Contemporary new product report/review originally published in Popular Science April 1994; republished by the author It seemed that Toyota had painted itself into a corner. The four-cylinder 2.4-liter 138-horsepower powerplant in its Previa minivan just didn’t have the guts for towing or hauling heavy loads. And the under-the-floor placement simply didn’t allow much room for […]
Dancing With Valves: Toyota Celica All-Trac Turbo versus Isuzu Impulse RS
Comparison review originally published in the Road & Track Performance Cars 1991; republished by author Some people might not consider the Isuzu Impulse RS versus the Toyota Celica All-Trac Turbo a fair match, putting a 160-bhp car up against a 200-bhp rival costing half again as much. But check the specifications: Both are sports coupes […]
Rock ‘n’ roll: Mazda MX-5 Miata versus Lotus Elan
Comparison review republished by the author; originally published in Motor Trend’s 1990 Sports Cars of the World They don’t make rock ‘n’ roll like they used to. My almost-a-teenager daughter disagrees with me, of course, because that’s her job. What does she know? The Sixtiess were the golden years of rock, just as they were […]
Honda S800: Honda’s first sports coupe preceded the Prelude by 14 years
History/driving impressions originally published in AutoWeek October 19, 1987 Singing through traffic like haiku on wheels, we are a blur of rpm and red and sun in the face, the Honda and I. The exhaust note tingles like the sound of practice/qualifying to a late arrival at the track, and it matters little whether it’s […]
1965-1968 Datsun Silvia
History originally published in Sport Compact Car December 1996 The Datsun 240Z is famous for its design, but nothing comes out of nowhere and that’s as true for the Z-car as it is anything else. The obvious predecessor to the Z is the 1500/1600/2000 Datsun roadster (read more about the 2000 roadster here) series, and […]
1979-1980 Plymouth Fire Arrow: On target
History originally published in Sport Compact Car May 1998 The 1970s were difficult, bringing us not only John Travolta and disco but also diminishing expectations in automobiles. Every fall brought anxiety. Do I buy this year’s model before they’re all gone, or wait and buy next year’s model which will more than likely be worse. […]
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