June 28: What would you pay for that piece of junk?

Nice old Rambler from 1956 or '57........so what would you pay for this piece of old junk (there is another word for this)? A couple of hundred? A couple of thousand? $190,000? What's that you say? Are you out of your ever lovin' mind?

Well rock this folks...........

This piece of junk proves that beauty is more than skin deep, because it sure doesn't show on the surface. $190k buys you this beat up old '52 Chrysler/DeSoto combo. Great for long Summer weekend family outings. Never have to clean up your ride for the local cruise night, because no matter what you do, it will still look like a piece of doggy do. Until..........until you either open the hood or invite people to look underneath this incredible hulk. Equipped with a modern 6.1L Hemi motor and sitting on a new Dodge SRT chassis, this ugly duckling will turn into a swan once unleashed on an unwitting road.

Or what about this old girl, a '52 Chevy with a nice patina? "Patina" may not be exactly the right word to describe this old beater. Look closely, notice anything a little unusual, like those larger than stock wheels? Yes sir, those are the give away to what lies beneath. And like the wagon, this old coupe features a modern purpose built chasis with I believe, a Vette powertrain. Also like the Chrysler, the price tag is close to $200 large.

Who thinks up these things and who buys them? You can guess at the latter, but the former is Icon, an American company, out of (where else but) California. They started by making old "iconic" 4x4's into modern machines. Jeep type rigs, like the original Toyota FJ. One thing lead to another and with their success, there came the opportunity to play. The result of this success and too much time on their hands is their "derelict" line.

Featured on the original Top Gear and Jay Leno's Garage, these derelicts have intrigued gear heads everywhere. Well, I guess, but I like my rides, even the dream ones, to look good and not just go good. I'd do something a little more mainstream with my coin if $200k were gifted to me. But of course, variety is the spice of life and so it goes.

So next time you pull up beside a beater at the traffic light and smuggly rev the engine of your Honda Civic, look closely for the tell tale signs, after all, it just might be a derelict.

Until next time.........