1985 Lincoln Mark VII Diesel

I love diesels and I make no effort to hide it. In America, we've been deprived of widespread use of diesel engines in passenger cars for quite a long time (save for the excellent offerings from Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen of course). In Europe however, diesels are the norm, not the exception.

Since we're facing another fuel and energy crisis (or really just the same one we've always had), diesels are popular again, even though those who know their advantages never stopped loving them over the years. What makes diesels especially interesting despite their own merits of efficiency and reliability is a 21st century twist of converting them to run on biofuel - that's right, vegetable oil and restaurant leftovers.

Biofuel is cheap and inexpensive (though smelly) so interested customers are hunting down old diesel cars like predators. That makes otherwise insignificant cars like this Lincoln Mark VII rather significant again.

Of course, someone like me already finds this car intriguing.

The fuel crisis of 1979 renewed interest in efficient vehicles again, and this time American manufacturers were listening, unlike their woeful incompetence after the first incident in1973. Of course, diesels still didn't take off for one reason or another, but some of the cars they stuck diesels in were amusing to say the least.

Such is the case with this Lincoln. The Mark VII was based on the rear-wheel drive Fox platform. It lasted from 1983-1992. These aren't sports cars, but they are great, comfortable cruisers, and they styling isn't terribly offensive.

Underneath the hood, however, is a real surprise: a BMW inline 6-cylinder turbocharged diesel engine, the same one in the brief 524TD that came and went here. Just how Lincoln struck a deal with BMW is a story still untold, but it's not a bad idea; Ford's diesel experience was limited to trucks, and BMW's diesel was a great engine the fastest of it's day (even with just 115 horsepower). But since the Lincoln is a bigger, heavier car, you really can't expect much power. Still, you can expect overall reliability if you change the oil religiously.

Lincoln only offered the Mark VII diesel from '84-'85, along with a diesel Continental. From that point on, declining gas prices, politics and the general buoyant mood of the times made diesels disappear again.

The seller says they are the third owner, the car was repainted, service up to date and everything works. They state the mileage is 132,048.

I think this is a pretty cool car. It's not an ideal candidate for biofuel, but it could be a "sleeper" if it was...if there can even be a sleeper biofuel car. Either way, it's rare, and this one looks to be well cared for. It could bring some interesting highway miles to come.

Available here on ebay with a Buy-It-Now of $8,700.

Outrun This: 1986 Ferrari Testarossa Spyder

What's cooler than a Testarossa? A Testarossa convertible of course!

There was only one official spyder designed and created by the factory. It was painted silver and delivered to the president of Fiat in August, 1986.

Testarossa convertibles started appearing in pop culture, too, with a red one being the default ride in Sega's arcade classic Outrun and a black one for a Michael Jackson Pepsi commercial.

Then, in September of 1987, Road & Track featured a cover story about special ordered custom conversions done by Richard Straman in California.

This is one such Straman convertible.

Straman's genius lay in the art of subtraction. He took away the entire roof and rear pillars and expertly cut around the cabin so that the canvas roof, when folded, tucked neatly behind the headrests. The result is extremely successful and emphasizes everything that is great about the Testarossa's original design, making the car seem even lower and wider than it already looked.

Mechanically, it is no different than the factory hardtop, with a smooth, naturally aspirated 4.9-liter flat 12-cylinder engine putting out 380 horsepower to the rear wheels and capable of launching the car from 0-60 mph in 5.2 seconds.

The Testarossa was a comeback car for Ferrari when it debuted at the Paris Auto Show in 1984 and was their flagship until 1991 when it was updated with the 512 TR. Although Ferrari has really never mass produced any car, they managed to build 7,177 of the Testarossa, a surprisingly large volume for a small exotic company, and enough so that the car could be deemed a success. Publicity-wise, it was beyond success, it's an icon of the era and continues to fascinate auto lovers to this day (yours truly included).

Testarossa values have come down and are starting to tick up, but they can still be had for around $60k for decent examples. Fortunately, the vast majority have barely been driven and remain with low miles and in near mint condition. This one is no exception, with the seller stating it has accumulated just 9,383 miles. In addition, they state it's just one of Straman's 12 conversions.

Buying a Testarossa is one thing (if you have the cash), but maintainence is entirely different, as you must seek a specialist for services and trouble shooting should the need arise (and it will, if it's used often or improperly). Ownership, however, complete with looking into the garage and seeing it, must be something else, which I can't quite comprehend.

Available here on ebay in Burbank, California with bidding already up to $58k.