Stephen writes:   Sajeev, Several years ago I wrote you about my ’65 Falcon convertible, asking for options to re-do my suspension. I took your advice and put only upgraded factory stuff on, basically Opentracker A-arms and lower control arms with Bilstein shocks. It’s a very comfortable ride, but now I have a new problem.   When I am driving down the road at 65–70 mph in fifth gear (T-5 swap), the engine loses power and I hear a spitting type sound (fft, fft). If I downshift to fourth, the power seems to come back. This only occurs after the car has been running for 5–10 minutes at 65–70. The car has a 289, Autolite four-barrel carburetor, Mallory distributor, new generic NAPA coil, fresh plugs/wires, and I am using a ballast resistor.   Sajeev answers: It’s wonderful to hear you chose/enjoy my suggested suspension modifications, as it’s usually in the owner’s best interest to stick with a factory-style suspension, but with upgraded shocks ...   Read the full article on Hagerty.com: https://www.hagerty.com/media/advice/piston-slap-highway-resistance-from-a-misfiring-falcon/   ... View more

Today’s featured vehicle is a 1986 Monte Carlo SS. While these cars originally came with a 305-cubic-inch, 180-hp four-barrel powerplant, this particular beast packs a 383 stroker topped with a Demon carb. That motor is paired with a Patriot 700R Stage 3 high-performance transmission. The story of this car, however, is less about its statistics and more about the determination of its owner, Steven Leeds ... Read the full article on Hagerty.com:   https://www.hagerty.com/media/hagerty-community/rides-from-the-readers-1986-monte-carlo-ss/   ... View more

Last week, I wrote about the two biggest enabling factors in buying and owning more cars than I should—inexpensive insurance and ample storage space. I left out the most obvious one—money. But there’s a reason ... Read the full column on Hagerty.com:   https://www.hagerty.com/media/opinion/the-trade-selling-one-car-to-buy-another-with-no-regrets-ok-some/   ... View more

Seventy years ago, in the turbulent autumn of 1950, America had his hands full, both at home and abroad. U.S. soldiers were entrenched in the initial months of the Korean War, and McCarthyism—a campaign to root out alleged communists in the U.S. government—raged stateside. In the midst of those rising tensions, a meeting between two visionaries from opposite sides of the Atlantic formed an automotive partnership between former combatant countries, one that proved historic and long-lasting ... Read the full article on Hagerty.com:   https://www.hagerty.com/media/news/porsche-celebrates-70-years-in-america/   ... View more

Stefano Domenicali has quit his role as Lamborghini’s boss to become CEO of Formula 1. The 55-year-old Italian took control of the Raging Bull in 2016, where he watched over a doubling of sales, thanks largely to the introduction of the mighty Urus SUV. Read the full news on Hagerty.com:   https://www.hagerty.com/media/news/lamborghinis-stefano-domenicali-to-take-charge-of-formula-1/     ... View more

Swedish EV upstart Polestar has announced that its striking Precept “vision” vehicle will go into production.   Hot on the heels of the highly-acclaimed, if not imaginatively-named, Polestar 1 coupe and Polestar 2 SUV, the Precept is a high-performance, luxury electric sedan to take on the likes of the Tesla Model S, Porsche   Taycan   and Lucid   Air. Read the full news on Hagerty.com:   https://www.hagerty.com/media/news/polestar-precept-is-a-dream-come-true/   ... View more

Was 1976 peak Brougham? I think so. I think it’s the year. Sure, the phenomenon of fully full-sized, V-8-powered, rear-wheel-drive luxury sleds with crushed velour and landau tops went on for decades after, but in ’76 it was everywhere, and in screw-the-fuel-economy, fully full-sized form. Also, it was the last year for the gigantic Eldorado convertible ...   Read the full column on Hagerty.com: https://www.hagerty.com/media/opinion/1976-cadillac-eldorado-convertible-green-is-good/     ... View more

The domestic three-row SUV segment is clearly delineated along brand lines. Cadillac and Lincoln have carved out a spot for luxury buyers. Chevrolet, Dodge, Ford, and GMC are happy to serve the rest of the market, from dowdy to dapper, but only Dodge builds a no-compromise, six-seater performance SUV.   Read the full article on Hagerty.com: https://www.hagerty.com/media/new-car-reviews/review-2020-dodge-durango-srt-awd/ ... View more

Ferrari has revealed the new Omologata, its latest bespoke supercar created as a one-off for a favored Ferrari fan.   The company describes the Omologata as a car that captures “Ferrari’s great GT tradition spanning seven decades of history.” It is the tenth front-engine V-12 one-off to have emerged from Maranello since the P540 Superfast Aperta, of 2009 ... Read the full article on Hagerty.com:   https://www.hagerty.com/media/news/the-new-ferrari-omologata-supercar-is-the-dream-of-one-lucky-gentleman-driver/   ... View more

The thing about race cars is they are purpose-built. In normal circumstances, a car built for one specific task is not worth transforming into something else. However, it has become a subculture in the car world to engage in the adventure of taking absurd machines on even more absurd adventures. Case in point: a NASCAR truck doing a week-long slog of drag races connected by a giant road trip. If you think that can't go well ... you'd be right.   Read the full article on Hagerty.com: https://www.hagerty.com/media/video/taking-a-nascar-truck-drag-racing-went-about-as-well-as-youd-expect/ ... View more

Paul was crouched in the back seat, face coated in grinding dust, aiming a $9 Harbor Freight heat gun at a fat sheet of floor insulation. Acrid smoke wafted up from the gun as the tar in the sheets burned off, tendrils wisping around his glasses. He sighed.   “Why did you buy this piece of crap, again?”   Read the full article on Hagerty.com: https://www.hagerty.com/media/opinion/smithology-ive-seen-tired-and-ive-seen-pain/   ... View more

Riding a slow bike fast is much more fun than riding a fast bike slow, and 50ccs is right around where most every riders started their two-wheeled lives. Nowadays, the Monkey Bike seems forgotten, the engines have only gotten bigger, and some of that simple joy has been lost. That might be reversing, though. Buyers are increasingly enchanted by minibike nostalgia, as evidenced by the meteoric rise in Honda Trail 70 values. The upcoming  Bonhams’ Zoute auction  in Belgium, kicking off October 11, has five JDM minibikes that we never got in the U.S. Is this the moment to add a tiny, but powerful splash personality to your vehicle fleet?   Read the full article on Hagerty.com: https://www.hagerty.com/media/motorcycles/5-limited-edition-jdm-minibikes-up-for-grabs-now/   ... View more

Backwards compatibility is a well-known concept in tech circles, but you need not be a software engineer or Playstation 3 loyalist to appreciate it. The Ford C6 automatic transmission is a great example of this in the automotive world because it’s also the foundation of newer automatics in Ford trucks. And thanks to this shared foundation, Ford’s C6 is backwards compatible when it comes to refinements implemented in its successors ... Read the full article on Hagerty.com:   https://www.hagerty.com/media/maintenance-and-tech/modern-ish-transmissions-from-a-ford-c6/   ... View more

Today’s featured car is a 1994 Mazda RX-7 . The 1993–2002 FD generation of Mazda’s beloved rotary-powered sports car was the last, but the RX-7 was a worthy finish to the lineage. These RX-7s packed fascinating technology into a very attractive package. A twin-turbocharged 1308-cc rotary powerplant sat under the hood, channeling its 255 hp to the rear wheels via a limited-slip diff. In an effort to smooth the torque curve of the 13B engine, Mazda’s engineers designated one turbo to provide boost from 1800 to 4000 rpm, with the second kicking in after that mark. In addition to making these cars a handful on track, the twin-turbo control system hasn’t particular reliable, and many FD cars today use only a single unit ... Read the full article on Hagerty.com:   https://www.hagerty.com/media/hagerty-community/rides-from-the-readers-1994-mazda-rx-7/   ... View more

The motorcycle market has been in a fit of heavy nostalgia over the last number of years, especially when it comes to medium-displacement non-sportbike machines. As an enthusiast of vintage vehicles, I never felt drawn to these retro-influenced offerings. If you want something that looks old, buy something old, right?  After a couple of months of riding the Royal Enfield INT650, I've softened my stance a little.   Read the full review over on Hagerty.com: https://www.hagerty.com/media/motorcycles/review-the-royal-enfield-int650-delivers-on-more-than-just-nostalgia/  ... View more

All Jeep vehicles are getting in on the action as the brand celebrates 80 years in business. Jeep will soon offer 80th Anniversary Editions across its model range. The 2021 model year Wrangler, Gladiator, Cherokee, Grand Cherokee, Compass, and Renegade will each be available with an understated 80th Anniversary Edition package, which brings convenience features along with a fourth-generation Uconnect system with an 8.4-inch touchscreen that packs Android Auto, Apple CarPlay, and SiriusXM satellite radio.   Read the full article on Hagerty.com:  https://www.hagerty.com/media/news/jeep-announces-80th-anniversary-models-and-free-maintenance-for-21-jeeps/ ... View more

Six decades after the Allard Motor Car Company shut its doors, and 54 years after founder Sydney Allard’s death, the British automaker is back with the introduction of Allard Sports Cars’ JR continuation series.   Read the full article on Hagerty.com:  https://www.hagerty.com/media/news/allard-returns-after-62-years-with-1953-55-jr-continuation-series/ ... View more

It has been nearly five decades since consumers could first acquire synthetic lubricants engineered to suit specific needs of internal combustion engines. However, are synthetic engines oils all they are cracked up to be? And are they OK to use with a vintage car? Some "experts" will tell you synthetics are the cure for everything from oil consumption to leaks, but if that seems too good to be true it's for a simple reason: the reality is more complicated.   Read the article and watch the video over on Hagerty.com: https://www.hagerty.com/media/maintenance-and-tech/are-synthetic-oils-safe-for-your-vintage-engine/  ... View more

It's unfortunate there's only one Buick sedan (the Regal) available these days, but there was a time when a Buick sedan commanded utmost respect, busted brand perceptions, and turned heads. The 1992 Park Avenue Ultra was probably the high-water mark: A supercharged, decadently appointed luxury sedan with a reasonably controlled suspension worthy of taming its force-fed engine. All 1991 to 1996 Park Avenues, in fact, were so full of surprise and delight that, to this day, they are a credible alternative to other luxury sedans of the era.   Read the full article on Hagerty.com: https://www.hagerty.com/media/car-profiles/the-1991-96-buick-park-avenue-was-the-essence-of-90s-american-luxury/ ... View more

The GM Design Instagram account is definitely worth a follow. The account posts historic photos of the GM Design team at work, vintage concepts and sketches, and visionary takes on future products.  Two recent sketches show wild renderings of Cadillac and GMC trucks ... Read the full article on Hagerty.com:   https://www.hagerty.com/media/news/are-these-wild-truck-sketches-the-future-of-gm-design/   ... View more

People of a certain age are all too familiar with the 1963 Lincoln Continental. Not because they once dreamed of riding in or owning one, but because of what happened in Dallas on November 22, 1963.   President John F. Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy were riding in a black ’63 Continental limousine, along with Texas governor John Connally and Connally’s wife, Nellie, when shots rang out in Dealey Plaza, killing JFK and seriously wounding the governor. What many people may not know is that the Kennedys were chauffeured in two different Lincolns on that fateful day—the black one, of course, and a white Lincoln that transported the couple and John Connally to Carswell Air Force Base in Fort Worth earlier that morning ... Read the full article on Hagerty.com:   https://www.hagerty.com/media/auctions/jfks-other-lincoln-is-a-continental-of-a-different-color/   ... View more

For the enthusiast on a budget, a hot hatch checks a lot of important boxes. It’s fun, but it’s also practical. Distinctive if you're in the know, and often affordable. It likes to be driven hard but doesn't gulp gas. Fortunately, these qualities are reflected in classic hot hatches just as they are in new ones.   Here in America we’ve often missed out on some of the best hot hatches from Europe and Japan, but if you’re looking for a vintage ride that you could take to an autocross then pack full of luggage for a weekend getaway, there are plenty of viable choices. We narrowed it down to three (well, technically five) hot hatches that can still be found in Good (#3) condition for four-figure prices.   Read the full article on Hagerty.com: https://www.hagerty.com/media/lists/5-hot-hatches-you-can-find-for-under-10000/ ... View more

California's governer wants to ban the sale fossil-fuel burning cars by 2035. Volkswagen unveils its all-electric crossover, the ID.4. Audi announces a special edition R8 named after the Nurburgring.   Links: https://www.hagerty.com/media/news/california-will-ban-the-sale-of-new-gasoline-powered-cars-by-2035/   https://www.gov.ca.gov/2020/09/23/governor-newsom-announces-california-will-phase-out-gasoline-powered-cars-drastically-reduce-demand-for-fossil-fuel-in-californias-fight-against-climate-change/   https://www.hagerty.com/media/news/volkswagens-electric-id-4-suv-is-poised-to-convert-the-ev-curious/   ... View more

Engine swaps are nothing new. In fact, power transplants have been part of automotive experimentation since the very beginning. Hagerty’s Brad Phillips teamed up with our own rebuild expert, Davin Reckow, to hash through a few history’s greatest swaps. Along the way, the duo touched on lessons learned from doing a few greasy surgeries of their own ... Read the full article on Hagerty.com:   https://www.hagerty.com/media/maintenance-and-tech/talkin-swaps-coolest-engine-transplants-over-the-years-2/   ... View more

Early this month, the four-ringed firm announced a limited edition of 25 2021 Audi RS6 Avant “RS Tribute Editions” as an homage to the 1994 RS2.   Sure, for $109,000 the new car has 591 horsepower and can launch itself from zero to sixty in 3.5 seconds with its four-liter, twin-turbo V-8. But it, and every other high-performance Audi Avant, will forever be in the shadow of the O.G. RS2 ... Read the full article on Hagerty.com:   https://www.hagerty.com/media/car-profiles/the-rs2-avant-is-still-audis-uberwagon/   ... View more

We’ve introduced you to Rocky Mountain Race Week 2.0 already, but for those just joining us, we participated in a five-day, 1300-mile torture test across multiple state lines, with a drag race at the end of each day of road tripping.   This kind of drag race enduro format tests the limits of street cars by pitting traditionally high-strung machines against both the toughest conditions at the track and on the street. The mission: To settle the score on defining the ultimate street car.   Read the full article on Hagerty.com: https://www.hagerty.com/media/motorsports/rocky-mountain-race-week-2-0-hell-week-by-the-numbers/   ... View more

Thermostats are one of the most misunderstood parts of a car, yet they're also vital for regulating your vehicle's temperature across a range of operation conditions. Their primary role is to bypass the radiator when the coolant is cold, thereby retaining heat when below operating temp, before opening up to flow hot coolant through the radiator once the operating temp has been reached. Contrary to popular belief, throwing in a cooler thermostat will not solve overheating problems—the vehicle will still hit the peak temperature it wants to hit while running hot—but the baseline temp of the operating range will be lower under light loads, which can have its benefits.   Read the full article on Hagerty.com: https://www.hagerty.com/media/maintenance-and-tech/wrenchin-wednesday-dont-touch-the-thermostat-again/ ... View more

One day after reports that the UK will ban the sale of new gasoline-powered cars and trucks by 2030, California Governor Gavin Newsom revealed a similar plan, issuing an executive order that limits new car sales to zero-emissions vehicles starting in 2035. Newson, whose state is in the midst of its worst-ever wildfire season, says the plan will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and combat global warming.   Read the full article on Hagerty.com:  https://www.hagerty.com/media/news/california-will-ban-the-sale-of-new-gasoline-powered-cars-by-2035/ ... View more

Tesla's just announced a 1100-hp, $140K "Plaid" powertrain to crown its Model S lineup. When Elon Musk broke the news in yesterday's Battery Day announcement, he touted a 0–60-mph time of under 2.0 seconds for the Model S Plaid and a quarter-mile time under 9 seconds. Even better? Musk is promising a range of 520+ miles for this tri-motor, all-wheel-drive beast. (Those keeping tabs on the EV world will realize that these power, performance, and range stats are just a hair better than those of the  $169K Lucid Air Dream Edition—1080 hp, 0–60 in 2.5 seconds, and 517 miles of range. Because of course they are.)   Read the full article on Hagerty.com: https://www.hagerty.com/media/news/watch-teslas-1100-hp-model-s-plaid-trounce-the-corvette-c7-zr1s-laguna-seca-lap-time/ ... View more

BMW certainly got people talking when it released official images of the 2021 M3 and M4. In the wake of the (inevitable) controversy over the redesign and that grille, we asked Hagerty's creative illustrator Abimelec Arellano to imagine what the M3 would look like if it hewed more closely to traditional BMW design. Here's what he came up with.   Read the full article on Hagerty.com: https://www.hagerty.com/media/news/is-this-how-bmw-should-have-designed-the-new-m3/ ... View more