History originally published in AutoWeek May 19, 1986 Marty Himes tiptoes the red car around turns three and four of Williams Grove’s half-mile dirt track, not quite hanging the tail out. The flagman has been watching him and Marty has seen the official grasping the black flag like it has “Himes” written all over it. […]
1927 Volvo PV4: The first boxy Volvo
History/driving impressions originally published in AutoWeek April 1, 2002 Volvo’s first sedan was immediately disowned by Helmer MasOlle. The landscape and portrait painter – and car enthusiast – had indeed designed a prototype sedan and its touring car counterpart. He gladly took credit for the open torpedo-bodied ÖV4, bearing strong resemblance to a Voisin he […]
Ferrari 365 GTS/4 Daytona Spyder: The Spyder inside the Daytona
History/driving impressions originally published in AutoWeek December 29, 1986 It shouldn’t have existed, the Daytona Spyder. At least it shouldn’t have been what it was. By tradition, Ferrari had usually differentiated between coupe and spyder versions of his cars. Spyders weren’t just topless versions of roofed models. They were completely different cars, sharing engine and […]
1929 Nash Model 461 Cabriolet: “The Car with the Twin-Ignition Motor”
History/driving impressions originally published in AutoWeek December 24, 2001 Harold Metzger gently chided me for having chirp the tires of his 29 – Cabriolet. “Well, we certainly know it has enough power to burn rubber!” I had halted on a hill having failed to negotiate a downshift on the non-synchronized gearbox. (One doesn’t get much […]
2006 Bentley Continental GT: W.O.’s long legs
Contemporary review originally published in CarBuzzard published March 9, 2006 One might think W.O. Bentley would be proud of the 2006 Bentley Continental GT. It has, to use the original company’s founder and namesake’s words, “long legs.” Seven league boots, perhaps, a great thumping way to put miles in the rearview mirror. That’s the Bentley […]
2010 Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup Edition: Diesel racer
Review originally published in Examiner.com May 2010 Race on Sunday, sell on Monday. That’s been the motto of many auto manufacturers since the dawn of the automotive age. In fact, the first car race in the United States, in 1895, was staged to encourage domestic manufacture of automobiles. It’s no surprise, then, that Volkswagen took […]
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