1986 (Austin) Maestro Vanden Plas - In The US!

This is a luxury car. The Brits are great. Until recently our idea of a luxury car was something big, chromed, floaty and gaudy. Not so the Brits. They would throw wood and leather in just about any car, slap a Vanden Plas badge on it and create an instant luxury car. You gotta love it.

This is a Vanden Plas version of a Maestro. The Maestro, introduced in 1983, essentially replaced the beloved Maxi and the not-so-beloved Allegro in BL's lineup. Over the years it was badged as an MG, Austin and Rover. Roomy, economical and pleasant (if not exciting) to drive, it, like so many of BLs late-seventies / early-eighties cars, was not well put together and had more than its fair share of problems.

Who cares about all that, though? This is a cool car and it's in the US.

The seller says this car is mechanically "fine". The body has some issues, including some minor rust and a paint job that seller says makes "the car look like it has leprosy". The interior looks to be in overall good condition.

Driving a RHD car in the US can be scary and that would be the only thing that would keep me from buying this car.

Legally imported, the seller has all the EPA and Customs documents you'll need to register / title this car.

Located in New Orleans, LA, click here to see the eBay listing. This appears to be a no reserve auction.

The link to this car was sent to me by JaCG reader, Alex. He also included a link to a website / forum called Autoshite.com. (Alex posted a little blurb about Just a Car Geek there - Thanks Alex!) It's now 1:30 AM and I've been reading it for most of the night. It's addictive as hell and something any JaCG reader would enjoy.