Contemporary review originally published in 1998 Road & Track Sports & GT Cars Not long ago car market was awash in Japanese high-performance cars and coupes. Buoyed by Japan’s bubble economy, it was a sine qua non for that country’s carmakers to have a high-powered 2-seat or 2+2 flagship to carry its corporate honor. But […]
1988-89 Chevrolet Beretta GTU: One hit racetrack wonder
Originally published in Sport Compact Car March 2001 In 1988 Chevrolet went racing in the IMSA GTU class and that, simply, is the reason for the 1988-89 Chevrolet Beretta GTU. Of course, the reason Chevrolet racing is, simply enough, marketing. It certainly has paid off grandly for anyone associated with NASCAR, despite the fact that […]
1982 Lancia Zagato: A car we should have loved more
History originally published in AutoWeek June 26, 2000 You should have regrets, America. But Italy, it’s partly your fault as well. A car with pretty, if somewhat quirky styling, a lusty dohc engine and supple ride and handling should have found greater favor. But by 1982 the Italian automobile industry in America was limping with […]
1973 Fiat 124 Sport Coupe: What’s not to like
Feature originally published in European Car July 1994 Double overhead cams, tidy handling, Italian style: what’s not to like? Well, how about emissions controls as clumsy and power sapping any on earth? Federal bumpers aesthetic as a double-knit leisure suit on Michelangelo’s David? U.S. smog and safety laws did horrible things to Fiat 124 Sport […]
Mazda Cosmo Sport: RX-7’s honorable ancestor
History originally published in AutoWeek May 7, 1984 The thrill was back, they told us, and how right they were. Emissions controls, beginning in the 1968 model year, had gradually turned most new cars into performance eunuchs. But Mazda was different, and the power of its Wankel engine made the phrase “rotary rocket” part of […]
1999 BMW M Coupe: Warning: This coupe can be hazardous to Cougar drivers
Contemporary car review originally published in Road & Track Sports & GT Cars 1999 Good thing no one was coming the other way. The driver of the Cougar – old style, with the “formal roof” – spun his head around like a Linda Blair wannabe as he passed me and drifted into the oncoming lane. […]
What They’re Saying