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 second gear, moving the lever through the notchy pattern that felt like it should be gated but really wasn’t, and hit the buttons to lower both the passenger and driver […]
MGA Coupe: A junior GT for road or track
History/driving impressions originally published in AutoWeek April 27, 1987 I never quite understood why Julius Caesar wanted to conquer the British Isles. It never seemed quite worth the effort, especially when home was sunny Italy and offered all the vino you could tote to the Forum. It also never made much sense to me that […]
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. […]
1993 Jaguar XJR-S: Delicious decadence
Contemporary review originally published in Road & Track Sport and GT Cars 1993 The six-cylinder XJS makes sense, but I have to admit I was relieved by Jaguar’s announcement of a special limited-edition, powered by a bigger, more powerful version of the V-12. It sounded like my kind of decadence. The XJR-S is the product […]
Maserati Bora: Manly, yes, but she’ll like it, too
History originally published in AutoWeek August 29, 1983 It’s a bullet, big bore and Magnum-packed, a missile, ICBM for the Interstate, pregnant with malice. It has the shape of motorized malevolence and the punch to back it up. The Maserati Bora is surely the most masculine, most testosterone-loaded design ever to come from the pen […]
Lamborghini Espada: Two-plus-two equals success
History originally published in AutoWeek, February 2, 1987 For the large automobile manufacturer, the launching of each new model represents a risk of manageable proportions. Even a Vega or Edsel can be survived. Not so the smaller manufacture. On the slippery slope of automotive commerce, it must continually find a foothold or go slithering into […]
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