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My Hiatus, part 2.
Hello all. I continue to get emails asking what I’m up to and where are those great newsletters that I used to write. I have very legitimate excuses as to why I have not sent out a newsletter. First, my dog ate them. I don’t have a dog, so that’s not true. Second, my car ran out of gas. Third, I was grounded…yes, my wife grounded me.
The last time I wrote to you all was April of last year and I talked about the competition between gas vs. diesel vs. hybrid. You can read about it here.
Anyway, I promise that it will not be another year before you hear from me again. I want to pledge to you all that I will try to send out a funny and entertaining newsletter at least once a quarter. Starting….now…wait I wasn’t ready….NOW.
Gone by way of the Dodo, extinct cars.
Part of the reason I have not sent out a newsletter is a while was because I did not have a good topic to write about. Recently, I read an article about extinct cars and it sparked my curiosity. First, the article I read was so full of bull honky because the cars they mention are still roaming the earth. That’s not extinct.
What I want to know is what cars are TRULY extinct.
What does that mean you say? It means that they no longer are on this earth. It means, that if I had all the money in the world I would not be able to purchase this car any longer…it means, if a spaceship landed here, a three headed alien gets off, says “take me to a 1943 Ford Chattanooga” and we would not be able to show one, they would leave crying, screaming, sad and disheartened. The funny part is I had to search to make sure there wasn’t a Ford Chattanooga ;-)
So, I have a challenge to the community. Send me a truly extinct car and you will receive…wait for it…$10 American dollars. Yes, that’s $10.00…not $8 dollars, no no. Not $9 dollars…but $10 full well-rounded, well traveled United States of America dollars!
With all challenges, there must be rules. Here they are
1) The car must have been built as a true production vehicle. Let me explain that further. In my opinion, a production car is any car that I could have walked into a dealership and buy it, then put plates on it, get insurance and drive it to work. So, all of those one-off prototypes don’t count. Sorry, Lamborghini Portofino.
2) If the car was made over several years, yet the make, model and general body style remain the same, then that will count as the same car. In other words, a 1984 Pontiac Fiero is the same as a 1985 Fiero and a 1986 Fiero. The body changed in 1987 which is now considered a different car. Sorry, 1984 Dodge Minivan.
3) If there is a rare trim code that came on a car from a DEALERSHIP and not the factory, then those are eliminated as well. So, those crappy Barrett-Jackson Ford Mustangs count only as a Ford Mustang.
4) If the car was made as a four door, two door and a convertible, then that counts as the same car. For example, if you think the 1966 4 door Ford Fairlanes are extinct and I find a two door version…denied!
5) The car must be extinct EVERYWHERE. This means if you send me that the 2004 Pontiac GTO is extinct and I find a ton of Holden Monaros in Australia…guess what…big fat goose egg.
6) Finally, there can be only one winner. The first person that sends me a legitimate extinct car, I verify that car follows the rules and is truly extinct, then $10 goes to the winner! By the way, it may take me 5 to 10 years for me to roam the earth to insure that your submission is truly extinct. I’m just kidding; it should only take me 2 to 3 years.
There it is Classic Car Community, the challenge of all challenges. I cannot think of one car that is truly extinct from this earth. I can think of a bunch that I wish were extinct from this earth…cough…Prius, but none that are actually extinct. Who knows, if we identify a few cars that are down to only 10 or 20 left from thousands, then those cars may become more valuable. There you have it, our contribution back to the collector car community. BEGIN!
PS – Don’t worry; if we identify a car that is gone, I am sure Spielberg will make a movie about it called Jurassic Parking.
By the way, you can follow me on twitter @carcommunity and I would love to be your friend on Facebook, Classic Car Community.
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