T87 Singles Collection, Summer 2026 Edition – Part 2: American, German & British Cars

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– Posted on September 30, 2026

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Welcome to part two (of three), as we meander through the classics I bumped into over the summer in Tokyo and elsewhere. In this present instance, we have a gorgeous 1958 Chevy Stepside Pickup truck with Swiss plates. Which makes sense, as I photographed it in the Canton or Fribourg in Switzerland.

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All the other Detroiters were found in Tokyo, starting with this Camaro Z28. That taillight cluster is so ‘80s it almost voted for Reagan.

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Curiously, Flex Auto Review had this excellent Chevy Nova wagon in their forecourt. They don’t usually do imports, except the odd air-cooled VW. Then again, I haven’t found this car listed in their website, so it might not be theirs to sell.

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I’m not sure about the exact MY on this Vette, but it’s circa 1970 and absolutely gorgeous.

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This used to be a ’61-62 Corvette. Now, it’s a baby blue nightmare with a souped up V8 and a very odd black interior.

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This Wagoneer, on the other hand, is about as fine as these get. There are a lot of these about, but comparatively fewer with this un-fussy pre-1979 nose.

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There are always a few first-gen Mustangs on the prowl. This one was a bit blurry around the edges…

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That ’66 fastback was a looker, though there were a few too many aftermarket bits on it for my taste.

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This one is almost identical to the one I wrote up a few months back, except that was a ’55 and this is a ’56, with the wraparound windshield.

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This is hands down the most Japanese-looking Lincoln I’ve ever seen! This “traditional-looking” type of hearse is certainly eye-catching, isn’t it?

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Last American vehicle, but certainly not the least. It says “GMC” on the back, so there may be some of that in there. It’s anybody’s guess…

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The grille kinda contradicts the bed. A fun little bitza, whatever it originally was.

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Strangely enough, there were no Beetles to report, this summer. But there were a few air-cooled VWs nonetheless. This early model T2 seems like a fairly recent American import, judging by the side-marker lights.

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The Holy Grail of Splitty buses is the 23-window Deluxe. I think this is the first one I’ve caught in the wild, which in this case happened to be near Biarritz, France. Prices for these have gone through the roof, north of €200k for really good examples like (apparently) this one.

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Superb Karmann-Ghia here – I had the red one I wrote up recently in the can already, so this one was surplus to requirements for CC… Pity, isn’t it?

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I see those aftermarket chequered carpets quite regularly. I must say they really look the part in this car.

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Can you believe I only saw a single noteworthy Mercedes, in the stocky yet harmonious shape of this W126 coupé, between July and September? Madness.

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I did slightly better with BMWs. Another French catch with an M-festooned E30, complete with original yellow headlights. Those were mandatory in France until 1993.

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Back in Tokyo, I chanced upon this pair of white 6-series coupés. The one ahead was a well-known participant of the informal Sunday morning car meets. A little over-modded for my taste.

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The other one was drop-dead gorgeous, with that blue leather interior.

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The German find of the season goes to a modest, but now quite rare, Ford Fiesta Mk1 complete with period-perfect (but definitely not original) stripes and matching upholstery. Found this gem in San Sebastian, Spain.

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Comparatively few Britishers were encountered, sadly. No matter how small the contingent though, you can always count on at least one Lotus to be in there.

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Somebody has a slight Aston Martin obsession, eh? I’ve heard of expensive addictions, but this is ridiculous.

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Ok, I get that the Japanese have an infatuation with the BMC ADO16 in general and the Princess variant in particular, but this is getting weird.

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And here’s yet another one for good measure. That gunmetal gray really suits it, too.

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We’ll end this post on a Triumphal note. Any help in identifying the exact model of this lovely veteran is much appreciated. See you tomorrow for the best of the rest.

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