Only one lost wheelcover and one attempt on my life so far…

Posted on Dec 18, 2015 in Featured | 2 comments

While the AMX has occupied hallowed ground in one half of my garage since I bought my house, the other half has seen a rotating cast of assorted projects—an MG Midget, a Crosley, a mystery streamliner, an AMC Eagle station wagon—that might have kept our daily drivers out in the rain and snow but ultimately never panned out. My latest acquisition, though,...

The World in Cars: Volvo, Yugo and Schumacher

Posted on Dec 13, 2015 in Racing | Comments Off on The World in Cars: Volvo, Yugo and Schumacher

Volvo C70I’m consistently struck by how globally oriented the auto industry has become. Reading the news this morning was a further education in that trend, with stories about: Ford and Geely coming to agreement on the sale of Volvo, Fiat taking over the old Yugo factory in Serbia, and of course Michael Schumachercoming out of retirement to race again (this one...

For Garmin GPS, Jedi Master Yoda Voice App is Prepared!

Posted on Dec 12, 2015 in Technology | 1 comment

Living in a wonderful era where even the most basic piece of technology can be tailored to capture personality, part of this expression has included a growing series of celebrity and character voices available for in-car GPS devices from TomTom and Garmin. For the Garmin devices, the superiority of the electronic navigation marketplace was thrown to the path of...

Burnt Benzes in Berlin; Unrepaired Cars Here

Posted on Dec 8, 2015 in Safety | 1 comment

We haven’t had real protests in this country since the Vietnam War days. Other countries are much quicker to take their political discontents to the streets. In Berlin, symbols of Fat Cat wealth—mostly Mercedes, BMWs and Audis—have been going up in flames. This year alone, some 138 have been burnt, double last year’s number. In the 2009 recession, 221 cars were...

Car Design as Art, Figoni & Falaschi

Posted on Dec 7, 2015 in Antique | Comments Off on Car Design as Art, Figoni & Falaschi

I have always considered the “Golden Age” of car design to be the period of the 1920’s and 30’s. Sure, the 1950’s were great, with the introduction of the fin, huge chrome grilles and the beginning of the rocket age look, but true custom car design was at its peak during the time of the great coachbuilders, and the most flamboyant of the lot were the French....

Hyundai ix25 concept previews upcoming crossover

Posted on Dec 4, 2015 in Concept | Comments Off on Hyundai ix25 concept previews upcoming crossover

Hyundai unveiled a new concept model, the ix25 Concept, at the Beijing Motor Show. Compared to most of the other concepts, the Korean model has already received the green light for production. To be more specific, Hyundai plans to debut the new model towards the end of this year on the Chinese market. Hyundai ix25 concept At the exterior, the crossover sports...