“We were chugging along looking for clients, trying to survive with a small design office, when it occurred to me that there were a hell of a lot of surfer kids getting around in old beat-up Volkswagen vans.” That was…
The Renault Alliance was dull. Born in France as the Renault 9 in 1981 and built beginning in 1982 in Kenosha, Wis. by American Motors during that company’s, well, alliance with the French automaker, the Alliance was powered by a…
When the roll is called up yonder for great cars that no one ever thinks about anymore, surely the Lancia Aurelia Spyder’s name will be written in gold. No one really thought very much about it in 1956 when it…
coup de main: a sudden action undertaken to surprise an enemy coupe from Volvo, noun: a surprising action undertaken to please everyone but the competition After years – decades even – of utilitarian sedans and wagons, Volvo is cutting loose…
If there is a single icon for the automotive 1950s, it’s the tailfin. And although Cadillac in 1959 is usually cited for the ultimate fins, the case can be made for the 1960 Plymouth line. The Plymouth’s fins were just…
It’s as if Acura had tossed a stone in a pond and saw it enter not only without a splash, it also without even causing a ripple on the surface of the water. Such was the impact of the Acura…
No doubt, from the bottom of its 16-in. Michelin mud-and-snow tires to the top of its Paris-Moscow-Beijing Rally externally mounted rollbar, the Land Rover Defender 110 looks like a prop for a Banana Republic window display. It has that same…
Audi excised 12.6 inches from the wheelbase of the standard Quattro coupe to make the Sport Quattro. Drastic surgery perhaps, but nothing like what Peugeot would do to make the 205 Turbo 16, which was eating Audi’s lunch in international…
Growing up in the ‘60s, you were a Ford guy, a Chevy guy, or maybe – if you are real free thinker – a Chrysler guy. But nobody was an American Motors guy – or at least would admit to…
It doesn’t take more than one look the love or hate the Suzuki X-90. Appearance is the vehicle’s primary reason for being. After all, under the ski-boot styling is the chassis, engine and drivetrain of a 2-door Sidekick. Mechanically the…