1979 Buick Le Sabre

Haven't driven anything into the Lotto Garage in a while now, but last night I came across this big Buick for sale on eBay, and I'm bringing it in! I'm guessing it wasn't sold, as the bidding ended with a high bid of only $610 (it had its battery and radiator stolen out of it so there's no telling if it runs or not). It needs new seats, probably a respray, but — that's OK 'cause I won the Lottery! I love the simpleness of this car: a plain ol' 2-door post sedan, with no garish trim and still sporting the poverty hubcaps. See the listing here. — jc

1971 BMW 1500

Some of you may remember BMW back in the 1960s as a manufacturer of nicely-done sedans that barely anyone on this side of the ocean had ever heard of. Then someone at the Bavarian automaker had the brilliant idea of taking a 1600 two-door, throwing in the larger 2-liter engine and — voila! There was the BMW 2002, the car which literally put BMW on the map here in North America, and which eventually morphed into the über successful 3-series. Being a little different, as I often am, I've decided not to be like everyone and his brother and covet one of those original 2002s (which were sold from 1968-76), and go for the simpler, and rarer in these parts, 1500 sedan. I like its lines, and I like the idea that almost no one else wants one. 'Cause that's how the Lotto Garage often rolls. (BMW photo) — jc

1964 Ford Cortina

Anyone who knows me well, probably knows that I've always preferred smaller cars. And going back to Car #1 (a 1967 Sunbeam Imp), I've been known to show a soft spot for the off-beat every now and then. So why not drive this 1964 Ford Cortina Mk.1 into the Lotto Garage? It's British Ford at its best — some of these were converted into highly desirable Lotus Cortinas by famed race car developer Colin Chapman; but I've never been one for the glamor, high-speed cars. Give me the Plain Janes any day, like the Lotuses (Loti?) which were available as two- and four-door sedans (saloons) and a four-door wagon (estate). The Mk.1 debuted as the Ford Consul Cortina for 1962 (the Consul name was dropped for 1964), and gave way to the completely redesigned (and in my opinion, duller-looking) Mk.2 for the '67 model year. The Cortina disappeared from the American market with the birth of the Pinto in 1971, and in Canada two years later. — jc

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