition to cruiser by offering an automatic transmission, further blunting any sporting aspirations but making for a calmer ride overall. That, and a very nice presentation, made the car's $5,800 asking price perfectly palatable for the vast majority of us, earning the Nissan a solid 87% Nice Price win. Should that 300ZX have proven too tame for your tastes, perhaps today's Mustang will buck the trend. Read more: You Can Buy One Of The Best Modern Sports Sedans For Less Than A Toyota Corolla Listen, when it comes to rollercoasters, I prefer fast turns over long drops. I have a similar feeling when racing, as I would rather carve a few corners than just do ones-and-dones on either a quarter or eighth mile straight. That being said, I do enjoy drag racing as a spectator sport and particularly like the run-whatcha-brung racing involving cars that are modded for the track but are still legal to drive to that track. It's sort of like seeing Dave Bautista in a really cool suit. This 1993 Ford Mustang LX Notch is an example of just such a car. Claimed by its seller as still having such niceties as power windows and working A/C, it's also said to bring 418 hp to the table and can bump that all the way up to 520 on a 100 shot of nitrous oxide. Making all that happen is a 363 CID fuel-injected and naturally-aspirated V8. That's been built for both street and track, starting with a Dart block, and then into which a bunch of up-rated mechanical bits were poured. Feeding all that is a custom fuel delivery system starting with a tank under the trunk that the seller describes as a "work of art." The car will run on either race fuel or pump gas, making it a true Swiss Army Knife. With NO2 on board, the rest of the mechanicals had better to be up to the task lest they get launched all over the track, making for a very bad day. To that end, this 'Stang has a built automatic with a pistol grip shifter and trans brake. Behind that is an 8.8-inch rear end with super short 4.11 gears connected to 33-spline axles. The wheels are 18x6 custom alloys in front and 15x10.5 in the back, and those are shod with new meats. According to the ad, this all makes for a 10-second car. Or a 6.90 one on the shorter eighth-mile mini-me tracks. And that's without Mad-maxing it with the nitrous. For safety, there's the required battery cut-off switch and a roll cage in the cabin. That's been installed with swing-out sections, making egress a lot easier when not on the job. It also has a custom instrument cluster and a rear seat delete, meaning the kiddies will have to watch the car from the sidelines. All of those mods appear to be well executed. In fact, the car overall seems to be in pretty good shape. The seller says that it's not a "show queen" but that it will get "tons of thumbs up" at car meets. The black paint is original, and aside from the pinned cowl hood and extra hole in the front bumper, it looks appreciably stock. This being a '93, it has the later look with a cleaner nose, and smoother sides featuring quarter light glass that extends backward, covering where the earlier cars have faux vents that aped the look of the Mercedes 450 SLC. Another benefit is the better dash that was fitted to these later Foxbodies, although it this car's case, that's been carved up to fit the IP, shifter, and NO2 switchgear. Other mods include a quick-release steering wheel and four-point racing harnesses for the two seats. The title is clean, the car is claimed to be totally rust-free, and the mileage is listed as 10K, although with so much done to it, what does that really mean? To be certain, this Mustang is a niche vehicle. Despite the claim that it can be legally driven on the street, there are a lot of likely compromises in doing so. Fuel economy? Don't ask. Accidentally triggering the nitrous in the Krispy Kreme drive-thru? It could happen. Plus, the car has been denuded of its wipers, so rainy-day driving is out of the question. There's also the niggling question of whether this would be a better track-day car if it wasn't hindered by the need to be street-legal. The biggest question of all is whether or not it's worth the $25,000 the seller is asking for this build. It's arguable that the car, as it sits, could not be replicated for such an amount, what with all the go-fast bits that have been added. Still, does it warrant such an outlay in its as-built state? What do you say? Is this street/strip 'Stang worth laying out $25,000? Or is that too much, even for a car with appreciably low trap times? You decide! Florida Keys, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears. Help me out with NPOND. Hit me up at robemslie@ and send me a fixed-price tip. Remember to include your commenter handle. Want more like this? Join the Jalopnik newsletter to get the latest auto news sent straight to your inbox... Read the original article on Jalopnik.
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
At $5,800, Will This 1986 Nissan 300ZX Cruise To A Win?
Today's Nice Price or No Dice 300ZX has T-tops and an automatic, making it perfect for cruise nights now that the weather is getting warmer. Let's see how much we warm up to this classic cruiser's price. When first reading the Goldilocks story, who did you most identify with? Was it the blonde-locked home invader, or the poor family of bears that did nothing more to deserve such trespass than forgetting to lock their front door? Regardless of which side of the coin you land regarding disruptive intruders and the unsuspecting victims of their transgression, one thing's certain: amazingly, Goldilocks always found the sweet spot in all her conquests. We all found a similar sweet spot in last Friday's 2009 Aston Martin V8 Vantage. Once a six-figure car, these imposingly handsome grand tourers have now seen their values whittled down to the level of attainability for mere mortals. Our car's $28,000 asking price proved that case, by earning a solid 60% Nice Price win. Read more: What's The Stereotypical Old Person's New Car? A V8 powered last Friday's Aston, but historically, the company is probably best known for the double overhead cam straight six that--in various displacements--powered its cars through the 1950s and 1960s. Nissan's category-defining sports car, the Z (and later ZX), also started life with a straight six engine in the form of the 2400 cc 240Z. Ensuing models bumper the displacement but kept the form factor. In 1984, however, that motor tapped out in favor of a new 60° V6, the first such mass-produced engine from any Japanese manufacturer. The switch in under-hood equipment accompanied a major model refresh that saw the rest of the car grow in both size and cache of luxury appointments. This red over charcoal gray leather 300ZX offers a number of those fancy-pants accouterments, including a four-speed automatic behind its 160 horsepower 3.0-liter V6. Along with that comes leather upholstery, a digital instrument cluster, and smoked glass T-top roof panels. There are also power seats, windows, locks and mirrors, and a stereo in the dashboard that looks like something out of a septuagenarian audiophile's house. The ad claims this to be a 1986 model, but the full-width tail lights and composite headlamps that pop up in the nose indicate that it is an '87 or later. Perhaps it is a very early '87 refresh that was originally licensed in '86. Regardless of the year, the car appears to be in great shape. This, the Z31 edition, was the first—and last—of any Z cars to offer pop-up headlamps, and as they are only semi-hidden when lowered, that remaining exposure pays homage to the sugar scoop lights of past models. According to the ad, the car has only 90,000 miles on the clock and has been garaged most of its life, which explains the attractive presentation. The seller says the car wears good tires. Those wrap basket weave alloys with black centers and polished rims, which accent the red bodywork nicely. More black accents may be found on the door handles, rocker panels, and the leading edge of the rear hatch. One typical failure point on these cars at this age is the rubber seal around the T-top panels. Fortunately, those are said to be intact and leak-free here. The ad also notes that the current owner has the original floor mats in their possession. The pictures show the car denuded of such carpet protection. Everything else is there, including the highly bolstered bucket seats, which portend much more enthusiastic driving than this automatic-equipped cruiser is capable of. That automatic is controlled via a chunky console shifter with a button for the torque converter lockup. There are plenty more buttons here, including six on the steering wheel and a bunch on the climate control, so suffers of Koumpounophobia beware. There's no information regarding the car's mechanicals; however, if they have been kept as well as the rest of the car, it should all be OK. Things to consider include when the last time the timing belt was replaced and how the A/C works, as this is an R12 system if it hasn't already been converted. All we get, though, is the statement that the car "Runs and drives." That may be enough to pique the interest of a prospective buyer. The rest of the car—the nice interior, fun digital dash, and T-tops—add to that intrigue. The final shove might just come from the car's $5,800 asking price. Admittedly, the Z31 isn't the most sought-after edition of Nissan's (and formerly Datsun's) evergreen sports car. And in non-turbo, automatic form, this isn't the most lust-engendering of those. Still, there's a lot of fun kitsch to be had here, and as a weekend cruiser, this clean-title car has a lot to offer. What do you think about that offer? Is $5,800 a fair price for this 300ZX as it stands? Or would it be smarter to pass and find a model that's less of a cruiser and more of a bruiser? You decide! Los Angeles, California, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears. H/T to Dan Bock for the hookup! Help me out with NPOND. Hit me up at robemslie@ and send me a fixed-price tip. Remember to include your commenter handle. Want more like this? Join the Jalopnik newsletter to get the latest auto news sent straight to your inbox... Read the original article on Jalopnik.
