The article didn't mention how far into my jeans I would have to dig to secure this crate engine wonder. ... View more

Hot hatches and pickup trucks?  Are you guys running out of subject matter? ... View more

Seriously?  Two European maintenance nightmares and a so-so performance pickemup?  That's it?  Where is the usual gaggle of four door sedans and station wagons you guys usually feature? ... View more

I recall back in the day I was in love with the TR4.  By the time I got out of the Army the 4 had been superseded by the TR6.  I looked at them pretty hard but the general "word" in those days was to avoid any Triumph with a 6 cyl. engine.  Apparently they spent more time in shops than on the road.  My best pal's wife bought a TR6 and I actually got to enjoy replacing the tranny and clutch.  What a hassle.  ... View more

Having purchased an '83 XLT from Ford as an executive lease car turn in and driven it for 162K miles in 17 years and presently being the proud owner of a '95 XLT that had 164K miles on it when I bought it three years ago, I've got to wonder how you differentiate between the Bull Nose ('80-'86), Brick Nose ('87-'91) and Aero Nose ('92-'96) as separate "generations".  Driving my '95 feels a whole lot like driving my '83 did.  It is the same size vehicle built with a large number of interchangeable parts.  It departs from the previous "generation" in no way similar to the First and Second generation Broncos.  There are refinements here and there but the overall package is still the same truck from 1980 to 1996.  My '83 and my '95 even had the same fixture on the ceiling as a dome/map reading light.  The major difference is the front sheet metal, which changed with Ford's minor design changes of the F150.  Those should all be classified as third generation Broncos.  The current butt ugly vehicle is the fourth generation of the Bronco concept.  IMHO that one took longer than the average baby elephant to arrive and isn't nearly as attractive.  ... View more

How about the Jaguar XKE coupe and the Datsun 240Z?  I owned one of the latter and always wished I had owned one of the former.  I was looking at my Z car one day and realized how much like the XKE it looked.  R.E. the Porsche 925 and the AMC Pacer, what were you guys thinking.  They both had big rear glass.  That's about it.  Also, wouldn't the Porsche 944 be a better match up with the second gen Mazda RX7? ... View more

I had a '69 L36 coupe that was the spitting image of the '68 car you used as an example.  Le Mans Blue with a black standard interior, M21 4 speed tranny, 3.36 gears and the F41 handling package.  It had the dealer installed luggage rack and the inserts in the gill slits but no side pipes.  I bought the car in 2004 and sold it in 2011.  In the seven years I owned it I put seven thousand miles on the car to run it all the way up to 77K.  It was a low optioned unit with no AC, which would have made it impossible to own outside of the SF Bay Area where I lived at the time.  I had it judged by NCRS and it won a Top Flight award the first time out.  It was probably the most uncomfortable car I have ever owned and you couldn't even get a set of golf clubs into it, but I still miss it for its head turning ability.  People just wanted to talk to me about that old Stingray.  ... View more

You forgot the greatest Mustang ever!  My '69 Meadowlark Yellow convertible with a black top and interior.  It was a relatively stock car when I bought it in 1998 from an elderly lady.  Someone had installed full dual exhausts on the car but it still had its original engine/transmission/rear end.  I restored the car to its original appearance, added some factory/dealer available options like dual racing mirrors, chrome rallye wheels and an original luggage rack.  The 302 got rebuilt right at 100K miles and is now a .040 over 308.  The engine has a 351W cam, changing the firing order, JB flat top pistons, an Edelbrock aluminum intake, a Barry Grant Road Demon 4V carb, a pair of Ford GT40P heads, Ford Motorsport roller rockers, anti-pump up lifters, custom tri-Y headers and the greatest sounding set of electric cutouts you ever heard right behind the collectors.  The C4 transmission has a shift kit installed.  The rear gears were 2.79s and are now 3.55s.  Its best pass at the local drag strip was a 14.308 @ 99.1 mph.  Besides all this, it has won 31 trophies and plaques in the 21 years I have owned and showed it.  I love this car!  Since I've owned it I have bought and sold a couple of 4th gen Z28 Camaros, a '69 L36 427 Corvette coupe,an '09 C6 Corvette coupe and a '95 Bronco XLT.  Actually I still have the C6 and the XLT, but I would sell them well before I would consider selling my little standard Mustang vert. ... View more

So this is a further tale of how the lawyers have completely F'ed up America.  Send them back to college to get their social work degrees! ... View more

Christine.  The ultimate millennial machine.  It restores itself, requiring no effort on the part of the "owner".  Sort of like patina. ... View more

I agree with your premise and admit to being a compulsive fixer of every flaw I have ever found on my vintage cars, but how do you explain the "trend" toward patina?  Isn't just an acceptance of the vagaries of time on your vintage vehicle?  Is it driven by the desire to present the vehicle as an historical piece, or is it just an expression of laziness?  We do have dodos replicating patina with a spray gun, which might negate the laziness argument, but it still feels like an excuse to do nothing.    ... View more