1987 BMW 735i 5-Speed

I love the E32. I wanted one very badly about two years ago but instead settled for a low-mileage E46 AWD. That's how hard a good E32 is to find these days. This one is even more significant with a nifty and super rare 5-speed manual.

The 80s were BMW's breakthrough era. It not only meant making great cars, but also catching up with the competition. One of those competitors was that other legendary German luxury automaker, Mercedes-Benz. While BMW had offered cars that lightly infringed on Mercedes' territory (one could  say the E30 was a shot at the W201), the E32 was designed specifically to take on the big ol' W126 Benz.

The E32 was a resounding success. Sure, it was larger and heavier than it's predecessor, but it gained new engines that helped scoot it along, including a rather insane 12-cylinder.

Styling by genius designer Claus Luthe was a home run, introducing a whole new language theme that the company would use for years, then depart from, only to revisit again and again in the 21st century. Looking closely, it's actually a rather bizarre shape, with a long, low hood, big windows, high trunk and those devilish L-shaped rear taillights. But it miraculously works.

Unfortunately for a while the only engine options in the E32 were the underpowered 3.5-liter inline 6-cylinder or the over-complex 12-cylinder. Only until 1993 did an option in the middle arrive in the form of a V8, but by then the competition had caught up and the body would undergo a major restyling in 1995.

Fortunately, this early model has a stick to liven the driving experience up. Very, very few were brought to the US with 5-speeds and have become a coveted collector item since.

The interior looks sumptuous in a saddle-shade leather and awesome pre-airbag steering wheel.

The seller says it was imported from Canada and all paperwork is sorted with a Florida title. Cosmetically they say it wears original factory paint and chrome wheels. Mechanically, they say all power accessories work and it drives excellently and is ready to go anywhere.

Another great thing about the E32 is that it's still a pretty simple car, especially compared to BMW today. They are known for being rock solid and overall very reliable. With just 95k miles on this one, it's just getting warmed up. Drive it hard, change the oil religiously and just enjoy her.

Available here on ebay for the reasonable price of $5,700.

42k-Mile 1992 Dodge Stealth R/T Twin Turbo

The Stealth is a nameplate Dodge doesn't even bother using anymore. That's a shame, because in the 90s it had potency - thanks to the VR4 AWD.

In actuality, the Stealth was no triumph of American engineering. It was a triumph of American dollars and bargaining power. Chrysler made a deal with Mitsubishi and were able to sell cars using their mechanical components. One such car was the Mitsubishi 300GT, from which Chrysler/Dodge made the Stealth.

I guess it was a good deal if you really had to have that American design pen touch...but even then, it was very similar looking to the 3000GT. Still, that's not a bad thing. These are classics of the 90s, all smooth corners, globular shapes and swishy swoopy lines. The big benefit to the driver is aerodynamics and efficiency.

So what were the mechanicals that Chrysler wanted to get their hands on so badly? The Stealth has a 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged 6-cylinder engine good for almost 300 horsepower. That was a big deal then and remains impressive today. It'll be a gas guzzler, but damn this thing will haul on the highways.

As if that wasn't enough, it's got not only four-wheel drive, but four-wheel steering to keep you in total control, glued to the road with the utmost confidence. The 3000GT/Stealth cars were laboratories of 90s Japan hi-technology. The basic fact is that you just don't get this kind of package anymore, at least not for under, what, $40k?

The interior is also impressive, swathed in black leather. This one is mated to a manual transmission and seems to have an aftermarket DVD player upgrade.

I wouldn't expect anything less from a 2-owner, 42k-mile car. Look for accidents, rust and maintenance history. The engine is complex and I imagine would need oil changed religiously.

But if you want a big, safe, powerful sports car from the 90s, this packed with similar power as a 300ZX but has more technology and is less common.

Available here on ebay for $12,500.

45k-Mile 1984 Lincoln Mark VII Turbo 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 this survivor has just 45k miles on the clock, comes from southern California, has no rust, wears the original paint and has never been in an accident. They say they have been a diesel mechanic for 30 years and have given this engine a new injector pump, a/c compressor, timing belt and battery, and have religiously changed the oil using Mobil 1 full synthetic turbo diesel oil.

This is a rare car in good shape that seems to have been very well cared for by a mechanic that just simply understood the quirky appeal of this car.

Available here on craigslist for $6,000.

Pininfarina Lines: 33k-mile 1973 Fiat 130 Coupe

The strikingly boxy shape of this rare Fiat is credited to Pininfarina. If it looks familiar, they were experimenting with this kind of transformational shape in the late '60s and '70s, mostly on grand touring coupes, and it was probably an inspiration for the Ferrari 400 they later designed, a nice example of which I spotlighted here. The thick, sloping c-pillar has been imitated on countless other cars through the years too.

The 130 was a large executive car for Fiat that was made from 1969-1973. This is the coupe variant, which was a new body style for 1971. It featured rear-wheel drive and a 3.2-litre 6-cylinder engine that produced 165 horsepower. Only 4,294 were produced.

The seller states this is a two-owner car, with the second owner having it for the past 38 years. They say it has original paint, no rust, original plastic wrap and runs and drives great. This one has an automatic transmission.

The interior looks good, except for some wear on the cloth seats.

Supposedly these were underpowered, heavy, and fuel-thirsty, so this car probably classifies as another all-looks, no-go car, which happened frequently with Italian design cars during emissions-conscious 70s. They looked good, but didn't go fast or drive well. This one doesn't even have fuel-injection. Couple with an automatic transmission, a sports car this is not. But it could be a nice sedate cruiser on weekends and trips to shows. It will certainly be the only one on the block.

Get it for under $10k.

Find it here on ebay in Miami, Florida with 10 bids at $7,300.