Weekend Quickies - Saturday, September 18, 2010

1976 Jaguar XJ12C - The Oxford Dictionary defines "dignified" as "having or showing a composed or serious manner that is worthy of respect" The Jaguar XJ12C is a dignified coupe.

The Jaguar XJ coupe was available for just 3 model years, 1975 - 1977. Out of the 10,462 coupes built, just 2262 came with the 12 cylinder engine (1,855 Jaguars, plus 407 Daimler Double Six C cars).

Everything you've heard about Jaguars built in the 1970s is true. You'll often encounter little problems and will need to do a lot of maintenance. But, who cares? Owning a car that looks and performs like this car does will make it all worthwhile.

Located in Concord, CA, click here to see the Craigslist ad.

1987 Nissan 300ZX - A legend is a tough act to follow. The Datsun 240Z is a legend. The Z cars that followed it, no matter how good they were, were just "not as good" as the 240Z in the minds of many gearheads.

You know what? The 300ZX is a damn good car. It's fast (the Turbo version screams), handles well, and is well built.

This particular 300ZX is a car you could use every day. It has an automatic (which does nothing for performance, but makes it a lot easier to drive in traffic) and all the power amenities that make it easy to use. It appears to be in very good condition.

This car has 136,000 miles on it. With normal, intelligent maintenance, you could easily double that. The asking price is $5,995.00, which is high, but if it's as nice as it appears, it may be worth the money.

Being offered by a company called YBS Auto Brokers in Farmington, MI, click here to see their ad.
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Three Cars, Nine Wheels
- So you've decided it's time to sell your British 3 wheeled car. You're most likely thinking that you'll get top dollar, as you'll have the only British 3 wheeled car for sale in the United States. Anyone wanting a 3 wheeled car will have to buy yours.

Wrong.

American fans of 3 wheeled British cars have choices this week (and this might very well be the first time that's happened).

The first one is a 1983 Reliant Rialto - It has an 850cc Relaint engine, which, from what I've read, is durable, economical and gets the car up to speed in a reasonable amount of time.

This Rialto is in good, but not perfect, condition. It could use some paint and one of the (Plexiglas) rear windows is scratched.

Locate in New Orleans, LA, click here to see the eBay listing.

The second one is a 1976 Reliant Robin.

If you're thinking "Wow, the Rialto is cool, but there might be a few people who won't notice me", - those people will most likely be with guide dogs - this is the car for you.

This is a 1976 Reliant Robin. It's the Rialto's predecessor. It's painted yellow and purple and has had its roof "professionally cut off" to make it a convertible.

How safe is a 3 wheeled car that's lost a good chunk of its structural rigidity? I have no idea.

The seller says he used this car as his daily driver for the past 4 years. This car is being offered with no reserve and with an opening bid of $3500.00

Where is this car? I have no clue. The listing says it's located in "Northampton, USA". There's a Northampton, MA, one town north of where I live, but I spend a lot of time in that town and I think I would have noticed or heard about a yellow and pink roofless Reliant Robin if one was there. But, who knows? Click here to see the eBay listing.

So I'm prowling around the internet trying to find out what state the convertible Robin is located in, when this 1983 Reliant Robin shows up.

I was under the impression that the Rialto replaced the Robin in 1981, but this has the Robin nose, so either I was wrong or the car is titled wrong. (Any Reliant experts out there?)

What can I write about this one? It's brown and it still has its roof.

Located in Lancaster, PA, click here to see the Craigslist ad.