Car collector corner

1971-77 Chevrolet Vega
Original list price, $2,090; total production, 1.9 million.

The Vega was supposed to drive small car exports. "But wait. how come I've never seen one before? I live outside the USA". Just as British Leyland products did for the plucky Brits, the chevy Vega sent a generation of Americans rushing to Toyota and Datsun dealerships.

The ad strapline was "It's a lot more than you bargained for." Many owners concurred.

John and Jim Winkler shared a Vega in 1980 while attending high school in St. Louis. "Our four-year-old Vega rusted so badly that the windshield fell out," John recalled. Jim remembered the car using a quart of oil every 100 miles, but "at least you could perform most of the basic maintenance with a pair of screwdrivers and an incomplete set of wrenches."

Oh my. You've piqued my interest, how much would one of these beauties cost? Well an orange '76 hatchback that sold at auction in Minneapolis last year achieved $6,405, and this may have been the world's best-kept example. It had just 9,953 miles on the clock. So they're a steal compared with contemporary muscle car iron.

One Vega with enthusiast appeal was the 1975 model equipped with a twin-cam Cosworth engine. Just 2,061 Cosworth Vegas were built. Thinking "instant collectible," some buyers immediately tucked theirs away; their $6,000 investment has soared to about $7,000 today.