Having sold my AWD Volvo wagon, this is the first winter in years I have not had a four wheel drive. Stuck, I have started sniffing around Samurais.

On a trip to Peru in the eighties I saw my first and fell in love with it. A few years later they imported them to the states and I bought one. It did everything right other than deliver the gas mileage I expected from such a small tinny car. In 1986, while you could probably get a gray market one for less, the full list price was $6,200.

Despite a garage and driveway filled with cars to chose from, the Samurai was almost always the car of choice and certainly the least safe. After years of ownership and with a child approaching 16, I felt selling it to be the responsible thing to do.

Now, in 2015, with luck one with 100K will be in the $4,500 - $5,000 range with some preserved, stock ones well into 5 figures.

As an alternative, I looked into Wranglers. One in the condition of the one I sold in the 90s for around $5,000 is bringing ....maybe nearly double that today. Then there are old convertible Land Rovers but the loved 88 I sold due to a job loss seemed to go up in value by a factor of 10 within days of my selling and has not come down.

This brought to mind those that disparage the Crossfire and its prospects for price appreciation.

I should have kept them all ........