Contemporary review originally published in Corridor Today March 15, 1988 I believe that automobiles are something like nouns in romance languages: they have gender. Oh, I know objectively that cars are innate objects made of rubber and plastic and steel but I also know that we talk to our cars. We beg them to start […]
1967 Chevrolet Corvette L89: Ed Cole’s 427cu in stormer
Originally published in AutoWeek February 3, 1986 If this were 1967 and you were able to ask Ed Cole, then general manager of General Motors, for the hottest, meanest street-drivable automobile in the GM fleet, he would have suggested this, the 1967 Chevrolet Corvette with Regular Production Option L89. We know, because someone is reputed […]
Kibler Aircar
Originally published in Automobile, February 1988 Behind John Kibler’s head is a 400-cubic-inch V-8 rescued from a 1971 Chevy Kingswood station wagon. Its roar, however, is largely obscured by the distinctive pulse of a propeller cutting through the air. This is John Kibler’s Aircar. Not a hovercraft. “Aircar,” asserts Kibler, who points to the four […]
Daimler SP250: One out of three wasn’t enough
Originally published in AutoWeek March 7, 1983 I may get some argument on this, but I believe automobiles can be – and are – evaluated in three primary categories: styling, performance and handling. Everything, from exotic GT to humble grocery getter, can be judged by how it looks, how it goes and how it gets […]
BMW 502: Delicate Sparkle of a Bavarian Princess
Originally published in AutoWeek, January 3, 1983 There was a time after World War II when it looked as if BMW would not survive. The entire automotive factory, tooling and plans had fallen into the Eastern Sector at Eisenach, and what was left in the West was scattered to the four corners of the earth […]
1969 Ford Mustang Boss 429: Riding the Shotgun
Originally published in AutoWeek 1July 19, 1982 The engine has nicknames. The Blue Racer. The Semi-Hemi. The Blue Crescent. Ford’s Porcupine. But one seem to fit more than others. Shotgun. Ford can call it the Boss 429 if it wants, but Shotgun is the name that best describes the engine – and the car with […]
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