Have a Teen? Make ‘Em Drive One of These

Posted on May 15, 2015 in Safety | 3 comments

In case you thought it was impossible to make the Honda Fit look any weirder, check out the non-Photoshopped image above of the Honda Fit Shuttle. The front three-quarters looks like a regular Fit, but the rear looks like the regular Fit has filled its diaper. And what’s with the tri-color pointy C-pillar? The Fit Shuttle is certainly an odd duck, but as of now...

Induction Wars: Turbo vs. Superchargers

Posted on May 7, 2015 in Technology | 1 comment

In the automotive world a battle has been raging since the early 1900’s on which one was better, the turbo or the supercharger. Like all epic battles- light beer or full flavor, regular or decaf, brunette or blond- some people just have an opinion and nothing will ever change that. The truth is turbos are members of the supercharger family, but they are worlds...

eBay Gems

Posted on Apr 30, 2015 in Antique | Comments Off on eBay Gems

One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. I decided to take a break from the usual posts, and highlight some pretty amazing cars I found on eBay. I spend a lot of time browsing through the ads, looking at cars, and am always amazed at some of the little gems being offered. Today was extra special, as I found my old Jaguar XJS being offered from her present...

A Golden Jubilee for the Silver Shadow

Posted on Apr 20, 2015 in Featured | 2 comments

Black-and-white photographs courtesy of Rolls-Royce In 1965, tradition was on the run. Bob Dylan plugged in his guitar at the Newport Folk Festival, electrifying half of his audience, and electrocuting the other half, as music historian John Gilliland put it. Houston’s National League baseball team began playing its home games inside the air-conditioned...

The simple argument for preserving any old car

Posted on Apr 20, 2015 in Featured | 2 comments

What makes an old car special? Is it the engine under the hood? Is it the ownership history? Is it the stylistic or mechanical or technological advances that the car embodies? Or is it something else, something far simpler, something much more democratic? We didn’t expect to have to confront these topics in our recent story on the stretched Chevrolet station...

Ford’s Quality Hit: Too Much Distracting Tech

Posted on Apr 11, 2015 in Safety | 4 comments

It had to happen. Consumers, disgusted or confused by Ford’s proliferation of its Sync and MyTouch systems, complained in sufficient numbers that Ford’s quality rating, as measured by the J.D. Power Initial Quality Study, fell from 5th place last year to 23rd this year. Problems with these hands-free systems have accelerated by nearly 240 percent. The Power...

Si or No to ‘Minus 1′ Tire Sizing?

Posted on Apr 7, 2015 in Editorials | 1 comment

70Cougar writes: Sajeev, I am probably the first owner of a Civic Si to ever want to downsize his rims, so I’m looking to the expert on -1 matters: you. (Woot! –SM) I have a 2007 Honda Civic Si sedan with the factory 17-inch wheels. I’ve always preferred the same generation EX’s 16-inch five spoke rims, and I wouldn’t mind a smoother ride and cheaper...

The Ten Coolest Le Mans Prototypes Of All Time – Jalopnik Gets It Wrong

Posted on Apr 4, 2015 in Technology | 2 comments

I have this theory that any list, top ten, top five, top 100, whatever, are only there to start arguments, rather than be definitive statements. 99% of the time, I have no problem with Jalopnik. They are a rather funny and irreverent car site, and in addition to the standard fair of who’s releasing what ride or which car is getting yanked from production, they...

Max Caves, Formula One Teams Win

Posted on Apr 2, 2015 in Racing | Comments Off on Max Caves, Formula One Teams Win

Well, sort of. In fact FOTA (Formula One Teams Association) and FIA, the sport’s governing body, do need each other, and the tradeoff the teams got was having Max Mosley, FIA president, agree not to run for reelection in October as Supreme Leader. That will be a result very much to the good of the sport and its fans. Edward Gorman of the Times Online put it...

Defending The Chevy Vega

Posted on Mar 27, 2015 in Antique | Comments Off on Defending The Chevy Vega

As part of some research into an article on the worst cars ever made, I decided to check out similar lists on the internet. Most of them were just plain silly, like Time Magazine’s “Worst Cars of All Time” which included the Plymouth Prowler and Chevy SSR solely because they lacked a little horsepower, and the magnificent BMW 7-Series because of its complicated...

Ethanol: Home Grown Fuel Source or a Source for Debate?

Posted on Mar 25, 2015 in Technology | 1 comment

E10, E15, E20 and the extreme E85 mixed fuels has been entering the vocabulary of modern motorists at a fuel station. Gasoline blended with ethanol, an organically produced substance some rather many alluring properties. Reducing hazardous emissions and acting as a natural octane booster, ethanol is currently added to fuel station gasoline. Over the years, the...

Stretched Chevrolet station wagon from the Milton Hershey School joins the AACA Museum collection

Posted on Mar 24, 2015 in Featured | 2 comments

Buses were just too industrial for the Milton Hershey School in the early Sixties. Instead, the boarding school’s administrators wanted to transport its students to and from student housing in a manner that more resembled typical family life. To do so, they commissioned a fleet of station wagons – extra long five-row 14-passenger station wagons – and now,...

The Shape of Things To Come: Remembering Triumph’s TR7

Posted on Mar 24, 2015 in Featured | 2 comments

1975 Triumph TR7. Introduced in 1975, Triumph’s TR7 coupe (and later, convertible) represented a bold new styling direction for the British automaker, whose other coupe and convertible offerings (the GT6 Mk III, the Spitfire and the TR6) were beginning to show their age. With a distinctive and futuristic wedge shape, penned by Harris Mann, the TR7 put the...