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A man in Kansas who bought a 1959 Corvette has found himself litigating with the state in an attempt to keep them from destroying the car. The Kafkaesque situation causes shivers for other car owners but also points to steps all buyers of classic cars need to follow.This is a process I am quite familiar with. I had a client who bought a classic car from Michigan that was seized by the state police in his home state when they found a VIN discrepancy between the primary VIN tag and a VIN stamped on the firewall.

Richard Martinez bought the 1959 Corvette from a dealer in Indiana and sought to have it registered in Kansas. During that process, the Kansas Highway Patrol found a discrepancy: the VIN tag on the door post did not match a VIN stamped on the frame. Various news reports mention the VIN being found in a “secret” location but those locations aren’t as secret as they were before the internet came along. Corvettes from 1959 had the VIN stamped into the frame at least once, though it can be hard to locate the stamping 60 years later.The KHP told Martinez that the car was going to be seized under Kansas law, due to the VIN issue. Kansas law 8-116(b) prohibits “knowingly” owning or having custody or possession of a motor vehicle if the “original vehicle identification number has been destroyed, removed, altered or defaced.” The statute orders law enforcement officers to “seize and take possession” of such vehicles and the vehicles are treated as “contraband.” Generally speaking, the law says, “Articles of contraband shall be destroyed.”Martinez hired an attorney and it’s been reported that he has already spent $30,000 on legal fees. He also notes that the car has been damaged while in storage–if he wins this case and gets the car returned to him, he will spend almost another $30,000 getting it repaired–in the matter of a car that cost him $50,000 to begin with.What is making headlines in this case is that the state of Kansas has made no allegation of wrongdoing on the part of Martinez. He appears to be “innocent” in this matter–it is the car that is in the wrong.Martinez has noted that the statutes of Kansas allow for the state to go another route on this matter. Assuming that the Corvette contains no stolen parts and is merely a mix-and-match special, the Highway Patrol could assign the car a new VIN. The statute is vague on how exactly this happens. “If the highway patrol is satisfied that the vehicle contains no stolen parts . . . the highway patrol shall determine the make, model and year of the vehicle, and shall assign” the vehicle a VIN that the state will accept as legal.But how do you “satisfy” the Highway Patrol that the car contains no stolen parts? Is that the job of the state police to prove, or for the owner of the car to disprove? And what does “satisfied” actually mean? Legally, it is a pretty weird standard to be written into a law. As it stands, the Highway Patrol is saying they are NOT satisfied – but they admit they have no proof that anything on the car is actually stolen.Martinez is in a very tough position. The law exists for a good reason. If cars could easily be sold with bad VINs, it would presumably make things easier for car thieves and other bad actors. But what about an innocent buyer like Martinez? No one has yet come forward to claim the car, or parts of it. A lot of people are lining up on the side of Martinez here, including the Kansas Justice Institute, who pointed out that a similar case made it to the Supreme Court of Illinois. There, an innocent buyer of a car with a bad VIN got to keep the car when the court ruled the statute violated the due process rights of the car buyer.Of course, Illinois law will not be binding on the courts of Kansas.I can tell you that in the case I handled, the stolen car was returned by the state police to its original owner—the one who had reported it stolen decades ago. We were forced to sue the selling dealer to get my client his money back, which we managed to do, although litigation always takes longer than we’d like.We’ll have to wait to see what the courts in Kansas do with the Martinez Corvette. In the meantime, if you are going to buy a classic car, you will want to take some cautionary steps. You can pay to have an expert inspect the vehicle for you and ask them to specifically check all the VIN locations to make sure they match. Or, you can Google the model year and name thus: “1959 Corvette VIN locations” and watch how badly the internet keeps those locations “secret.”After all, Martinez could win this case. But no one buys a classic car just so they can litigate its ownership for a few years before they can legally drive it.Steve Lehto is a writer and attorney from Michigan. He specializes in Lemon Law and frequently writes about cars and the law. His most recent books include Preston Tucker and His Battle to Build the Car of Tomorrow and Dodge Daytona and Plymouth Superbird: Design, Development, Production and Competition. He also has a YouTube channel where he talks about these things.

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It’s been a couple of weeks since our last episode, but we’re all well rested and ready to reengage in the silliness that is Window Shopping. This week we’re looking at cars that we didn’t like at first, but that grew on us over time and eventually won us over to the point that we might even like to own them now. First up is R&T senior editor John Pearley Huffman who can’t be bothered to actually search for a car listing and instead presents Toyota’s website where he finds a number of hybrids that he now likes. Clearly, he didn’t quite grasp the challenge. Fortunately, senior editor Joey Capparella did understand the assignment and he selects a forgotten Acura TL that has a manual and all-wheel drive. Capparella admits to not having much love for that TL when it was new, but finding it online today has him rethinking his opinion.The next presentation comes from staff editor Austin Irwin who makes a controversial choice when he selects the first-gen Miata. But Irwin isn’t the only one who didn’t really get the early Miata’s appeal at first. Like Irwin, deputy testing director K.C. Colwell selects a car that is now nearly universally loved. Colwell’s pick of the E36 BMW M3 raises some eyebrows, but he explains that the hype surrounding the car was so great that he doubted the veracity of the claims. Like Irwin, Colwell admits that once he drove one, he fell in love.Speaking of love, host Tony Quiroga has professed his love for Buicks from the late ’80s and into the ’90s. His pick is the least expensive of the bunch and it is also likely the rarest. Quiroga confesses that endless Buick YouTube videos got to him and changed his mind about the two-seat Reatta. After watching, may you’ll change your mind about one of these cars, but then again maybe not.

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Acura will debut the Integra prototype next week, on November 11.The prototype version will likely be a close preview of the production 2023 Integra, set to go on sale next year.The debut will be live-streamed at 8:35 pm Eastern time on Acura’s website.We will soon learn a lot more about the much-anticipated return of the Acura Integra, as the company has confirmed that a prototype version of the car will make its debut next week, on November 11. As is often the case with Honda and Acura models, the prototype is likely to be a thinly veiled concept that will give us a good idea of the production car’s design.

Acura has already shared some details about this new entry-level model, including that it will be a four-door hatchback and that it will offer a six-speed manual transmission. We also expect it will join the Type S lineup with an eventual high-performance version, possibly with the same powertrain as the Honda Civic Type R. Teaser images show the Integra’s headlights and its rear-end design, which features a sharply sloped roofline and lighting elements similar to those seen on the TLX sedan.Acura will live-stream the debut on its website November 11 starting at 8:35 pm Eastern time on its website, and be sure to check back here for our coverage of the Integra prototype.
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Toyota announced pricing for the 2022 Tundra full-size pickup equipped with the new twin-turbo V-6 engine. It starts at $37,645 for a base SR model with an extended cab, 6.5-foot bed, and rear-wheel drive. The new Tundras will arrive at dealerships by the end of the year, and the new hybrid models’ price will be announced closer to its on-sale date early next year. Toyota redesigned the Tundra full-size pickup after 15 years with the hopes of making it more competitive with American trucks from Chevy, Ford, and Ram, all of which currently outsell the Tundra. It added features like a new coil-spring rear suspension, which should improve its ride, and a 14.0-inch touchscreen, the largest in its class. Those upgrades come at a cost, though, because the new Tundra’s starting price comes in at $37,645, higher than the domestic pickups.

2022 Toyota Tundra SR.
Toyota

That starting price is for the SR work truck model (pictured above) in standard extended-cab configuration with a 6.5-foot bed and rear-wheel drive. Toyota Tundra buyers have the choice of an extended- or crew-cab configuration with either a 5.5-, 6.5, or 8.1-foot bed depending on model, and four-wheel drive is available for an additional $3000. The Chevy Silverado, Ford F-150, and Ram 1500’s base work trucks all come in cheaper than the Tundra’s base price, but the Ford and Chevy have smaller regular cab options. The Ram, like the Tundra, is only available in extended- and crew-cab configurations. Comparing similar configurations, though, the Tundra is still more expensive, but the Ford reaches higher prices in its top-of-the-line trims.

The next step up from the base model is the Tundra SR5. It starts at $42,450 and comes standard with an 8.0-inch touchscreen, though the larger 14.0-inch unit is available, an analog gauge cluster, and cloth seats. The Limited model costs $50,595 and is distinguished by chrome trim and gets the 14.0-inch touchscreen standard with synthetic leather seats. The Platinum model adds dark chrome exterior trim and a 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster along with a standard JBL sound system and leather seats and starts at $58,685. The 1794 model, which is available in Mesquite brown and either a cream or brown leather interior, starts at $59,385.
All of these starting prices are for Tundras powered by the new twin-turbocharged 3.4-liter V-6 making 348 hp and 405 pound-feet of torque in the base SR and 389 horsepower and 479 pound-feet of torque in the higher trim levels. A new 437-hp hybrid i-Force MAX powertrain using the twin-turbo V-6 is available on the Limited model and above and standard on the off-road TRD Pro model. Toyota says it will announce pricing for the hybrid models closer to their on-sale date early next year. Various equipment packages are available on the 2022 Tundra. A TRD sport package, only available on the SR5 model for $2190, lowers the truck and equips a TRD grille, black 20-inch TRD wheels, and a TRD leather shift knob. The TRD Off-Road package is available on the SR5, Limited, and 1794 models, priced ranging from $1120 to $3085. It adds 20-inch wheels (18-inchers on the SR5), a TRD grille, Bilstein dampers, skid plates, mud guards, and the TRD shifter. Four-wheel-drive models with the TRD Off-Road package add an electronically controlled rear locking differential and Toyota’s Multi Terrain Select drive modes. An air suspension, which can raise or lower the bed of the truck, is available for $650. The 2022 Toyota Tundra will arrive at dealerships by the end of the year. Trucks equipped with the hybrid engine will arrive early next year.

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Volkswagen has shared another look at the production version of the ID.Buzz electric van.The production model looks similar to the concept, but with some key differences.The Buzz will go on sale in the U.S. in calendar-year 2023 as a 2024 model.Volkswagen is continuing to build anticipation for its upcoming Microbus–inspired van, called the ID.Buzz. After first showing the production version as an autonomous prototype mule a few months ago, we now have an even better look at the real thing in light camouflage thanks to a preview during the video premiere of the Europe-only ID.5 crossover.

Volkswagen

I.D.Buzz Concept
Volkswagen

The preview comes at around 10:15 in the video below and shows an ID.Buzz in a colorful camouflage wrap. We can clearly see its blunt front end, tall sides, and large front glass area, while production-ready details including real headlights, door handles, side mirrors suggest that it’s well on its way to becoming a reality. In the video, VW says that more information is coming at the beginning of 2022.
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The U.S. market will have to wait a bit longer for the Buzz, as we got confirmation earlier this year that it won’t reach our shores until sometime in 2023. The 2024 ID.Buzz we get will be offered as a long-wheelbase passenger van, while Europe will get other versions including a cargo van without windows. The U.S.-spec model is likely to offer a base rear-wheel-drive single-motor powertrain with around 200 horsepower and an upgrade all-wheel-drive dual-motor setup with around 300 hp. We don’t know much about range estimates at this point, but we figure it will offer a bigger battery pack than the smaller ID.4 SUV, which offers up to 260 miles of range.Look out for more details on the ID.Buzz within the next few months, and for U.S. information to come out sometime after that.
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