This 'exercise' reminds me a bit of the Harold and Maude Jaguar hearse, except its not as cool, because that was a hearse. And an E-Type... ... View more

As a lifetime fan of vintage English cars, about 15 years ago, with three children, I dearly wanted an Alvis TD21 convertible. Alas, I didn't have $100k to spend on the family car, so I 'settled' for a 1967 Mark II Jaguar. While not a convertible, it was similar in many ways. Now the kids are all grown and I don't need such a large car, so maybe a smaller Alvis? ... View more

I have had my 1964 3.8  open car now since 1990, meaning I have owned it for more than half of its 56 years. And I will never part with it. My son already has his sights on it, but so long as I am alive it will be in my garage. Its just such a fabulous car to drive and to own. At a recent show and shine, all the 20 year olds in their Japanese drifter machines wanted to see my car. They all called me sir. LOL. Bottom line, if you look after it, its bullet proof and people of all ages are in awe of it. As it should be. As it was when I first saw one.  ... View more

A couple of years ago my Sunbeam club made a trip out to Mr. Simpson's facility. What you see here is only a tiny fraction of the amazing fabrication work and collection of cars he has. And he is a real gentleman, letting us all over his creations and collection for the day. And he seemed genuinely excited to see the various Tigers, Alpines, and Harringtons that we brought with us. A great day! ... View more

These are such fun. And not very realistic. First of all, there seems to be something around $200k for most turnkey. For that, I can get a Range Rover and tow a very nice boat and moorage for some time and have money left over. But that's not the point, right? There seems to be some dispute as to whether any of these are actually legal to drive on the road in the US. That is a problem! Other than the Amphi which I guess gets grandfathered? Of course, you'd never catch me in one of those. As a reviewer wrote back in the 1960s, its neither a good car or a good boat. Back to the Range Rover dealer... ... View more

I am there! Let's see, current cars a 1962 Sunbeam LeMans coupe. Arrived on a trailer. Brakes seized and carbs shot. 1971 Opel GT - arrived on a trailer, carb shot  exhaust missing, etc. Then 1964 E Type. Drove home from the bay area, broke down three times, ignition shorted out, carb diaphragm leaked fuel on engine, and finally freeze plugs blew out. Trailered after that. Those are just the ones I still own. Of course, I love all three to death. ... View more

Not sure which is better. Going as fast as a speeding Bullitt or the speed of sound! I suspect its that the film Bullitt is retreating further into the past and out of the minds of young buyers today, whereas Mach 1 is a timeless name. ... View more

I recall the launch clearly and was an Automobile subscriber and recall the article referred to above, and that they had the Riatta on the cover. I recall being enthusiastic as it was more like the re-released Thunderbird two seater. Both failed for arguably similar reasons. Not sporty enough for the Miata/'vette crowd, not luxurious enough for the 'older' crowd. Its an odd niche and one I like and would like to have a convertible now that I am 'older' as well. Sadly there's nothing really like it out there now. My dad had the two seater Infinity with retractible roof. I guess that was close; also a failure. ... View more

60 mph in a Messerschmitt?? I have a friend who is restoring one and although I have never sat in it (as I am afraid I could never get out) its a terrifying prospect to drive one much less make 60! ... View more

Nice car! But. A Shelby with an automatic? And a price tag that guarantees it will likely never be driven much less DRIVEN. Nope. Its for the art collector set. ... View more

I too saw the Gremlin resemblance, but if the car actually was built and you managed to put it next to a Gremlin, they would actually be very different, given how tiny the Gremlin is and how massive the Pacer is. I actually sort of like Chip's Pacer. ... View more

Well I was pretty hard on Chip after what he did to my E Type, although not nearly as hard as many others were. As for his Pacer, if I had a small business and needed a deliver car/truck and saw his Pacer, I would be interested. My college girlfriend had a Pacer and they are absolutely massive inside. The worst feature was the wraparound glass that made it look like a huge fish bowl. Getting rid of that and the huge improvements to the front and back (which to be fair, were not possible in 1975 due to regulations) make it pretty appealing. As with all Chip's designs, its too low for my taste but that's a quibble. ... View more

I recall the launch of the Fiero. I loved the idea and really pulled for the success. If it succeeded could other innovative ideas follow? I recall comparisons with the Fiat X19, which was really the only similar car around for reasonable money at the time. Most commented that the Fiero was faster, but preferred the Fiat as they had worked the bugs out over the years. I was disappointed to read that. When the six came out the following year I was sure they had a winner and would sell a ton. I wanted one. Alas, in a story filled with "what ifs" the Fiero failed after initial sales success largely due to people being disappointed with the first cars. What if they had waited a year and started with the six and instead refined the car for  year?? What if indeed! ... View more

Re: Jag's XK engine (6 cyl) and the V-12, the 6 WAS faster in the early 1960s. But by 1971 when the V-12 debuted, emission and other requirements made it really slow down. By contrast, the V-12 in 1971 was a very fast, turbine smooth engine with a huge increase in torque and hp over the 1970 XK engine, although not much more than the XK was producing in 1961 when the E Type debuted. I have owned both 12 and 6 cyl E's and I prefer my early car, but the 12s were fabulous and a huge step up at the time. ... View more

I enjoy Chip's Overhauling show on TV. I like some of his designs, while others, to my eyes, are too much hot rod, slammed onto the ground in super low-profile tires. Doing this to the coupe series 1 E-Type is a mistake. The coupe is even prettier than the roadster and this effect on it that he proposes damages the pure lines. Don't update something that is perfect! ... View more

Wow. This car is a real beauty. When you look inside, you can see that Packard really did build cars to rival the best from Europe at the time. So while the outside is very much 'of its time' (I think it looks great) the interior is really what makes Packard's like this so special. ... View more

We have an field meet here in Seattle of vintage English cars that I never miss. Its in late July and it has already been cancelled. The reason is not a lack of commitment. On the contrary. It takes a huge amount of work on the part of all the volunteers to get it ready and to put it on And in terms of ordering trophies, it takes quite a bit of money too. So the decision needs to be made now for those events because you can't wait and throw them together in the last 30 days or so. SO I am disappointed, but I respect their commitment just the same. ... View more

I did briefly drive a Prelude from that era. I was thinking about buying one and had a loaner. The main reason I went with the comparable Nissan was that the Prelude was significantly more expensive, perhaps in part due to the 4 wheel steering, the Prelude and a rather crude variable steering assist that you could feel adjusting that was very distracting, and the four wheel steering, which created some odd feedback into the steering wheel. In the end, I found these 'developments' at least in their then stage of development, detrimental rather than positive. The salesman assured me I would get used to it. But why? ... View more

All my kids grew up going to the drive-in in our convertibles. But the last one in my area closed down about 8 years ago, complaining that all the movie companies insisted that the projection be updated to digital and it wasn't worth the cost for them to do it. That drive-in had 5 screens so would have had to update all those projectors. It was bulldozed to make way for...and empty field. Progress. ... View more

As a nine year old boy when Hot Wheels premiered, I was squarely in their target wheelhouse and boy did it work. I had a starter set that bolted to a table top using gravity for the motion of the cars and included a loop and a jump. I recall getting different cars and using needle nose pliers to 'align' the wheels for faster running. But the day the superchargers came out was a deal changer. these 'houses' with rotating rubber sides to propel the cars out at adjustable speeds and high banked curves were a whole different ball game. Even my younger brother who has never cared one bit about cars, and still doesn't, loved those sets. And the track was great for whipping your younger brother with, but that's a different story. ... View more