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 […]
Alfa Giulia Spider: Simpatico never was more Italian
History/driving impressions originally published in AutoWeek March 11, 1985 There is something there that loves an Alfa Romeo Giulia Spider. There is an aura, a certain magic, even in the words, that arouses emotion, a definable affection that can be spoken only in Italian: Simpatico. One not need speak Italian to know the meaning of […]
Saab Sonett II: Different strokes from Swedish folks
History/driving impressions originally published in AutoWeek June 9, 1986 Bound in this white plastic projectile I dance on the offset pedals and coax the stubborn column shifter from gear to gear, surrounded by the peculiar note of the two-stroke triple. I brake early for the corners and then slither through the corners at full throttle, […]
Lotus 47: Hard to get in, easy to go fast
History/driving impressions originally published in AutoWeek November 12, 1984 Down the hill and out of the right-hand turn, down the straight. Building revs and shift. A glance at the pits to my right, and then the chartreuse letters spelling “Lime Rock” on the pavement flash underneath. For all that I, with eyeballs a yard high […]
Cobra 289: Born to run
History/driving report originally published in Special Interest Autos August 1990 Timing is everything, or at least as important as talent or skill. Being there at the right time means as much as having the right stuff. Just ask any Acapulco cliff diver. Or Carroll Shelby. Shelby freely admits that he wasn’t the first to come […]
Pure and potent: Two Nash-Healeys
History originally published in AutoWeek July 21, 1986 “We usually start it in second gear. There is a chatter in first that you can adjust out but it only comes back in a month or two,” said F. Winston Johns, my guide for the day for a pair of Nash-Healeys. His was a perfectly restored […]
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