1965 Ford LTD

Back when Ford introduced its überluxury car, the LTD, it was actually part of the Galaxie 500 line; the brochure even calls it the Galaxie 500 LTD. And, as Wikipedia is quick to point out it's "...pronounced 'El-Tee-Dee', not 'Limited'" — hah! This car singlehandedly started a new genre: the luxo-non-luxo brand. The El-Tee-Dee was quickly followed by Chevy's Caprice (which was actually an option package for the Impala Sport Sedan, but Chevy wisely left the Impala nameplates off the car) and the Plymouth VIP (which for some reason Wikipedia glaringly omits telling us is pronounced "Vee-Eye-Pee," and not "vip"). I'm driving the '65 LTD into the Lotto Garage because every once in a while you want something classy for those special nights out, but without being as pretentious as we are when we show up in our Frank Sinatra edition Imperial (see posting from Nov. 10). Ford was even cheeky enough in their ad campaigns to compare the LTD to a Rolls-Royce for its quiet ride. That right there is good enough for us! — jc

1966 Jeep CJ-5

I've decided that the Lotto Garage just has to have a Jeep. But not one of those modern-day bloated numbers — no thanks. This little red short-wheelbase CJ-5 from 1966 looks just about right. Might have to lose that clunky-looking spare tire on the side and move it to the back though. And of course, the top would be permanently off as, even though it's a four-wheel-drive vehicle, I'd use it as a fair weather runabout. After all, the Lotto Garage will have other, more wintry-type vehicles for that time of year! In '66 Jeep was still owned by Kaiser, and this was the second year that the former Buick 3.7-liter V-6 engine resided under the hood. That and a three-speed manual tranny would make for my ideal Jeep powertrain. — jc

1982 Imperial FS

Any Lotto Garage has to have at least one car that the valet at Salvatore's will park in the front row. So I've settled on this 1982 Imperial FS. The FS, in case you're out of the loop, stands for Frank Sinatra. That's right, Ol' Blue Eyes must have had an in with Lee Iacocca, and together I imagine they dreamt-up this Glacier Blue coupe, which came with either a Kimberley Velvet cloth or Light Blue leather interior. Even better, it was equipped with a Mark Cross leather shoulder bag filled with 16 cassettes of... well, you can probably guess whose music it was. — jc

1972 MG Midget

I can't imagine not having at least one two-seat convertible in the Lotto Garage. After a lot of thought, I've settled on the Midget, a very iconic British sports car. I've also decided on a '72 model, as they'd been "moderned-up" some by then, making them more safe to drive, but still a year away from the hideousness of the federally-mandated five mph bumpers, which totally ruined the car's looks. I'll take one, as pictured, in British Racing Green, please. I don't even mind the whitewall tires, as they're very period-looking. — jc