The Daily Vroom

Good morning Vroomers,

Last week was supposed to be quiet. It wasn’t.

Instead, the market reminded everyone it doesn’t really care about expectations. A 1967 Toyota 2000GT hit $995K. A 1994 Porsche 911 Turbo 3.6 landed at $876K. And a 2022 Bugatti Chiron Super Sport quietly closed at $4M. Serious money. Real depth. No drama required.

This week could do it again. A 7k-mile 2017 Ferrari F12tdf is already at $1.4M. Two years ago, the same car traded at $960K. That spread tells you everything you need to know about where the top of the market still sits.

What’s more interesting, though, is what’s happening below the headlines. Strong, steady sales at more approachable price points across multiple regions. That’s the part of the market that actually tells the story. And it looks healthy.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll dig into how the major platforms are performing. What’s working. What isn’t. Where execution matters more than hype. We’ll also look at which cars really moved the needle over the past year and what that says about buyer behavior right now.

Not nostalgia. Not noise. Just signal.

A Once-in-a-Lifetime Garage Door Opens

This one’s pretty cool.

A no-reserve charity auction for a private, behind-the-scenes tour of Jay Leno’s Big Dog Garage and Tim Allen’s personal collection, with all proceeds going to the Petersen Automotive Museum.

Strip away the noise and that’s the hook. Two of the most influential car obsessives on the planet. One day. Southern California. Up to four guests. No reserve. For charity.

What’s changed since COVID is how people value things like this. Experiences now carry real weight. People are far more willing to spend on access, on moments that can’t be replicated or reordered later. You either do it or you don’t. That shift matters here.

And as experiences go, this one is genuinely special.

Leno’s garage is famously all over the map in the best way possible. Steam cars, brass-era machines, McLarens, a Ford GT. Mechanical curiosities you’ve seen on screen but never stood next to. Tim Allen’s collection is a different energy entirely. American muscle, serious hot rods, big engines built to be driven, not curated. Loud, unapologetic, deeply personal.

Will Jay or Tim definitely be there? No. And that’s almost beside the point. These are private spaces, not museum floors or velvet-rope exhibits. Garages that helped shape how an entire generation thinks about cars.

The bidding already pushing into five figures makes sense. This isn’t about comps or ROI. It’s about access. About walking through places most enthusiasts will never see. And doing it while supporting one of the best automotive institutions in the country.

You can buy a great car anytime. You can’t buy this day twice.

Auctions To Keep An Eye On

This is the kind of car that made me stop to find out more.

An Escort RS2000 in Signal Orange still hits the same way it always has. Instantly familiar. Instantly right. The stance, the proportions, the simplicity of it all. You don’t need to overthink it. You either feel it or you don’t.

This one feels right.

It’s not just a cosmetic refresh or a surface-level restoration. It’s the real deal. Inspected and authenticated with a Letter of Authenticity from the Sporting Escort Owners Club. Matching numbers. Built in Australia and imported in 2016. Every step of the restoration documented and done with an almost obsessive level of care.

The backstory matters here. A lockdown project that turned into something far more serious. The seller knows bodywork inside and out, yet still handed the paint to someone who paints Ferraris for a living. That decision shows. The car looks tight. Clean. Purposeful. Like it’s been finished, not just restored.

Mechanically, it’s exactly what you want an RS2000 to be. The two-litre Pinto. Simple. Honest. Reliable. Enough power to have fun without diluting what makes these cars special. Light weight. Great balance. A car built around feel rather than numbers.

There’s a reason these still resonate. They’re approachable but special. Iconic without being untouchable. And when they’re done this well, they remind you why fast Fords became a religion in the first place.

This is one of those listings where you don’t need to squint to see it.

Single-family owned. No rust. Original paint. And a color combination that just works. Medium Red over Bamboo is one of those specs you almost never see, and when you do, it immediately separates the car from the sea of silver, beige, and black W116s that most people associate with this era.

This Mercedes-Benz 450SEL checks all the boxes that actually matter. Same family since new. Bought by a college professor. Passed down, not passed around. Records going back to the 1980s. That ownership story matters far more than a headline mileage figure ever will.

And it shows.

The paint is original and still on the car. Not reshot. Not blended. Original. The seller notes zero corrosion anywhere, including underneath, which is where these cars usually give themselves away. That alone puts this one in a very small group.

Inside, the Bamboo leather is peak period Mercedes. Warm, elegant, and timeless. The seats have been retrimmed properly using correct materials, the wood is original, the dash is clean, and everything feels cohesive. Nothing overdone. Nothing out of place.

Mechanically, it’s been thoughtfully sorted. Fuel system overhaul. Suspension components. Brakes. Tires. AC service. All the unsexy work that actually makes a classic enjoyable to live with. The 4.5-liter M117 V8 is exactly what you want here. Smooth, durable, and completely unstressed. Effortless in the way only old S-Classes are.

And this is where these cars really shine.

For the money, it’s hard to think of anything that offers this level of build quality, comfort, presence, and longevity. You’re getting a hand-built flagship sedan from an era when Mercedes was over-engineering everything, and you’re doing it at a price point that still feels disconnected from the experience.

That won’t last forever.

The best W116s are already separating themselves, and cars like this show why. Preserved. Correct. No gimmicks. Just a properly cared-for S-Class that delivers an enormous amount of car for the money.

A 1971 Porsche 911T in Light Yellow doesn’t shout. It doesn’t need to. You notice it the way you notice something out of place in a quiet room. The shape. The color. The way it seems lighter than the air around it. You already know something’s going on here before you’ve read a single line of the listing.

And then you start peeling it back.

The engine tells you everything you need to know about intent. Still a 2.2 at heart, but sharpened where it matters. S pistons. Webers. Carrera chain tensioners. SSI heat exchangers. Not a spec sheet built to impress strangers online. A configuration built for the person behind the wheel. The kind of setup that wakes up the chassis, makes the car feel alert, alive, eager. This is early 911 energy in its purest form. Mechanical. Immediate. Unfiltered.

The choices elsewhere follow the same logic. Dry-ice cleaned underneath. Not glossed over. Not hidden. Clean because it’s confident. Honest because it can be. The repaint back to factory Light Yellow isn’t revisionist history. It’s a reset. The right move when you’re done pretending and ready to do it properly.

Nothing here feels accidental. Nothing feels overthought.

And then there’s the part no one can quantify.

This is a car that draws people in. Cars & Coffee, a fuel stop, a quiet street with the engine ticking as it cools. It doesn’t matter. This one gets eyes. People slow down. They linger. The ones who don’t know cars feel it anyway. The ones who do know exactly why they’re standing there a little longer than planned.

Some cars are thrilling on paper and anonymous in the real world. This isn’t that. This is the rare overlap. A car that delivers behind the wheel and keeps delivering once you step away from it. The kind you look back at. The kind that turns a quick errand into a story.

It isn’t perfect. It isn’t precious. It’s dangerous in the best way.

Because once you understand it, you won’t be able to unsee it.