Feature originally published in European Car July 1994 Double overhead cams, tidy handling, Italian style: what’s not to like? Well, how about emissions controls as clumsy and power sapping any on earth? Federal bumpers aesthetic as a double-knit leisure suit on Michelangelo’s David? U.S. smog and safety laws did horrible things to Fiat 124 Sport […]
1978 Dodge Warlock: Playing with Adult Toys
History originally published in AutoWeek October 29, 1978 Dodge advertised “Adult Toys” in the late 70s. To Dodge dealers, this meant trucks: 4×4 Ramcharger SUVs (though the term wasn’t in use yet), the gaudy Macho Power Wagons, and the Street Van, based on the commercial Dodge Tradesmen, the source, Dodge suggested, for your own custom […]
Intermeccanica Italia: Italian-American with an identity crisis
History originally published in AutoWeek April 2, 1984 I was skirting the Virginia shore of the Potomac River on the downstream side of Washington, DC, the Italia’s chino-creased fenders framing the asphalt and vintage geometry of the George Washington Parkway, when the Mustang appeared in my peripheral vision, coming in from an entrance on the […]
Honda CVCC: Compound Vortex Controlled Combustion
History originally published in Sport Compact Car January 2000 In the early 70s, carmakers were staring at impending emissions regulations and the OPEC fuel embargo like they would the business end of a double barreled shotgun. The tough 1975 California emissions standards threatened entire car lines, and the only manufacturer with a proven ability to […]
Matra-Simca Bagheera: Matra à trois
History originally published in AutoWeek March 19,1984 In the lexicon of animal names written upon the fenders and flanks of automobiles, rarely is there a creature overlooked. Those omitted – the slug, the sloth, and the bandicoot – have been done so purposely. That which the human eye finds ugly and obnoxious will not, with […]
1977 Porsche 924: New appreciation for the Porsche they loved to hate
History originally published in AutoWeek August 19, 1991 It’s the Porsche everyone loves to hate. By what’s been said and written about the original Porsche 924, one would think it had square wheels, power by Vegematic and styling only a Kommissar could love. Even with the enthusiastic cooperation of the Porsche Club of America, it […]
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