aenthal I hope you are in the Studebaker Driver's Club. I would think a want ad posting in their magazine would net you the glass you need. ... View more

This was a good review. I’d noticed the hybrid Infiniti Q50s from a decade ago had started to become quite cheap. On paper they’re a pretty amazing car - quick, economical, good looking enough. But every period review - that wasn’t a lazy advert - mentioned the bizarre drive-by-wire system. I feel like the flaws mentioned in the older cars were forced compromises (E39 V8s left no room for steering racks, the 6.2l AMG sacrificed finesse for fireworks), whereas the shortcomings of new models are largely errors of judgement. ... View more

If a Chinese built vehicle is what you want, you should start packing your belongings and head for the airport. They might not like you, but will surely take your US dollars. ... View more

Hidden light 69 Impala is one of my favorites of all vehicle front ends.   Pictures of me as a two year old standing in the driver seat of a my parents (rather beat) convertible probably helped seed this appreciation. ... View more

You might say that...Chip is Foose Loose and Fancy Free! If you like that, Chip--it's yours! ... View more

Is this a regional spelling? It's "arbitrageurs" as far as I can tell (certainly you didn't mean "arbiters"). But I enjoyed this post and appreciate your points all the same. ... View more

The sliding door did not appear until 1968, when they redesigned the whole van. (I think it still was the first). ... View more

If you have to do that, don't be looking at Porsche. ... View more

Having had a "70 Superbird 440 6 Pack four-speed in senior year at Corona Del Mar HS, Newport Beach Cali, THAT is my choice. The adjustable aluminum wing with the Lemon-twist hue was really a kick!! ... View more

Well I have a C8 and......no I don't but lots of guys write that. No one here...yet. Good technical interpretation and entertaining. Clear to me the mano-a-mano competition was not only behind the wheel, it was at the keyboard. "Brain eating fun" WT? I do not know how many owners of these cars track them; I speculate autocrossing is more common. So I would enjoy you providing that mano-a-mano, especially at a club event where the regulars might up the ante. Question: When will OEMs stop with the 60's Le Mans stripes? Do they have to force-retire generations of Marketing people? ... View more

Neither of them grew up wealthy, bezos started out by selling books in his parents dining room and musk made his by starting a successful map software. ... View more

Bit early to predict much on this.  I feel the larger Tahoe like vehicles will be those collectors go for. Larger, more powerful V8 and easier to get parts for.  The Evoque is going to be hobbled in America mostly by the expense to repair and the lack of cheap easy parts to restore it. Many vehicles are suffering this today and will only be collectible in low mile form.   Large GM  SUV models are cheap and easy to repair or customize. Used parts are everywhere. The V8 can be changed to about what ever you like.  The Evoque could be the next 412 Ferrari.  ... View more

I've seen a lot of really nice BMWs, MBs, and Jags go for cheap on the Mecum auctions.  I'm not sure why but i guess it is the depreciation and maintenance costs that drive the low prices. ... View more

Great race track. Spent alotta time there in the 70s. ... View more

Always the copycat. GM noticed the world beating Mustang then came the Camaro. GM seeing the potential of the Bronco and now comes the Beast. ... View more

Brilliant observation. What I find scary today is how few people honestly understand how our incredible and unprecedented standard of living came to be, and what it takes to keep going. Life for most in America today is so incredibly easy and care-free. The day-to-day life my grandparents endured for the first halves of their lives would kill most Americans today. They haven't a clue as to how the complex infrastructure that makes our lives so easy works. We have an entire generation now that only knows that they can poke their finger at their smartphones and 24-48 hours later, almost any good imaginable will show up at their doorstep. Another thing people have trouble grasping is basic economics in the sense that they expect to be making $50-an-hour or more, but then can't understand how someone in their own employ doing actual, physical things would charge anything similar. ... View more

A really great story. Nice to read an article here about a true collector car, not a 20 year old used Civic or the latest BEV Porsche Toucan. Drive an E-Type in Southeast Michigan and you won’t draw crowds. Maybe just a few blank stares at best. It’s great - probably the last place in the world where one of these can go unrecognized. It’s like when I ran across a real-deal SS100 Jaguar parked at the local Safeway 35 years ago. Turned out it belonged to a friend of my dad’s. Hidden in plain sight: “Oh yeah, once in a while someone asks about it, and he tells them it’s a kit car.” Here they just have eyes for the next Hellcat Widebody Redeye Scat Pack Super Bee Edition Dodge Charger… ... View more

...sideways. ... View more

BROADCAST ALERT... "Jazz on a Summer’s Day" is being shown this Saturday, June 19, on TCM. Here on the East coast, it's on at 2:30 PM. ... View more

A bit over emotional here. Let cut through to the basics of what is going on and why the automakers are now moving quickly to EV plans. #1 the ICE engine is not going to vanish overnight. In some limited applications it will remain. #2 the transition is going to take place in 20-40 years and can vary with development. #3 the true reason the automakers are making the move is these vehicles will prove to be cheaper and more profitable in the future as ICE will get only more expensive. This is about profits not saving trees. #4 many EV models coming will work well with many buyers now and with the advances over the next 30 years most others with needs will be met. #5 This transition will be much like the horse to model T. It took a while but in time and with investment ICE finally met the needs of most in cost, range, reliability and infrastructure. There is so much miss information out there getting passed around and flat lies. Add that to the amount of info and development not introduced yet that the automakers are still working on there will be much to come yet. Add in the battery work being done not just for cars. There are a number of needs from space flight to your cell phone and Mac. The amount of investment has grown fast but will grow faster with the continued investment. To clarify I have gas flowing in my veins. I probably will be one of the last hold outs from EV. I make my living in the racing industry. But I can see now with my mfgs and raving series that this is coming and it is way beyond politics now. No matter who you vote for these changes are coming. But again it will be a generation before a full change comes. Look back 30 years and see how far we have come in many tech items. Look I am at least grateful that EV will keep me from being forced to a bicycle or a horse. ... View more

I owe you a visit! Would love to take one of your hand-shift bikes for a spin. ... View more

For me, the Porsche is the ultimate. About the Chevelle, tho, after watching and reading about all the auto auctions recently, I figure Chevy must have made about 8,479,246 1970 SS454's. They seem like they're everywhere! And they all say they have the LS6 motor. The word "clone" comes to mind, and some people are getting not exactly what they paid for. As BMD4800 says way down below, a healthy big block is truly exciting, pushing you back in the seat with enough noise and brute force to put a major smile on the face. But, people that shell out megabux for these cars will NEVER even put them on the road, let alone race them. So sad. ... View more

One thing to consider with today's styling are (pedestrian) safety and fuel mileage requirements. These drive toward a smooth-ish exterior surfaces and not much space (thickness) between inside and outside. It is hard to be distinct with only a few inches to play with the form. Those amazing swoops and trim details from the 50's and 60's benefited from a much larger design space (so to speak!) to move metal around and no real concern how it might interact in a collision. ... View more

Surprises happen at Races too. Last weekend I found a Mclaren 620R in the parking lot. 1 of 225 built. In the past at Mid Ohio I have found the Lemans winning Mclaren GT F1 long tail. Also the actual 1977 Foyt winning Indy Car from the speedway museum.  ... View more

Comp Cams / Edelbrock. Good grouping of HP parts. All my latest builds use Edelbrock parts. 1970 builds used Comp Cams. _ 1969 '383' Road Runner with a \ 512 lift, 320 duration cam_ _ _ It was the 'Beast' in Denver [1976] Never beat 'street'. ... View more

what a memory! ... View more

Awesome, I am in the process of starting my 73 MK1 conversion to a V-8 351w street demon with a widebody kit. Any suggestions on a rear differential and would you put an automatic tranny behind the engine, or keep with the stick? Any crazy hurdles to get over or things that you could or would of done different. Sincerely AJ ... View more

Great assessment. I could not agree more. Honda has a knack for getting "just enough" just right. ... View more

By-the-way, I was sad to hear about Marvelous Marvin earlier this year.  I visited the restaurant once where his statue stood, and rubbed his bald head for luck.  Heckuva sad day for Brockton, whether you were a fight fan or not, as he brought that city a lot of attention! ... View more

The Marmon name is still alive. Marmon-Harrington of Louisville, KY builds heavy duty four wheel drive units. I had to go to their facility to pick up parts. I told my boss that the company was probably related to the Indy 500 winner. He thought I was crazy. Sure enough when I entered their facility there was a huge portrait of the Wasp behind the reception desk. ... View more

I got to know Dick a bit beginning back in the 1980's and he did have foresight with respect to Ferraris but he also had foresight with Bizzarinnis which he recognized as great styling and I believe he bought a couple with his son which became very good investments. He really did believe that he should do as much as he could to help guide those who wanted to bring cars to the US and gave them guidance and a helping hand as if they were friends. What a humble and decent guy - he will be missed. ... View more

If I could afford both the AMG E63S or the CT5-V Blackwing, I'd happily pay the extra 10 grand just for the privilege of a manual transmission. Or, the ability to drive an AMG engine with a manual transmission over an Aston Martin body... ... View more

I bought a set of welding gas bottles four decades ago. Those bottles are long gone, replaced with innumerable refills over the years. Like you say, just show up at any supply shop, offload the empties, onload the full and and back to welding.  Who cares how long to safety-check the bottles and do the refill? ... View more

Preaching to the choir here I know, but for 60 or so years, generations of (us) junior-high-school boys have inked this very car on notebook paper when they should have been doing their sums, then daydreamed over it, technical specs and all. It is a testament to the human race that somewhere a little gang of guys get to actually build them. "What is it, Spade?" "The stuff of dreams." Still a little hope left in the world. ... View more

"Killing racing and our hobby is not going to save the planet as we are not destroying it." That is so true, but few people have ever stated it so succinctly! I also agree whole heartedly with your last line: "This is not just an attack on our hobby but how our government operates as written by our forefathers." There are a lot of people involved in Government and on one side of the political aisle that don't believe in the individual nor do they believe in Freedom. It is a bit sad, but we will continue to stand up for our Freedoms. ... View more

Some categories of regrets resonate more than others, such as cars and romantic targets. One of my regrets includes both. Upon graduating high school my girlfriend broke up with me. I maintained a close relationship with her parents as they seemed to enjoy my company much more than their daughter did. The car owned by the father was a 1954 Austin Healey 100-4. It was a bit rough but didn't have any rust and was generally complete. I was drawn to the car by it's simplicity, beauty and that folding windscreen was so cool. Fortunately I was fairly flush with funding as my college job was checking groceries making union wage. I contacted my former girlfriend's father to discuss the possibility of a sale and not only did he agree to a discussion, he also invited me to dinner. We enjoyed the dinner, had a very nice chat, but I didn't negotiate the sale at all. To this day I don't know why. I did have a couple of other cars at the time, a 1967 Alfa GTV, a 1967 Fiat 850 spider and a 1964 Ford Falcon V8 convertible. The Healey would have had to rest a couple of years while I worked and went to college full time so who knows how it all would have panned out. For me the far greater regret is the car, although at the time I certainly pined much more for the girl. Time has granted me the wisdom to understand that cars are far more easy to fix than some relationships. How I would love to have that Healey in my garage today, waiting on whatever it needed from me. ... View more

Interesting that the guy who lamented “foreman said these jobs are goin’ boys, and they ain’t comin’ back” (your home town)  supported the president (Obama) who said the same thing... ...and hated the president who brought many of them back.  ... View more

Right on Jack. I've had personal experience with 3 Cadillacs: A 1931 V-16 that I took some good images of at a car show, My Dad's 79 coupe de Ville and my 2006 CTS-V. I've looked several times at new Caddys to see if there were any I would consider but nawwww... for the reasons you state, they don't measure up. That being said, my '06 V series (except for a lousy Differential) is the best car I've ever had. It's. still beautiful and balanced and lots of fun. The second generation was spoiled in styling and an overkill drive train. If I was a Cadillac dealer, I would take the money, cry a little, and run too. ... View more

What a great story – and one I would be happy to emulate when my time comes to an end. Driving a Seven of any vintage is certainly life-affirming and an event every time. Here in the UK the roads may not be quite as glorious as the Sea to Sky Highway, but the drive remains the same: https://youtu.be/hd8h6JrHiu4 ... View more

Yeah the Georgia summers combined with stoplights programmed to stay one color WAY too long make for being able to smell your undercarriage cooking before the light changes. I have two that need AC. ... View more

Every one, Fight Back to controlled Gov. BS ... View more

What an in-depth, documented and well thought out response. Good job! ... View more

It is often said that "it's only original once" and the right patina can make a car even more interesting. You're right Wayne, you can always change your mind later, but going back to the current stage would be very difficult to recreate. The car itself will tell you what to do. I think you made the right choice. ... View more

Put your seat belt on Jay. ... View more

I was walking down a street in Berlin in 2000 when I came across a parked Proteus C-Type.  It really was a stunning car and given that you will pretty much never see a real one on the road it was nice that someone was out and actually enjoying it.  Just in the way that Cobra replicas have not hurt the prices of the authentic cars, I am sure that the Proteus cars and the factory continuation ones will not harm prices of these very rare Jaguars. ... View more

My friends mom had the Eagle coupe. It was red with the black stripes. I STILL like how those cars look. ... View more

You are very welcome.   ... View more

You following me? You know what would be fun, you drive and review my senna in napa valley and we verbally abuse each other locked inside the car. We recant stories about you prank calling my house and being banned repeatedly in TCL. A short love affair follows. xxxooo Anothercar ... View more

Thanks for recommending the book, Jay. I picked up a copy and it's wonderful. My Dad was a Tool and Die Maker, and I grew up in a machine shop. I've always been fascinated by "How We Got Here", and this book is a treat!   - Jim ... View more

Foose I have a Classic Mini in Miami waiting for you to take your first Mini .. I am in , are you IN? ... View more