Looking for more than just any old station wagon to haul home the groceries from your local Whole Foods? Then here's your ride: a one-off Fifties Mercedes-Benz station wagon

For much of the post-war era, the sight of a full-sized American station wagon in the driveway of a tract house typified life in suburbia. Baby boomers like me can remember an entire starting roster of our Little League team piling into Mom's Country Squire, nary a seatbelt in sight. It's amazing that we survived the ordeal, long before the Safety Nazis mandated such things.

This vision was probably a bit different in 1956 for Mrs. Caroline Folke, a woman of apparent means (with homes in Paris, Manhattan, and Palm Beach) for whom a top-of-the-line Chrysler, Mercury, or Buick station wagon would simply not suffice. Back when nearly everyone liked Ike, she walked into the New York City Mercedes-Benz dealership with a most unusual request: a brand new Mercedes-Benz station wagon. At the time, Mercedes-Benz was re-establishing itself in the automobile business. It was just 11 years after the end of the Second World War, after all. They were apparently eager to fill her unusual request--even though station wagons were not part of the Mercedes-Benz model range in 1956.

An exclusive look at one of the stars of this weekend's auctions in Scottsdale

Auctions week is now underway in Arizona. Right now, I'm at the SEMA Motorsports Parts Manufacturers Council media event in Covina, California, but I'll be heading to Scottsdale tomorrow afternoon. Last week, though, I had the opportunity to photograph one of the auction's showcase offerings: a one-of-five 1941 Chrysler Thunderbolt. Featuring a fully-retractable metal hardtop, it's seen by some as a concept car, but a better description might be a very limited-production, coach-built car. In this case, it was the last in a line of cars built by LeBaron, a name more closely associated with modern-day Chrysler K-Car convertibles. Coming on the scene at the end of the Great Depression and just before America's entry into World War II, this teal and copper sportster--which I first photographed at last year's Concours in Dana Point, California--previews the popularity of today's tin-top convertibles by more than five decades.

It carries one of the most classic shapes in BMW's long history, and now this fully restored version can be yours for about the same price as a new 1 Series. Guess which one will depreciate less?

In the late Fifties, the automotive arm of BMW was on the verge of liquidation, a victim of the changing dynamic of its home market in Germany. Back then, the company wasn't known for sporty, lightweight sports sedans, as it is today. Rather, Bavarian Motor Works produced overweight and antiquated sedans that were unable to compete with the company's rival in Stuttgart. It had little if any distribution in the U.S.--Mercedes-Benz had Studebaker-Packard handling those chores on this side of the Atlantic--and it needed a bailout. And unlike in the U.S. 50 years later, it was the Quandt family rather than the German government that bailed out the Munich-based firm. The net result was an infusion of cash and, in 1962, the introduction of the Neue Klasse (New Class) 1500 sedan. It would spawn a generation of sports sedans that, by the end of the Sixties, firmly established BMW as an international brand. Since then, BMW hasn't looked back.

For those who want a dash of James Bond at a more affordable price, this Aston Martin DB6 Mark 1, seen at last week's Concours d'Elegance in Dana Point, might be just the ticket.

On a list of cars that most auto enthusiasts would want to own some day, Aston Martins usually rank high on the wish list. Obviously the connection to the James Bond film series is one of the primary reasons why. What can possibly be more iconic than driving a Silver Birch DB5 being driven through the mountain passes of Switzerland? Starting with "Goldfinger" in 1964 and being connected to the series many times right up until the present day, 007 and Aston Martin are forever linked together. But with the prices of DB5 now in the stratosphere--especially those finished in Silver Birch--is there an alternative for those who want a dash of Bond, at a more affordable price. Here's one such choice; a 73,000-mile 1967 Aston Martin DB6 Mark 1 offered for sale in Southern California.