1955 Hudson Italia 2-Door Coupe

What is it that makes certain cars more collectible than others? Certainly the car’s condition, its documentation, and any unusual factory options can affect a car’s value. However, I think the most important factor is rarity. The less common a car is, the more valuable it becomes.

Sometimes car manufacturers deliberately make small runs of cars, ensuring that they will become instant collectibles. Take a look at some recently produced exotic cars and their prices:

Lexus LF-A Supercar – 500 units – $375,000 each
Aston Martin One-77 – 77 units – $1,000,000 each
Lamborghini Veneno – 3 units – $3,000,000 each

It boggles my mind that automakers can produce a run of $1 or $3 million dollars cars and have no trouble selling all of them. However, it wasn’t always this way. There was a time when automakers had a hard time finding buyers for hyper-expensive cars. One of the first manufacturers to create a ridiculously high-priced supercar was none other than the Hudson Motor Company.

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Las Vegas Cars and Coffee 442 Blowout

Last year when we covered SEMA 2012 we had an opportunity to check out a local Cars and Coffee chapter. Though I was a little underwhelmed by the small turn out considering it was Vegas and SEMA week, I was happily surprised to see my favorite muscle car, the Oldsmobile 442, out in full force. It’s really odd to see this many Olds cars out at one event, so I imagine someone on an Olds forum must have coordinated it. My post about the GSX made me remember I had all these pictures that I had yet to share. So to my fellow Rocket-loving Oldsmobile fans, here’s some hot 442 action after the jump: Continue reading

1958-1961 Facel Vega HK500

There aren’t many cars on the road that I don’t recognize, but this one totally caught me by surprise at Cars and Coffee. I confess that I don’t know much about mid-century French cars, so I hope you will forgive me for not recognizing this one right away. However, I thought it intriguing enough to take some pictures – and boy, am I glad I did!

As it turns out, this gleaming silver beauty is a Facel Vega HK500. One article I read called it “The best car you’ve never heard of” and after doing some research, I can see why the author made that statement.

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Driven: 1969 Chrysler Imperial Sedan

I must confess that I have a newfound affection for fuselage-era Chryslers. Something about the way they look just looks “right” to me. From the headlamps to the tip of the tailpipes, I think these cars are just pure design gold.

I spotted this 1969 Chrysler Imperial sedan at Cars and Coffee in Las Vegas. It was parked a few rows away from the other cars, humbly minding its own business. No one paid it much attention, but I was smitten.

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Cars and Coffee Scottsdale – October 2012 [VIDEO]

Once a month, car enthusiasts from all over the greater Phoenix area get together in Scottsdale to enjoy some coffee and look at some cars. The show is called Cars and Coffee, and it is open to any make and model of vehicle.

Though anyone is welcome, the show primarily features high-end and exotic cars such as those from Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche, Aston Martin, Lotus, and others. We were on hand to capture some of the action at this month’s event. Hope you enjoy the video!

G’Day Mate! Pontiac GTO with Holden Monaro Body Kit

From 1964 through 1974, the GTO was the king of the road in Pontiac’s fleet. The GTO was a perfect muscle car of the era because it paired a big, powerful engine with an affordable car. In almost every configuration, these cars left the assembly line with more than 300 HP.

Sadly, consumer interest in muscle cars dropped sharply during the energy crisis of the 1970s and the GTO was discontinued in 1974 – a sad fate for a car which had won Motor Trend’s coveted Car of the Year award in 1968.

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