...a Lincoln Mark LT, which she found more appealing to her, and which was cheaper. The Lincoln is still in her possession. New story: 1965 Buick Riviera. In 1965, Joe Traficio, a fresh lawyer from Washington, VA, bought a brand-new Buick Riviera to replace his 1959 DeSoto Fireflite. It was a rather small (for his standards), but prestigious car that he liked for combinining these qualities. It was used by him until 1968, (the year he became a tobacco company lawyer) when it was replaced with a Lincoln Continental Mark III and sold to...
...62-year-old Micheal Smith. He was a lonely Oregonian elder looking for a decent vehicle, and the Riviera fitted his needs. He kept it until 1975, when he unfortunately died of heart disease. The car a week later ended up with...
...Jenny Barrow, a suburban teenage girl whose 1967 Plymouth Barracuda was totaled. The car was bought for her at an estate sale by her dad. She found it comfortable, but a bit too big and fuel-hungry for her liking, and it was sold in early 1978 to...
...CHP officer Derek Oakley. He was looking for a good American vehicle to convert into a police car, and picked out the Buick. He drove it as his work vehicle (in good condition thanks to daily maintenance) until 1989, when he decided to sell it for a Ford Mustang that also got converted into a police vehicle. The Riviera then was given to...
(Cops get their cars from the agency, and luxury coupes like the Riviera very rarely get used as cop cars). ...Dan Seeger, who wanted a traditional US luxury machine as a college car. He owned the Riviera for the next 3 years, but in 1992, it was sold to...
...his older brother, Cameron. He decided to finely tune the vehicle for a smoother ride and kept it for exactly 2 decades. In 2012, he decided the car was good enough to be auctioned off (he later got a GM classic vehicle), and the auction's winner was...
...Michael McIntyre, a car dealer and a collector of GM E-Body cars. He owned the Riviera for the next 5 years, during which it was restored to perfect condition. In 2017, following an offer during a classic car gathering, it was sold to...
...car museum founder Trevor Harris. He was looking for some more classical American vehicles to add to his museum based in Swansea (UK), and one of the vehicles added to the museum was the Riviera. It is still currently in the museum in great condition. NEW STORY: 1973 Austin Apache TC In June, Marshall Green (came from Britain to South Africa) was looking for a recent compact. He then concluded to choosing the sporty Apache TC, and kept that as his daily vehicle. In 1979, Green was found dead in his own house and his car was sold off. The new owner of the TC was...
...Aitan Mineer, an office worker who wanted a sport compact that would both handle well and be practical in daily life. The Austin fullfilled these needs, and was used by him until 1984, when it got sold to...
...real estate employee Ntuthuko Strydom. He was looking for a used car that he can enjoy driving. He chose that Austin, and the car met his expectations for some years. He sold it in 1995 as he was getting tired of the compact (and was starting to desire a bigger vehicle) and the next owner would be...
(A black guy would be unlikely to get such a contact job in Apartheid-era SA). ...Pieter Van Zant, a rural gearhead who wanted an uncommon sport compact. He originally like it, but as time went on, he became more drawn to the idea of getting an RWD car, and in 1998, the Austin was sold to...
...American tuner James MacNaughton residing in SA. He was looking for a car not many people would recognize, and the Apache fit his description well. The car received Brembo brakes, a roll-cage, a wide-body kit, BBS rims, a custom paint-job, race suspension, and lightly-tinted windows. He kept it until 2003, when he decided he could profit from auctioning the Austin. The vehicle finally left it's home country and the winner of the car auction was...
Hideo Furukawa, a Japanese doctor who wanted a sporty British famliy car as his project car. He sometimes working on it at his home in Sapporo, and he loved the car. But in 2005, he was paralyzed due to a car crash, and he had to sell the car to pay for fees. The next owner...
...accepted the offer. That person was Canadian drifter Bill Walker. He decided to re-customize it as a drift vehicle (similar customizations to MacNaughton), and he made it his favorite drift car until this year, when he finally sold it in place of a Buick Wildcat, and the most latest owner of this TC would be...
(But Apaches were FWD!) ...Ryan Waller, who was a rich guy searching for an unorthodox competition car. The Apache fit the bill well, and has been used in sport since then. New story: 1973 Ford Thunderbird. In 1972, Alfred Mallerson, a 45-year-old middle manager from Milwakuee, bought a then-new Ford Thunderbird. It was used as the secondary family car for the next 7 years, but in 1979, it was replaced with a Toyota Cressida and sold to...
...rock vocalist James McCamley. He found it a decent choice for a daily vehicle, and kept it for a few years. The car was sold in 1986 in place of a Buick Century after some consideration, and the Thunderbird would be now be owned by businessman...
...Michael Delgano. He was a young guy working in a low-end office position, and wanted to find a relatively cheap, but somewhat luxuious car he could afford while furnishing his and his wife's apartment. The Delganos owned the Thunderbird until 1990, but by that point, it was rusty and needed TLC, so they traded it in to finance an used BMW 6-Series. The T-Bird was sold to...
Jacob MacIntire, a 37-year old dad of 2 who wanted a car that he could drive on the cheap. Eventually, he realized that, while it was reliable, it was an absolute pig on gas and was too large to drive in the city. He ended up selling it to buy a mid-eighties Accord. The new owner......
...was Mike Golembievsky, who was a working-class 16-year-old. He used the Thunderbird as his car until 1996, when he used his first construction work paycheck to finance a 1986 F-150. The T-Bird was originally meant to be junked due to extensive rust, but it was ultimately sold for $225 (slightly above scrap value) to...
...Hannah Brown, who was a British-American car enthusiast and also married to a car salvager. She always liked the T-Bird in a way, and decided to take the deal available. It took a few years to rebuild the vehicle close to it's original form, and she decided to keep it as her daily. In 2006, she sold it off as Andrew Baker (her husband) gave her one of her favorite cars, the Chevrolet Chevelle. The new owner would be...
