Classic Cars

LAKEVILLE, CT – So few of them were built that each one is routinely referred to by its chassis number. Howard Kroplick of East Hills, N.Y. on Long Island owns “#1044.”  Kroplick paid nearly $1.35 million at a Sotheby’s auction in Arizona in 2017 for the privilege of owning a …

COLEBROOK, CT – With its oxidized black paint and rusty running boards, Jon Gray’s “rare but not priceless” 1937 Studebaker President always gets attention at car shows because it hasn’t been restored cosmetically.  “It’s the best kind of show car to have because it only requires mechanical maintenance and a …

UNIONVILLE, CT – The model name is Pantera. That’s the Italian word for “panther,” and it was back in late February that Jeffrey Tencer of Unionville finally purchased the De Tomaso Pantera mid-engine sports car that he’d lusted after and searched for with cat-like patience for decades. “I had been …

BRISTOL, CT – Muscle cars were the powerful, high-profile, lusted-after models of the 1960s and coveted by teenagers of the era. Matt Strus of Bristol bought a 1968 Plymouth Road Runner as his first car when he was 16 years old, but he didn’t keep it long. He replaced it …

OXFORD, CT – It’s the centerpiece of a small collection of vintage cars that includes three World War II era models from Ford and a Porsche from the 1970s. The black 1939 Ford Deluxe convertible sedan holds that elevated status because Leigh Broderick of Oxford bought it as his first …

WATERFORD, CT – Marc Wunderman of Redding says his black, three-wheeled, right-hand drive model is “like nothing else you’ve ever driven,” and it’s easy to believe him by just looking at it. It displays two wheels in front and one in the rear. “They’re nose heavy. It’s a lot of …

NAUGATUCK, CT – David Semanoff of Naugatuck was five years old when he got his first ride in a Plymouth Barracuda. It belonged to an uncle. “He took me for a nice spirited ride and, ever since then, I had to have a Barracuda,” he said last this week as …

NEW MILFORD, CT – Gary Hults of New Milford didn’t intend to own his 1973 Ford Gran Torino Sport for 50 years.  “It’s one of those things I’ve often heard people say, ‘Oh, I wished I had my first car, second car I ever owned’ and when I bought it, …

BEACON FALLS, CT – Stacy Poulos of Beacon Falls has owned his 1968 Chevrolet Impala convertible for only two years, but his memories of the full-size model go back to the 1980s when his grandfather owned one.  Chevy introduced the Impala in 1958 as the top trim level of its …

WESTPORT, CT – Jason Alford of Westport, CT owns a visually appealing, yet uncommon and surprisingly unsought after 63-year-old Porsche model in Aetna blue. It’s a variant of the popular Porsche 356, the brand’s first production sports car that lasted from 1948 to 1965. Alford drives a 1961 Porsche 356 …