The Aesthete offends the gods again.

The Aestheet's Fleet
Ackermann, the steering geometry god, smote the Jeep as we were on our way to Christchurch to collect the GTV parts car. This angry deity caused the steering damper to fall off just as we entered a cell phone dead spot north of Oamaru. We were towing a car trailer so the Jeep went on that instead of the Alfa and we spent the afternoon with a farmer who let us use the landline to call International Rescue. Before Virgil arrived in Thunderbird 2 we were served coffee and fresh pikelettes while playing games with their children. You can put your faith in people but the car gods are just plain fickle. 

1973 Peugeot 304 Convertible. Zut alors! Those prongs on Top Gear were making fun of just such a car only last week and this must be one of only a handful either there or here. Pininfarina carried out their usual magic on the 204/304 which had a gearbox in sump arrangement like a Mini but with an overhead cam motor, making the nose rather Charles De Gaulle-like. Comfortable and smooth like all Peugeots, this would be just the thing to take down to the lake for rosé and a baguette come summer.

For: Trés charmant.
Against. You do not live near a lake? You will need a better reason that that.
Investment potential: Spirited bidding already so the Francophiles are already onto it. 7/10

1953 Kaiser Manhattan. Having nursed fantasies about Kaisers for much of my adult life, I was surprised to see the object of my obsession right here in Dunedin. These Futurama influenced streamliners are unutterably elegant, from the dip in the roofline over the centre of the screen to the chrome script on the trunk (sorry, boot will just not do here). The bamboo textured interior is enough to make the Aesthete writhe with acquisitive urgings but we will leave it there.

For: I need a cold shower.
Against: Yes, I know. I must pull myself together.
Investment potential. 12/10

1963 Cheetah Replica. Well, you cannot say it lacks for drama. With gull wing doors and the driver's seat almost over the rear axle the Cheetah was like a California hot rodder's Ferrari GTO. Built to frighten Carol Shelby and fitted with the best parts from the hottest Corvette available, Cheetahs were hugely entertaining on the track but not much good for bumbling down to the shops, unless the shop is one quarter mile distant and on a straight level road.

For: Yeehah! Look at him go!
Against: Oh no, he's crashed.
Investment potential: 3/10. It needs a lot of finishing still.

Lotus 23B Replica. Or, for a lot less money you could finish off this pretty Lotus racer which has the advantage of being controllable on the track without you being hurled off the road in a ball of flame at the very first corner. A lost of work has gone into this already and Colin Chapman probably knew a little more about chassis dynamics than the slack jawed yokels who built Cheetahs.

For: Chunky Chapman or Cheetah? You decide.
Against: Don't think about it unless you have a friendly engineer in tow.
Investment potential: 6/10

1956 Chrysler Windsor Coupe. Reasonable American cars are available for 15K but that should not stop us admiring Virgil Exner's finest moment. The Windsor was a middle range product and so did without the techno-bling of the Imperial. The simple flash on the flanks looks ahead to the battle of the fins that would finally be won by Cadillac but only after all good taste had been abandoned in the industry. Later Chryslers looked like Linda Blair having the devil dragged out of her so enjoy this moment.

For: Rose-hued American beauty.
Against: Hard to imagine buyers rushing forward at the price.
Investment potential: I feel an evil laugh coming on. Bwahahahaha.

On some faraway beach

1960 Chevrolet Corvair. So what about an almost new Corvair for 14K instead? The two speed auto will not suit everyone but you do not want to go too quickly in one of these earlier models anyway seeing as the Corvair virtually invented the American safety industry.

For: Going off the road backwards is all part of the fun.
Against: You would not drive anything Ralph Nader actually approved of, would you?
Investment potential: 2/10 but who cares?