-Austin-Healey Sprite and/or Mark I MG Midget 1962-64. "These cars offer top-down fun, crisp handling, a choppy ride and excellent fuel mileage as well as a vast availability of spare parts throughout North America" Brownell says. "They're simple to restore and maintain, can be used for second car/commuting duty in pleasant weather and are in steady demand as economical entry-level collector sports cars. Check carefully for rust and rot as it can render these cars unrestorable if advanced."
-BMW 2002 1968-76. The car that put BMW and "Bimmers" on the map in the North America, says Brownell, these cars are today sought after by collectors but not yet out of reach for the enthusiast of modest means. These cars enjoy an excellent parts supply and support from a large club, Brownell says.
-Buick Regal T-Type coupes, 1983-85. The 1983-85 Buick Regal T-Type coupes were built to give Buick a more youthful, sporty image, and these street fighters from Flint had a lot of the right stuff, Brownell says, but these hot Buicks have yet to catch fire with collectors.
-DeSoto 1951-54 V-8s. "DeSoto V-8s from 1952 through 1954 are one of the best-kept performance secrets in the hobby" Brownell says, since the engine is "none other than the legendary Chrysler Hemi design, albeit a smaller displacement version of this famous powerplant." The 'build quality' on these cars, plus the workmanship and materials, have proved that they are extremely rugged and long-lived but have not yet escalated to the collector price levels of their Chrysler brethren.