Old Car Pre-Flight!
Pilots usually don’t fly before they make sure the plane will. Or rather, that it will probably continue flying once it’s up in the air. They’ll do a thorough walk-around and...
Good Names… Bad Cars
The good thing about a bad car name is you've got no expectations. Not much to live up to - and so, little to disappoint you.
Achieva, for instance.
But wasting a good...
The Shitbox, Fondly Recalled
The late and very great Brock Yates coined the term.
Shitboxes.
They don't make them anymore - not really. Modern economy cars are not shitboxes.
A shitbox is something like an '80s-era Ford Escort...
Tempus Fugit
The other day, I found myself behind what - to me - is a relatively new and certainly modern Mustang GT from the mid-'90s wearing "antique" tags. Holy tempus fugit!
Was 1994...
In Search Of…
If you own a '60s or '70s-era muscle car, you've probably become aware of an ironic problem: It is virtually impossible to find high-performance tires for your high-performance classic.
The BF...
Blue Haze: Mazda RX8 (2001-2011)
Some of the greatest ideas never get fleshed out and remain... great ideas.
Mazda's rotary engine, for instance. And the car that was built around it.
The RX8.
Well, it began with the RX-7...
They’re Heavy… But Fragile
New cars are very good at meeting Uncle’s crash test requirements - but even minor impacts can and do cause a lot of very expensive damage.
Despite the fact that most new...
Air-Cooled Oddballs
Cars used to be like motorcycles still are (for now). You could even buy them with air-cooled engines, just like you can still buy bikes with air-cooled engines. No radiator to...
The Fun of Driving Slow, Fast
There is much to be said about driving a slow car fast. Or even a slow-by-today's standards car. I have more fun in the Orange Barchetta - my 1976 Trans-Am -...
Blame Nixon
The American automobile industry has loved Uncle long time now. But it was not always so - at least, not to the extent we've come to accept as normal. There was a...