1964 Studebaker Lark Daytona convertible, 1957 Studebaker Golden Hawk

Two exceptionally rare Studebakers I spotted on my trip to the Big Island of Hawaii. The Studebaker plant in South Bend, Indiana closed in December of 1963. This car could have been one of 417 Daytona convertibles made there for the 1964 model year, or one of 286 made at the company's Canadian plant. This was the last Studebaker convertible made, and the Canadian plant closed as well in 1966.

The Golden Hawk was possibly the fastest car made in America, built with a Packard V-8 in 1956 and a supercharged Studebaker V-8 in 1957 and 1958.

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1994 Mitsubishi Space Gear

Seattle got its annual snow storm over the holidays. And when the steep, narrow streets of Queen Anne are icy, this 4-wheel drive van is just what you need. Notice that it's a lot narrower than you'd expect for a vehicle like this. The Mitsubishi Delica L400 van, despite being a right-hand drive vehicle designed for use in Japan, is so popular in Seattle I see one just about every day.

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1969 Jaguar XKE Series II

Ever see one on the street? No? Sadly, the world's most beautiful car is also one of its least durable. Even those who own and love them describe them thus: "XK-Es used electronics from the dark prince, overheated even in Alaska and their bodies turned to Swiss cheese within two years of purchase."

But if you had the mad courage to own an XKE, this is the one to get. Many of the shortcomings of the first series were overcome, including an improved transmission, cooling system and seats. On the other hand, the Series II lacked the supercool glass-hooded headlights of the earlier cars. In 1971, Jaguar introduced the Series III, with the impressive but ill-fated V-12. That car found a whole new set of problems to make "XKE" synonymous with "unreliable".

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