Five to revive the spirits

Cars, girls' names. cocktails and songs.

I have been digging around in San Francisco Bay area pyschedelia again after hearing this on late night National Radio. It bears a strange mix of influences that can only have arisen from the unlikely meeting of an LSD raddled hippie and a gospel choir. Tiddle um tum tum indeed. No girls' names or liquor in the lyrics but the wonderful Stovall Sisters sang the killer backing track.

1964 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia. Rust is the bugbear with these great looking cars so an early model with what appears to be original paint is a great place from which to start. The 1200 motor will not be able to pull your socks off so you may wish to deviate from standard specification in the interests of open road driving. Otherwise regard it as a static work of art. For: One of Mario Boano's finest moments. Against: If it only went as well as it looked. But then it would be a Fiat 8V Supersonic and cost a million dollars.

1971 Lincoln Continental Coupe. I normally have to look through my fingers when faced with a '70s Lincoln but this is the last of the '60s shapes, marred only by the preposterous grill. The combination of metallic tangerine paint and brown leather is very Quentin-esque and I feel like carrying out a serious crime against nature after just looking at it. For: Not for the shy and retiring. Against: How are you in a knife fight?

1974 Alfa Romeo GTV 2000. Beige is not the best of hues for these cars but everything else appears splendid with this 105 series coupe. New Zealand new and low milage adds to the attractants so I wonder why the modest price? Really good examples command another 10K even in these straightened times. For: You know what I think of these so I will not repeat myself. Against: Check carefully but if it looks right, buy it.

1985 Opel Monza GSE. Never a frequent sight on our roads, the big Monza coupe offered a straight six, five speed, rear wheel drive alternative to a BMW or Audi and at a considerable discount. This shows in the cabin decor but the old school dynamics will allow you to forget the grey plastic and patterned velour. For: Young folk will like it and will tell you so. Against: Do you really want to be arrested for sustained loss of traction?

1988 Jaguar XJR-S. Some will recall when the Australian Touring Car championship was not a dreary procession for two identical makes of car and you could see how the local product fared against Jaguars. This six-litre XJR-S is an outcome of Tom Walkinshaw's heroic efforts to race what was fundamentally a silly car but this makes it the only version worth owning. For: Watch some old clips of one on the track. You will understand then. Against: Sorry. Still ugly.