When you see an ad for a 40-year old one-owner car, you start to wonder what stories it and its owner might share. Today's Audi 100ls is just such a ride, but is its price too tall a tale?

The Lincoln of today is a svelte mid-size hybrid that's tidy but ultimately likely to be lost in a crowd. In comparison, yesterday's blast from the past offered a presence and proportions that could not be ignored. In an unfortunate turn of events for its seller however, a blistering 88% of you felt its price should be ignored.

Many lament that the Lincoln of today does not reflect the luxury and ostentation of the brand's…

Okay, fun fact time - I learned how to drive stick on an Audi 100ls much like . My brother had bought his - a two-door - from a dealer that also sold Porsches, which made it seem oh so exotic. Additional furrin' flare came from the sisal mats that he bought for the floor.

The original 100 looks a lot like the contemporary mid-sized Mercedes, and that's with good reason - it was designed and engineered by the Swabians. The history of Audi and the 100 in particular is convoluted but boiled down it goes something like this- Daimler Benz owned a majority stake in Auto Union, hoping its multiple brands would make them Germany's General Motors.

Unfortunately Auto Union proved so great a money suck (damn two-strokes!) that Daimler decided to offload them and build a new truck plant instead. VW bought the rights to the name and the shiny new Ingolstadt plant Daimler had constructed for the nascent 100, which VW immediately converted to Beetle production. Development of the 100 continued under former Mercedes engineer Ludwig Kraus, in direct conflict with orders from VW boss Heinrich maneuver Nordoff. Upon seeing - and falling in lieben with - the completed 100, Nordoff acquiesced to approving its production. The rest, of course, is history.

This particular 100 is also historical, being as it is 40 years old and claimed to be a one-owner car. Of course touting that as a sales incentive is sort of self defeating as it's no longer the case should anyone actually buy the damn thing! Based on the dealer plate on the front it looks like this 219K Audi is presently betwixt and between, but it still looks sweet for its age and mileage.

The 100 was so named for its 100-horse four cylinder. That of course was the power produced in Der Vaterland, the 1,871-cc Mercedes-designed four in this American-spec ‘72 giving up only 91. That's at least backed up by a four speed transaxle to which are mounted the front disc brakes. As you might expect, inboard disc brake pad changes are bit of a hassle unless you're .

The interior of this 100 shows further Mercedes influence, and appears in as equally nice shape as the exterior with the singular exception of an odd perforated cover over where the central dash speaker resides. Aside from that the dash looks remarkably un-marred. That perhaps is owed to its Pacific Northwest residence which likely means it only has a passing acquaintance with the Sun.

Interestingly, at 182 inches long and riding on a 105-inch wheelbase, this former largest Audi is 3-inches shorter overall, and gives up 5 full inches in wheelbase to the current mama bear-sized A4. My how times have changed. Of course $5,000 today is only a down payment on an A4 while it will buy you this entire 100ls, should that be your bent. That may or may not be a good thing. What do you think, is that a decent price to pay for this one-owner one hundred? Or, does that price make you say Audi-os?

You decide!

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