By the time you read this, I’ll be on my yearly pilgrimage to the Motor City, meeting up with friends, visiting the Stahl’s Motor & Music Experience, and attending the Pure Stock Muscle Car Drag Race. I spent a few years in Detroit over 20 years ago, so my heart is all aflutter once I drive from the airport in my rental—it is somewhat like being at home, even though I didn’t grow up there.
As I’ll be offline, I won’t be connected to you, dear reader, and your thoughts of these AutoHunter Picks. They’re all good cars, and even if you may not always agree with a selection, I enjoyed writing about them.
1966 Chevrolet Chevelle SS 396 Convertible
I used to lean into the 1967 Chevelle as my preference, but age has changed me. I don’t care for the taillights of this 1966 Chevelle SS 396 convertible compared to the ‘67’s, but I slightly prefer the front end of this car, as well as much preferring the faux hood intakes of the ’66.
Add the Marina Blue, mid-level L34 396/360, and droptop—surprisingly rare considering how common SS 396s are—and you have a primo Bow Tie.
1965 Acadian Beaumont Sport Deluxe Convertible
This is how you get a Pontiac fan excited about a Chevrolet. The Acadian was a badged-engineered Chevy II, and the Acadian Beaumont was Canada’s answer to the Chevelle—both sold at Pontiac dealerships side-by-side with Strat-Chiefs, Laurentians, and Parisiennes.
Beaumont was spun off from Acadian for 1966-69 and acquired a big-block 396 on the order form. Sport Deluxe was akin to the Super Sport, so it’s fancy inside.
1987 BMW 325i Convertible
Every sorority girl at my university dreamed of owning one . . . and many did because Daddy bought it for them. They were completely benign to this enthusiast, especially when equipped with an automatic transmission.
But this one has a five-speed manual, which puts it on a different plane—maybe it would be for the off-kilter Tri Delt who was dating the stoner Kappa Sig instead of the SAE.
2019 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 Coupe
Reading Derek’s AutoHunter Spotlight on this Corvette, I had no idea that the ZR1 was only available for one year for the C7. That seems to be quite a unique distinction considering the C6 ZR1 was produced for several years.
They’re rare, but not that rare—2,441 coupes and 512 convertibles—but if you’re like me and prefer the front-engined Vette, this looks as good as any to snap up and enjoy the way Bowling Green intended.
