1974 Toyota Corona 2000GT Hardtop Coupe

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While wandering around at Cars and Coffee a few weeks ago, I spotted an odd-looking car with its rear view mirrors attached to the front fenders. “Oh yikes, this thing probably belongs to some weeaboo guy who gets a raging boner from reading his collection of Initial D mangas” I thought to myself. But as I got closer, I could see that this car was not some wanna-be drift machine covered in JDM stickers. No, this car is the real deal.

I’ll admit that when it comes to vintage Japanese automobiles, I know next to nothing about them. However, I know just enough to recognize that this right-hand drive Toyota Corona 2000GT is a very unique automobile here in the USA. Having spent a couple of hours researching mid-1970s Toyotas, I can now proceed to share with you some information about this car.

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Finally For Sale, The 86 Testarossa I Spotted Last Year (Craigslist)

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While browsing Craigslist for Corvettes under $12,000 (there are quite a few C5’s) I happened to stumble across an old acquaintance.  It’s the oddball Testarossa inspired Corvette (or maybe Pontiac Grand Am?) that I spotted rolling around the streets about a year ago.  I never thought I would see it again, but here it is in all of it’s glory for only $5500.  If you’re looking to get into the Ferrari game this is a cheap start. Continue reading →

1973-1979 Bitter Diplomat CD

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At first glance, I thought this car was a Lamborghini Espada, or some kind of Maserati, or perhaps even a DeTomaso? As it turns out, it is actually a very rare and short-lived car called a Bitter Diplomat coupe.

The idea for this luxury gran tourer came from Erich Bitter, a German racing driver turned entrepreneur. He started Bitter Automotive in the early 1970s and set about manufacturing passenger cars.

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1982-1986 Toyota Supra Mark II

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The 1980s were a gold rush of Japanese sports cars making their way to the United States. Manufacturers were importing cars such as the 280ZX and 300ZX from Nissan, the RX-7 from Mazda, the Mitsubishi Starion, the Isuzu Impulse, and the Subaru XT. Perhaps one of the most memorable Japanese cars of the decade was the Toyota Supra.

This two-seater sports coupe is pretty much a direct descendant of the Toyota 2000GT I covered recently. It has an inline-6 cylinder engine, rear wheel drive, and a long, sloping front with a hatchback roof. Toyota produced the second generation (or Mark II) from 1982 through 1986. They were badged as “Celica Supra” at the time, becoming just “Supra” in 1986 with the introduction of the Mark III Supra.

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1989 Peugeot 405 DL Sedan Junkyard Find

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When it comes to cultural differences, Americans and Europeans have very different tastes. We have distinctly different preferences in food, music, clothing, and humor. It stands to reason that we would also have different preferences for automobiles. As Peugeot learned in the 1980s, this is exactly the case.

Peugeot is a large and well-known car manufacturer in France. In 1987, they launched a brand-new car called the 405. This mid-size family sedan offered a lot of standard features at a reasonable price. It had a body designed by Pininfarina and was available with an optional 150HP engine. This sporty, front-wheel drive sedan was named European Car of the Year in 1988. Spurred on by a positive reception at home, Peugeot decided to bring the 405 sedan over to the United States market.

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