Wealthy Type-A car guys can’t seem to resist starting their own companies (named, of course, after themselves). But for every Porsche, Lamborghini, and Ferrari, there’s a Bricklin, Tucker, and. DeLorean. John Z. DeLorean, at least, seemed to have the automotive chops to make his company a long-term survivor. He was […]
Aston Martin was in trouble again. By the mid-1960s, it was clear that the DB6 was in dire need of modernization, based as it was on a design with its roots firmly in the now-archaic DB4, which was launched in 1958. William Towns, who would serve Aston well (if controversially […]
The immediate post-war era saw sports cars enter the American consciousness for the first time since the days of the Mercer Raceabout and the Stutz Bearcat. By the early 1950s-in addition to foreigners like MG, Jaguar, Aston Martin, and Ferrari-Ford had to stomach American independents and upstarts dabbling in sports […]
The Mazda Miata might hold the record for inverse relationships in the automotive world. It’s difficult to think of a car more significant in the sports car pantheon that enjoys less respect from the masses. Often derided as a “chick car” by the clueless and insecure, the Miata is the […]
The 3.2 Carrera is revered as the ultimate development of the original 911 that first appeared in 1963, before being replaced by the more complicated 964 series. These final cars were the most flexible and usable of Butzi Porsche’s original design. The all-alloy flat-6 engine, which had been fuel injected […]
What most of us know about the immediate post-war history of MG is historical rather than experiential. The 1945-49 TC was the sports car of the WWII generation, now sadly passing to that great wrecking yard in the sky. The pre-war PAs, PBs, TAs, and TBs that GIs stationed in […]
After 1973, Americans had to get used to pressing their faces against the glass and watching the Europeans get all the good stuff, beginning with the Porsche 911 2.7 Carrera RS and BMW 3.0 CSL. Even entertaining cheap stuff like the MG B V8 and Triumph Dolomite were forbidden. It […]
Although it’s hard to believe today, BMW nearly didn’t survive the late 1950s and 1960s. Thirsty and expensive Baroque sedans, the hard-to-find V8-powered 507 sports car (253 built), and the tiny egg-shaped Isetta wasn’t really a formula for success. The “New Class” 1,500-cc sedans of 1962, which led directly to […]
By the early 1970s, some were predicting the demise of the inexpensive sports car. Modern small sedans like the Audi Fox and VW Rabbit were threatening to render sports cars redundant. It didn’t help that the standard-bearers for the under-$4,000 sports car class were the MG Midget and Triumph Spitfire. […]
Factory support of older Morgans is incredible. With simply a serial number, the gang in Malvern Link can supply or make just about anything for a Plus 4 There has always been an enthusiastic market (albeit a limited one) for anachronisms. Vinyl records and mechanical watches are in most respects […]
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