Originally published in The Complete Road & Track ’97 Car Buyer’s Guide; republished by the author Back in the mid-60’s, a serious sports car had to have its engine in the middle. Lots of reasons were cited for this, things like weight distribution and polar moment of inertia. Mostly it was because race cars were […]
Volkswagen Corrado G60 and SLC: The short run of a German sprinter
History/driving impressions originally published in Sport Compact Car, August 1999 Volkswagen called it the Corrado, allegedly from the Spanish correr, to sprint or run. And the new coupe, having its debut in the fall of 1989 as a 1990 model, had the no waste, and just put the leftovers in the trash bin. It followed […]
Ford Probe: Sporty econocar or Thunderbird stand-in?
Review originally published in Road & Track Car Buyer’s Guide 1997 Once destined to replace the Mustang as a properly down-sized, front-drive import-pretender, the Ford Probe instead became an in-house alternative to the rear-drive ponycar. Where the Mustang is bold, the Probe exhibits finesse. Where the Mustang is raucous, the Probe is harmonious. Where the […]
Ferrari Dino 206 GT, 246 GT and 246 GTS, scorned no more: Put down by purists when new, Ferrari Dinos are finally gaining respect – and value
Feature originally published in AutoWeek November 24, 1986 The Dino, finally, has arrived. Criticized at the time of its introduction for being too slow, too small and having too few cylinders, it wasn’t considered a true Ferrari. Real Ferraris have 12 cylinders, the purists said. Real Ferraris didn’t have engine castings and wheels with the […]
1992-1996 Mazda MX-3 GS: Do the math
History/driving impressions originally published in Sport Compact Car February 2002 Do the math. MX-5 plus RX-7 divided by two equals MX-3. Well, the Mazda MX-3 sporty coupe isn’t an exact cross between the Miata sports car in the third generation RX-7, but the genetic link is obvious. This little screamer, what Car and Driver called […]
1999 Isuzu VehiCross: Going far out
Contemporary test originally published in Road & Track’s Open Road Winter 1998/1999\ Keep the lava field but draw in a chromium bikini-clad warrior woman toting a laser gun set to stun. By all rights, illustrations accompanying this article should not be photographs but cartoons. Not Roger Rabbit, but the futuristic bizarre world of Japanimation. That’s […]
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