5 cool vehicles to watch at Canada’s oldest collector car auction

The Okotoks Collector Car Auction in Alberta, Canada, has been moving classic vehicles since 1975, making it one of the oldest events of its kind. In fact, at 44 years and counting, it is Canada’s longest-running collector car auction.

For the entry-level enthusiast or collector, there are plenty of attainable classics to tempt the pocketbook, including several of those neat Canadian market-only models that have come and gone over the years. Here are five of the most noteworthy vehicles that will cross the block during the May 25–26 event.

1968 Pontiac Parisienne Convertible

Occasionally, the Big Three used special Canada-only names for certain offerings, like Ford’s Frontenac or GM’s Acadian. Meanwhile, some of the more familiar brands also had Canada-only offerings. Pontiac’s full-size range-topper in Canada for many years, the Parisienne typically featured Chevrolet underpinnings but the exterior largely resembled the American-market Bonneville and Grand Prix.

1974 Oldsmobile Cutlass Hurst/Olds Pace Car

In 1974, the Hurst/Olds served as Indy 500 pace car for the second time, and buyers could order a special replica model, although only in Colonnade-coupe form instead of the convertible that actually paced the race. Most of the 1800 or so Hurst/Olds built in ’74 had an Oldsmobile 350 V-8 that was good for only 180 horsepower, but about 380 featured the W-30 version of the 230-hp Rocket 455 V-8 (solid horsepower for 1974). That makes this car, with both the 455 engine and the pace car graphics, a fairly rare find.

1969 Chevrolet Kingswood Station Wagon

While vintage wagons were once family haulers, they have a certain cool factor now that most people have made the switch to crossover SUVs. They’re also a pretty rare sight since few people bothered to save them. Back in the late ‘60s, the Impala-based Kingswood was one of the nicer wagons you could buy, and this one is a particularly sweet deal with its factory 427.

1983 Fleetwood Southwind Motorhome

Buying a 35-year-old motorhome probably isn’t the smartest idea in the world, but this Fleetwood Southwind RV is delightfully ‘80s-looking, has a relatively low 117,000 kilometers (73,000 miles) on the odometer, and just received thousands of dollars in mechanical work. It could be a neat way to hit the highway and see the continent on a budget.

1959 Monarch II Lucerne

Monarch was a somewhat short-lived Canada-only brand based on Mercury. It was discontinued in 1958 to make room for the Edsel, but we all know how that turned out, so Ford brought back Monarch for 1959, only to discontinue the brand again in 1961. This car, called a Lucerne, is one of the models offered during Monarch’s brief return, along with the Richelieu and Sceptre.