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    What to Know About this Week’s Weird and Wonderful—January 9, 2026

    We’re already two Fridays into 2026, and that’s an exhausting thought. Most of us don’t get a vacation to recover from our vacations, so we will have to make due with some short-term amusement—like the Weekly Weird & Wonderful, which we have once again compiled for you upon this cold(?) winter’s eve. With almost 700 auctions live already since the holiday lull, there are treasures on this site in abundance—and today’s post is but a small fraction of the goodness available for your perusal over on our live auctions page.

  • Yesterday’s comments of note — Explained

    A few of the comments that stood out to us yesterday:

    “FAC’s faced the worst survival rate of any US aviators stationed in SE Asia. The job required amazing feats of flight on a daily basis. They had to manage a bank of radios to simultaneously coordinate and communicate with the ground troops they supported, the air assets that delivered ordnance and the headquarters that authorized the strikes. The marker rockets they laid down showed the fighter bombers where to hit, usually perilously close to our troops fighting for their lives. Any…”

    44

    2hecknback commented on 1951 Cessna L-19/O1 Bird Dog

    “I remember John racing a Tiga back in the 80’s! I’ve been running S2’s for over 40 years. This is a beautiful car, and I hope who every is lucky enough to win this car will come out and run with us. The Sports2000na club is running strong, check out our website to see the 2026 schedule. One of our feature races in 2026 is at Indy with SVRA in June. We will have a least 30 S2s show up for Indy. It’s a great group, close racing, a lot of fun. Don’t let this ” piece of Automotive History”…”

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    winningedge commented on No Reserve: Ex–John Oates 1984 Tiga SC84 Sports 2000

    “I’ll never understand why Hyundai cancelled the Veloster N. When I was in the market I could never find one.”

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    Bladerunner2019 commented on No Reserve: Modified 2014 Hyundai Veloster Turbo 6-Speed

  • BaT Auction Success Story: Irony Comes in Black You Should Know

    This Success Story comes to us from BaT member Shasta_McNasty, who won this 1985 Porsche 911 Carrera Targa from carl48 in an August 2025 BaT auction:
    It was Jeremy Clarkson’s fault, really. I was perfectly happy with my 2001 Boxster S. I still am, in fact. It’s a great car. But I had a niggling thought in the back of my mind—put there by Mr. Clarkson—that a Boxster is not a 911, every time I drove it. The engine may be in the correct place in the Boxster, but it’s in the wrong place in the 911. Yes, the Boxster has way more luggage space for a long weekend away than a 911. And yes, the Boxster is a much better value than a 911. But in the end, it’s not a 911, and it was impossible to escape the feeling that Porsche artificially crippled the Boxster to ensure the 911 remained the more desirable car. I had a similar feeling pulling up next to Corvettes as a former Camaro driver. So it was probably inevitable that I would eventually get a 911. In late 2023, I seriously thought about buying one. But which one? I considered water-cooled cars, but I have a soft spot for air-cooled vehicles. Five of my six motorcycles were air-cooled, so why not get an air-cooled 911 to match?!

  • BaT Auction Success Story Update: Back in an E9 Again: A Practical Look

    01/12/2026 Update: BaT user NIACC wrote to us in 2023 about the 1971 BMW 2800CS that he won from 2800carzoom in a July 2023 BaT auction, and today he’s back to give us an update on the recently-completed refresh!
    NIACC writes:
    Sometimes you get lucky, and everybody wins. I knew the seller was pleased. The 2800CS is back on the road, looking and running terrifically.

  • Yesterday’s comments of note You Should Know

    A few of the comments that stood out to us yesterday:

    “Looking at the pictorial history , this car was a significant custom , built in the golden age of custom cars and was obviously left in a state that may have lead to it disappearing forever .
    Accolades to those with the skills , talent and imagination to have originally built it , and cheers to the gentleman who saved it from oblivion and had the fortitude to bring it back .
    A great story here if you appreciate or grew up in the era that this came from ..”

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    Petrolholic commented on Custom 1955 Ford Thunderbird “Moon Rocket” 3-Speed

    “WOW! Some won’t understand it, but for those of us that are old enough to have witnessed the greatness of the “full custom” car era, this is a walk down Memory Lane. I feel very fortunate to have grown up in the So Cal custom car culture and this is a great example of the creative customs from that time. Kudos to all involved in this meticulous and period correct restoration. Thank you for saving this significant piece of automotive history! GLWTA!”

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    Birddog commented on Custom 1955 Ford Thunderbird “Moon Rocket” 3-Speed

    “Beautiful! As a kid growing up in the 1960’s I had a Corgi 1/43rd scale 1967 Camaro in this exact color combo with a removable top. Thanks for the memory and GLWTA 👍”

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    Jimmyblues1959 commented on 396-Powered 1967 Chevrolet Camaro RS Convertible 4-Speed

    “Wynonna is her name – yes, I am one of those car owners. I bought her from my elderly neighbor who needed a smaller car when she moved in with her children, but the dealerships would not offer her half the NADA guide price in trade, so I paid the NADA price. I knew the history of the car and the mechanic who serviced Wynonna since the early 1990s, but who retired in 2025. He is an AACA member and always at the Hershey Eastern Fall Meet as well as some of the Carlisle Car Show events.…”

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    YLEKIOT commented on No Reserve: 1983 Mercedes-Benz 300D Turbo

  • What to Know About yesterday’s comments of note

    A few of the comments that stood out to us yesterday:

    “I flew back seat in one of these in Vietnam in 1969. On a flight from Phan Rang to Bao Loc, we were doing some low contour flying, and flushed out a huge tiger, which we chased down a clearing for several hundred yards, before it dived back into the jungle. If you’ve seen a house cat stretch out while running at full speed, you can imagine the size of a big tiger, at speed. I think he was longer than the L-19. I remember it, as if it was yesterday.”

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    fred182 commented on 1951 Cessna L-19/O1 Bird Dog

    “A 1993 900 turbo was the first car I ever bought for myself after grad school. That was after putting 160,000 miles on a 1983 900S that I drove in all 48 of the continental US. The motors in these cars are bulletproof. And driving them always felt like flying an airplane. My screen name is homage to the 9000 Aero that replaced the 900 turbo. To say I was obsessed with SAABs in my 20s and 30s would be an understatement. They were front wheel drive Porsches, the most intelligent cars ever built.…”

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    AeroSmith commented on 1988 Saab 900 Turbo SPG 5-Speed

    “I sold new Mazdas for 24 years in Cincinnati. This car is RARE, only 1519 made in Yellow. My store got 2. We sold them both to a local real estate company to give away 2 year leases to the 2 top salespeople in a timed sales contest. I made great friends with one winner, a gal who was their top producer year after year. They loved it, bought it at lease end. Well they owned property in Florida and wanted the car there, so asked me if I would drive it down for them they would fly me back. What a…”

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    Triumph27 commented on 4,400-Mile, 27-Years-Family-Owned 1992 Mazda MX-5 Miata 5-Speed

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    The One-Year Garage: 2026: A Practical Look

    A modern twist on our favorite game: TOYG visits the fresh new year to see what strikes the fancy of our cranky old-car obsessives. Also covered: hypercar ignorance, the cost of modern car ownership, auto show nostalgia, Fiero dreams, DRS on street cars, weird small cars, exotic e-bikes, Dakar semis, a far-off Scout fantasy, and a solo Sterrato.

  • Here’s yesterday’s comments of note

    A few of the comments that stood out to us yesterday:

    “There has been a great deal of robust technical discussion about this remarkable car, but I would like to take the opportunity to share some additional background about my dad and what this car truly meant to him—and to our family.
    In October of 1972, at the age of 39, my dad ordered the car, and it arrived in August of 1973. At the time, my sisters and I were 16, 13, and 10 years old. I clearly remember seeing it for the first time and thinking it was beautiful, powerful, fast, and loud.…”

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    smuller commented on Single-Family-Owned 1973 Pontiac Firebird Formula SD-455

    “Ok, we’re starting to get more realistic with the bids. I have no stake in this auction but as I have to live up to my BaT nickname, I’ll put in my two-cents-worth: The narrow 4-headlight model is in the middle of the collectability hierarchy of the 603 line. My late-model ’69 sold here in 2017 is at the bottom as these are the most common. (Though the later ones have the advantage of 4-wheel disk brakes.) The early 3-headlight ones are the most desirable as they are very rare, have a more…”

    14

    Tatraman commented on No Reserve: 1967 Tatra 2-603

    “I knew an older guy who was a truck driver back in the 50s and 60s
    He used to say that a Diamond T was the Packard of Trucks.
    This one sure has that that stout mojo going on.”

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    JAY-Z commented on Mid-Engined, Fuel-Injected 6.2L-Powered Diamond T COE Pickup

  • Yesterday’s comments of note You Should Know

    A few of the comments that stood out to us yesterday:

    “Jan 1970: We shuttled 20 new imported cars from the dealership in Farmington CT to display at the car show in the Hartford Armory, and all the keys just got tossed in a basket.
    During the show, I pocketed two sets… a silver Mangusta and a white Miura.
    Sunday night we ferried the cars back, and I had dibs on the coolest ones! I drove both “the long way”, up and over Avon mountain on backroads I knew well… leaving lifelong impressions on 20-year-old me. Each was unique, challenging, and…”

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    200mph commented on 1969 Lamborghini Miura P400 S

    “You know how National Geographic will publish pictures of some crazy animal they found umpteen million feet under the sea that is amazingly cool and unlike anything you could have imagined? This Tatra is kind of like that… only better.”

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    RJett commented on No Reserve: 1967 Tatra 2-603

    “As a longtime rally/driving tour enthusiast, I salivate thinking how perfect this 911 would be for some of the adventures I go on. A typical rally year for me is over 35k miles and the key is something that is a reliable workhorse, comfy on long transit miles (ie interstate travel), fun on the backroads (an absolute must), and starts every time with no hesitation.
    This G50 Carrera would be PERFECT for that. Is it the ideal aesthetics that you would want? Impossible as each person has…”

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    AutoKennel commented on Modified 1987 Porsche 911 Carrera Coupe G50

  • Yesterday’s comments of note You Should Know

    A few of the comments that stood out to us yesterday:

    “Hello! My name is Peter and I love Volvo 240s. I learned to drive in a 240 wagon and the first car I ever owned was another 240 wagon. I have since owned and refurbished dozens of 240s and I regularly help other people with their 240s in Portland, Oregon. My current daily driver is a blue 1987 Volvo 240 Wagon with 444k miles on it. I bought it non-running a few years ago and have since put 27k miles on it, including a many road trips around the west coast.
    This green 1979 Volvo 242 is a…”

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    peteryan11 commented on No Reserve: 1979 Volvo 242 4-Speed

    “A layman’s view.
    This is one sweet ride…I trust I’m not the only BaTer in the mood for a slice of Key Lime pie :)”

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    Hoppy18 commented on 1969 Lamborghini Miura P400 S

    “I’m not old enough to have experienced this… But imagine seeing one of these in 1969.
    Verde Miura over blue is quintessential Lamborghini.
    Amazing design.
    One of the greatest ever.”

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    Button commented on 1969 Lamborghini Miura P400 S

    “I never thought I would say it, but, as this car shows, the cool factor for Cads has surpassed BMW, Audi, and Porsche. They finally got their interiors right too. Apparently the market agrees. The average transaction price for Cadillac is now $90k – more than BMW, Audi, and Mercedes, and behind only Porsche and Range Rover (you can’t really get any Porsche for $90k any more so that isn’t surprising).”

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    lippy commented on 2026 Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing 6-Speed