1984 Rolls-Royce Camargue

I know, I know, when I started the Lotto Garage I wasn't going to be pretentious. But then I realized that some day I might find myself at, oh, say a high school reunion or something, with the need to make a good impression. And I did win that imaginary Lottery, so why not a Rolls? Especially the Camargue, a two-door coupe designed by Pininfarina and meant to be owner-driven. The Camargue was in production from 1975-86, and 525 of them were crafted (R-Rs aren't built, they're crafted), along with one lonely Bentley Camargue. — jc

1979 Subaru Brat

While I was out Christmas shopping this afternoon in the Elmwood Village, it suddenly occurred to me that I haven't added that winter vehicle to the Lotto Garage yet. After much consideration, and the desire to have something that would stand out from the crowd, I've settled on the Brat. Unofficially a pickup truck, officially it was a "Bi-drive Recreational All-terrain Transporter." "Bi-drive?" Full-time front wheel-drive, with four wheel drive "at the flick of a lever," according to ads of the time (here's a link to the ad). And that unofficial pickup status was to get around tariff laws regarding imported trucks. Subaru welded two rear-facing passenger seats into the bed area, making it, what, an open sedan? I wouldn't have wanted to be sitting back there today. But, I'm driving, so I wouldn't have been! The Brat was in production from 1978-1993; even President Reagan had one back in the day, which has since been restored and returned to the ranch near Santa Barbara. — jc

1978 Plymouth Arrow

Why am I driving this yellow Plymouth Arrow into the Lotto Garage? Why not!? You know, every once in a while you want to show up somewhere in a car where everyone says "What the heck is that?" And the Arrow fills the bill nicely — although the Plymouth Cricket would also work here. (Did you just say "What?" again? Look it up here.) The Cricket was based on a British car (the Hillman Avenger), but when that failed sales-wise, Chrysler headed east across two continents and plucked the Mitsubishi Lancer Celeste from its Japanese partner, redubbed it the Plymouth Arrow (also sold in Canada as the Dodge Arrow), and... didn't do much better with it. But it kept a cheap compact in Chrysler's showrooms until the Horizon/Omni got up and running. The Arrow's looks weren't too bad, but I liked even better Chrysler's use of the Harry Nilsson song "Me and My Arrow" (you can hear it here) in their advertising campaign. — jc

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

1965 Chevy Sportvan

Remembering that the goal of the Lotto Garage is to buy vehicles which will be driven, of course there'll be the need for a van of some sort. Not a huge van — being a Lotto winner I'm sure I'll have "people" who will haul the large and/or heavy stuff around for me. One of these old Chevy vans would be just the thing: they're stylish (in their own way); sharing a design with the basic box, there's room inside for stuff; and sitting with your nose about six inches from the windshield gives you a commanding view of the road. Having the engine in a box between the front seats is just an added bonus. Don't ask me why, it just is. (You can read more about the van in the photo at the Hemming's Classic Car magazine website by clicking here.) — jc

1961 Plymouth Deluxe Suburban

I'm often attracted to the cheapest nameplate offered by many car manufacturers back in the fifties and sixties — especially the station wagons. And the Lotto Garage has to have at least one wagon. Like fer instance, this '61 Plymouth Deluxe, which sounds spiffy but was actually riding the bottom rung of the full-sized Plymouth model ladder that year, with the Sport being the fanciest wagon, and the Custom falling in the middle. The non-wagon lines had different names, starting with the Fury at the top, followed by Belvedere and Savoy. Most Chrysler Corporation styling was really bizarre during the 1959-1962 model years, and these Plymouths were right up there with the weirdest of the weird. The wagon in the photo is wearing a monochromatic Airforce Metallic Blue paint job, but I think I'd prefer one in Carnival Red with the optional Alpine White top. — jc

1967 Volkswagen Beetle

I decided when started my Lotto Garage, that all of its cars would be very driveable. No exotic supercars or one-off customs — just what Hemmings Classic Car magazine might call a "driveable dream." Which brings us to this week's selection: the '67 Beetle. Why the '67, when for so many years the Beetles were virtually unchanged? Well, there's yer clue right there — virtually unchanged. They actually did change from year-to-year, you just couldn't always tell from a block away. The 1967 models were quite unique on the outside though. It was the final year for the old-style bumpers, and the first year for the flat hubcaps and the upright rear license plate locater. And this was the only year all three styling cues would appear together. So there you go. I'll take one in black please, with the red leatherette upholstery and white sidewall tires. — jc

1953 Studebaker Commander Starliner

If you've gotta start a dream garage somewhere, the '53 Stude is a good place to begin. Thought by some to be the nicest shape ever put to an American automobile, the Starliner wasn't a sales success — overall Studebaker sales actually fell from those of the rather drab-looking 1952 models. Production planners dropped the ball when deciding how many of the svelte coupes to build — for some reason they thought that the dowdy-looking sedans and station wagons would sell better, and planned their quotas accordingly, just the opposite of what they should have done. This resulted in shortages of the two-door models, while the other stuff sat on dealer lots. It was probably the beginning of the end for the South Bend automaker, whose last cars would be built for the 1966 model year — in Hamilton, Ontario Canada of all places! The man in the photo above is Raymond Lowey, head of the design firm that penned the '53 lineup. —jc