The Famous Nobody

Some short-sighted prognosticators in the classic car world have gone on record as saying that nothing built post-1972 will ever be collectible, but the unmistakable popularity of 1980s and 1990s cars in the market has illustrated the fallacy of that statement. Here are 10 up-and-comers to consider:

• 3. 1992-95 Porsche 968

  

  Hagerty
  Those looking for up-and-comers in the air-cooled Porsche world will find little. The train has left the station for the 911, 912 and 914, so it’s the water-cooled cars that savvy buyers are looking hard at now. The 968 is the much more scarce successor to the 944. With a massive 3.0-liter four-cylinder engine and variable valve timing, the 968 was no slouch in a straight line and one of the best balanced and sweetest handling Porsches of all time. Fewer than 13,000 were built with just under 4,700 coming to the U.S.
  
  

• 4. 1992-2001 Mercedes SL600

  

  Hagerty
  The R129 SL had the unenviable task of replacing the much-loved R107 series, which ran from 1971-89. At least Mercedes didn’t bring a knife to a gunfight. The 6.0-liter V-12 model was added to the range in its third model year. With just shy of 400 hp, it was light years ahead of any previous SL performance-wise. R129 SLs are now showing up at auctions, a sure sign that they’re hitting the radar of collectors.

• 5. 1995-99 BMW M3

  

  Hagerty
  The E36 M3 spelled the end for the edgy four-cylinder M3. The smooth BMW straight-six in the new M3 put out just shy of 250 hp in U.S. spec and was a wonderfully balanced handler. E36 M3s were offered in coupe, sedan and convertible body styles. Bright throwback colors like Techno Violet, Dakar Yellow and Estoril Blue are particularly sought-after but prices have yet to skyrocket for any but the rare 1995 lightweight model.
  
  

• 6. 1981-93 Ferrari Mondial

  
  The Mondial has been the perennial underdog Ferrari along with the V-12 400i/412. Both are having the last laugh, but Mondial prices in particular have been climbing. Offered in 2+2 coupe and convertible body styles, the Mondial shares the revvy 308/328 flat-plane crank V-8 with all of the visceral thrills that entails. Striking Pininfarina looks, decent reliability, Ferrari sounds and room in back for the kids? What’s not to like?

• 7. 1992-95 Volkswagen Corrado VR6

  

  Hagerty
  Looking a bit like a grown-up MK I Scirocco, the Corrado VR6 was regarded as a legitimate cult classic before it even left production. While a front-driver, its handling can’t be faulted and the narrow-angle V-6 addresses the shortcomings of every sporting VW that came before it. Good ones are rare indeed and worth keeping.
  
  

• 8. 1998-2006 Audi TT MKI

  

  Hagerty
  The first-generation TT is a sure-fire emerging classic. With unmistakable styling courtesy of Freeman Thomas, it’s reminiscent of a 1950s Porsche 356 in some ways. The Bauhaus-like interior is a design freak’s dream as is the optional baseball glove interior. Now is the time to snap up a V-6 Quattro coupe.
  
  

• 9. 1971-76 Cadillac Coupe de Ville

  

  Hagerty
  Chalk this one up to the perennial favorite status of Martin Scorsese films, but the full-size Cadillac de Ville of the early to mid-1970s is gaining in popularity with Gen-Xers in both the U.S. and of all places, Sweden.
  
  

• 10. 1982-92 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am

  

  Hagerty
  “Smokey and the Bandit”-era T/As are now sought-after collectibles. Waiting in the wings are the “Knight Rider”-era third-generation cars. With the generation who grew up glued to the TV to see what the Hoff and KITT were up to now coming in to some disposable income, it’s only a matter of time before these cars see a serious increase in value.

Mounting evidence shows that rearview cameras help avoid accidents that involve backing into an object or—worse—a child invisible from the driver’s seat. According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), if all cars had rearview cameras, about 60 lives a year could be saved in the U.S. We consider a rearview camera a must have, especially for an SUV, pickup truck, or any other vehicle with a big blind zone straight back. But beyond the life-saving potential, a rear camera is a welcomed convenience that you would appreciate every day, as you back out of or into parking spots.

If your car was produced in the last decade, chances are it already has a display screen in the dash used for at least audio functions. These screens can often be used with camera retrofit kits, enabling a very tidy installation. Good packages start around $120 for the Japanese brands and go up to about $600 for the German brands. The kits contain the lens, a camera module for the screen and all necessary wiring and connectors. No splicing of wires is required. This style is much better than some cheapo alternatives that can leave a lens dangling above the license plate or attach a fuzzy screen to the rearview mirror.

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Typically, installing a proper rear camera demands some advanced do-it-yourself skills and will take about three hours due to the careful removal of the rear hatch lining and other trim running all the way to the dashboard. This requires care and expertise. But not everyone has the time or skills to take on such a project in their own driveway. Unfortunately, franchised car dealers are reluctant to install these aftermarket retrofits, and we’ve found nationwide chains like AutoZone and Pep Boys won’t perform such installations, either. The good news is that Best Buy’s Geek Squad will do the installation for $99. Many local car audio/electronics shops can also perform the installation.

Here’s a list of vehicles that already have the infrastructure to be compatible with a model-specific aftermarket rearview camera:

I bought such a kit online from BimmerTech for my wife’s 2011 BMW X3 for about $600. Having a shop and a few qualified technicians at the Consumer Reports Auto Test Center certainly made installation a lot easier than it would be otherwise. The kit contains a camera integrated into a rear-hatch handle, a few wiresets, and a computer module.

Once installed, the camera automatically took over the screen when the car was put in Reverse. The model I bought came with optional guidelines on the screen, aiding backup maneuvers. All told, this was a nice upgrade that was worth the investment.

Many brand-specific retrofit modules are available. Just search online for your car's model and "rear camera retrofit." You can also find them from major online retailers, such as Amazon and Crutchfield, or specialty online sites, such as Coastal Tech (focus on Detroit 3 upgrades). 

If you had new-car envy because of this helpful feature, know that there are upgrades available.

When researchers at two West Coast universities took control of a General Motors car through cellular and Bluetooth connections in 2010, they startled the auto industry by exposing a glaring security gap.

Five years later, two friendly hackers sitting on a living room couch used a laptop computer to commandeer a Jeep from afar over the Internet, demonstrating an even scarier vulnerability.

“Cars don’t seem to be any more secure than when the university guys did it,” says Charlie Miller, a security expert at Twitter, who along with well-known hacker and security consultant Chris Valasek, engineered the attack on the Jeep Cherokee.

Fiat Chrysler, the maker of Jeeps, is now conducting the first recall to patch a cybersecurity problem, covering 1.4 million Jeeps. Experts and lawmakers are warning the auto industry and regulators to move faster to plug holes created by the dozens of new computers and the growing number of Internet connections in today’s automobiles.

You can’t always start at the top, but it’s nice to know you have a chance to get there.

The Discovery Sport is Land Rover’s new entry-level model, and the first in its soon-to-grow Discovery line of street-smart crossovers. It mixes country club style with just enough off-road cred to earn the Land Rover logo.

Inside, the compact SUV is as snazzy as a boutique hotel bar, and the trimmings live up to its $38,065 starting price. It’s primarily a five-seat vehicle, with a roomy, adjustable second row, but two-seat third row is available for $1,750. They’re handy, but so small that Land Rover accurately refers to them as +2. The cargo bay they fill may be better left empty, and provides a nice big space when it is. Packing for a week-long trip for a family of four or five should be no problem.

Don’t let the name fool you. “Sport” in this case really means “fun size,” and there will be a larger Discovery model arriving next year. Nevertheless, its 240 hp turbocharged four-cylinder engine and nine-speed automatic transmission combo provides enough punch to keep things lively, even though it likes to hunt for fuel economy in the upper gears, where it finds 26 mpg on the highway. Floor it to pass or merge, for instance, and it can take a good three or four count before anything particularly sporty happens, even in Sport mode.

Whether you are or aren’t doing that, the Discover Sport is supremely quiet inside, with a smooth and composed ride, even on twisty roads. This is despite the fact that it has 8.3 inches of ground clearance and some serious, stone-stepping wheel articulation to go with it.

It’ll also wade through nearly two feet of water, thanks to hefty door seals and an air intake positioned out of the splash zone, high and to the side of the engine bay. The standard all-wheel-drive system offers modes for a variety of surfaces, including gravel, sand, snow and grass, the last perfect for navigating outdoor music festival parking areas and creating general mayhem on a Scottish Moor or your local golf course.

I refrained from doing that, but did take it into the deepest darkest forests of New Jersey. (Hey, they have wild bears there. Take that, Scotland.) On a particularly steep and rocky trail it proved that it has more mettle than anything in its class, if not a Range Rover or Jeep Grand Cherokee. I wouldn’t go looking for trouble in it, but you should be fine if you make a wrong turn.