CraigsList: What you see is what you get, if you can see it

This car is for sale, just unbury it. Unicycle not included.

Searching for Royal Enfield motorcycles for sale in the U.S., I sometimes come across ads for other vehicles that stop me in my tracks.

I enjoyed this CraigsList ad for a 1959 Volvo PV 544 for sale in Long Beach, Calif.

These roach-shaped Volvos seemed attractive in my boyhood because their light weight and floor-mounted manual transmissions made them more sporting than the American cars of the time.

But that wasn't what caught my attention so much as the seller's photos, none of which show the car very well.

One shot includes a random shoe. In the background of another is a unicycle. Did this Volvo spend time in the circus?

And then there was the wording of the ad itself:

"The picture is the proof mixed with some pudding.

"Call or text me.

"Call me on my house phone first.

"If I don't answer just call back two more times in a row. I should answer.

"Don't leave a message. I never check my voicemail.

"If you are serious about buying my Volvo you will call me until I answer.

"No emails. Emails are for people who are not serious and or too scared to talk on the phone."