On Nantucket, vintage Broncos are the latest status symbols — restored, rare, and too nice for the beach
Greenwich, Conn. He's a man who is both an enthusiastic social critic and also delighted to be a member of the very social group he is critiquing.
Get Love Letters: The Newsletter
A weekly dispatch with all the best relationship content and commentary – plus exclusive content for fans of Love Letters, Dinner With Cupid, weddings, therapy talk, and more.
Enter Email
Sign Up
'I don't want to be that jerky Nantucket guy who says his wife bought him one for his 50th birthday,' he said, allowing himself a smile, 'but my wife bought one for my 50th birthday.'
Advertisement
Lee Milazzo corrects his sunglasses while posing for a portrait with his 1969 Brittany blue Ford Bronco, parked by Cisco Beach, on July 9, 2025. Although a vintage car like Milazzo's is laborious to maintain, he isn't afraid to drive his dream car like his daily and take it through the Nantucket sand.
Ben Pennington/for The Boston Globe
If the status Nantucket car was forever an old four-wheel-drive 'beater' that you could drive to Great Point, tire pressure lowered, sandy kids in the back, the generational wealth understated, today's It Car may be that very same vehicle — but now with every single part restored, repainted, or replaced.
Advertisement
The new driveway candy is a Ford Bronco, Land Rover Defender, or
'I did a vintage Broncos Day where we drove cars to
As he paraded through town, Milazzo kept one eye on the road as the other scanned for vehicular admirers. Quickly, one appeared in the form of a man who looked to be of a certain age and tax bracket, relaxing on a bench outside a boutique.
'It's my dream car,' he called out, as if on cue.
The steering wheel and gear stick of the 1969 Ford Bronco.
Ben Pennington/for The Boston Globe
In some ways, showy restored vintage 4x4s were a trend waiting to happen, as longtime Nantucketers say the island has gotten flashier (the word 'Hamptons' is thrown around). Private pools are proliferating (never mind you're surrounded by water), and real estate has gotten so pricey that one firm has to add new high-end categories that go beyond the traditional 'luxury' category to capture it all: 'ultra luxury' is for properties between $10 million and $20 million, and 'mega luxury' describes those even more expensive.
Probably no one is better positioned to see the rise of the high-end, custom-built classic 4x4 than Craig Carreau, the founder of
'We call them 'big boy toys,'' the genial Carreau said on a recent afternoon in Plymouth, as he showed a reporter around the 12-acre lot that houses an enormous garage where his crew of eight men works seven days a week refurbishing these cars.
Advertisement
At the top of the line, new-custom-upholstered seats are made of calfskin leather, the soft roofs fashioned out of custom mohair, and with the push of a button, the exhaust system can be made to roar like a Lamborghini or purr like a Rolls-Royce.
One customer, a billionaire, had an automated humidor installed in the center console of his 1972 Bronco. (But don't ask for his name, as he, like many others, required that Carreau sign a non-disclosure agreement.)
The wait to get a car done by Carreau can be 18 months
or longer, what with parts that need to be sourced nationally and internationally, the labor, and, annoyingly, the other 1 percenters.
Lee Milazzo poses for a portrait with his 1969 Brittany Blue Ford Bronco.
Ben Pennington/for The Boston Globe
Not that people with automated-humidor money are known for waiting passively. Indeed, when asked, Carreau confirmed that not a few try to skip the line.
'People want to wine and dine you, or fly you over to Nantucket,' Carreau said.
Many of the cars summer on Nantucket, and like their owners, winter in Palm (with the cars traveling to Florida by flat-bed truck). Others are driven only in the summer and spend the off-season in
Carreau's climate-controlled storage garage in Plymouth for $350 per month.
The restored vintage trend on the island ramped up during COVID, Carreau said, and by now there are so many that recently two
On one hand, the vintage vehicles aren't, technically, performance cars, lacking, as they do, impressive acceleration, handling, suspension, etc. But in today's image-forward culture, perhaps they are the ultimate performance vehicle.
Advertisement
As they say on Instagram: #nantucket
In a status-symbol feedback loop, the rise in wealthy Nantucketers driving vintage cars has led more companies and couples to rent similar vehicles for photo shoots, the better to borrow some Nantucket glamor.
'People are trying to chase that image of old school money,' said Nick Johnson. He started a vintage-car rental service on the island in 2020,
He's now got 14 vintage cars in his fleet, and at $1,500 for a half-day shoot, it's a good business. But there is one downside: He got into the business because he loves vintage vehicles. But now that the cars have become so valuable, including his 1970 Land Rover, some of the fun is gone.
'I'm second-guessing myself,' he said, 'and thinking maybe I shouldn't take this to the beach.'
Beth Teitell can be reached at
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

Epoch Times
4 hours ago
- Epoch Times
More Than 70,000 Ford SUVs Recalled in Canada Due to Engine Fire Risk
Ford has added the 2024 Ford Bronco to a growing list of recalled vehicles due to an engine risk that could cause the vehicles to light on fire. The new recall only applies to the Ford Bronco with a 1.5-litre EcoBoost engine, according to the notice posted July 14 by Transport Canada. Prior recall notices were issued in March on Ford Bronco Sport vehicles from 2021 to 2023 as well as Escape models from 2020 to 2022. In total, 70,618 vehicles have now been recalled over the issue.


Motor 1
14 hours ago
- Motor 1
Lamborghini's First EV Might Be Dead On Arrival
Back in December, Lamborghini announced that it would delay its first EV , based on the Lanzador concept first shown in 2023. The car, originally set to launch in 2028, was pushed back to 2029 amid softening demand for high-end electric cars. Now, we're hearing from CEO Stephan Winkelmann that the car might not be an EV at all. "We took two decisions so far based on the fact that the acceptance curve of the electric cars worldwide and globally, not only in our type of segment, is flattening, and this is even more true for our type [of cars]," Winkelmann told Australian publication CarExpert . "The first decision is that Urus replacement would be, again, a plug-in hybrid, and that we postpone the launch of the fourth [model]," he said. In addition to delaying the EV, Lamborghini recently walked back plans to make the next-generation Urus SUV an EV, instead saying it would now be a plug-in hybrid. When asked whether Lamborghini would consider a plug-in powertrain for the production Lanzador, Winkelmann didn't dismiss the idea. "We have to decide whether we go one way or the other very soon, but today is still… it's possible [that it is a plug-in hybrid], but it's something which is still very open," he said. This stance is a strong departure from just a few years ago, when Lamborghini seemed determined to release an electric car to add to its portfolio of series production vehicles. The company has been steadfast in hybridizing its lineup, first with the flagship Revuelto , before introducing the Urus SE hybrid . This year saw the launch of the Temerario , rounding out the company's portfolio. Lamborghini Lanzador Concept As for when the EV will arrive, Winkelmann stresses that the right timing is everything. "Again, we said we don't need to be there at the beginning, but we need to be there when the people are ready to buy these things," he told CarExpert . "And for me, this is paramount for the success of a company like ours. "We are a technology-driven company, but about certain things, you have always to look into the emotional side of the people which it is surrounding, and the second buyer for sure… because performance is driven not by just acceleration or top speed, but by emotion." Of course, Lamborghini remains committed to internal combustion for as long as it'll be allowed. The company plans to rely on pathways such as e-fuels to make that happen. "If sustainable fuels are coming, then this is a huge opportunity to keep internal combustion engines," Winkelmann said. "Besides that, for sure, the headline should be, we will keep them as long as possible, at least for the two supercars." More on Lamborghini Lamborghini Hints at a Rear-Wheel-Drive Temerario: 'A Different Kind of Hybridization' Lamborghini's New Supercar Is Going Racing Get the best news, reviews, columns, and more delivered straight to your inbox, daily. back Sign up For more information, read our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use . Share this Story Facebook X LinkedIn Flipboard Reddit WhatsApp E-Mail Got a tip for us? Email: tips@ Join the conversation ( )

The Drive
15 hours ago
- The Drive
Ferrari Trademark Filing Hints at Testarossa Rebirth After 40 Years
The latest car news, reviews, and features. Trademarks can tell us a lot about a secretive company that likes to play its moves very close to the chest, like Ferrari. The brand recently trademarked the name '849 Testarossa' in Iceland, as CarBuzz recently reported, and it's got us thinking that a revival of the '80s icon could be around the corner. Honestly, if this were just about 'Testarossa,' sans number, it probably wouldn't mean that much. Companies have to protect and maintain control of their intellectual property, and renewing long-held trademarks is how that's done. Ferrari still licenses scale models of the sports car and vintage racing machine that inspired it, not to mention other memorabilia. But this new one, '849 Testarossa' is very fresh, having only existed since July 21, and very specific. Such a nomenclature has existed in the Ferrari universe before, with cars like the 812 Superfast. The real question is what shape a theoretical revival would take. If it's not going to be an addition to the standard range, it could simply be an 'Icona' limited-production model like the Daytona SP3—and there's little doubting that the Testarossa is one of Ferrari's icons. I still remember the universal recognition it had as a kid in the '90s, more than a decade after its unveiling. In a world where Lamborghini could revive the Countach, a reborn Testarossa doesn't seem very far-fetched. Consider that 2025 marks the 40th anniversary of the 1985 Testarossa's introductory model year, and I'd bet my chips on a comeback. The picture of '80s excellence. Ferrari Got a tip? Send us a note: tips@ .article-sidebar]:pt-0>