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Rolls-Royce

Rules-Royce “Silver Ghost”: R-R’s 40 – 50 HP: Before there was the name, there was quality

1921-1940 England I-6 Rolls-Royce

Rules-Royce “Silver Ghost”: R-R’s 40 – 50 HP: Before there was the name, there was quality

History/driving impressions originally published in AutoWeek March 14, 1988 What a name! It has magic to it, that certain…rightness. Righteousness, even as good as the…

JmatrasApril 3, 2025

1933 Rolls-Royce Park Ward Coupe: Right drive, left entry

1921-1940 England I-6 Rolls-Royce

1933 Rolls-Royce Park Ward Coupe: Right drive, left entry

History originally published in AutoWeek June 25, 1984 Rolls-Royce has never been predisposed to produce a range of vehicles designed and priced for a variety…

JmatrasApril 3, 2025

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Home
The Car
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- Abarth
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Jackie Stewart remembers his time in a Lola T260

Jackie Stewart remembers his time in a Lola T260

History originally published in AutoWeek November 11, 1985 Jackie Stewart has the voice of the veterinarian. With aged-in-an-oak-cask Scottish brogue, he could anesthetize a horse…

Ferrari Testa Rossa TR250: What but lust and desire can a redhead inspire?

Ferrari Testa Rossa TR250: What but lust and desire can a redhead inspire?

History originally published in AutoWeek January 30, 1984 Let’s talk desire. Let’s talk lust. Let’s talk Testa Rossa. Ferrari Testa Rossa, of course, for no…

1971-74 De Tomaso Pantera: Ford’s “affordable” exotic at home among the classics

1971-74 De Tomaso Pantera: Ford’s “affordable” exotic at home among the classics

Originally published in AutoWeek, August 7, 1989 If longevity has anything to say about virtue, as it does with, say, the VW Beetle or Citroen…

1957 Simca Vedette Versailles: Nee Ford, Simca’s star of the 1950s

1957 Simca Vedette Versailles: Nee Ford, Simca’s star of the 1950s

History/driving impressions originally published in AutoWeek March 27, 1995; republished by the author Two of the least frequently noted developments regarding automobiles in France were…

2005 Mercedes-Benz C55 AMG: The fast and the seniorious

2005 Mercedes-Benz C55 AMG: The fast and the seniorious

Review originally published in CarBuzzard 2005 One would like to think that the Mercedes-Benz AMG C55 is the fast and the furious for grownups. Sorta…

BMW 502: Delicate Sparkle of a Bavarian Princess

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…

Saab Sonett II: Different strokes from Swedish folks

Saab Sonett II: Different strokes from Swedish folks

History/driving impressions originally published in AutoWeek June 9, 1986 Bound in this white plastic projectile I dance on the offset pedals and coax the stubborn…

1992-1994 Acura Vigor: Silent Running

1992-1994 Acura Vigor: Silent Running

History/driving impressions originally published in Sport Compact Car, October 2000; republished by the author It’s as if Acura had tossed a stone in a pond…

2006 Bentley Continental GT: W.O.’s long legs

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…

Holden Monaro GTS: Very American, very GM-like, yet very different as well

Holden Monaro GTS: Very American, very GM-like, yet very different as well

History/driving impressions originally published in AutoWeek October 26, 1987; republished by the author The blokes put Australia in the right place: On the other side…

Pure and potent: Two Nash-Healeys

Pure and potent: Two Nash-Healeys

History originally published in AutoWeek July 21, 1986 “We usually start it in second gear. There is a chatter in first that you can adjust…

1990 Saab 9000 2.3: John Matras traveled to the deep South – Talladega – to test the new engine from the far north

1990 Saab 9000 2.3: John Matras traveled to the deep South – Talladega – to test the new engine from the far north

Contemporary review originally published in VW & Porsche and European Automobiles in August 1990 Talladega’s Turn One rises ahead like a 40-footer at the Banzai…

Model T speedster: Hot rod of an earlier age

Model T speedster: Hot rod of an earlier age

History originally published in AutoWeek February 16, 1987 The crackle of the exhaust was like nothing you’ve ever heard, popping and snapping it idle, booming…

Vauxhall 30/98: The beginning of the end of an era of sportsters

Vauxhall 30/98: The beginning of the end of an era of sportsters

Original history/driving impressions originally published in Motor Trend’s Sports Cars of the World-1990, republished by the author “Only $2,575,291.” That’s how much GM paid for…

1976 Triumph TR6: Symbolizing the twilight of the British sports car’s reign

1976 Triumph TR6: Symbolizing the twilight of the British sports car’s reign

History/driving impressions originally published in AutoWeek July 18, 1994. The hood is narrow, much more so from the driver’s seat them when viewed from outside.…

Kermit the Bentley: It’s not easy being green

Kermit the Bentley: It’s not easy being green

History originally published in AutoWeek December 10, 1984 “Back in the mid-1950s a young man in England named Collin Hiley was apprenticed to Rolls-Royce Aero…

Callaway’s LM—as in “Le Mans”

Callaway’s LM—as in “Le Mans”

News report originally published in Car and Driver October 1995 Here’s the deal—bring an LT1 Corvette and at least $80,000 to Old Lyme, Connecticut, and…

Hot Foot at Talladega: Record setting in the Saab 900

Hot Foot at Talladega: Record setting in the Saab 900

Event report riginally published in Automobile Quarterly Volume 36, Number 3; May 1997 “For my next act, I will set myself on fire.” So said…

1975 Chevrolet Cosworth Vega: Great Expectations never realized

1975 Chevrolet Cosworth Vega: Great Expectations never realized

History/driving impressions originally published in AutoWeek January 19, 1987 Oft expectation fails, and most oft there where it most promises. --William Shakespeare, All’s Well That…

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

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…

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1956 Lancia Aurelia Spyder: Simple, golden

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History/driving impressions originally published in AutoWeek, September 3, 2001; republished by the author When the roll is called up yonder for great cars that no…

1998 Volvo C70 Coupe and Convertible

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Preview originally published in European car, November 1996; republished by the author coup de main: a sudden action undertaken to surprise an enemy coupe from…

1960 Plymouth Fury: The tale (fin) of the 1950s

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History/driving impessions originally published AutoWeek September 27. 1999; republished by the author If there is a single icon for the automotive 1950s, it’s the tailfin.…

1992-1994 Acura Vigor: Silent Running

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History/driving impressions originally published in Sport Compact Car, October 2000; republished by the author It’s as if Acura had tossed a stone in a pond…