Carina Archives - A Career of Great Car Articles by John Matras

1956 Lancia Aurelia Spyder: Simple, golden

1956 Lancia Arelia Spider: Simple, golden When the roll is called up yonder for great cars that no one ever thinks about anymore, surely the…

Callaway’s LM—as in “Le Mans”

News report originally published in Car and Driver October 1995 Here’s the deal—bring an LT1 Corvette and at least $80,000 to Old Lyme, Connecticut, and…

Tweaking the Knows: Strosek Porsche 911

Strosek’s subtle styling, exhaust growl will resonate among the cognoscenti Contemporary review originally published in Autoweek December 2, 1991 It is, Fred Opert opines, what…

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.…

1983 Volvo Limited Edition 240 Turbo, the “Flat Hood”

History originally published in the Illustrated Volvo Buyer’s Guide, 1983, by John Matras; republished by the author The 1983 Volvo Limited Edition 240 Turbo is…

1980 Dodge Omni 024 De Tomaso: Phony Label but Still Avant Garde

History originally published in Sport Compact Car June 1998; republished by the author It should have been no surprise that in 1978 when Chrysler introduced…

Ghia-Aigle Grand Sport Coupe: A bit of coachbuilding whimsy from the prosaic Swiss

History/driving impressions originally published in AutoWeek December 12. 1988 Every Italian with a hammer and a tree stump is a body man, and in Italy…

Mercedes-Benz 300SL: The class of ‘54

History/driving impressions originally published in AutoWeek October 15, 1984 At 90 mph on the sparsely traveled two-lane highway, the big Mercedes is at ease, loping…

Plymouth Prowler: Matinee’ Idol

Originally published in Road & Track Sport and GT Cars 2000 2000 Plymouth Prowler in Prowler Silver; Photograph DaimlerChrysler Corp. Celebrity status carries a terrible…

Kurtis-Kraft: They stretch midgets, don’t they?

History originally published in AutoWeek May 19, 1986 Marty Himes tiptoes the red car around turns three and four of Williams Grove’s half-mile dirt track,…

Maserati Ghibli Spider: Driving under the Influence.

Originally published in AutoWeek October 18, 1982 Maserati Ghibli Spider, photos by John Matras. Summer nights are special magic, a sorcery that suspends time and…

Asardo 3500 GM-S: Dream car went from ’59 N.Y. show to GM V-8 power

History/driving impressions originally published in AutoWeek April 30, 1990; republished by the author Dreams are wisps of fantasy, but to the true believer they’re as…

1992 Eagle Talon TSi AWD: Now all the grip with twice the grins

Contemporary review originally published in Road & Track Special Sports & GT Cars 1992 If two years seems like a short lifecycle, that only shows…

1969 Dodge Charger 500: Or is it Charger 392?

History/driving impressions originally published in AutoWeek April 15, 1985 The year was 1968. Both the Dodge Charger and the Ford Fairlane had been freshly rebodied.…

Abarth Scorpione SS: It carries a sting behind it

History/driving impressions originally published in AutoWeek September 16, 1985 Tim Ritter was right. The interior does not suffer gladly the intrusion of large adults. It’s…

Supercharging to the Rescue: 1994 Toyota Previa S/C

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.…

1971 Plymouth Barracuda Hemi ‘Cuda: Inspiration to Paranoia

Originally published in AutoWeek, July 11, 1983 1971 Plymouth Barracuda Hemi 'Cuda; Photos by John Matras Paranoid. That’s what a 1971 Plymouth Barracuda Hemi’ Cuda…

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,…

Datsun 2000: An English sports car from Yokohama-on-Thames

History/driving impressions originally published in AutoWeek March 17, 1986 One of the best traditional British sports cars was the Datsun 2000 Sports. British, perhaps, as…

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,…

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