History originally published in AutoWeek, April 6, 1985 All right, let’s have a show of hands. Who thinks that Excalibur is a sports car? Ha, just as I thought. It’s unanimous, except for that guy with the toupee that ties under the chin. And in this case it’s the majority that’s right, because lately Excaliburs […]
Dodge Diamante: “Chrysler Corvette” never got beyond Mopar show car
History originally published in AutoWeek September 11, 1989 To have worked for Dodge in the ‘60s and to have the Hemi, and then look at the Corvette and just know that given half the chance—a quarter of the chance—that you could do that too, how that must have stung. If Bill Brownlie’s memories were anything […]
1955 Packard 400: A very nice place to be
History originally published in AutoWeek August 5, 2002 By 1955, Packard was on the ropes. Like a champ who had seen better days, the company that in the ‘30s had been America’s premier carmaker had suffered the one-two punch of an outdated marketing concept compounded by the lack of deep pockets to do much about […]
1988 Lincoln Mark VII LSC: American muscle man in a three-piece suit
Contemporary review originally published in Corridor Today March 15, 1988 I believe that automobiles are something like nouns in romance languages: they have gender. Oh, I know objectively that cars are innate objects made of rubber and plastic and steel but I also know that we talk to our cars. We beg them to start […]
Is Today’s Jeep Still a Jeep? The 1991 Jeep Wrangler doesn’t forget 1941 Jeep MB war vet ancestor. That’s good and bad.
Contemporary review/history originally published in AutoWeek April 22, 1991 So the Jeep is 50 years old. For a motor vehicle, or for just about anything else, going strong at age 50 is quite an accomplishment. It’s safe to say that just about everything half-a-century old is either lost and forgotten in someone’s attic or is […]
1967 Chevrolet Corvette L89: Ed Cole’s 427cu in stormer
Originally published in AutoWeek February 3, 1986 If this were 1967 and you were able to ask Ed Cole, then general manager of General Motors, for the hottest, meanest street-drivable automobile in the GM fleet, he would have suggested this, the 1967 Chevrolet Corvette with Regular Production Option L89. We know, because someone is reputed […]
What They’re Saying