Will Chevy Follow Ford and Introduce Aluminum Trucks?

Posted on Jun 28, 2022 in Safety | 1 comment

Ford’s gamble with the aluminum 2015 F-150 could have ended two ways: As an embarrassing failure As a trendsetting new way to build trucks Ram, with its little comment about aluminum’s best use being for beer cans, pretty much secured its future of steel bodies. Chevrolet stayed pretty quiet on the issue, presumably to take a wait-and-see approach. Watching the...

Nine You’re Fine, Ten You’re Mine

Posted on Jun 26, 2022 in Safety | Comments Off on Nine You’re Fine, Ten You’re Mine

How fast is fast enough? Last week I mentioned a spur-of-the-moment trip my wife and I took from Washington to Colorado. We embarked on the trip because we found a boat for sale that we had to have. Yes, there were other boats closer to us, but this one was the correct year, with the correct engine, in great condition, and at a price we couldn’t pass up. With a...

DS E-Tense Is Electrifying

Posted on Jun 18, 2022 in Concept | Comments Off on DS E-Tense Is Electrifying

Hello, DS! What’s new? Oh, an electric supercar for all the Audi R8 e-tron fans? Well, then let’s see it at Geneva! It’s been already two years since DS is an independent brand. More, all its European models have been reviewed ever since, so now it’s time for a supercar. And not an usual one, but a fully electric one. So, what’s it capable of? Its electric...

Nostalgia is a seductive liar

Posted on Jun 17, 2022 in Antique | Comments Off on Nostalgia is a seductive liar

This week I wanted to showcase some vehicles that are both nostalgic and unusual. I have never posted about trucks before, but they reminded me of a time when style and function met in a very beautiful way. Many of the vehicles featured have modern counterparts, but none have the panache and ingenuity of these classics. From a simple bus that carried passengers...

El Diablo: Miata Style

Posted on Jun 12, 2022 in Racing | Comments Off on El Diablo: Miata Style

An average car will run a quarter-mile drag race in 15–16 seconds. That’s not a blistering pace, but it’s just enough to give a slight rush while accelerating up an on-ramp before settling into a steady stream of 65-mile-an-hour commuters. The Mazda Miata, while relatively sporty and fun to drive, typically falls somewhere within that average time in stock,...

This Duesenberg is Even More Hideous in Person

Posted on Jun 5, 2022 in Editorials | 2 comments

The high-dollar-custom Ridler Award at the Detroit Autorama gets a lot of worthy attention, but real salt of the earth Detroit car culture can be found in Cobo Hall’s basement, The promoters bill the area as Autorama Extreme, and I always make it a point to check out the cars and people downstairs. There’s usually something worthwhile down there like “the first...

Gasoline Direct Injection: Fad or Future?

Posted on Jun 4, 2022 in Technology | 2 comments

The internal combustion engine is 150 years old and its thermal efficiency – the amount of energy converted from combustion into mechanical work – is unlikely to achieve parity with emerging alternatives. For the performance enthusiasts among us, harboring anxiety over the future, you are not alone. Although the internal combustion engine’s monopoly on...

Two-owner, “last-of-its-kind” 1939 Oldsmobile takes Ridler Award

Posted on Jun 2, 2022 in Featured | 2 comments

The catalogs and reference books all say it shouldn’t exist, but according to both its owner and the shop that built it, the 1939 Oldsmobile Series 60 that won the Ridler Award at this past weekend’s Detroit Autorama not only came from the factory as a convertible but is also the last of its kind. The short-lived Series 60 represented the most basic Oldsmobile...