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.
If there is one thing I have learned from watching Antiques Roadshow, it is that you should never try to clean any object that might be old and valuable. In doing so, you may destroy much of the item’s value. The same rule applies to antique guns, guitars, and more recently, automobiles.
Not too long ago, people restored old cars to a factory-new finish in order to make them valuable. Now, the emphasis is shifting towards leaving the car “as-is” and showing its age. People really dig the “patina” look but personally, I never really understood why.
Then I saw this ’77 Corolla, and I think I am starting to understand.
The market for collector cars is a fickle thing. Often times, the cars that end up being valuable are not the ones you would expect. What ends up being collectible are the cars which had limited production, special options, or were such commercial failures that they were discontinued quickly – only to become a cult classic down the road.
The Yugo, the Corvair, the Pinto, and the DeLorean have all played the role of the ‘black sheep’ of the automotive industry at one time or another. Due to reliability, safety, or other issues, these cars basically flopped when they hit the market. Dealers had trouble moving them, and they were not produced in large numbers.
But now the tables have turned! With so few of these cars surviving, values have started to increase for these cars that nobody wanted when they were brand new. Well, here’s another example of a car with that same fate: The Subaru 360 Sambar microvan.
I spotted this at the Russo and Steele auction, the ‘still for sale’ tags indicates that either nobody wanted it or it didn’t meet the reserve price.
These Corvettes were ridiculously swoopy and cartoon-like to begin with, this is just over the top. If there were a Scooby Doo episode where they befriended some wild gothabilly kids, this is what they would drive, only with landau bars on the sides (click the link at the bottom for the full effect). Continue reading
My fellow editors spotted this car in a random driveway while we were cruising around one night. Since I had my camera and took a picture, I get to write about it. The car was not immediately recognizable and the guys spent several minutes speculating about what it might be.
As it turns out, this odd-looking vehicle is actually a very rare luxury car called a Custom Cloud, which was built on a 1970s Chevrolet Monte Carlo chassis. In a lot of ways, this car is similar to the Stutz Blackhawk, only with a more down-to-earth price.
Nothing says “mid-1970s” like a compact motorhome built on a full size van chassis. I spotted this retro camper and unfortunately did not have my real camera with me. So I have just one photo of this groovy cruiser.
TransVan was a line of Class B motorhomes produced by Champion in the 1970s and 1980s. You could get a Dodge-based model with a 360 V8 or a Chevy-based model with a 350 V8. They came in 17, 19, 21, and 23 foot lengths with two different interior configurations each. This particular one rides on a Chevrolet G30 chassis with dually wheels in the rear.
