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Future Collectibles

March 20, 1988 – The last Pontiac Fiero
20Mar By Automotive HistoryNo Comments
Cheap Classic Cars, Future Collectibles, This Day

March 20, 1988 – The last Pontiac Fiero

The last Pontiac Fiero left the assembly line on this day in 1988. The mid-engined sports car first hit the market in 1983. Not only was this Pontiac's first two seater since 1938, but it was the first, mass-produced mid-engine sports car to come from any U.S. automaker. Above: 1985 Pontiac Fiero. By Mr.choppers - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0Top: 1988 Pontiac Fiero A total of 370,168 Fieros left the line during its short five year run. Comparatively, just 163,000 Toyota MR2s sold during its first five years, starting in 1984. While it appeared to have commercial success, the Fiero, which translates from Spanish to mean proud, fierce, or bold, suffered from poor press related to a lack of performance and reliability. Today, 1988 model year Fieros are highly sought by collectors du...
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Future Collectibles – 1985 Renault Alliance convertible
5May By Automotive HistoryNo Comments
Cheap Classic Cars, Future Collectibles

Future Collectibles – 1985 Renault Alliance convertible

If you so happened to click on this article, you and I have something in common - an affinity for the oddballs. Let's start with some history. In 1979 a partnership between AMC and Renault was established, with Renault holding a controlling interest. This resulted in the Alliance and its sibling, the Encore, being introduced to the American market in 1982. These cars, featuring an exterior designed by the director of styling at Renault, and an interior developed by Richard Teague, a longtime American auto exec, were built in Kenosha, Wisconsin. A total of 623,573 two door, four door, three door hatch, five door hatch and convertibles were built by the time production was discontinued in 1987. This 1985 Renault Alliance is listed on Craigslist outside Milwaukee, not far from where it was b...
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Future Collectible – 1984 Subaru GL Wagon
1Apr By Automotive HistoryNo Comments
Cheap Classic Cars, Future Collectibles

Future Collectible – 1984 Subaru GL Wagon

In the 1980s, Subaru claimed their four-wheel-drive GL wagon was the perfect car for climbing mountains and the social ladder. Unfortunately, the specimen we have here is front-wheel-drive. Nonetheless, the seller believes they've proven that two wheels are as good as four when it comes to their 1984 Subaru GL Wagon for sale on Craiglist outside of Chicago. They state that it was driven from Washington state to Illinois last fall, and that their little wagon "took the mountains in stride." Having made this drive on several occasions, I can say that this is quite a feat for a 36 year old car. Subaru must have done its research, at least in regard to the mountain part. At $3,400 could this Subaru be your future collectible? Featuring an astonishing 72 horsepower four-banger connecte...
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December 19, 2019 – Ford pays tribute to original Shelby Mustang
19Dec By Automotive HistoryNo Comments
Future Collectibles, This Day

December 19, 2019 – Ford pays tribute to original Shelby Mustang

To celebrate the 55th anniversary of the release of the 1965 Shelby GT350R Mustangs, Ford announced today, December 19, 2019, that they will offer a heritage package for the 2020 Shelby Mustang GT350 and GT350R. The option will dress the 2020 version in the original colors of the first Shelby Mustangs, Wimbledon White with Guardsman Blue stripes. Aside from receiving one of the most iconic color combos of the 1960s, the package includes a heritage dash plaque and the 350R will receive black seats with red stitching. The limited edition package, which will run you just under $2,000, may all be show, but under the hood you'll find a naturally aspirated, flat-crank 5.2-liter V-8 pushing 526 horsepower and 429 pound-feet of torque to the rear wheels through a six speed stick. Come on, it...
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SEMA 2019 Gallery
11Nov By Automotive HistoryNo Comments
Automotive, Future Collectibles

SEMA 2019 Gallery

I had the opportunity to attend SEMA in Las Vegas for the first time this year. My first thought, "Whoa, there's a lot to see." Even from all the video and article coverage I've seen of past shows, I had no idea just how large this conference really is. I won't bore you with all the stories about hanging out with celebrities and winning tons of money at the casino, because I know you came for for the cars. Here's a gallery of many of the ones I enjoyed, in the order I encountered them. Sorry for less than great quality, I don't have an iPhone. What's your favorite? This on'es for you, ZinkleFooseLove me some Little BastardBuilt by David Ankin of ToymakerzCoach Built "Illusion"Coach Built "Illusion"Scooby dooby dopeGolden Sahara1968 Bronco that won the 1969 Baja 1000Me and the CountHeat...
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Future Collectible – 1981 Jeep Cherokee Chief
17Oct By Automotive HistoryNo Comments
Cheap Classic Cars, Future Collectibles

Future Collectible – 1981 Jeep Cherokee Chief

If you're in the market for a vehicle's that on the verge of vintage but can still take you just about anywhere, this 1981 Jeep Cherokee may be for you. With wood-paneled Wagoneers of the same era selling for upwards of $20,000, this running and driving four door Cherokee found on Craigslist for $4,250 near St. Louis seems like a bargain, but is it? The Chief package added $349 to the base model price of the Cherokee when introduced in January of 1975, but it appears to have been a solid investment. Aside from some sweet graphics, the package extended the Dana 44 axles by three inches and your new Jeep would come with bigger wheels and wheel cutouts. While a majority of the Cherokee Chiefs were two door, this example offers easy access for the whole family. Outfitted with 2...
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Future Collectible – 1989 Shelby CSX
13Oct By Automotive HistoryNo Comments
Cheap Classic Cars, Future Collectibles

Future Collectible – 1989 Shelby CSX

Caroll Shelby built many memorable racing and muscle cars. This 1989 Shelby CSX available on Craigslist outside of Seattle is not one of them. At least not yet. Based on the Dodge Shadow and Plymouth Sundance of the era, the CSX (Carroll Shelby eXperimental) was a limited run vehicle badged as a Shelby, which 20 years earlier might have meant something. At $15,000, is this vehicle under or over ripe? The first CSXs showed up in 1987. A mere 750 were manufactured and priced at $13,495, approximately $30,000 in 2019. Not bad for a car with a 175 horsepower four banger turbo that went zero to 60 in 6.8 seconds. Seems slow? The 1965 Shelby GT350 hit the same mark in 6.5 seconds. But that's still like comparing a 1989 Dodge Shadow to a 1965 Shelby GT350, so... The next year, 19...
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This Day in Automotive History is a transportation history, car history and general automotive history website dedicated to providing informative and entertaining content. Our goal is to enlighten our readers by producing and publishing automotive content on a wide range of topics, including famous cars, important automotive inventors and engineers and other historic automobile related events, places and people. We encourage you to share our page and connect with us on Facebook or sign up for our automotive history newsletter at the top of this page. If you have any questions about the content we publish, including our car videos and car history pictures and text and the use of them, please don’t hesitate to contact us using the below email address. On occasion we post classic cars for sale from Craigslist, Facebook and other online marketplaces. We utilize imagery from those ads in a fair use fashion. This includes barn finds for sale, muscle cars for sale, vans for sale, station wagons for sale, trucks for sale and other affordable old cars for sale. If you’d like your car featured, reach out to us!

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