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February 18, 2008
Gavin Rhodes was surprised that his black 1959 Triumph TR3A won the Collectible Car of the Year contest on nytimes.com.
At a time when American muscle cars have become treasured icons and Italian sports cars are, well, Italian sports cars, Mr. Rhodes, 33, didn’t think his froggish little roadster stood a chance.
“I was up against a Ferrari,” he said, adding that the contest “really represented the whole spectrum of classic cars. Some people use them every day. Other people have several million-dollar cars that are trucked around from show to show. I was amazed.”
A total of 558 cars were entered in the contest, and 4,500 votes were cast by readers of nytimes.com for the 30 finalists, which had been chosen by the staff of the Automobiles section in November. As winner, Mr. Rhodes will receive $5,000 and a trophy; the other finalists will receive a prize package valued at $50 and passes to the New York International Auto Show in March.
The outcome of the competition revealed an automotive counterculture of sorts: the enduring affection for classic British sports cars, warts and all.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth 
at 1:18 PM to Collecting
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this picture brought back a lot of fond memories. this car i bought when i got out of navy was a 1959 tr3. i had many a happy day driving that little thing around
Posted by: jackfish on February 25, 2008 5:48 AM
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