History originally published in the Illustrated Volvo Buyer’s Guide, 1983, by John Matras; republished by the author The 1983 Volvo Limited Edition 240 Turbo is called the “Flat Hood” because it has a flat hood. If politics makes strange bedfellows – keep your prurient thoughts to yourself – then racing makes unusual variants available to […]
Holden Monaro GTS: Very American, very GM-like, yet very different as well
History/driving impressions originally published in AutoWeek October 26, 1987; republished by the author The blokes put Australia in the right place: On the other side of the globe, down under, a looking-glass world where everything is the same…only different. Take the language. Americans and Australians both speak English, although their English is, to Americans, a […]
1970 Opel GT 1.9: Mini-Vette?
History/driving impressions originally published in Special Interest Autos, June 1997; republished by the author Compare the front clip of any production Opel GT with a ‘68 Chevrolet Corvette and you will understand why Car and Driver called the German sports car a “teeny-bopper Corvette.” The same blade bumper runs across the front edge of the […]
The Big Three-0: Range Rover has [30th] birthday, and Brits celebrate en masse
Event report originally published in AutoWeek on October 16, 2000; republished by the author Thirty years to the day, Range Rover enthusiasts gathered at the Heritage Motor Centre in Gaydon, England, to celebrate the model’s birthday. The celebration fell exactly 30 years after the press conference announcing the first upscale off-road 4×4, a combination of […]
Supercharging to the Rescue: 1994 Toyota Previa S/C
Contemporary new product report/review originally published in Popular Science April 1994; republished by the author It seemed that Toyota had painted itself into a corner. The four-cylinder 2.4-liter 138-horsepower powerplant in its Previa minivan just didn’t have the guts for towing or hauling heavy loads. And the under-the-floor placement simply didn’t allow much room for […]
BMW 3.0 CSiL: The Homologator
History/driving impressions originally published in AutoWeek May 5, 1986; republished by the author. When the final history of the Nurburgring is written, when the last word have been spent on that asphalt serpent writhing 14 miles through the tall dark evergreens, its great story told once and for all, no grander chapter will there be […]
What They’re Saying