It’s now 2024, and I’m excited for this week’s AutoHunter Picks. It was easy to pick four interesting vehicles from the current AutoHunter roster, all for different reasons, as I usually like to do.
Below you’ll find a classic ragtop, a muscle car, a late-model sports car, and a pre-war coupe. Which moves you the most?
1962 Ford Galaxie 500/XL Sunliner
The XL was a mid-year addition to the Galaxie 500 series, offering bucket seat and console sportiness to the top-of-the-line Ford. Even the rear seats featured Thunderbird-like bucket styling. Engine selection was conventional aside of the standard V8, with high-performance equipment likely ordered at a higher rate on this model versus lesser full-size Fords.
This 1962 Galaxie 500/XL Sunliner demonstrates everything that was great about full-size Fords of the era: fine styling, tasteful trim, an interior with just the right dash of chrome, and a four-barrel big-block underneath the hood. If you close your eyes, you can almost imagine the Beach Boys singing about this car because it truly represents the zeitgeist of sunny America in 1962.
1968 Plymouth GTX
After being introduced in 1967, the GTX was redesigned with more contemporary styling. The 440 was still the largest engine available in the industry (till the advent of the Hurst/Olds, that is), and the GTX now featured standard side stripes that made it clear this was a performance car. Inside, you’ll find a high level of equipment, which would soon give way to taxicab cheapness with the Road Runner.
Four-speed GTXs lean towards the rarer side compared with TorqueFlite automatics, plus sticks were never offered economy gears, so score two for this Plymouth. A quick glance at the instrument panel shows that this GTX has the gauge package, which also is another plus If you want to hop in and drive, with plenty of smoke in your wake, this Mopar is choice.
2013 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport Coupe
There’s nothing wrong with the standard Corvette, but the Grand Sport ups the equipment specs. With 430 horsepower and “attributes adopted from the track-ready Z06,” the Grand Sport was the Vette “where racing technology and street credibility merge.” Chevrolet claimed 0-60 was in under four seconds, so the Grand Sport was the true compromise for motorheads who aspired for the Z06 or ZR1 but allowed cooler heads to prevail.
This Florida-based 2013 Grand Sport Coupe is spec’d out in 3LT equipment and features under 7,000 miles. The stock LS3 6.2-liter V8 is paired with a six-speed automatic transmission. Notable options include Magnetic Ride Control, dual-mode performance exhaust system, Cashmere and black two-tone leather interior, and heads-up display. This is a ton of car for the money, and it’s a sports car you can commute in and get on it when no one’s looking.
1936 Ford Deluxe Five-Window Coupe
Ford said this body style was “a splendid car for business or personal use.” There’s space for your Amazon shipments behind the seat, if not in the rear deck, the latter of which could be accessed from inside the vehicle. An available rumble seat allowed utility for passengers when two or three created a crowd. This was the last of the Fords before streamlining took over.
This 1936 Ford Deluxe Five-Window Coupe has logged 389 miles since new. The story is that the original owner had the use of a company truck, so this Blue Oval ended up sitting in the garage. Of course, things happen over time, which is why the Ford eventually received a restoration from the family that’s owned it since 1962. Maybe not a Murphy roadster with a 145-inch wheelbase, but strong styling makes this Ford a 1930s classic.
