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  • BMW has done it again: here comes the ugliest car you have ever seen

    Mein Gott that’s bad

    This is Collector Car TL;DR: a weekly recap of what happened on Collector Car Feed, plus car auctions, listings, automotive news, and other things of interest to the average CCF Enjoyer, and you can get it weekly by giving me your email address.

    The Videos

    The Videos

    This past week in Collector Car Feed videos was pretty great, I’m talking S-tier every day:

    One deranged man thinks he can save them all: welcome to the Isuzone
    One of us bought yet another Isuzu SUV. His driveway has hit capacity so this one’s going to live in the back yard. He swears it isn’t a problem. This is a key lore episode: we will absolutely continue to talk about this purchase.

    Every Aftermarket Jeep Grille Ranked
    Wrangler sales are down and Bronco sales are up (praise the Ford), but the Angry Jeep Face persists on the streets and in our minds, so we put every single one Netgear could find on a classic tier list.

    Hunting for real stolen cars on Facebook Marketplace
    This is one of our best performing videos in months, at least over the first few days. Our audience loves stolen cars and poverty rides, but it also happens to be a great video. They’re really out there and they’re not hard to find.

    The News

    The Next BMW M3 front end design has been leaked
    Scroll up. That first image is the new M3. We were all wondering how they were going to add more kidney to this grille. They did it by letting the kidneys consume the headlights, coincidentally making the whole thing look like the 1999 Pontiac GTO concept car.

    Subaru is discontinuing the WRX in Japan
    It’s almost certainly not a permanent goodbye, but Subaru is pulling the plug on the WRX in the Japanese market, and news sources are citing noise and emissions regulations as the culprits. The CVT-only WRX is too loud and inefficient to be sold in Japan.

    Jaguar’s Design Boss Is Officially Leaving The Company
    It’s unclear if he was fired or quit, but Jaguar’s lead designer for the past two decades is out. Weirdly the article only mentions him having designed the Land Rover Defender, Land Rover Evoque, and most recently the Jaguar Type 00 Concept, which is linked to that disastrous Jaguar rebranding campaign you probably already forgot about. There’s a picture of it in the article, and they call the design “highly controversial”, but I thought it was kind of cool, if you can separate it from, again, that awful commercial they made that the entire world absolutely hated. Feels like this guy is being punished for the marketing department’s mistakes, but what do I know.

    The Cars

    2016 Ford Focus ST
    This would be a great match for my shadow black Fiesta ST, but the secret seems to be out on these and they’re hitting new heights all the time bid-wise on these online auction platforms. 54,000 miles, one owner, ST3 package and optioned just right (everything except the upgrade wheels; the snowflakes are better). Those options are leather heated Recaros, heated leather steering wheel, Sync 3 (Carplay/Android Auto compatible), sunroof. And it’s a facelift! The only negative are a couple accidents on record, which the Cars and Bids crowd will completely ignore as they run the price up to probably around $20,000, which is deep into Ecoboost Mustang territory.
    I know, you hate all of this. You’ll come around, but until you do, let’s look at something else.

    1991 Toyota MR2 Turbo
    This is actually the only other ongoing auction I have saved from the past week. It’s been slim pickings. 144K on the clock and three days left as of this writing. It’s a real turbo, not a swap. It’s more or less unmolested and has a clean title. There’s no mention of any accidents. The mileage is the major drawback here, and it’s an SW20 so of course it’s leaking oil. Luckily the seller has no record of the timing belt having ever been done, so you can replace all the front side seals when you do that critical piece of work.
    This unmaintained, meh-mileage MR2 Turbo should sell for around $10,000, but I’d bet on $14,500 as the final price.

    1995 Ford Taurus SHO
    This is actually TWO 1995 SHOs, both in project car condition, for $1500 OBO. They’re both stick shift. I wish I had Netgear-level space for derelict vehicles when I see things like this.

    Lamborghini Countach Replica
    Classic: it’s a Fiero wearing a Lambo suit. Check out the old school hood pins on the frunk. Doug says “for those who want the eye-catching Countach look without the eye-watering Countach price, Pontiac Fiero-based replicas like this can be a lot of fun.”
    Doug, when are you going to stand up for yourself? I know you didn’t write this.

    Ferrari 308 GTB Replica
    Classic: it’s a Fiero wearing a Ferrari suit. And of course, Doug loves it: “The Ferrari 308 GTB is an iconic ’80s poster car – but not everyone can afford (or wants to maintain) the real thing, and that’s where high-quality replicas serve a great purpose.”
    This will probably sell for more than the MR2 Turbo above. Which would you rather have: the Poor Man’s Ferrari, or the Complete Idiot’s Ferrari?

    Final Thoughts

    I gave away several more Scion CD Samplers to people who read this in their email earlier today. Could have been you, man. I have a whole box of ’em. Some other junk too. Get the email, scroll back up.

    See you Soon.
    -Feed

  • The fastest American car around the Nurburgring isn’t a Corvette anymore

    …allegedly

    This is Collector Car TL;DR: a weekly recap of what happened on Collector Car Feed, plus car auctions, listings, automotive news, and other things of interest to the average CCF Enjoyer, and you can get it weekly by giving me your email address.

    The Videos

    We Found MORE Stolen Cars on Facebook Marketplace
    The Stolen Cars trilogy continued last Monday with this video. We found a car being sold out from under the bank, a Chromebook being sold out from under a school, and much more in the same vein.

    No title, if you know you know: even more stolen Facebook Marketplace cars
    This concludes the Stolen Cars Trilogy; unfortunately we kind of run out of stolen cars here, but there’s still plenty of weird Facebook Marketplace junk. Did you know Maxpeedingrods makes coilovers for the Buick Century? Me neither, but there’s a slammed one in this video.

    We found something unbelievably expensive at the junkyard
    Netgear copped a sick pull at the yard and tells us all about it. This is another important lore-building video for real CCF heads and ends with an edit I’m pretty proud of, so this is my one-video recommendation for the week.

    The News

    The 2027 Nissan Z Visits the Plastic Surgeon, and the Nismo Now Comes With a Manual
    Nissan just facelifted that car you saw on the street, driving the other direction, one time, three years ago. They will also now sell you the ~$70,000 version of this thing with a manual gearbox. Honestly it looks good, and “more stick shifts” isn’t a bad thing. It’s just hard to get excited for anything this ghost of a once-great marque does. Good luck, Nissan.

    Mazda Promises To Keep The Next Miata Under 2,200 Pounds
    The next Miata won’t be a pig, or even a hybrid as some have guessed. It’s going to remain the same well-balanced enthusiast-forward car, bought new almost exclusively by non-enthusiast retirees, that it has been for almost forty years. We appreciate you, Mazda.

    The Ford Mustang GTD Might Have Just Destroyed the Chevy Corvette ZR1X’s Nurburgring Lap Record
    Ford is, allegedly, at time of writing, now the fastest American around the ‘Ring. The absurd Mustang GTD is now, allegedly, the second-fastest production car, EVER, around the ‘Ring. Have I mentioned lately that Ford didn’t take bailout money back in ’08-’09, or ever in its history?

    Kansas Joins Growing List of States to Pass Racetrack Protection Laws
    The Kansas House of Representatives just passed, unanimously, a bill to protect existing racetracks from NIMBYs who choose to buy homes in subdivisions near them. This is not performative: dorks actually complain about the noise coming from racetracks they choose to live near, and actually get racetracks shut down. It really happens, but no more will it happen in Kansas. Iowa And North Carolina have already passed similar legislation, and ten additional states (not listed) have proposed similar bills.

    The Cars

    2000 Honda Civic Si
    This is a beautiful example of an EM1 and will go for a fortune. 76,900 miles verified, single owner, stock. It has some sunburn on the roof, but that’s not going to stop this car from reaching $20K.

    1996 Buick Roadmaster Sedan
    Another beautiful example: this time a desirable American neoclassic. We love a good boat here. Imagine going on a road trip in this thing; if nothing else you’d be very, very comfortable. Everybody even gets their own ashtray!

    2009 Rossion Q1
    I’m including this only because I’ve never seen or heard of it. I assumed it was a Fiero-based kit car, but it’s a ground-up kit with a carbon fiber monocoque. Something different.

    1993 Mercedes-Benz 500SL
    And here we have Doug’s weekly humiliation ritual, in which he says only nice things about one of the worst looking cars you’ve ever seen. Really zoom in on this wrap job. Even in the first picture it’s just awful. Scroll down to the comments and have a laugh at the seller saying it was wrapped by him and “someone who is familiar with wrapping”. I wouldn’t let this person wrap a Christmas present, they might lose a finger on the scissors. Holy god what an awful looking job.

    1993 Acura Integra LS Coupe
    Another nice verified low mileage Honda that will go for a small(er) fortune, this second-gen Integra is unfortunately not a GS-R, and is a little crusty around the edges. You can still bank on $10K or better here regardless.

    1992 Nissan 240SX SE
    This car is really only notable because 240s don’t really come up for auction much on either BaT or CaB. This is the second on Cars and Bids in the past six months, and third in the past year and a half. Scrolling back even farther to the beginning of Doug’s Bring a Trailer knockoff, this is only the 21st 240SX CaB has listed since the platform’s inception during the coronavirus pandemic. 


    As for the car itself, it’s your usual swapped 240SX: a mishmash of parts. Mystery Meat. There’s nice parts, there’s confusing absences, there’s modern stuff, there’s parts that look like they were installed decades ago. It’s a project car, but with SR20s priced like it’s a week before Race Wars, I expect $20K or more on this.

    The End

    Sheesh, somebody got a Super Street magazine calendar that matches up with 2026 days, AND a Scion CD today. You really should have signed up for the mailing list already! Scroll up.

    I finally found a set of Recaros for my FiST, but they’re a ten hour round trip drive away, so I’m probably doing that right now! I also replaced my rear pads and rotors, and will be doing the fronts this week as well. I’m still hunting a minor vibration in the front end that only shows up around 50-80 MPH. Thinking it’s a wheel bearing.
    The midwest is warming up, so it’s time to get moving. What did you work on this past week?

    See you Soon.
    -Feed

  • You can pry the stick shift “from our cold, dead hands”

    Ford remains based in the face of collapsing interest

    This is Collector Car TL;DR: a weekly recap of what happened on Collector Car Feed, plus car auctions, listings, automotive news, and other things of interest to the average CCF Enjoyer, and you can get it weekly by giving me your email address.

    The Videos

    This past week in Collector Car Feed videos was all in on a $10,000 or less tuner car hunt for collaborator and friend of the show Lil Cargo. Each episode is a mélange of various makes and models and Facebook Marketplace detritus discovered along the way.

    Honda made a new Prelude, but the best generation didn’t change.
    We glaze the 5th gen Prelude, and for good reason. Have you seen the new one? What a disaster. A Honda Fit and Mazda MX-6 are also featured.

    You just needed a G35 this whole time
    This one includes a GTI, a Civic hatch, RX-8, and the Matrix XRS, along with an import lore-building side tangent from Netgear57 about being bested by an elderly woman Baja owner. Hers is a stick! Only watching one? Do this one. I have a feeling that manual Baja is going to come up again later.

    “A dude with no pull out game *would* drive an automatic”
    Vukos said this, I’m pretty sure, about a Genesis coupe that was in fact a stick shift. I looked at a bunch of Genesis interiors and I don’t think they had the leather fake shift boot thing on their automatics.
    This episode concludes the hunt, and ends with Lil Cargo petitioning you, the CCF enjoying public, to vote for the next Lil Cargo song subject. At the moment, the Baja is leading the poll.

    The News

    Ford CEO Farley: They’ll Have to Rip the Mustang’s Stick Shift ‘Out of Our Cold, Dead Hands’
    Chevy is out. Dodge is out. BMW is making up excuses, so they’ll be out soon enough too. But Ford is threatening the auto industry over stick shifts. It’s never been a better time to start liking Ford. Have I mentioned they didn’t take the federal bailout?
    But really the article is just about the Mustang GT. The highest trims have lost the manual, and so has it been stripped from the base model. Ford claims they didn’t sell enough stick shift Ecoboosts to justify keeping that option around. Sure, dude.

    The Voyager Is Dead, Which Means Chrysler Is Officially A One-Car Brand
    I reported a while back that minivan sales are up. Meanwhile, Chrysler is dropping their cheaper minivan marque. They now sell exactly one model: the Pacifica.

    Facing heavy losses, Honda cancels its three US-made electric vehicles
    Apparently Honda was going to make an EV version of the RSX, which would have been their third zombified model nobody ever wanted in recent years. Thankfully, this one is dead in the water.
    Seriously scroll back up to the top of this thing. That yellow crossover SUV? They were going to call that the RSX. I swear to god this is real. They’re claiming tariffs and blah blah blah but I really want to believe the Prelude’s spectacular failure knocked some sense into Honda.

    The Cars

    1989 Nissan Pathfinder SE V6 4×4
    860 original miles on this Doug-blessed first-gen two-door Pathfinder. It sold within spitting distance of thirty thousand American dollars, and is absolutely beautiful. Any Nissan showroom would be proud to house this thing for another forty years, were Nissan to last that long (it won’t).

    1991 Acura NSX
    Is Doug really writing the Doug’s Takes? Did he really say “this looks like a really cool NSX”?

    Being that Doug is a well-off Californian millionaire, I just don’t see him taking the time out of his week to write literally hundreds of these little blurbs on every single listing. So is it Doug selling out and saying he loves absolute trash, or is it Cars and Bids staffers using his likeness to promote absolute trash? Either way, THIS… is not a good look. Is that really an NRG quick release?

    Ongoing:

    2005 BMW 3 series 330i Sedan 4D
    The owner of this BMW needs out for his own mental health. “Super clean no rust but I just hate this car and cannot stand it”. Shame about the mileage, but for $3000 or best reasonable offer, how wrong can you really go here?

    1971 Ford F100
    A stunner from the outside with perfect patina, bastardized with a 4.8 LS under the hood. Its identity might be a bit confused but she’s still a looker.

    Final Thoughts

    I gave away several Scion CD Samplers to people who read this in their email earlier today. Could have been you, man.

    See you Soon.
    -Feed

  • 84 month car loans and six figure Mustangs: it’s never been more over

    This is Collector Car TL;DR: a weekly recap of what happened on Collector Car Feed, plus car auctions, listings, automotive news, and other things of interest to the average CCF Enjoyer.

    And you can get it weekly by giving me your email address.

    The Videos

    This past week in Collector Car Feed videos we wrapped up Readers’ Rides, played a game, and began a rice rocket hunt for frequent collaborator Lil Cargo.

    You don’t have to go broke to get off road in a Jeep Grand Cherokee
    This wraps up Readers’ Rides for now, still reading emails sent in Q3 2023. There’s a good mix in here: posers, real ones, Brazilians. Something for everyone.

    Canada is allowing Chinese EV sales. Is the Canadian auto industry goose cooked? (A Game)
    We play Price is Wrong with guest players Lil Cargo and Alan in place of Atlas, who is out ice fishing. Every car shown was built in Canada. It’s kind of shocking how many domestics are built in Canada, or were before the Canadian-Chinese EV Apocalypse of 2026.
    Everybody likes a game. If you’re only watching one, this is it.

    $10,000 doesn’t buy a whole lot anymore on Facebook Marketplace
    Lil Cargo has sung about the 350Z, but has never owned one. We aim to change that in 2026 and begin a Facebook Marketplace hunt with the following constraints: under $10K, can put a big exhaust on it, can put big wheels on it. His requirements, not ours. This search will continue into the following week.

    The News

    More Than 1 in 5 New Car Buyers in the U.S. Are Taking Out Loans of 84 Months or Longer
    If you don’t have an 84 month auto loan, this is a feel good story. Road and Track is letting the auto industry off easy: “The price of goods and commodities has been on a roller coaster ride ever since the Covid-19 pandemic, and as all of us know by now, the automotive industry has been far from immune to such fluctuations.”
    It has been six years since Covid. Please come up with a new excuse.

    Audi Quietly Ends A8 Orders In Germany, Signaling The Sedan’s Demise
    The A8 is dead, but Audi is “leaving the door open” for a “possible successor”. Better be a big door, because you know it’s going to be an SUV.

    Jeremy Clarkson defiantly hits back at criticism of The Grand Tour replacements as he makes plea to fans over new trio
    The big takeaway here, for me at least, is that they’re bringing back Grand Tour with new hosts. Apparently this has been known for months. In this article, Clarkson says they’re “bloody funny” and so on. The six episode season comes out sometime in 2026.

    Acura Will Sell Its First Model Ever In Japan
    The title is not the interesting part of the story, which is weird. Honda is going to import American-made cars to sell in Japan in the second half of 2026. They’re bringing over the Integra and Passport Elite. Good luck shilling that underpowered, overpriced, rebadged hunk of shit at home.

    The Cars

    14-Mile 2003 Ford Mustang SVT Cobra Coupe 10th Anniversary Edition
    This Terminator sold for $175,067. Not a typo, not a moved decimal. If you ever wanted an 03-04 Cobra, well… you can’t afford it anymore. It’s over.
    Obviously this is an extreme example, and to be very real, it’s been over for a while now. The Terminator has been a true neoclassic collector car nearly since its inception. These were never cheap. Equivalent F bodies have always been a more sensible purchase. But this locks it in: the Terminator is off limits to enthusiasts. It’s a showroom and museum piece now.

    45k-Mile 2006 Subaru Baja Turbo
    The value of an automatic Subaru Baja Turbo is often debated on Collector Car Feed, but rarely is it demonstrated on BaT. This one sold for $15,500, and while the miles are low, the whole car has been resprayed (that’s bad). It makes one wonder what an all-original stick shift turbo might sell for. We’ll keep an eye out.

    Ongoing Auctions

    2013 Ford Focus ST
    Lightly modded, 120K on the clock, but at time of writing it’s sitting at $6600 with a day left, and there are no accidents on record. There’s a lot of good here.

    2000 Lexus ES 300
    You’re about to see demonstrated the power of grave robbing. This is an unremarkable Lexus sedan with 44,000 miles on the clock being sold out of Florida. The ES 300 is very much just a dressed up V6 Toyota Camry; for that reason expect this to sell for over ten grand.
    You could make a decent living off Florida estate sale cars like this one.

    2002 BMW M3 Coupe
    I just like Phoenix Yellow. This is a $40K+ car. Does it feel like the E46 M3 never dipped?

    Final Thoughts

    In a recent video, I promised to give away a choice piece of automotive memorabilia: a 2009 Super Street calendar. The days from 2009 line up with 2026, so you can use it this year! It’s actually two calendars in one: one side is all cars, and one side is all HOT BABES. You can flip it over if your mom’s coming up the stairs.
    Want to win it? Scroll up and sign up for the weekly email newsletter. I gave this one away already, but I have a couple more.

    See you Soon.
    -Feed

  • In the News: New Cars Bad, Old Cars Good

    This is Collector Car TL;DR: a weekly recap of what happened on Collector Car Feed, plus car auctions, listings, automotive news… Things of interest to someone who might watch Collector Car Feed. You know, you.
    And you can get it weekly by giving me your email address.

    The Videos

    This past week in Collector Car Feed videos was Readers’ Rides: the viewer car review segment. Please don’t send your car right now, we’re a little backed up. But if you do send it to the right email address, we will have no choice but to take a look eventually. We’re currently working on Q3 2023.

    Unheard of: he said he was going to turbo his car “some day”, and then he did
    This episode highlights a young New Zealander’s JZX100. In his email from 2023, he states he plans to turbo the NA motor “soon”. The cohosts universally agree “soon” means “never”, but what happens next will shock you.

    Got flexed on by a high school kid. Is this the hardest slammed Toyota on earth?
    The cover truck here speaks for itself; a Subaru DL owner also builds an engine from a box of scraps.

    The Subaru WRX you can drive without letting people know you drive a WRX
    The Legacy GT is presented. Quoting the owner: “I have had this Subaru for two years. I have honestly learned quite a bit [about] how reliable Subarus really are: they are not.”

    This video includes my favorite email of the bunch, so, watch this one if you’re only watching one.

    The News

    If Americans Don’t Want Small Cars, Why Did This Honda Fit Only Depreciate $1,180 In Eleven Years?
    The Autopian reports on a Bring A Trailer listingin which a 1600 original mile Fit sells for $18,000. It’s even a CVT. Gross!

    Yes, It’s Going to Be Much Harder to Get a Nissan Z in 2027
    Nissan is switching to a “made to order” system for the Z. Considering I’ve spotted three outside of SEMA since they entered production in 2022, this basically means we’re never going to see another new Z ever again.

    Stellantis reports first annual loss, no profit-sharing checks to UAW employees from 2025
    Year over year sales are down 2% for Stellantis between 2024 and 2025, and if you’re surprised… how? All the leftover Challengers and Chargers are gone and peak Jeep Wrangler was what, a decade ago now? This begs the question: when will the aftermarket start making angry eyes and grilles with cheekbones for the Bronco?

    The Cars

    1988 Nissan 200SX
    Already sold, this was an S12: the Cope 240SX. This also wasn’t a turbo model, just a base, and it even has a salvage title. But at 31,000 miles on the clock and a $4500 asking price with the guarantee that it “runs and drives great”, anybody can see how it sold quick. Expect to see this one up for auction soon, probably on Cars and Bids.

    1,600-Mile 2015 Honda Fit EX
    As mentioned, this CVT dorkmobile sold for eighteen grand, proving there is a market, at least to one guy, for a sub-$20K subcompact.
    This was actually proven last summer when a 2019 Fiesta ST sold for $18,250. What a better purchase by every imaginabe metric.

    Ongoing Auctions

    2016 Ford Fiesta ST
    This FiST just looks good on those RPF1s, and it has the optional Recaro seats. I kind of want to buy it and swap those parts over to my black Fiesta ST (also a Cars and Bids purchase). This one is kind of a basket case and I expect the price to stay low, even though it won’t, because Cars and Bids bidders are mentally ill. A statement by the owner: “The car was tuned from 5k miles up until 75k miles when I installed a big turbo; that engine ate cylinder 1 around 93k miles due to a bad tune.” Classic.

    2000 Toyota Celica GT
    This 7th gen Celica GT auction ends today. At time of writing, it’s at $6850. It has 48,400 miles, somehow wound up on aftermarket wheels, and almost certainly burns tons of oil regardless of its mileage (this is a 1ZZ powered base model, not the desirable GT-S). But you never see 7th gen Celicas with mileage like this. I’m guessing it doesn’t really have legs and will stop around $8500.

    2003 Nissan 350Z Coupe
    Worst year, worst trim, worst color, timebomb transmission, mediocre mileage (~110,000), accident on record, known flaws include basic work you’d expect to be done before sale at auction. And yet, somehow, this will go over ten grand.

    1991 Nissan 300ZX Twin Turbo
    This is a USDM 300ZX TT. It has 6900 miles. It’s at $85,000 at time of writing with 3 days to go. I hope the high bidder is sweating bullets, because low miles or not, this is no Supra. Really nice car, hope you never make your money back.

    Final Thoughts

    It’s been a week of nothing but bad news from automakers, while at the same time prices soar at auction for both late model hoopties and neoclassic halo cars. Is it rose colored glasses, or is the landscape really just that bleak? Let me know at collectorcarfeed@gmail.com.
    See you Soon.
    -Feed