BMW Archives - Page 2 of 2 - A Career of Great Car Articles by John Matras

1934 Brewster Ford: Beauty was more than skin deep, but not to the frame

History originally published in AutoWeek October 9, 1995 The Great Depression was no kinder to the makers of luxury automobiles than it was to most…

1985 Maserati Quattroporte: Italian definition of a four-door makes a statement

History/driving impression originally published in AutoWeek November 12, 1990; republished by the author English is an efficient and purposeful language, but Italian is more exquisite…

Evans Series 1: A Georgia-built supercar takes on the world

Originally published in Road & Track’s Exotic Car Quarterly, Fall 1990 Evans Series 1; John Matras photos Is this how Colin Chapman started out? Did…

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…

Sixty-Three and Counting (Mac McGrady’s Nash-Healeys)

His addiction began in 1953, explains Leonard Nelson “Mac” McGrady. As a son of an automobile dealer, McGrady had seen many cars, but when he…

1912 Simplex 50 HP Tourabout: Quality construction, sporting luxury powered by 10 liters

History/driving impressions originally published in AutoWeek July 20, 1987 Rolling down the highway at 50 mph, the only sounds come from the wind as it…

1998 Volvo C70 Coupe and Convertible

Preview originally published in European car, November 1996; republished by the author coup de main: a sudden action undertaken to surprise an enemy coupe from…

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,…

2011 Saab 9-5 Turbo4: Om du bygger det

Contemporary review originally published in examiner.com December 2010 Om du bygger det, så kommer de. Or translating the Swedish into English, if you build it,…

Maserati 3500GTI: Six for the road

History/driving impressions originally published in AutoWeek April 1, 1985 I really had no alternative. The only reasonable thing to do was to down shift to…

Alfa Romeo Giulietta by Bertone: Driving the Bertone-Alfa that never was

History/driving impression originally published in AutoWeek February 13, 1986 Condensation gathered on the windshield, but the soggy mist was not enough to justify wipers. Even…

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,…

Sunbeam Tiger: An overpowered cat just ready to pounce

History originally published in AutoWeek October 10, 1983 Christopher Columbus, as every schoolboy knows, discovered America by accident. He was actually trying to prove a…

BMW 1600-2 Cabriolet: Blue-sky Never

Originally published in AutoWeek April 5, 1983 BMW 1600-2 Cabriolet; Photo by John Matras It drives BMW owners wild. It makes ‘em crazy. To be…

1913 Zinn-Buick racer: Re-bodied Model 24 roadster lays claim to longevity

History originally published in AutoWeek March 13, 1989; republished by the author Zinn – Eugene “Huey” Zinn, that is – doesn’t exactly spring to mind…

Excalibur SS Series 1: In the beginning, it was a sports car

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,…

1950 Saab 92: Simple two-stroke served as bridge from aircraft to cars

History/driving impressions originally published in AutoWeek August 23, 1993 Whirring like an Evinrude, the little Saab gathers up velocity hand over hand. There’s no tachometer,…

Lamborghini Urraco: Flawed but not forgotten

History/driving impressions originally published in AutoWeek August 11, 1986 I was told to look for the Urraco. The airport at Savannah, Ga., is small and,…

Bentley Continental R-Type: The Rolls-Royce of Bentleys

Originally published in AutoWeek July 22, 1985 1954 Bentley Continental R-Type; photos by John Matras When I was boy, a visit at Uncle Henry’s was…

The First Off Roaders: Did these folks have the roughest of all off-road conditions?

History originally published in Pickup Van & 4WD September 1981 “it is particularly important that the tires be a very large section, generally much larger…

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