Originally published in AutoWeek on February 27, 1984. Wayne Conover bought the car for parts. As the proprietor of Conover’s Cobra Ranch, a restoration shop specializing in Shelby automobiles, he was always on the lookout for Shelby performance pieces, and the ‘66 notch back Mustang was a gold mine. Disguised, maybe, by a hideous black […]
Saab Sonett I: The open sports car the Swedes should have produced
Originally published in VW & Porsche, June 1990 The winter nights around Trollhattan are cold and long and snow is always on the ground. But, in January 1955, in a rented barn a few kilometers out of town, a group of Swedish engineers began building an open sports car. They had permission from Saab, funding, […]
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 2CV, then the De Tomaso Pantera is pure as the Vestal Virgin’s dormitory and more correct than a spelling bee champion. Few cars first sold in 1971 are still marketed […]
Ginetta G4: Not a Car for the Dilettante
Originally published in AutoWeek, November 22, 1982 I look in the tiny dash-mounted rear view mirror and all I see is a grill-mounted Chevy bow-tie. To my right is a Karmann Ghia, and I’m looking up at it. In the passenger seat to my left is Allan Modney, president of Automarque in Arlington, Virginia. We’re […]
Dodge Viper: The Perfect 10
Originally published in Automobile Quarterly, Volume 31, Number 2 It’s outrageous, it’s extravagant, it may be somewhat antisocial, but it’s American as a grand slam homer and, by initial reports, Chrysler has driven one out of the park with the Dodge Viper RT/10. Truth is there is no rational justification for the Viper. Certainly it […]
Fulfilling Francophiles: Peugeot’s gone, but French eccentricity lives on in a Citroen XM gray market
Originally published in AutoWeek, October 26, 1992 Citroen XM; photos by John Matras Unique is an overworked and often improperly used word, so we won’t use it to describe the Citroen XM. The XM is, however, the only French automobile currently being imported into the United States and it is, well, different. As you’d expect […]
What They’re Saying