Found in the Yard: The Fastest Slowest Camaro Ever Made

Nobody will say that the third-generation Camaro was the best Camaro ever. The third-gen Camaro has neither modern speed or classic style and because of this, they can be found in junkyards across the continent on any given day. But I've never seen one with this engine before.

Found in the Wild: Rarity Doesn't Equate to Value

There have only been 400,000 tons of gold mined ever. From day one to present; 400,000 tons. That's it. Despite being relatively useless, (Though it has excellent thermal properties) gold has tremendous value because of its relative scarcity. Today's 1984 Ford LTD is rare as gold lying on the sidewalk but hardly as valuable. Why is that?

Found in the Wild: The Black Panther

This is a rare car. It might look like a common Ford Crown Victoria used as cabs and police cars across the country but this one is actually quite special and one of only 11,000 ever made. That's because this is a 2003 Mercury Marauder and it's got a little secret under its hood.

Found in the Wild: LTD Power

Kids these days have no idea how good they have it. I constantly hear people complaining about how slow and laggardly the Subaro BRZ is with it's "paltry" 200 horsepower and 7-second 0-60 time. Well listen here you little shits. In 1978, Ferraris had about the same performance and horsepower of that there BRZ. To prove my point, here is a 1978 Ford LTD.

Found in the Wild: The Official Classic Car of Toronto

The R107 Mercedes SL is the official classic car of Toronto. You can find these old Mercedes rolling around on any clear day no matter what neighborhood you're in. This generartion of SL was the height of MB's over-engineering days so they're bound to stick around for a while yet. But why are they so popular in Toronto?

Found in the Wild: Big Cat in the Big Apple

 New York City is a jungle and this big cat seems a little lost in the big city. In a city where cars are a premium luxury, this 1992 Jaguar XJS sits unwanted on the curb gathering dents and parking tickets. What's the real story here?

Found in the Wild: Ivy League Turbo Swede

Few cars are weirder than old Saabs. But old Saabs (and their eclectic owners) pride themselves in being different. People who wanted to drive different in the 60's bought a VW. But as the Beetle was phased out by the Golf in the 70's, Saab evolved as the natural choice for odd people who wanted to drive odd cars. 

Found in the Wild: The First Modern Luxury Car

This is it. This was the most expensive Mercedes you could buy in 1980. ABS, automatic climate control, sodium filled valves, self-leveling hydro-pneumatic suspension and a dry sump engine were all standard features on this car. In 1980. Impressed yet? It gets better.

Found in the Wild: Why I need an Opel GT

The 1969 Corvette was my first crush. I was never one to gush over how cool pro-sports players were and I was too young to care about girls at that age. The racy curves of the C3 Corvette Stingray captivated me at an early age and my love has never waned. In all my glossy classic car coffee table books, the pages containing info about the Stingray were always the most dog-eared. I told my 2nd grade self that a yellow 427 powered 1969 Corvette is a car I would have to own.

Found in the Wild: LQ1 GP GTP

In the early 1990's there was a new class of performance car that each American manufacturer was trying to capitalize on. Though GM, Ford and MoPar had competed in the RWD muscle car war for decades the manufacturers shifted their attention to a new genre of cars that Ford created all on it's own.

Found in the Wild: The Beast

In the movie "The Sandlot" there was a massive dog called "The Beast" who was rarely seen but still managed to terrorize the neighbourhood kids. But under The Beast's imposing exterior lay a soul of a brutish but good hearted companion. And today's 1965 Chevrolet K20 is The Beast in automotive form.

Found in the Wild: The Fastest Ferrari Today

A few of the more astute readers will remember our article on the classy and classic Ferrari 365 GT 2+2. That car had carburetors, (lots of them, actually) lap belts and an airbag-less steering wheel made of real wood. There are plenty of differences between that car and today’s featured 2013 Ferrari F12 Berlinetta but there are two huge similarities: The engine is in the right place (In front of the driver) and it has the correct amount of cylinders for a Ferrari. 

Found in the Wild: Old World Money, New World Oddity

In 1989, your boss didn't drive this car. But his boss probably did. This 1989 Mercedes 560 SEC was the most expensive Mercedes you could buy in 1989. (Excluding the hot rodded AMG versions) This was the halo car in the very back of the glossy brochure. Bold V8 power, elegant coupe styling and vault-like build quality were hallmarks of these cars. Finally a car for the Wall Street elite for times when a Countach is too much flash.

The ICE Age Begins Again!

Ice racing is absolutely the coolest thing going on in Alberta in January. The single best thing about frigid Canadian winters is that many lakes freeze more than two feet thick; enough to support a car. We've covered two previous Calgary Sports Car Club ICE Cup events here and here. This time we're at the first event of 2014.

Found in the Wild: The Zenith of Malaise

The muscle car era was defined by excess. Excess power to match outrageous graphics and a complete lack of sufficient brakes and suspension to keep the whole 425 horsepower mess pinned down. The Malaise era which followed the muscle car era was defined by excessive qualities too; though horsepower was not one of them. Welcome to 1979 and the absolute peak of malaisey goodness. Welcome to the Pontiac Parisienne Brougham Landau.

Found in the Wild: Almost Supernatural

As many of you already know, the weather here in Calgary has been pretty nasty. This winter's arctic temperatures and record snowfall has kept most classics off the street. But not this one. Shining brightly among the hoards of dirty SUV's, this 1966 Chevrolet Caprice is a sight for sore eyes. (And frozen eyelids) And this one's got a big block.

Fantasy Matchup: 1987 Buick GNX vs. 1989 Nissan Skyline GT-R

Turbos! They defined '80's performance cars and reshaped the way people thought about small displacement engines. Arguably kicked off by Porsche with its infamously lethal and creatively named 911 Turbo, turbos went from curiosity to serious horsepower in a very short time. Today we're comparing two very different and highly developed turbocharged cars of the same era, the 1987 Buick Regal GNX and the 1989 Nissan (R32) Skyline GT-R. It's east meets west, pushrods meets camshafts in this ridiculous bench race to determine which late '80's turbo coupe is the meanest.

Fantasy Matchup: 1978 Ferrari 308 GTS vs. 1978 Pontiac Trans Am

1978 was a dark time for the performance automobile in North America. Real performance had given way to flashy stripes and vinyl tops, mandatory emissions equipment was suffocating engines and cars seemed to be getting heavier and more overwrought year by year. It's hard to believe now, in this era where 300 horsepower is common in a mid-price sedan that there was a time when hardly any cars made more than 200 horsepower. The Ferrari 308 and Pontiac Trans Am were two such cars that were plenty different but shared one large similarity. They were two of the best performance cars you could buy in 1978.