The Aesthete mocks the afflicted

The Aesthete's Fleet

The Aesthete dropped in on a fellow sufferer, one who owns sheds full of Lancias yet will not sell him the one that he most wants.  'Confront your demons, Robert. You know you will never fix any of them' he roared in his fury, as if he did not have his own sad catalogue of doomed and abandoned projects stretching over the millennia. Let he who is without sin...

1989 Audi Quattro. Audi's 80 derived Quattro tided the sawn off looks of the earlier model but lost some of its improvised character at the same time. Like a lot of cars that are somehow less desirable than those which they superseded, the RR20v is more capable and easier to live with than its UR ancestor thanks to constant development on the international rally circuit. This example has been tweaked by someone with a laptop which I hear has replaced the vice grip in the modern workshop.

For: Less ugly and faster and cheaper, therefore better by every known measure.
Against: Less interesting, however.
Investment potential: 2/10 due to that missing factor.

1942 Chevrolet AK Delivery. Unusual to be supplied in right hand drive form during the war, this Chevrolet is bound to have an interesting story to tell. Part of the light commercial range built on the Chevrolet Deluxe chassis, they were civilised vehicles to drive and saloon like in their manners. The vendor seems a bit lackadaisical in his efforts to spruik this attractive van and threatens to make a garden ornament out of it if you don't buy it. Go on then, plant it with native grasses.

For: Someone must have a small business that needs something like this.
Against: 12K is a lot of money for a planter box.
Investment potential: 1/10 for the attitude.

1978 Fiat 128. Survivors of Fiat's three million+ production 128 must be an infinitesimal proportion of that number today, most having oxidised in their owners' driveways thirty years ago. New Zealand assembly standards hurried that process along with the cars being shown an open can of paint before being hurried off to the dealers. The best 128 in the country would be a nice thing to own and probably unrepeatable so seize the day.

For: Classical school of Turin perpendicular.
Against: Nothing.
Investment potential: 8/10. Try and find another.

1931 Austin Seven Special. Those long of limb or spherical of waist should listen to the vendor's warning because these Seven specials are made for sylphs. If you wish to avoid the unsavoury effect of an automotive muffin top as you spill over the side, best abstain from the beef and guinness pies for a while. The upside is that 80KPH in one of these feels like 200 in anything else and none of your dependants will ask to use it.

For: The only car to my knowledge to have been designed by an 18 year old, the remarkable Stanley Edge.
Against: You will need to be an adolescent to fit.
Investment potential: 6/10 for its pert behind.

1996 Maserati Quattroporte. Marcelo Gandini's exquisite series IV Quattroporte came at the end of the Biturbo era and so was caught up in the generally poor reputation of that range. Undeservedly as it was one of the most exiting saloons of its era, produced in the same vein as the Lotus Carlton and Lancia Thema 8.32. Values have not climbed with those cars and this example needs to be around half the price to match what you could acquire in the UK.

For: Extremely quick and no one will know what it is.
Against: Let's hope the maintenance is up to date. 30K for an engine rebuild if anything breaks.
Investment potential: 1/10 I regret to say.

On some faraway beach

1935 Airflow Desoto SG Coupe. The Aesthete loves a bold failure and few have failed so boldly as Chrysler with its Airflow. Forced to watch as other makers adopted streamlining later in the decade, Chrysler was set on a path towards conservatism that did not lift until the 1950s when the memory had faded. An Airflow coupe on the shorter Desoto frame is a highly desirable thing, borne out by the 33K bid on this wreck.

For: One of the few cars the Aesthete would have in his 20th century design collection.
Against: 100K when finished.
Investment potential: 4/10 as you might just see that back.