(first posted 2/13/2013)
For many years now, I have been a firm believer in two things:
Curbside Classic: 1978 Oldsmobile Cutlass 4-4-2 – Esmerelda Had More Sympathy For Quasimodo Than Did The General
– Posted on November 16, 2024
Recent Posts
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Curbside Classic: 1992 VW Passat Wagon (B3) – Practicality Über Alles
– Posted on November 16, 2024
(first posted 8/11/2014) Since its inception, practicality and functionality were the dominant forces that defined Volkswagens. With the arrival of the B5 Passat in 1996, that took a decided turn towards a more Audi-esqe and upscale image, which soon manifested itself in the Phaeton and that other miscalculation, the Passat W8. That’s not to say that the B5 Passat doesn’t have its charms, although once its soft-touch “paint” that coats many of its interior pieces starts peeling away like a sunburn, a considerable part of that charm flakes away. No such issues with its B3/4 predecessor: it was as honest and unadorned as a shoebox; the last of the old-school VWs. And I briefly lusted after one, if one can actually have such feelings for such a practical box. Read the rest of this entry »
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Dealer Classics: JDM Smörgåsbord In Saitama
– Posted on November 16, 2024
I live in north Tokyo, so I do have a tendency to go south into the city for my regular CC hunting trips. Last week though, I decided to go due north, cross the Arakawa river and explore Saitama prefecture in a little more depth than usual. I’ve done this before, but pickings were usually slim. Not this time: purely by luck, I found Flex Auto Review, a pretty big classic car dealer. Let’s look around the forecourt and see what we have.
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Bus Stop Classics: 1966 CAIO Gaivota and 2001 Rio de La Plata Maxibus – South American Streamliners
– Posted on November 16, 2024
A few weeks back we reviewed the Necochea Aerobus, an early attempt at streamlining from Argentina. Today let’s look at another Argentinian bus and one from Brazil that were both similarly designed to “cheat the wind.” Read the rest of this entry »
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My First Corolla AE86 – Obtaining My Dream Car – Part One
– Posted on November 16, 2024
2005: My first AE86 on the day I bought it.
As described in the prequel, I obtained my first Toyota AE86 from a user on the AEU86 forums called Jasper. Jasper had bought the car from the treasurer of the Dutch Toyota Club. The AE86 in question was a USDM car, a 1984 Toyota Corolla SR5 with air conditioning and a sunroof to be more precise. This will be a three-part series covering how I was able to purchase it, my ownership and what happened to it after I sold it.
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Car Show Classic: 1962 Pontiac Star Chief – If You Can’t Decide Between The Bonneville Or The Catalina…
– Posted on November 15, 2024
(first posted 5/14/2013) Pontiac had an interesting lineup in the Sixties. While most people remember the Catalina, Grand Prix, GTO and Bonneville when it comes to ’60s Ponchos, the Star Chief still hung in there despite its ’50s-vintage nomenclature. The somewhat ignored middle child in the big Pontiac lineup is neither well-remembered or often seen today, so you can understand why I was happy to see one at last year’s Galesburg Car Show. Yes, I am still mining pictures from that single event–there were so many cool cars there!
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CC Global: Ford Transit Mk2 Phase2 – Mid-Eighties Blue And White Transit Bus
– Posted on November 15, 2024
(first posted 11/11/2018) Sometimes automakers come up with a timeless model name that can be transferred from generation to generation. One of them is Transit, everybody just knows you’re speaking Ford, no matter where you live. Ford and Transit go together like Volkswagen and Transporter, like Toyota and HiAce, like Fiat and Ducato.
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Vintage R&T Review: Lancia Scorpio (Monte Carlo) – “…a Scorpion without its stinger”
– Posted on November 15, 2024
(first posted 11/15/2018) Let’s follow up our look at that Fiat X1/9 with its big brother (or sister, depending), the Lancia Scorpion (Monte Carlo in Europe). It was originally designed to be the X1/9’s bigger brother, to be called the X1/20. But perhaps because the 124 Spider was such an evergreen hit, or because Lancia needed a boost, it arrived as such, and was even referred to as a Beta at the beginning.
It promised much: a bold (and successful, in my eye) rolling sculpture by Pininfarina, and much of the same basic technical approach that made the X1/9 such a delight on a windy road. There was just one thing missing: power. Yes, it was 1975, but surely a bit more could have been done to give the Scorpio a bit of bite.
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Vintage Snapshots: Imperials & Imperial People In The ’50s-’70s
– Posted on November 15, 2024
We’ve visited the Imperial marque once before, with a gallery that mixed photos of some of the vehicles on their own, and others alongside their owners. Today’s follows the same idea; with vintage photos of Imperials not being that common, I feel any image capturing them is worth a moment of CC fame.
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CC Global: 2024 Volvo FH16 8×4/4 And 2021 Broshuis PL2 3+7 – Adding Up To a 52-Wheeler (Without Spares)
– Posted on November 15, 2024
Ah yes, the intriguing world of special and heavy haulage once again, starring a semi with a payload capacity of 116 tonnes (255,700 lbs). An extendable Broshuis semi-low loader with seven or ten axles. Stretched to the max, the deck length behind the neck is 30.5 m (100 ft). Surely something you don’t see at the local warehouse loading dock.
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Curbside Commentary: “Real Car Guys” vs “Tourists.”
– Posted on November 15, 2024
image source: learnedalongthewayblog
In reality, there is really no conflict between “Real Car Guys” and “Tourists”.
One of my favorite blog sites has been “My Jaguar Experience”, which presented a dichotomy of this nature. The story was the experience of trying to daily drive a Series Three Jaguar XJ6. It covered the never-ending series of little problems that resulted in a major breakdown that ended the ownership experience in an unhappy end.
The author placed a lot of blame on himself, which I felt was pretty unfair and unnecessary. He was not a hands-on enthusiast and was not the kind of person who would diagnose a problem and perform the repair himself. He had never made any claims to the contrary.
He broke down the enthusiast community into two camps. The “Real Car Guys” and the “Tourists.”
The real car guy’s motto is: “We can do it!”
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Vintage Review: 1965 Buick Riviera GS – The Ultimate Riviera; In Looks And Performance
– Posted on November 15, 2024
Yes, I know it’s an endless point of debate, but let’s face it, the original (1963-1965) Riviera is the greatest of them all. It was an absolute styling sensation when it arrived, arguably the best-styled American car not just of the sixties but even the whole post-war era. And it wasn’t just a pretty face; its performance was outstanding, and not just in a straight line. The Riviera was a world class gran turismo.
In 1965, Buick upped the ante with the Riviera Gran Sport. Standard equipment was the ultimate 360 hp dual-quad “nailhead” 425 Super Wildcat V8, a reduced backpressure oversize dual exhaust system, a 3.42:1 Positraction rear axle and a few other goodies. CARS magazine wrung one out and was duly impressed.
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Vintage 48,000 Mile Test: 1976 VW Rabbit – How VW Handed Over The US Import Market to the Japanese
– Posted on November 14, 2024
(first posted 11/10/2018) Here’s the final installment of Road and Track’s long term test of a first year 1975 Rabbit. The plan was to test it only to 24,000 miles, but since the car required extensive upgrading to 1976 specs (by VW) and then suffered a major failure (broken crankshaft) along with numerous more minor maladies, the test was taken all the way to 48,000 miles.
And it shows just why VW lost its grip on the US market to the Japanese.
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Car Show Classic: 1972 AMC Javelin Pierre Cardin – No, Really…
– Posted on November 14, 2024
(first posted 7/31/2014) We here at CC simply don’t do things part way. Maybe we have all been schooled by the Teutonic discipline of our founder, but we just can’t stand to see a job left unfinished. Which is why we have been in such anguish on the topic of AMC’s designer cars from the 1970s. After we brought you a 1974 Oleg Cassini Matador and then a 1972 Gucci Sportabout, we have been wringing our collective hands over the incomplete status of our collection of these most fashionable Kenoshans. Of course, we have Curbside Correspondents in SoCal, the PNW and other areas of old-car spotting heaven who continually delight us with their rare finds. But when the chips are down and heavy lifting is required, it’s just time to come to the Midwest, that’s all. Which is where we found the car that completes our set: the 1972 Pierre Cardin Javelin.
