History originally published in AutoWeek July 30, 1984 Highway 51 rides the backbone of America. The southern end is anchored at New Orleans, the other in northern Wisconsin. In between, the asphalt runs through Centralia, Illinois, which, at least Before California, was about as close to the US center as a city could be. Some […]
Lotus 23: Choice of Champions
Originally published in AutoWeek September 17, 1984 Spectators at the 1962 Nurburgring 1000 could scarcely believe their eyes. A little Lotus from the under-two-liter class was leading the race, literally running away from the field on a rain-dampened track. Bruce McLaren, in an old Aston Martin DBR1/300, had been the only other leader in the […]
What’s New… Dodge Omni GLH Turbo
Contemporary review originally published in AutoWeek February 11, 1985 When I was a boy, my grandfather would stop his Chevy pickup on East Texas prairie at the telltale sign of a pair of ears above the tall dry grass. With a “Yonder, Pardner,” I’d be dispatch in pursuit, always in vain. With casual contempt, the […]
Herbert Austin’s 7: Britain’s version of the Model T
History originally published in AutoWeek June 13, 1983 Ford’s Model T, they say, put America on wheels. Certainly there were earlier automobiles, even earlier Fords, but it is the Model T that more Americans can remember growing up with than any other model. Henry Ford produced his first automobile, an experimental two-cylinder buggy, in 1896. […]
1991-95 Hyundai Scoupe: The coupe scoop
History originally published in Sport Compact Car in September 1999 Hyundai already had made a name for itself selling cars, the penny-squeezing Excel and the luxury-stuff-on-a-budget Sonata. So it was no surprise the Korean manufacturer’s sport coupe, introduced in the 1991 model year, was what marketing types call a “value leader.” It was cheap, and […]
Turner 1500 MKIII: Out for a spin at the track
History originally published in AutoWeek March 21, 1983 How embarrassing. I had spun the Turner, depositing in the dirt in a shower of mud and dust. Naturally enough, I had stopped spinning facing the track so that I had to witness the procession of seemingly everyone out on the track. All of whom have been […]
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