2001 Pontiac Aztek

What??!! Heck, you don't have to win the Lotto to buy an Aztek! Right now there's one on eBay for a mere $1,295. But... unless I had the disposable income that a Lotto win would provide, I'd never spend a dime on one of these things. In time I believe the negative press about the Aztek's styling will rival the Edsel's, and the only reason I'd drive one into the Lotto Garage is to have something to drive when I'm going somewhere that I wouldn't drive anything I'd care about. Plus the added bonus that the odds are no one would park within ten feet of one of these things, fearing what its owner must be like! — jc

2014 Jeep Wrangler Willys Wheeler

When we stated filling the imaginary Lotto Garage a while back, I hadn't anticipated driving anything new through the door. But while doing some research on for a recent Artvoice column on the new Jeep Cherokee I came across this special edition Wrangler Willys Wheeler. And I said "I like the looks of that." Especially in the color they called Amp'd (see the photo above). The Willys Wheeler package is largely, but not only, cosmetics; but this is the time of year when one's thoughts just may turn to a 4x4, so, there you go. Color your own Willys Wheeler by clicking here. — jc

1973 Porsche 914

Yes, this is a Porsche. And I wasn't going to include any high-priced fancy-schmancy sports cars here in the Lotto Garage, but this is kind of an exception. When it was first being developed jointly by VW and Porsche back in the late 1960s, the plan was for the four-cylinder model to be marketed as a VW — the replacement for the aging Karmann-Ghia, while Porsche would separately market the 914-6 (a six-cylinder model if you haven't guessed) as a Porsche. Somewhere along the line someone decided, and they were probably correct, that you couldn't sell what was basically the same car as both a VW and a Porsche in North America, so it went to the Stuttgart sports car builder. I think I'd prefer the base, four-cylinder car with the el-cheapo hubcaps, an orange paint job, and the matching orange-and-black plaid interior. — jc

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