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 and saw it enter not only without a splash, it also without even causing a ripple on the surface of the water. Such was the impact of the Vigor when […]
Suzuki X-90: Don’t ask Y
Review originally published in Road & Track Truck & Van ’98 Buyer’s Guide; republished by the author It doesn’t take more than one look the love or hate the Suzuki X-90. Appearance is the vehicle’s primary reason for being. After all, under the ski-boot styling is the chassis, engine and drivetrain of a 2-door Sidekick. […]
1975 Toyota Corolla Deluxe: The first “new Beetle”
History/driving impressions originally published in AutoWeek April 24, 1999; republished by the author Something amazing happened in 1975. For the first time in two decades, a company other than Volkswagen topped the U.S. imported car sales charts. Toyota, regardless of whose numbers you use and not including trucks, surged past the German carmaker to a […]
1976 Mazda Cosmo: A hit in Japan, but an energy-crisis miss in the States
History/driving impressions originally published in AutoWeek April 11, 1994; republished by the author The Mazda Cosmo should have been a runaway success. After all, it was a car that Toyo Kogyo, as the Hiroshima-based Mazda was then known, specifically designed for the U.S. market and it arrived as car buyers were thinking “downsize.” Yet the […]
Mazda RX-7 convertible conversion, 1979-1987: Pacific Avatar and the Topless Californians
Originally included in Mazda RX-7 Sports Car Color History, by John Matras, published by Motorbooks International, 1994; republished by the author Just looking at the first-generation RX-7 was enough to provoke speculation about Mazda’s Rotary sportster’s appearance as a convertible. The cockpit styling of the first generation RX-7’s roofline had a break between the body […]
1997 Acura NSX
Originally published in The Complete Road & Track ’97 Car Buyer’s Guide; republished by the author Back in the mid-60’s, a serious sports car had to have its engine in the middle. Lots of reasons were cited for this, things like weight distribution and polar moment of inertia. Mostly it was because race cars were […]
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