Q: I read that actor Steve McQueen's 1963 Ferrari 250 GTL Lusso Berlinetta coupe sold in August for $2.31 million at a Monterey, Calif., classic car auction, although my collector car price guide says the 1962-64 Lusso is worth about $420,000 in excellent condition. Was McQueen's car fitted with gold parts? --W.J., Chicago.

A: No, but that world-record figure surprised everyone at the Christie's auction. It was more than five times the approximately $400,000 a Ferrari Lusso without an international celebrity's provenance would otherwise bring.

Why so much? Probably because McQueen "was the quintessentially cool car guy" and Ferrari "is the ultimate symbol of car coolness," Sports Car Market magazine says. (A collector, who owned McQueen's Lusso for 25 years, paid $8,000 for it in 1972, when new Cadillacs cost less, and McQueen was still alive.)

The Lusso, which translates to "Luxury," was the last of Ferrari's highly collectible "250" car series. One of the most beautiful Ferraris built, only 350 Lussos were made. McQueen's car was ordered by his wife, actress Neile, before his 34th birthday. It was restored to concours condition long after McQueen, an extreme car buff, traded it to former auto racer and exotic car dealer Charles Hayes, in 1967 because the Lusso's V-12 engine smoked a bit during hard acceleration -- normal for early Ferraris but annoying to McQueen, although the Lusso was one of his favorite cars.

Q: Don't you think the Pontiac Starcraft, the car popularized by the "I Love Lucy" television show, was more of a family car than the 1955 Studebaker Speedster you wrote about (Oct. 1 AutoTimes). Looking at the photo of the Speedster, it seems as if three of its five passengers would have to be midgets. --B.A., Chicago

A: You're referring to the 1955 Pontiac Star Chief, as there was no Pontiac "Starcraft" model. The Star Chief was an attractive, conventional mass-produced family model, whereas the limited-production Speedster was a sporty low-slung "family sports car." The Speedster was pretty big and long, with a 120.5-inch wheelbase (distance between axles), although the picture makes it look smaller than it was. Today's full-size Cadillac DTS only has a 115.6-inch wheelbase. I've found that five tall adults fit in the Speedster.

Q: I'm interested in the Cadillac DTS, but it comes with rear-wheel drive. Are there any plans to change it to front- or all-wheel drive? --J.S., Chicago

A: The 2008 CTS (Sept. 29 AutoTimes) has standard rear-wheel drive but offers all-wheel drive for the first time. However, with standard traction and stability control systems, all-wheel drive isn't really needed for more than a few days of a typical Chicago winter. The CTS won't offer front-drive because it's a European-style car designed to compete mainly with the rear-drive BMW and Mercedes-Benz. Front-drive would make the CTS nose-heavy and prevent it from having desired balanced handling.

Q: Regarding Mercedes-Benz models, what is an "AMG" Mercedes model? --C.J., Chicago area

A: AMG is a Mercedes hot rod operation. It became famous in America developing those monochromatic Mercedes models driven by bad guys on the television series "Miami Vice." An AMG-modified Mercedes is faster and handles better than a standard model. Other major automakers now have similar hot rod operations. For instance, BMW has its "M" division and even Ford and Chrysler have hot in-house vehicle outfits that modify standard models.

Q: The brakes on my Lexus SC 430 make a loud noise every time I wash my car or it rains -- although the noise is gone after I drive for a few minutes. The dealer said that condition is "normal in sports cars." --B.H., Chicago area

A: The silly things that service department personnel tell people often amaze me. For instance, the SC 430 is a sporty car with a retractable hard top, not a sports car. And you're likely to get the same sound when the brakes get wet if driving an SUV. What's happening is that water is temporarily preventing the correct friction being developed in the brakes when you initially apply them, but it soon goes away because braking causes heat that quickly dries the water.

Q: My 1995 Nissan Maxima idles real badly at 1,300 rpm but runs OK when I accelerate past that engine rpm level. A friend said the problem may be caused by a bad fuel injector. --M.N., Bolingbrook

A: There probably is a bad fuel injector or ignition system component such as a spark plug or ignition wire. The engine sounds fine when you no longer put much of a load on it after initial acceleration to cruising speed.

However, you also might begin to notice that the engine isn't running properly if you accelerate while at cruising speed.