History/driving impressions originally published in AutoWeek October 17, 1994; republished by author “Je me suis inspire d’un oiseau aquatique.” Well, it does look a little like a duck. For a car, that is. A sculptor name Bertoni – no relation to the Italian coachbuilder Bertone – penned the shape for Citroen’s revolutionary DS-19, saying a […]
1976-1983 Renault 5 Le Car
History originally published in Sport Compact Car November 1998; republished by the author Shakespeare said, “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” Sure, Bill, but would it sell? When Renault began importing its new econobox in 1976, they use their current practice of numerical model designation and called it the “5.” A […]
1913 Zinn-Buick racer: Re-bodied Model 24 roadster lays claim to longevity
History originally published in AutoWeek March 13, 1989; republished by the author Zinn – Eugene “Huey” Zinn, that is – doesn’t exactly spring to mind when the great names of racing are mentioned. Nor does Buick, despite all the money Buick has spent in NASCAR and CART and IMSA lately. If anything, Buicks have been […]
1980 Dodge Omni 024 De Tomaso: Phony Label but Still Avant Garde
History originally published in Sport Compact Car June 1998; republished by the author It should have been no surprise that in 1978 when Chrysler introduced its first homegrown front-drive subcompacts – the Dodge Omni and Plymouth Horizon – it would follow later in the year with a pair of two-door coupes. Called the Dodge Omni […]
1951 Dellow Mk I: Sports car evolved from traditional British “trials” racers
History/driving impressions originally published in AutoWeek December 13, 1993; republished by the author If you can think of history as waves of rising and falling situations, sentiments and circumstances, then the story of the Dellow makes sense. It was the peculiar juxtaposition of people, the times and events that led to the production and competition […]
2017 Fiat 124 Spider Lusso quick drive review: Mostly familiar but different
Contemporary first drive review originally published in CarBuzzard, Nov. 1. 2016 There were two things we were worried about with the new 2017 Fiat 124 Spider. One was that it would be too much like the Mazda MX-5 Miata. The other was that it wouldn’t be enough. The Miata and the 124 Spider were, […]
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