Monaco’s prince hosts unglamorous auto auction of personal Camaro, Dart

The good news first: If you're in the market for an older, less expensive car with a little character and history, there's an auction in about a month of about 100-some vehicles that fits the bill, from a VW Bug to a well-preserved 1964 Dodge Dart and this six-cylinder 1973 Chevrolet Camaro. One drawback: You'll need to retrieve the cars from Monaco, because they're being sold by His Serene Highness Prince Albert. How did he end up in so many inelegant tin cans?

The listing for the auction says the sale comes from a culling of the collection owned by Prince Albert's father, HSH Prince Rainier, who was an avid gearhead. There's a few interesting models sprinkled in to this mix, such as a 1924 Panhard X19, several pre-war convertibles, a customized 1983 Mercedes-Benz 500 SEC AMG that was Rainier's personal ride and even a smattering of World War II U.S. Army trucks.

But the majority of the collection looks like something you'd find on the better parts of Craigslist or Bring A Trailer. That Camaro above was the six-cylinder automatic version, good for 140 hp in 1973 and currently holding 43,000 kilometers on the dash. The 1976 VW Beetle has a broken fuel pump; the Dart has the base 2.8-liter slant six instead of any V8, and there's also a 1976 Honda Civic that wasn't deemed worthy enough to even photograph for the catalogue. None of the vehicles has an estimated sale price above $44,000 -- but all will come with paperwork endorsed with various official Monaco seals and signatures and whatnot, so that should really impress the judges at the next neighborhood auto show.