History/driving impressions originally published in AutoWeek November 19, 1984; republished by the author Putting the top down. It’s a delight, it’s a fascination, it’s a ritual. It’s a compulsion so persistentthat it has bowled the safetycrats right off their swivel chairs, with a new ragtop appearing almost every week. It’s also cross-cultural. It’s not just […]
1954 Volkswagen-Okrasa Cabrio: A rare survivor of the hot-rodded Beetles of the 50s
History originally published in AutoWeek June 19, 1989 We have become so accustomed to the radically modified VW – it approaches minor religion status in Southern California, but then what doesn’t?– that it’s easy to forget that in the 1950s the Volkswagen was just another imported car and that buying in imported car was like […]
Volkswagen Corrado G60 and SLC: The short run of a German sprinter
History/driving impressions originally published in Sport Compact Car, August 1999 Volkswagen called it the Corrado, allegedly from the Spanish correr, to sprint or run. And the new coupe, having its debut in the fall of 1989 as a 1990 model, had the no waste, and just put the leftovers in the trash bin. It followed […]
1970 Opel GT 1.9: Mini-Vette?
History/driving impressions originally published in Special Interest Autos, June 1997; republished by the author Compare the front clip of any production Opel GT with a ‘68 Chevrolet Corvette and you will understand why Car and Driver called the German sports car a “teeny-bopper Corvette.” The same blade bumper runs across the front edge of the […]
BMW 3.0 CSiL: The Homologator
History/driving impressions originally published in AutoWeek May 5, 1986; republished by the author. When the final history of the Nurburgring is written, when the last word have been spent on that asphalt serpent writhing 14 miles through the tall dark evergreens, its great story told once and for all, no grander chapter will there be […]
2007 Audi RS4: Outrunning noise
New car review originally published in CarBuzzard.com December 5, 2006 To the teenager with the slammed and primered Honda at the Sheetz gas station in Somerset, Pennsylvania: A kid from rural Pennsylvania turning gangsta rap to full volume will not impress the driver of a 2007 Audi RS4–even if Audi driver is an automotive journalist […]
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