Retro-review: 1974 Pontiac GTO
The original muscle car era lasted about a decade, from 1964 to 1974 - just before the industry-wide adoption of catalytic converters. After '74, power plummeted for a decade and even...
Retro Review: 1998-2004 Nissan Frontier
It’s not yet a “classic,” but the ’98-2004 Nissan Frontier (and other same-era compact trucks like the Toyota Tacoma and Ford Ranger/Mazda B series) looks pretty good in the rearview.
And in...
Muscle Car Classics of the ’80s… Get ‘Em While You Still Can (Afford ‘Em)
Back around 1980, the now-legendary, much-coveted and Big Bucks muscle cars of the 1960s and early 1970s were just tired old cars; common sights at seedy used car lots - and...
Retro Review: Plymouth GTX, 1967-1974
People who argue that it wasn't GM - well, Pontiac - that created the first muscle car (the 1964 GTO) arguably have history on their side. Because there were muscular cars...
The Rear Wheel Drive Resurgence
Two things once defined American cars.
They were almost always rear-wheel-drive - even the economy cars - and they sometimes could be had with V8 engines. Or at least they fit.
The Pontiac Tempest...
Muscle Cars Were Slow . . . Part II
I wrote a column a couple years ago (see here) that mentioned an unspeakable truth: Relative to now - classic muscle cars were slow. Back in the day, when the typical passenger car...
Doomed: AMC Eagle (1979-1988)
American Motors Corp had a rep for being, well, different.
Broke, too.
The lack of money tied into the different drummer-ness.
Oddities like the Ambassador and Matador, the Hornet and Gremlin ... and of course,...
Features That Were Fun… But …
The other day, someone reminded me about T-tops. If you're younger than 30 or so, you probably don't remember T-tops. But if you're older, no doubt you do.
For about 10 years...
Muscle Cars Were Slow… II
About two weeks ago, I got a new (2016) Mustang GT to test drive. 435 hp. This is a mass-produced, docile, AC-equipped street car with a dead-calm idle. Anything from back...
The New vs. The Old
I got into a debate the other day with a reader about the future of the car hobby; about whether today’s cars are fundamentally disposable appliances that work great for a...