Parking Lot Photo Shoot: Porsche 959

Move along, nothing to see here...

Okay, so I cheated a little. This Porsche 959 - more specifically, Bruce Canepa of Canepa Design's modified, street-legal 959 - was in a parking lot just outside of the Danville d'Elegance car show a couple years ago. But dammit, it was in a parking lot and not a car show! And be honest, where else do you think you're going to see a Porsche 959 in the United States? Most are only allowed here as "show and display" cars and can't be enjoyed fully. Canepa builds these cars to go, and go legally right up into second gear at which point you can get into as much trouble as your right foot wants. Canepa's website describes this car as producing 640 horsepower and 570 lb feet of torque and handling better than stock - and it will pass a California smog test.

Oh, how I wish the lighting and positioning were different. This beast deserved better pictures than these.

German Jolly: 1957 Volkswagen Beetle Beach Cruiser

This 1957 Volkswagen Beetle is a custom job supposedly done "many years ago"; while the Fiat Jolly and Renault 4CV Jolly are not mentioned in the ad, they appear to be a definite inspiration for this car, and this would more than satisfy any desires for a fun oddball summer car among staff of this site.

It has no rust, a good top and interior, a desirable period aftermarket petrol gauge that replaces the stock fuel reserve, everything is functional, and the 40-horsepower flat-four (with later Karmann Ghia air cleaner) and the transmission shifts smoothly. If it is as described and built well, this car is a great deal at $4500, which would not even get you in the front door for a rusty or incomplete Jolly project, and unlike a Jolly, is not so rare and valuable that it couldn't be used regularly. The availability of VW parts and service also makes it a desirable Jolly alternative, and the rear seat space, full wheelbase and roadability make it a great alternative to a fiberglass street buggy.

Find it here for $4500 in Grants Pass, Oregon

Curiosity: Custom Widebody 1986 Porsche 928

I found this unusual modified 928 outside of a local d'elegance car show in Danville, CA in 2007. Any readers have information about it?

Rare Finds: Two Goliath Expresses in One Day

First off, we have a 1959 Goliath Express panel van for $15,999 USD in Los Angeles with no other info given.

Second offering is a 1960 Goliath Express 22-window minibus, one of 3 known to exist according to the Goliath registry. It is incomplete and weathered, but a worthy project, and like the panel van above, likely to be more interesting to Europeans than Americans.

Find it here for $22,500 USD or trade in Ventura, California

As for why Insomniac Garage has posted these high-priced vans, they are extremely scarce everywhere, and a European collector or enthusiast is likely to pay full price for one or both of these vans.

The Valet Stand: Mercedes-Benz CL65 AMG

Welcome to The Valet Stand, where we look at some of the best cars I've found parked in front of the lobby at the St. Regis Hotel in San Francisco. This week's feature is a Mercedes-Benz CL65 AMG (C216), a large luxury coupe with a 6.0 liter AMG twin-turbo V12 engine. This car stickered for roughly $200,000 new.

Parking Lot Spot: Early 1970s Mercedes-Benz 280S

This metallic beige classic Benz was spotted near my apartment. Looks to be either a home-market car or one with its sidemarkers shaved during a repaint.

Eugene Winter Sighting: Malaise Era VW Bus

This tattered Type 2, one of many in the Emerald City, has seen better days, but is most likely still reliable transportation and is known to be drivable.

Parking Lot Photo Shoot: 1982 Porsche 924 Turbo

Lost Junkyard: The Monroe Street Hoard, Eugene, Oregon

Buried boattail Riviera. This picture is known to readers of video-game webzine Ctrl+Alt+Defeat, it was published in issue seven.

R107 Mercedes-Benz SL and crunched early Datsun 240Z

R107 SL in a dire state of neglect, amid lots of parts.

I first spotted this property as a kid riding the school bus through the bowels of Eugene, Oregon in the early 1990s, while not as exciting as the decaying marvel full of 50s, 60s and Malaise Era American & Japanese metal that was J&W Towing's lot on West 2nd Avenue (cleaned up in approximately 2007, no pictures are currently known to exist on the internets, and my film pics & their negatives are long-gone), this was a greatly exciting thing to see for a young car person and brightened up my noisy, boring bus ride and made my school day brighter. The lot continued to fill up with rotting car parts and eventually had a final car (tarped black BMW E30 four-door) added, but was cleaned up in early 2012, most likely between being adjacent to school-district property and being an eyesore.

Sad E21

Buick Riviera rally wheel hiding amongst an E21 Bimmer and random parts

E21 3-series, random parts and a Boattail Riviera

After almost everything was removed.

A random assortment of BMW parts

BMW parts, early Mustang parts and more...

As the property sits today.

Not For The Faint Of Heart: 1962 Mercedes-Benz Unimog project truck

This 1962 Mercedes-Benz Unimog, while somewhat tatty-looking and in need of some work, runs and drives, comes with a rebuilt spare engine, extra wheels and extra parts, and in general looks like a great project truck. The military-style canopy is a great addition, and the seller is leaving the 4x4 community so needs to sell the truck.

Find it here, in Ramona, California, for $8500, (or go here if ad disappears)

BMW Dealer Abandoned Since 1988

This dealership, in Ontario, Canada, sits somehow maintained but unused with an E24 635CSI and E28 5-series sitting inside untouched and an E12 M535 sitting outside in deteriorated condition.

Supposedly the cars are gone, according to YouTube comments, hopefully they were saved.