The last five for the year

Cars, girls' names, cocktails and songs

The end of the year has come around and I will take a break from the Petrolhead Aesthete while Trade Me gathers its strength after the Xmas spending orgy. I predict interesting cars will come on the market when the season's credit card bills start landing in mailboxes so we will return in early January to see.  

All the best for the coming year and I wish you enjoyable motoring with no breakdowns, either emotional or mechanical. Oh, and the song? A skittish live version of Mr Davies finest three minutes. Remember to raise a glass of Christmas stout to Terry and Julie. 

1954 Alvis TC21/100. The big Alvis saloons were a combination of left over pre-war elements that managed to be much better than they needed to be in the car starved early 1950s. Usually on wire wheels, the TC21/100 'Grey Lady' variant carried a tuned version of the three-litre six and would see the golden figure of 100 mph. 12K is very reasonable although the vendor is refreshingly frank about its faults. For: Pre-war looks with good road manners. Against: Needs expensive attention to the body.

Fiat 600D. Alright, I know you are not professional race car engineers but imagine the fun you could have with this. The shell has been adapted for a wide variety of propulsion and the vendor has many helpful suggestions, any of which could result in a truly frightening outcome. For: Go on. Give yourself a thrill. Against: You have to finish it.

1971 Sunbeam Rapier. The Rootes Group designers faced a similar situation to that highlighted by the Plymouth Satellite in last week's list. A coupe on a saloon wheelbase with a high scuttle is always going to look awkward (unless you are Batista Pininfarina) but the Alpine/Rapier managed to look sporty and not bankrupt the maker. This is possibly the best one available and therefore the only one I would counsel you to buy. For: A 'Life On Mars' experience. Against: A Hillman Hunter lurks beneath.

1972 Volkswagen Porsche 914. The rationalist aesthetic of the mid-engined 914 has aged well over time, overcoming some of the prejudice and wonky marketing that limited its success in the 1970s. It has always struck me as an engineers' car due to the minimalist details and reliable mechanicals. Never a common site in New Zealand, a 914 is the thinking driver's MGB. For: As the young people say, a very cool car. Against: Not much.

1990 Porsche 928 S4. For not much more money, you could be driving the most undervalued GT on the planet. With ageless looks, indestructible mechanicals and the benefits of carefully honed development from Porsche engineers, the 928 is the best way ever devised to traverse long distances on land. For: One fifth the cost of a contemporary Ferrari. better looking and reliable. Against: Pick a good one. Bad ones are valueless.

Slim Pickens

Cars, girls' names, cocktails and songs

The great Johnny Cash's paean to initiative and workplace theft. 

1966 Plymouth Barracuda. Chrysler had little in the bag when Ford created an instant market phenomenon with the Mustang, hence this rather awkward looking fastback coupe. The front end is familiar to us through the Australian Valiant but the rear belongs to the Barracuda alone. I like gawky looks so this one wins the Miss Personality award for any pony car built in 1966. For: That back window. Grrr. Against: You would really have to want one to hand over 40K.

1966 Van Den Plas Princess. The well known aesthete has been warming his garage to receive one of these. You could argue that the engine swap has improved matters by removing the awful power plant developed by Rolls Royce for a failed military contract. It could not deliver even its modest output reliably so it was a cruel trick to palm them off onto gullible retired civil servants, surely the only market for such a thing. For: That requires more thought that I can give it. Against: Sorry, you have to have one with the naff motor. Otherwise it's cheating.

1972 Mini Moke. If you really want a car for days when all your cares are left behind you in a toweling bag, here is the ideal vehicle. Fun for young and old and just the thing for getting passengers safely home after one of your ever-popular beach front drinking orgies. Just tip it on its side and hose it out. For: Its a Mini so you will always have parts. Against: It needs a fringed top and whicker seats.

1982 Fiat Mirafiori 131R. An acquired taste, I grant you but nobody did a better flying pet cage than Fiat. Snorting twin side-draft Webers, noisy gearboxes and hilarious cabin velour combines into a hallucinatory driving experience that is the antithesis of anything remotely tasteful from any non-Italian competitor. Cortina GTE? Pfaff. For: Look at all those wheels! Its like a Fiat half-track. Against: Not for you passive- aggressive types.

1983 Jeep J20 Wagon. There was a time when Jeeps were driven by rough spoken men who lived in one roomed shacks with dogs. Therefore this Jeep wagon harks back to the golden age before power windows and air conditioning and all those other things that make contemporary motoring so rottenly pleasurable. For: Meet the coming Apocalypse in style. Against: You may lose some friends.

Five for the Xmas stocking

Cars, girls' names, cocktails and songs

A rambunctious pearl from Mr Stewart's yellow satin trews period.

1963 Chrysler Imperial Southampton Coupe. The vendor insists this is a 40K car but could only demonstrate that by selling it so wait and see. The early 1960s Imperial coupes are definitely the aesthete's choice of big Americans. Far less obvious than a Cadillac or Lincoln and fitted with gorgeous interiors, they are also well priced when the vendor choses to listen to sense. For: A Grace Kelly kind of car. Against: You would need a Jimmy Stewart kind of car to keep it company. An XK 120 maybe.

1967 Bond Equipe GT. The Bond Equipe was essentially a fastback Herald along the lines of the Harrington Alpine. A fibreglass roof and boot was laminated onto the Triumph lower body panels producing a roomy and practical sports coupe. This one has had an odd retroussé nose job at some point which would make it stand out from the small number of survivors. For: Cute tail though. Against: You may wish to scour the globe for a replacement bonnet if you are a perfectionist.

1971 NSU Ro80. I have long wanted a good Ro80 and this is probably the best in New Zealand. It was the in-house product of a small German company that pointed the way for Audi to follow twenty years later. Unreliable rotor seals have long since been re-engineered so the car's one weak point is no longer a major one. Spirited bidding suggests a ready market and if I had not spent so much on the Lancia, I would make it mine. For: A landmark. Against: Not to be taken for granted.

1989 Lancia Delta HF Integrale. Look past the gruesome interior decor to a genuine rally performer that will make every trip to the shops for milk seem like a tarmac stage in Tuscany. In handsome dark metallic grey rather than ubiquitous Rosso Corsa, this looks like a tidy original car offered at a considerable discount over the 25K that seems to be the norm. For: A 210+ hp 4wd Guigiaro designed paper bag. Against: Nothing.

1989 Fiat Tipo Sedicivalvole. For a further trifling sum you could park the Integrale next to its Fiat stable-mate. They use the same 16-valve engine to power the big Thema saloon which was a treat on a wet road so the lighter Tipo shell enables sufficient lurid torque steer to wake the dead. For: Cheap fast thrills. Against: Not for you quiet and retiring types.