The creative lead at Donut talks about the new Corvette ZR1, run-ins with Horacio Pagani, branded soap, Car Week traffic, a mystery air dam, BMW window regulators, the $850 911 he bought on BaT, new TV-oriented shows on Donut, price/value in car mods, Y2K spinners, the Great Host Departure, being a Civic liker, and his troubled diesel Cayenne.
8/20 Update: We have a winner!
From the outset, it was a competition between the workhorse F-100 and the nimble B16B-swapped Civic. In the end, the Ford ran away with the win, putting a serious “dent” in the final tally by snagging practically half of the 100+ votes. Congratulations to its new owner, @BOBNJAZ!
BaT user adsinger secured a 1981 Honda Motocompo and a battery-powered Honda Motocompacto, both of which he won from Premierautofl in an April 2025 combo BaT auction.
He writes:
Despite an obsession with Spanish Bultaco motorcycles, I have long held a soft spot for the wacky Honda Motocompo trunk scooter. They are relatively rare, especially here in the Sunshine State.
We are planning a special surprise to celebrate sludgo’s 200th installment of Mile Markers. Because of this, publication is delayed by one week—you’ll see #200 next Friday, August 29. Stay tuned!
You’ve made it through yet another week, fellow BaT readers, during which our auction ticker rarely dipped below 1,100 listings live. So in an effort to keep your eyeballs from freewheeling in your sockets as you try your best to see every single one, we’re happy to bring you the strangest and most interesting vehicles for the week. We must always note that the list below is by no means comprehensive; there’s lots more to enjoy on our live auctions page.
Over the past nine months, DriverSource has wowed us with Volume 1 and Volume 2 of their Legends Collection. Like clockwork, they’re back with Volume 3. This installment of the collection features six exotic and high-performance vehicles of the ’80s, ’90s, and 2000s from Europe and the UK. Auctions will begin going live on August 27, and additional lots will be added in the following days.
WINNER’S ANNOUNCEMENT:
It’s time to announce the winner for our Question of the Week! Our victor will receive the prize of all prizes: a $25 credit for a hat or t-shirt in the BaT Gear Store (there’s lots of great stuff to choose from right now).
Our question this week was: what’s your favorite non-military armored vehicle?
We bolted the doors shut and set about reviewing your answers. Some were familiar, and some caught us completely off guard! Good thing we were armored up…
After reading through all of the responses, one in particular caught our eye, and that’s the tricked out Camaro of ex-Danish Special Forces operative Helge Meyer, aka “God’s Rambo,” which was nominated by @bmac13—a first-time QoTW winner! Congratulations, bmac13. Check your email for your prize code!
As you rest from your labors this weekend, we’re offering you the opportunity to spend a little less of your hard-earned money on some choice BaT goodies. From August 28 until the end of Monday, September 1, everything in the BaT Gear Store is 25% off!* No discount codes, email sign-ups, or DNA samples required. Just a healthy 25% discount applied to all purchases at checkout.
Alex pays a Car Week visit to our friends at Mohr Imports to talk about the early days of their partnership, their annual Car Week collection, treating every car the same, a local celebrity, alumni listings, our offers tool, the photographic variety of the Monterey Peninsula, the BaT comments section, and the folks who help them out day to day.
We noted that Mile Marker 200 would come with a special surprise, and here it is! This week marks the 200th installment of sludgo’s Mile Markers, and to celebrate we’re issuing a limited run of 200 commemorative posters, each signed and numbered by sludgo himself. Posters are now available in the BaT gear store, and all proceeds from the sales will be donated to the American Diabetes Association in honor of sludgo’s father, the Oldsmobile Man.
I love the old Andy Griffith Show. Have since I was a little kid and would catch reruns of it after school on my Grandma Lettie’s black-and-white Philco. I’ve nothing but fond memories of Sheriff Andy and Deputy Barney and ‘Aint’ Bea. Opie and Helen and Thelma Lou. Floyd the barber. Otis the drunk. Gomer the grease-monkey and his cousin Goober. Emmett the fix-it shop owner and even Howard Sprague the Howard Sprague. One of my favorite episodes is where Barney buys a used car from a sweet little old lady who turns out to have swindled him in the deal by passing him a lemon. There’s the famous scene where Andy and Barney are commiserating in the courthouse after he’d had the car towed to Gomer’s service station to have Gomer’s always unseen boss ‘Wally’ take a look at it and Gomer returns with the results—a mile-long laundry-list of repairs he reads off as Barney sinks miserably and hilariously down into his chair. That’s exactly the way I felt about a month ago when my new mechanic Tyrone called to talk to me about the ‘B.