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

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,…

NSU Ro80: A Car Ahead of its Time

History originally published in AutoWeek March 12, 1984 How very frustrating, how maddeningly, fist-clinching frustrating it must have been to the men who were NSU…

Lotus 23: Choice of Champions

Originally published in AutoWeek September 17, 1984 Spectators at the 1962 Nurburgring 1000 could scarcely believe their eyes. A little Lotus from the under-two-liter class…

2011 Aston Martin Rapide: No cape necessary

Contemporary review originally published in Examiner.com on March 1, 2011 The key looks like a crystal wrapped in an Aston Martin logo, like something used…

1959 Toyopet Crown Custom: Toyota’s initial U.S. failure a lesson for later success

History originally published in AutoWeek August 3, 1992 Who would have believed that Toyota, maker of the 1959 Toyopet Crown, would have become the international…

1973 Chrysler New Yorker Brougham: Gas crisis! What gas crisis?

History/driving impressions originally published in AutoWeek December 3, 2001; republished by the author You could play tennis on the poop deck of this thing. And…

2009 Pontiac G8 GXP: Buy one now

Contemporary review originally published in Examiner.com April 22, 2009 Buy a 2009 Pontiac G8 GXP now. Then thirty years from now when everyone glides silently…

Lamborghini Urraco: Flawed but not forgotten

History/driving impressions originally published in AutoWeek August 11, 1986 I was told to look for the Urraco. The airport at Savannah, Ga., is small and,…

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…

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…

Honda CVCC: Compound Vortex Controlled Combustion

History originally published in Sport Compact Car January 2000 In the early 70s, carmakers were staring at impending emissions regulations and the OPEC fuel embargo…

1998 Mitsubishi 3000GT VR-4: Survival of the nifty

Contemporary review originally published in 1998 Road & Track Sports & GT Cars Not long ago car market was awash in Japanese high-performance cars and…

2016 Ford Shelby GT350R Mustang track drive review: Flat-plane geometry and monster brakes

Car review originally published in CarBuzzard May 21, 2016 There’s a sort of chicane, and the 2016 Shelby GT350R Mustang tags the curbing on the…

Mazda RX-7 convertible conversion, 1979-1987: Pacific Avatar and the Topless Californians

Originally included in Mazda RX-7 Sports Car Color History, by John Matras, published by Motorbooks International, 1994; republished by the author Just looking at the…

1998 Volvo C70 Coupe and Convertible

Preview originally published in European car, November 1996; republished by the author coup de main: a sudden action undertaken to surprise an enemy coupe from…

Ford Model T sprint car: The red, white and blue roots of American racing

History/driving impressions republished by the author; originally published in AutoWeek February 24, 1986 The front wheels are dancing over the dirt, bumping, shaking and bouncing…

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.…

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…

Ferrari 330 GTC: A sexy, sophisticated 12-cylinder grand touring car

History originally published in AutoWeek December 21, 1987 In the early autumn when the wind begins to blow and the leaves began to scurry before…

1929 Nash Model 461 Cabriolet: “The Car with the Twin-Ignition Motor”

History/driving impressions originally published in AutoWeek December 24, 2001 Harold Metzger gently chided me for having chirp the tires of his 29 – Cabriolet. “Well,…

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