click above image to view 22 pics of the BMW Z1 for sale on eBay
I'll never forget seeing my first BMW Z1. Strangely enough, it wasn't in Europe. It was a summer probably six or seven years ago while I was vacationing in Miami.
I was seated outdoors at the News Cafe in South Beach, and it was parked curbside behind a yellow Ferrari F355 Berlinetta. I specifically remember noting that its electric sliding doors were in the "down" position.
I knew what the Z1 was, and that the likelihood of seeing one in the US (where they were never sold) was somewhere between slim and none.
Having one in front of me in this unlikeliest of places was abundantly cool, and the car's great-looking in person. In fact, I remarked to my wife that at that moment in Miami Beach, the little BMW over there was about ten times as exotic as the Ferrari parked in front of it. After all, Ferraris in Miami are far from rare.
To date, however, I've never seen another Z1, even after making multiple business trips to Europe in the intervening years. So I had to smile when I saw .
The car up for grabs has 172,000 km on the odometer (106,000+ miles) and is one of 8,000 ever built.
While never federalized, its status as a historically significant vehicle lets the owner get an exemption that allows it to be registered and driven up to 2,500 miles per year. The opening bid is set at $39,000.
It's in Miami.
[Source: eBay]
The eBay summary says the vehicle has a mere 44,000 miles on the odometer, but a magazine article included in the listing pegs it at 66K.
The Miura is powered by Lamborghini's 3.9L V12, which was also used in the 400GT.
Unlike the latter, the engine is mounted transversely in the Miura and produces 350 HP. Frank Sinatra, who owned a 1970 Miura P400SV, remarked, "If you want to be famous, drive a Ferrari! If you are famous, drive a Miura.
"
At the time this was written, the current bid was $135,100.
Posted May 9th 2007 4:06PM by
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We're punchy for this one (just check out our outtakes at the end, even better than last time!). We start off with a lively debate over Hyundai's rumored full-size on the BH platform and whether it will be good or bad. No consenus was reached, but it will be exciting to see if Hyundai can morph the concept of the Honda Ridgeline into something a little more haul-friendly.
We segue from unibody pick 'em ups into the exciting story of the . That is, if the buyer doesn't fink out (Too late, !
- Ed.) when it comes time to hit the old PayPal. John Schneider's personal "General Lee" Charger with history (if you can call 80's TV camp real history) was sold on eBay for 9.
95 million dollars. The cash isn't going to fund some humanitarian effort, rather, it will be used to finance a sequel to Mr. Scheider/Duke/Kent's Collier Co.
- Hot Pursuit movie. We're sure it's the next Citizen Kane. Speaking of movies, we also touch on the despicably obvious , which is essentially a popcorn-bucket-length Dodge spot.
Wrapping it all up, we ring the bell on the "duh" category a couple times for the Lutz. The , not that we really thought it was dead. B.
L. has decided that it's likely wiser to tweak powerplants than to toss away an entire product renaissance worth of engineering. Whew, and we thought he might actually do it.
Speaking of questions, we had no question about . It will require an infusion of hundreds of millions of dollars, which seems like a good deal to us. Someone somewhere will have to put some time, money and effort into working out the batteries, so why not GM?
It beats just sitting around and waiting. We just hope that when Chevy drops the series hybrid on us, it's wrapped in a prettier shell than the Prius. That's it for this week, enjoy!
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Posted May 9th 2007 12:46PM by
Filed under: ,
click above image to see more views of John and his General Lee
We all knew this was coming. As many expected, the person who entered the for John Schneider's personal 1969 Dodge "General Lee" Charger on eBay Motors last week has withdrawn it.
Or at least, that's what we're led to believe by left by Schneider, who on eBay goes by johnsebiz, on the profile of fellow eBay user fishbashr1.
Schneider left the comment, "This is the guy that for fun, decided to bid on the General Lee. Thanks.
...
" The comment was left at 2:57PM on Sunday, May 7th.
On the auction page for item , fishbashr1 is listed as the winning bidder, which is pretty damning evidence that this transaction is not going to take place and that the General will remain in Schneider's possession.
We know what you're really worried about, though.
What will become of the sequel to Schneider's self-financed film Collier Co., Hot Pursuit! that was reportedly going to be financed by the sale of John's General Lee?
It's in fate's hands now.
Thanks for the tip, WiZZla!
[Source: Digg]
This good-looking Viper is a kit car that sits on the chassis of a 1985 Corvette, and has a 350hp LT1 engine with custom headers under-hood. The car really does look like a Viper, with good-looking body panels, and a hideous interior (just like the original). The kit has 11,000 miles on it, but there is no telling how many miles are on the original 85' Vette's 22 year-old chassis.
Right now the car is at about $17,000 with six days to go, and compared to the genuine article, this rip-off is a relative bargain if only for those that merely want to look the part. The seller astutely points out that the Vette engine will get better gas mileage than the Viper's thirsty 8.4L V10, and that parts will be available at just about any auto parts store, unlike the Viper.
We've seen some pretty crazy over the years, but this one doesn't look half bad. This kit is a poseur's paradise. Check out the many pictures of the "Viperette" in the gallery below.
Posted May 7th 2007 7:56PM by
Filed under: ,
Though it hasn't been determined yet whether or not the final bid is an honest one, the eBay Motors auction for John Schneider's 1969 Dodge Charger that was originally used on his hit TV show, The Dukes of Hazzard, was a wild ride that ended last Friday with a winning bid of $9,900,500. As we , if the sale goes through, that would make the General the second most expensive car ever auctioned behind a rare Bugatti that went for over $11 million at Christie's about 20 years ago.
If you've ever auctioned an item on eBay, you know the last few minutes can be exciting, agonizing and, hopefully, profitable.
Such was the case for Schneider, and his pals had a handycam trained on him for the last five minutes of the auction. Check out the video after the jump to see a surfer-looking Schneider watching the most bizarre car auction ever in its waning moments. Perhaps the best part is when our man reads the note on his auction that states "Your reserve price of $1,000,000 has been met.
"
We've also learned that Schneider has likely already driven his General Lee for the last time. Before he had decided to sell the car, Schneider agreed to give a ride to a child with cancer whose wish it was to "hit the road in the General Lee," and the two apparently did just that last Saturday.
[Source: Carscoop, ]
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click above image for more pics of John "Bo Duke" Schneider and his General Lee
When we that John Schneider, aka Bo Duke, was selling his personal 1969 "General Lee" Dodge Charger used in the cult classic show "The Dukes of Hazzard" and various other productions, the bidding on eBay Motors was at $2.
3 million. The Autoblog team immediately started arguing whether or not the car was worth that amount. In the end, we were all wrong, as the eBay Motors just ended at 1:00PM EST with a winning bid of $9,900,500.
00! The auction was stopped once to remove fake bids when the price hit the $6 million dollar range, but after that, bidders were required to register before making a play for the car.
According to this , if the winning bid holds, the "General Lee" will be the second most expensive car ever auctioned behind a rare 1931 Bugatti Type 41 Royal Sports Coupe that was sold by Christie's Auction House in 1987 for $11 million.
Auctionistas inteviewed by CNN are astonished, with one stating bluntly, "There is no basis in my experience in the collector car world to justify that kind value". We're sure Schneider could care less, as his purpose in auctioning the car was to raise money for a sequel to his self-financed movie "Collier Co., Hot Pursuit".
Whether or not the car is worth nearly $10 million is certainly up for debate, but there's no denying it's one hella cool car. Schneider actually owned the car before it appeared on "The Dukes of Hazzard" and leased it to Warner Bros. for use in the show.
It's even scratched! Schneider put a nick near the driver's side window once while performing his trademark through-the-window entrance. He left the scratch figuring it would only increase the car's value.
Considering that auction experts claim the car is actually worth about $150,000 to $200,000, we'd say he was right. Search online classifieds for ! Search by price, make, model, and more for all . Continental Warranty can save you 40-60% off of your . Get a free auto warranty quote today.
Thanks for the tip, Peter!
[Source: eBay Motors via ]
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