New BMW Headlights Solve Old Problem

Posted on Dec 18, 2021 in Safety | 1 comment

Imagine a world where you never have to worry about turning down your brights as you drive. We’ve all been there, happily zooming down a country lane or lonely highway with the road in front of us bathed in ample light, our cars cutting through the darkness with high beams in full force. Then a car approaches. We think nothing of it until the approaching...

Most Beautiful Cars: The Citroen DS

Posted on Dec 18, 2021 in Antique | Comments Off on Most Beautiful Cars: The Citroen DS

It is not sufficient to see and to know the beauty of a work. We must feel and be affected by it. – Voltaire It is said that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Lately, I’ve been reading some lists of “Beautiful Cars” that force me to believe the beholder was blind. One website, Edmunds lists the 1973 Pontiac Grand Am and the 1985 Chevrolet Camaro in the 100...

Hypercar Hybrids from Porsche and Ferrari

Posted on Dec 17, 2021 in Racing | 4 comments

Design study for the F70 We have written about the incredible Porsche 918 hybrid before, with details here and here. Now, 918 Spyder prototypes have been spotted testing, looking a little like the old 917 race cars (see pix here). The 918 will produce some 770 hp from a V8 and “two independent electric motors, one on the front and one in the drive line, acting...

Top 5 Mercedes-Benz Engines

Posted on Dec 12, 2021 in Technology | 2 comments

I was driving along Route 19 in McMurray, Pennsylvania several weeks ago and noticed a hot looking German car in the area’s cigar shop parking lot. I have seen so many Mercedes-Benz AMG cars there including, but not limited to, normally aspirated C63 AMGs all the way to the SLS AMG Coupe. “I bet that gets up and goes,” I thought to myself. I started thinking...

How Automotive Payola Works: A Case Study Starring Wayne Gerdes and Volkswagen

Posted on Dec 3, 2021 in Editorials | 1 comment

When a self-described automotive journalist attempts a fuel economy record, you expect his attempt to be objective — or, at least, as objective as such an attempt can be. However, when an automaker is willing to pay that automotive journalist thousands of dollars for the effort, with payment possibly dependent on achieving the desired record, objectivity falls...

Fifty years later, there’s still no racing like the original Can Am series

Posted on Dec 1, 2021 in Featured | 2 comments

Peter Revson’s 1972 McLaren M20 Can-Am car. In 1966, the SCCA’s U.S. Road Racing Championship spun off a new series, created in cooperation with the Canadian Automobile Sports Club (CASC). Officially called the Canadian-American Challenge Cup, or Can-Am for short, the series would go on to become, arguably, the greatest form of motor racing the world has ever...

Does Snow Change Your Travel Plans?

Posted on Nov 25, 2021 in Safety | Comments Off on Does Snow Change Your Travel Plans?

How much snow is too much? There was a debate at my house last night involving safety and weather-related travel, and I declared myself the winner, but now I’m not so sure. My wife, of course, had a good case. Here’s the situation: On Saturday we had made plans to go out Sunday evening and buy a day bed from a woman who listed it for sale on Craigslist. It was...

What Is This Hongqi H7 Doing in Michigan?

Posted on Nov 25, 2021 in Editorials | 2 comments

TTAC reader Morpheus (who has an awesome name by any standard) sent in this shot of a Chinese limo driving around Ann Arbor, Michigan. The Hongqi H7 isn’t built by some neo-capitalist Chinese outfit, either, as the brand has been in existence since 1958. It’s also properly presidential. Hongqi (which translates to Red Flag) has built limousines for The Party’s...

Postwar-styled Deuce roadster named America’s Most Beautiful Roadster

Posted on Nov 20, 2021 in Featured | 2 comments

If there was any doubt that the vintage look has arrived in the modified-car world, one needs to look no further than the last few winners of the America’s Most Beautiful Roadster award, which have all featured a period appearance combined with the extraordinary fit and finish that it takes to compete at such a high level. This year’s winner is no exception....

How To Sell A Car

Posted on Nov 12, 2021 in Antique | Comments Off on How To Sell A Car

One of the most important rules in selling any car is to include great photos. In fact, the better the photo, the more money you will get when it’s time for the cash to change hands. Recently, on a trip through eBay Motors, I found these gems. The cars are nice, but not very rare…but the pictures are fantastic. This is how to sell a car…though I am pretty sure...

Forgotten fastback: Oldsmobile’s striking Delmont 88 Holiday Coupe

Posted on Oct 23, 2021 in Featured | 2 comments

If you like the aggressive lines of the fastback body style as well as the spacious luxury of a full-size automobile, think Delmont. If you’ve never heard of a Delmont, you’re not alone. It’s one of those forgotten models from the Sixties, thanks, in part, because Oldsmobile only built it for two short years – 1967 and ’68. Its full name was the Delmont 88, and...

When’s the Last Time a Rear-view Mirror Made the News?

Posted on Oct 12, 2021 in Safety | Comments Off on When’s the Last Time a Rear-view Mirror Made the News?

The first backup camera ever invented was made of glass and adhered to the front windshield. It was called a rear-view mirror. I looked toward Wikipedia for more history on the veritable safety device, because there just isn’t much chatter about them these days. Here’s what I found: The earliest known rear-view mirror mounted on a motor vehicle appeared in Ray...

Autonomous Driving: Augmented Safety Supersedes Curious Attraction?

Posted on Oct 10, 2021 in Technology | 1 comment

Cars of the future? What will they look like? I recall this very conversation with my schoolmates. It was a weekly topic. In junior high, I was captivated by the looks of so called “nice cars” at the time. I didn’t understand engine performance or specs; I could not identify luxury features or accessories, but I trusted my eyes. The lady up the street drove a...