Weekend Edition – Four Distinctive Brown Cars for your Consideration; Which one would you choose?

Let’s start out this Sunday with my latest visit to the Brown Car Appreciation Society, as well as the Wagons HO! Facebook Pages to see if these was anything interesting to bring to you on this very weekend. I received a lot of flack for featuring cars from the Brown Car Appreciation Society, but I really don’t care because this is a color pallet that needs to make a significant comeback. Anyway, these are all very different vehicles, and I thought I would torture you in comparing a Domestic 4-Door Hardtop sedan, with a Fiberglass Domestic Malaise Era Sportscar, One of the last Vinyl Wood Station Wagons ever offered, and a German Diesel Sedan. Let’s start with the oldest car here, and this is a 1971 Chevrolet Caprice 4-Door Hardtop Sedan from 1971. This is a body style that you can’t have anymore because of rollover standards, but it was once very popular across the market. According to the listing:

You are bidding on a 1971 Chevrolet Caprice. It has been in the same family since it was purchased new. The Caprice has 49,000 original miles. The original window sticker is included and can be seen in the pictures. The Caprice has a 400 Small Block V-8 engine and an automatic transmission. Overall the car is in very good condition for its age. The engine starts right up and it drives solid. The interior is also in good condition. The tires are in good shape too. There is very little rust on the car and the body is straight. You can tell this car was well taken care of. I did post several pictures of how straight the body is, the condition of the trunk area, and many other pictures to show how solid the car is overall. The car does have air conditioning, however it does not work. The body has a ding on the front of the hood and a key scratch on the rear passenger side. I’m sure there is a few others due to being a 43 year old vehicle. The car does have a small transmission fluid leak. Please look at all the pictures I’ve posted. Once again the car is in very good condition for it’s age.

This auction is about to close, and as of Saturday Night, the top bid so far is $3,127.77, and there is no reserve. Other than the transmission leak, and that gash in the nose, it looks great, and it might be worth this much. See the listing here: [sc:ebay itemid=”231241344507″ linktext=”1971 Chevrolet Caprice 400 ” ] This is a 1973 Corvette, and is the first Vette that came equipped with the plastic nose, but still retained the delicate split rear bumpers from the earlier years. According to the listing:

Have a 1973 CORVETTE. 454 engine. Numbers matching. Has had a cam put in it and a holley carb. Original 4 speed and original a/c car. The a/c is all on it but it needs freon. Has 54429 original miles on it. I have owned it for the last 24 years. It has been keeped inside the entire time. Not wanting to trade, just want to sell.

Well, other than the spelling issue (keeped… I think he meant kept, but I could be wrong) the car is well presented in this listing. With just a little over 54,000 miles, and with a four-speed and A/C, this is one of the more desirable Malaise Era Corvettes available. Asking price is $15,000, which seems a bit much, but what the hell do I know? See the Dallas Craigslist Listing here. This is a 1977 Dodge Royal Monaco Wagon, the last year you could buy a very big station wagon from Chrysler (The “B” Bodies soldiered on for one more year). These wagons were offered with one of three engines that year: The 360 CID (170HP) V-8, the 400 CID (190HP) V-8, or the 440 CID (195HP) V-8, using a three speed Torqueflite Automatic. No word as to which engine powers this leviathan, but I would guess it was one of the later two. The wording is rather sparse in the listing, so I just cut to the chase, and tell you that the asking price for this 54,000 mile, woodgrained wonder is $12,000, which is in the same neighborhood as the Vette above. See the Los Angeles listing here (It has a lot of pictures!) Finally, here is a 1985 Mercedes-Benz 300DT, with what is arguably the least desirable choice of engine, condition, and mileage of the quartet. According to the listing:

For sale is a rare, one owner 1985 Mercedes 300DT, 142K, 3.0 Turbo Diesel, Automatic Transmission, Leather, Power Windows, Power Door Lock, Power Sun Roof, Power Mirrors, Ice Cold A/C. Diesel engine start and runs strong, automatic transmission shifts smoothly. Interior is in pristine condition and exterior overall is in very good condition considering the age of the car.

Yes, that is 142,000 miles, but with a Diesel, that’s like, what, 45,000 miles on a Gasoline Engine, Right? Anyway, this car has an asking price of $4,398 which prices it close to the others as well (OK, OK, it is more of a bargain too…) See the Hartford Craigslist Listing here.