I once asked the folks at McLaren if they could use their expertise to make a Miata-priced sports car. I was told that you have to sell tens of thousands of those to break even and they only have the capacity of about 4,000 units a year. The only time Porsche has ever sold entry level sports cars has been by using their corporate siblings at Audi and VW for the mass production side of things, with the 914 and the 924. Fiat had to use a badge engineered Miata to bring back an open sports car. I don't know if the market for entry level sports cars is big enough for anyone outside of Mazda to justify the investment. ... View more

I don't know if he's a cool dude or not but in my experience Magnus is pretty gracious in person. ... View more

My favorite withdrawn car advertisement wasn't really an advertisement but rather a 1972 National Lampoon parody of the classic BB&D Volkswagen ads that showed a VW Beetle floating on water (Beetles were watertight enough to float) with the tagline, "If Ted Kennedy Drove a Volkswagen, He'd be President Today," referencing Kennedy's problems at Chappaquidick. Because the parody actually included VW's trademark, the company sued for $30 million, and NatLamp agreed to tear the ad out of unsold copies and destroy the printing plates. Some sources say they pulped 135,000 copies but other say by then the issue had sold out, and whichever source is correct, they are collectible today. https://rokemneedlearts.com/images/Kennedy%20VW%20Ad.jpg ... View more

Don't forget the Jaguar XK120 in the original 1954 production of The Fast and the Furious. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxmNaHGuaTk ... View more

It's pretty well known that Tom Matano explicitly based the styling of the the original Miata on the Elan. While the Miata looks like the Elan, what's not as well known is that under the skin, the Toyota 2000GT is a mechanical twin of the Elan, except for having an inline six rather than a four. The backbone chassis and suspension of the 2000GT are near copies of the Elan. ... View more

"My little mule, Pepe." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nes7UMIFOUA ... View more

The Challenger was photographed on Hastings St, just north of Piquette, a couple of blocks from Henry Ford's original Model T factory in Detroit's Milwaukee Junction region. In the background is the ruined hulk of Fisher Body Plant 21. ... View more

Unlike most of what is now the federal government, delivering the mail is actually a constitutionally required government action. ... View more

Thanks for the background of the DIA show. The American Motors Owners club has hosted the League of Retired Auto Designers at their national meet. ... View more

It's not well known, but F9 will be 10th, not the 9th, Fast and Furious movie. The original The Fast And The Furious, was released in 1954, based on a story by Roger Corman (of Little Shop of Horrors fame). We covered it here: https://www.hagerty.com/media/automotive-history/the-best-and-worst-vintage-racing-movies-of-the-20th-century/ ... View more

I'm not a constitutional lawyer but it seems to me that these regulations could negatively affect the value of vintage cars and potentially fall under the takings clause of the Fifth Amendment, requiring compensation for that lost value. ... View more

<i>"While, in the 1890s, young couples courted on the porch swing under the watchful eyes of their elders, by the late 1920s, parents (no doubt justifiably) feared that their daughter’s boyfriend’s family’s sedan would serve double duty as a “motel room on wheels.”"</i> In 1960 you would rather have had your daughter's date pick her up in a two-seat Corvette than a Rambler. Rambler front seats would recline almost flat, creating, together with the back seat cushion, a large, mattress-like surface. ... View more

According to Virgil Exner, C.B. Thomas, head of Chrysler's export division had a dinner with Pinin Farina and the two agreed that the Pininfarina shop would build a custom body on a 1950 Plymouth chassis. Apparently the car was nothing special but it cost a lot less than having a union shop in Detroit fabricate it. That persuaded Chrysler to look into having their show cars made in Italy. Chrysler had a business relationship with Fiat and when Thomas asked about coachbuilders, both Pininfarina and Ghia were suggested. Two chassis and drawings were sent to Italy for a competition. While Pininfarina kept close to the drawings, Boano at Ghia had revisions made that borrowed lines from the Cisitalia, which impressed Chrysler, along with the low cost and high quality of the work. (Source: Chrysler Concept Cars 1940-1970, Fetherston & Thacker) ... View more

If you are in the Detroit area, the Great Lakes Live Steamers club give rides on scale steam driven trains from May to October at Starr Jaycee Park in Royal Oak and Kiwanis Park in Southgate. Check their website for schedules. http://www.greatlakeslivesteamers.org/ ... View more

David, I know a number of guitar amp and pedal designers who would disagree with you. Are the Seiko Spring Drive or Citizen Caliber 0100 less elegant inventions than John Harrison's marine chronometer just because they have some electronic circuitry? It's interesting that a lot of guitar pedals that are designed to electronically reproduce the tone of vintage electromechanical devices like Hammond tonewheels or vibratos, DeArmond tremolos, and spring or plate reverbs can only come so close. Mechanical devices have non linearities that are hard to reproduce. ... View more

The campsites that I prefer are rustic state and national forest campgrounds. Outhouses, hand pumped well water, and no power outlets.  As for needing to stop for fuel, there's a difference between stopping for five minutes  and getting 300+ miles of range, and stopping for 30 minutes and getting 90 miles of range. I'd rather spend my time on the shore of a Great Lake than at a fueling/charging station. Even if the campground has power outlets, the Bolt recharges at 4 miles per hour at 120V. If you have access to a 240V fast charger, that goes up to 25 miles per charging hour, and even a DC fast charger can only give a Bolt 180 miles per charging hour. ... View more

Simply put, you're wrong. Electricity was only an equal player in the very early days of the automobile and by 1920 EVs were mostly a footnote, along with steam. It was not Standard Oil's aggressive lobbying that carried the day for gasoline, it was the fact that the batteries of the day did not have sufficient energy density to make EVs practical outside of urban use, and the fact that gasoline is a superb liquid fuel. Gasoline is such a good fuel that we can lose 2/3rds of its energy as waste heat and still get a financially valuable and mechanically practical amount of useful energy out of it. One hundred years ago, energy density and charging times hindered the acceptance of EVs and even today, outside of urban use, EVs are still barely practical. I'm planning on taking a short camping trip to Michigan's Upper Peninsula. It's 315 miles to the Mackinaw Bridge. A Chevy Bolt has 259 miles of range, so I'd have to stop somewhere around Gaylord to recharge. There are a total of six charging stations in the UP including two Tesla, and three ChargePoint stations. The closest gas stations to the campgrounds I'm planning on staying at are about 12 miles away. The closest charging stations are about an hour away. ... View more

I think the way the rear spoiler is integrated into the deck lid on the 4th gen Camaro is completely brilliant. ... View more

Last summer, we ran an interview with Billy Gibbons about his cars: https://www.hagerty.com/media/people/zz-tops-billy-f-gibbons-preaches-the-gospel-of-cars-and-guitars/ ... View more

Had Chrysler introduced the Airflow design as exclusive to the Imperial brand it might have succeeded, with the technology trickling down to their more mass market brands after the high end stuff proved the value and consumer appeal. Sometimes companies are so enamored with new technology that they make sweeping changes that are too fast for the mass market to accept. If you notice, there's not a single established car company that has switched 100% to EVs. ... View more

" followed closely by its claim of using “Volkswagen running gear." It’s difficult to see, exactly, how a Volkswagen platform could package a rear-mounted outboard-based drivetrain, " The VW Beetle is rear-engined, ideally suited if you want to use an outboard engine to drive the car. Perhaps the reference to VW running gear, though, refers to the Beetle's platform chassis and suspension. ... View more

Was Edison's Woods a pure EV or was it one of their Dual Power hybrid models? ... View more

According to the Library of Congress, the building housed Ford Motor Company's Detroit offices as it transitioned from the Piquette Avenue factory where the Model T was developed to the much larger Highland Park plant. In 1919, Ford moved their administrative offices to the Highland Park facility. ... View more

When will someone explain to them that the laws of physics and chemistry are not subject to legislation or executive whim? Unless those governors are going to endorse the construction of more nuclear powerplants, the electricity to power those electric vehicles is going to come from fossil fuels. ... View more

The wing doesn't bother me, but I don't know anybody with a Y chromosome that would take the wing over Mrs. Verlander. Nobody has ever called Kate Upton ugly. I remember when a Detroit sports journalist asked Justin Verlander about his then fiance, he said, "I'm in a good place." ... View more

Might a Fit Sport be closer in spirit to the CRX than the current Civic Si? It has a hatch and a free-revving, naturally aspirated engine. ... View more

I don't think the Opera Sedan was yet made in 1964. I saw it in the late 1960s at Cobo, either at the Detroit Auto Show or the Detroit Autorama. That's when I got the flier that's one of the post's illustrations. The Marbon CRV/Piranha/Bolide is a fascinating story. ... View more

If your property is taxed, do you really own it? ... View more

3/4 front beauty shots of vintage cars has been a recurring theme in album art. Hot Tuna's Burgers and Detroit w/ Mitch Ryder are two examples. ... View more

Thanks for the correction. ... View more

The thing is that engineers have known the shortcomings of swing axle designs since they were first used but they continued to be used for much of the 20th century because they were cheaper and easier to make than double jointed axles. Mercedes-Benz used swing axles for decades, so did Volkswagen and Porsche. Camber compensators were highly suggested for early Triumph Spitfires, and much of the stigma that Ralph Nader attached to the first generation Corvairs can be traced to the use of swing axles. ... View more

This is the first that I've seen someone try to sell a unique registration plate here in the States. Desireable number plates go for big money outside of the U.S. The record is more than $10 million for a Dubai plate the owner thinks is good luck. https://drivetribe.com/p/the-most-expensive-number-plates-GrnkyRptS3G8e9GR2szWhQ My favorite vanity plate is the Ferrari in suburban Detroit with FRUGAL plates. ... View more

My Lotus Elan has badges that read "1600" but the Twin Cam was really 1558cc. ... View more

The DIY method works well, particularly if you're only making one part, but if you plan on making repeatable, accurate bends (without hammer marks), it makes more sense to use an inexpensive sheet metal brake with fixtures. You can get a cheap brake at Harbor Freight for less than $50 that can work with light gauge steel and aluminum. The problem is that if you want to work with heavier gauge metal, the step up to industrial-grade brakes is about $400. ... View more

I'm shocked, shocked, I tell you that denizens of the Deep State believe they have the power to overrule an act of Congress that tries to reign in their power. It's quite clear that we currently live in a caste system wherein a privileged class of unelected government employees determine how the rest of us should act, regardless of the will of the people and Congress. Unfortunately, half of the body politic is cool with that because they think it will keep them in power perpetually. ... View more

I'm a longtime Lotus fan but those wide stripes and lettering look garish to me. ... View more

I doubt Hot Rod Race could get played on radio (or streaming services either) today. The lyrics are, ahem, problematic: "Now along about the middle of the night, we were rippin' along like white folks might," ... View more

Somewhere I have a Da Yoopers cassette. Bought it at their gift shop in the UP. ... View more

The song is called Willin' and it was written by Lowell George of Little Feat. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Il9VFC6-Inw ... View more

"Be Thankful For What You Got" was written and recorded by William Devaughn . ... View more

Dale Earnhardt was a skilled driver who could have competed at the top level in any kind of racing but if he drove the way he drove in NASCAR in any other kind of sanctioned racing short of demolition derbies he would have been banned for avoidable contact. That's putting aside the special treatment that he got from the France family. There were 'Earnhardt rules' in NASCAR just as surely as there were 'Jordan rules' in the NBA. When your sport's biggest star brakes the rules, you enforce them differently. ... View more

<i>"The Austin Mini revolutionized the world of compact economy cars with its transverse front-drive layout.... Lamborghini also fabricated a transaxle, mounted at the rear of the engine and in unit with the crankcase (like on a motorcycle), meaning the engine and gearbox shared the same oil supply."</i> Thereby reproducing Sir Alec's biggest mistake with the original Mini. There is a reason why gearbox oil is 90 weight. Using the same lubrication system for an engine and transmission is not a good idea. The gears in the transmission chew up the polymers in the oil, along with adding tiny pieces of metal from gears grinding down, making engine lubrication less than ideal and the low viscosity engine oil just isn't durable enough for gearboxes. Motorcycles can get away with it because they rarely put on the amount of miles that a car will endure and never work under the loads that a car will generate. ... View more

Numerous businesses are relocating operations from California because the state doesn't have a hospitable business climate these days, but rather than ask what California is doing wrong, you'd rather attack fictional boogeymen trying to exploit workers. According to U-Haul, a lot more regular folks are moving out of California too. ... View more

A high water mark in American automotive design, my favorite Continental after the '56 Mk II. The Mk IV and the Thunderbird were assembled at the Wixom plant, on the same line if I'm not mistaken. A friend's father had a Mark that had one Continental side mirror and a T-Bird mirror on the other side. Besides sharing platforms and the factory at Wixom, there's another relationship between the Continental and the Thunderbird. The 1961 Lincoln, which established the look of the brand for two decades, started out as a styling proposal for the Thunderbird. The way the story goes, Ford brass was undecided about how to proceed with Lincoln styling until Robert McNamara, then Ford president, saw a clay model of a proposed Thunderbird, and suggested adding two doors to it and making it a Lincoln. ... View more

My favorite hood scoop is on the AMC The Machine Rebel, which could be ordered with a hood mounted tachometer integrated into the hood scoop. ... View more

The front end looks like someone's been watching Speedracer. ... View more

     I am 100% behind the vastly improved efficiency, brought on let's not forget by those pesky gummint folks.    Not a single technology that has improved fuel mileage has been the product of government. Cars and trucks are more efficient today because of clever engineers in the private sector, not administrative state bureaucrats. Besides, I believe a persuasive argument can be made that it was market forces, the increased cost of fuel post 1973 and 1979 oil embargos, that pushed the car companies to improve fuel economy more than government mandates. ... View more

Are you any relation to designers John and Tom Tjaarda? ... View more

The Blizzaks I run on my Honda Fit have better dry grip than the all-season OEMs that came with the car. Of course, running winter tires gives me a great excuse to run performance summer tires the rest of the year. The changes that tires can make to a car's driving character can be dramatic. ... View more

Not trying to break Godwin's Law but Pastor Martin Niemöller's "First they came for..." quote seems appropriate, or maybe Ben Franklin's "We must all hang together, or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately." ... View more