Featured in two magazines and in the Hemmings 2007 Classic Car Calendar, this might well be the best compact Dodge A100 pickup on the planet.

It's no secret that I call Cars and Coffee my private hunting ground for feature vehicles for the many magazines I contribute to. Every Saturday morning more than 300 interesting cars and trucks vie for a coveted parking spot in the lot between the Ford and Mazda buildings. Several years ago I shot this eye-catching Dodge A100 and it was ultimately featured in the January 2008 issue of Cars & Parts. (It's now featured in the September issue of Hemmings Motor News as well.) Look closely at this truck and you'll see why. It's a near-perfect example of the breed of compact pickups that were the domestic response to the sales success of the wide selection of the versatile yet under-powered Volkswagen trucks that were popular in the late fifties and early sixties. Besides the Dodge A100, Ford responded with its Falcon-based Econoline while Chevrolet's initial response was the short-lived (1961 to 1964) Corvair-based Loadside pickup which featured an innovative side ramp making it exceptionally easy to load cargo.

It's the Beach Boys meets muscle car grocery-getter as this ultra-rare Oshawa, Ontario-built Pontiac Safari station wagon--that came originally equipped with a factory-installed, 425-horsepower Chevy 409--surfaces.

One of the great things about writing my monthly Muscle Culture column in Musclecar Enthusiast is the flexibility editor Steve Statham gives me with regard to subject matter; basically anything goes even if it's only remotely related to muscle cars. For my September column I wrote about one of my favorite topics, noteworthy cars that fall outside of the classical definition of a muscle car, that being a big block engine in a intermediate or smaller car built after 1964. The column—featuring a 1957 AMC Rambler Rebel and a 1964 Chrysler 300K—generated extreme interest among the readers, one of who contacted me about what might be the rarest muscle car in existence, a one-of-one Canadian built (at the same Oshawa, Ontario plant that currently builds the Camaro) Pontiac Parisienne Safari six-passenger station wagon powered by a 425-horsepower dual quad 409, the same engine immortalized by the Beach Boys song "409."

The years between 2003 and 2008 were known for a lot of things, but will most likely be remembered as the era of extravagance.

Everything had to be big: movies that routinely grossed over $100 million, homes that had bathrooms bigger than most houses of the 60's, celebrity salaries that outpaced the gross national product of most small countries, and everything from luxury yachts to exotic cars were reaching unheard-of prices. It was true that nothing created success like excess. So in honor of the era of excess, I give you an excessively large pickup. Is this a personal vehicle? Why yes, it is.

This creation was commissioned by a rather well off contractor as a toy. Unlike the similar International CXT, it was created as a two-wheel-drive truck with a full locking rear differential offering similar traction on the street without the excess weight of a front drive axle. But why commission this vehicle, when you could have purchased an International? Well, when new, the CXT retailed at over $120,000. The Freightliner, based on the current Freightliner Business Class M2-106, sold new for a little over $93,000. Yes, Freightliner has an option of a crew cab as well as an extended and regular cab. One of the little-known facts about the M2 is that the cab is aluminum, which creates a (relatively) light-weight cab that will be virtually rust-free over the life of the vehicle.

A Saturday morning visit to Cars and Coffee uncovered this real X33 Camaro Z/28.

Dave Lindsley is a car enthusiast of the first order and an absolute Chevy fanatic and knows a real Bowtie when he sees one. His cars have been featured in many magazines (his 1967 Plymouth GTX Hemi is the cover feature in the current issue of Musclecar Enthusiast, and he's a stickler for documentation and authenticity so this Rallye Green with white stripes 1969 Camaro Z/28 is fully documented; it's the real deal! This was validated by all the attention it garnered at this week's Cars and Coffee gathering in Irvine, California. From 7 AM to 9 AM, the car was surrounded by admirers who were simply stunned by the car's presentation, even among several other noteworthy Chevys. Dave feels that this is due in part to the fact that Rallye Green with white stripes was a very rare color combination back in 1969. You simply don't see very many Z/28s in this particular color combination.