There aren’t many mid-engine Italian sports cars on the market, and there’s about to be one fewer option as the Alfa Romeo 4C soon meets the end of its production run. As a sendoff for the lightweight sports car, which arrived for the 2015 model year to usher Alfa Romeo back into the U.S. market, the automaker is building just 33 examples of a special 4C Spider for North America.   Read the full article on Hagerty.com: https://www.hagerty.com/media/news/alfa-romeo-to-celebrate-its-mid-engine-heritage-with-limited-edition-4c-spider-33-stradale-tributo/   ... View more

Larry writes:  Thanks for your article on the Crown Victoria; it was a good read. I have a 2011 model with under 90,000 miles and plan on keeping it low because where we live life is slow—everything we need is just around the corner, so to speak. I have been looking for some decent seat covers to protect my seats from wear. Parts stores (AutoZone, O’Reilly, etc.) have a lot, but they seem to fall apart fast.   The problem is, of course, worse on the driver’s seat, so I just need a good cover that will stick around for a while. Can you help?   Sajeev answers:  There are plenty of vendors making quality fitted seat covers, but hold that thought ...    Read the full article on Hagerty.com: https://www.hagerty.com/media/maintenance-and-tech/piston-slap-seat-covers-as-tough-as-a-panther/   ... View more

On his first day at Ford’s Advanced Studio in 1956, McKinley Thompson Jr. received some simple words of encouragement from George Walker, Vice President of Ford Design: “You can go as far as your talent will take you.”   Message received, and challenge accepted. In a sense, it was also mission accomplished for Thompson, who that day became Ford’s first Black designer.   Read the full article on Hagerty.com: https://www.hagerty.com/media/people/groundbreaking-designer-mckinley-thompsons-quest-put-the-world-on-wheels/   ... View more

Modena styling house and coachbuilder Ares Design has turned back the clock with its latest model. The unusually-titled Wami Lalique Spyder harks back to the iconic sports cars of La Dolce Vita. Read the full news on Hagerty.com:   https://www.hagerty.com/media/news/ares-design-wami-lalique-spyder-is-a-bejewelled-throwback-to-the-1950s/   ... View more

The 2021 World Endurance Championship will see a new breed of hybrid Le Mans Hypercars tackle some of the most arduous races in the world, including the 1000 Miles of Sebring and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Read the full news on Hagerty.com:   https://www.hagerty.com/media/motorsports/new-le-mans-hypercar-racing-rules-are-hyper-complicated/   ... View more

Of all the GM marques that have been consigned to the history books, it’s Oldsmobile I miss the most. During my early childhood in the ’80s, they were everywhere. Cutlass Cieras and Cutlass Supremes most of all, but there were plenty of others out and about. I always loved the top-of-the-line Ninety-Eights.   Read the full column on Hagerty.com: https://www.hagerty.com/media/opinion/klockau-classics/the-1971-76-olds-ninety-eight-was-the-thinking-mans-cadillac/   ... View more

Since the dawn of the automobile, automakers have sought to make driving easier and more approachable. Oftentimes that has meant engineering ways around our beloved clutch pedal and gear lever.  Early motorized vehicles were a jumble of confusing sliders, levers, buttons, and dials that would confuse any modern driver. The quest to simplify these controls took several twists and turns, achieving with varying degrees of success.   Read the full article on Hagerty.com: https://www.hagerty.com/media/automotive-history/a-brief-history-of-missing-clutch-pedals-and-almost-automatics/   ... View more

Today’s featured vehicle is a 1899 Reese 3-Wheel Horseless Carriage. It’s among the oldest gasoline-powered vehicles originally constructed in the United States, and was built in Plymouth, Pennsylvania by one Sephaniah Reese, Sr. Reese operated the S. Reese Machine & Tool Works, in addition to the Reese Bicycle Works, and actually built two examples of the three-wheeled carriage: one in 1888 and one in 1899. The 3-Wheel is powered by a one-cylinder engine.   Read the full article on Hagerty.com: https://www.hagerty.com/media/hagerty-community/rides-from-the-readers-1899-reese-3-wheel-horseless-carriage/   ... View more

When Cadillac debuts the highest-performance Blackwing variants of its CT4-V and CT5-V sedans next year, they’ll be some of the only cars on the market available with a manual transmission. They’ll also be the first Cadillacs to use functional 3D printed parts in production. General Motors has touted its 3D printing prowess as it tested parts in its successful racing ventures on and off-road, but until now, those parts have been experimental. The 2021 Blackwing models will use an electrical harness bracket and a pair of HVAC ducts that have been 3D-printed and will highlight the milestone with a 3D-printed medallion on the shifter.   Read the full article on Hagerty.com: https://www.hagerty.com/media/news/cadillac-blackwing-models-will-use-3d-printed-parts-like-this-shifter-medallion/   ... View more

Big celebrations require plenty of planning—sometimes years of it. The U.S. House of Representatives has passed SEMA-supported legislation to create a commission “that would recommend ways to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Route 66” in 2026. The historic 2448-mile stretch of road was commissioned in 1926 as the first all-paved U.S. highway.   Read the full news on Hagerty.com: https://www.hagerty.com/media/news/u-s-congress-passes-bill-to-commemorate-route-66-centennial-in-2026/   ... View more

In January 2020 there were eight separate collector car auctions in and around Scottsdale, Arizona. Nearly 4000 vehicles were on offer, and total sales amounted to $244.1M. Since then we’ve had a little thing called COVID-19 that threw a wrench into just about every part of our lives, including the large live auction extravaganzas for which Scottsdale is the poster child.   As we’ve torn away the pages of our 2020 calendars, we’ve been wondering more and more how Scottsdale 2021 would look or even if it will happen at all.   Well, now we can confirm: Barrett-Jackson’s 2021 Scottsdale sale has been postponed until March.   Read the full news on Hagerty.com: https://www.hagerty.com/media/events/barrett-jackson-scottsdale-auction-postponed-to-march/   ... View more

The last time we saw Wesley Kagan’s Lotus-inspired PorscheCart, it had been introduced and shaken down by our intrepid builder after going through the process of stripping down a tired Boxster to donate its drivetrain and suspension. Of course, with that out of the way, it was time to get fully obsessed with the details, and that brings us to the current project at hand: a DIY Freevalve system.   Read the full article on Hagerty.com: https://www.hagerty.com/media/news/this-diy-freevalve-engine-conversion-demonstrates-how-brilliantly-simple-koenigseggs-idea-is/   ... View more

I’ve sledded into missiles a surprising number of times. It feels a little cathartic, if not slightly embarrassing, to admit that. When an enemy radar locks onto your fighter jet, a Radar Warning Receiver (RWR; think radar detector) makes some noise to alert you to the fact that you’re being targeted. Much like when you’re speeding and the highway police light you up with a radar gun, it’s not a good feeling—or, um, so I’m told. In a fighter though, ignoring those warning tones means that in lieu of attempting to talk your way out of a speeding ticket, you get called dead in training (frustrating), or actually killed in real life (inconvenient). Sledding into a missile means ignoring all the indications—cockpit warning tones and lights, radio calls from airborne control and/or other fighters, the hairs on the back of your neck—and continuing on your present course. Inbound missiles love non-maneuvering targets; predictable equals easy to kill. There are occasions when this happens in ignorance (broken RWR, for instance), but sometimes  it just happens .   Read the full article on Hagerty.com: https://www.hagerty.com/media/opinion/the-tesla-driving-fighter-pilot-who-sledded-into-a-missile/   ... View more

In today’s episode of Why can’t we have nice things? Italian motorcycle legend MV Agusta has announced a tie up with French sports car icon Alpine to create a limited edition of 110 Superveloce motorcycles.   Read the full news on Hagerty.com: https://www.hagerty.com/media/news/mv-agusta-releases-alpine-inspired-superbike/   ... View more

Ferrari CEO Louis Camilleri has unexpectedly quit the company after fighting the coronavirus, and his replacement has yet to be decided.   Camilleri, 65, resigned for personal reasons, according to the legendary Italian sports car maker, and John Elkann, Ferrari chairman and head of the Agnelli family, will step in as a stop-gap ... Read the full news on Hagerty.com:   https://www.hagerty.com/media/news/ferrari-needs-a-new-boss-send-applications-to-maranello/     ... View more

While the conversation around collector car and truck prices tends to focus on what’s trending up, we’re here to remind you that there are plenty of desirable machines out there that have, in fact, become  more  affordable in 2020. We appreciate trucks and 4x4s as much as we do cars, so we’ve searched through the Hagerty valuation data trove for five much-loved models from across the automotive spectrum. Each of these vehicles would make a fine addition to any stable ...    Read the full article on Hagerty.com: https://www.hagerty.com/media/market-trends/5-trucks-and-suvs-that-became-more-attainable-in-2020/   ... View more

Part of what makes a “barn find” so alluring is the mystery of its history, which is unraveled only by keen eyes and wealth of persistence, as Glenn Everitt, host of  Master of Machines , can attest to. This pepper red 1972 Ford Falcon GT has been buried away after being treated as little more than a toy by its current owner, who parked it after the registration expired in 1987.   Read the full article on Hagerty.com: https://www.hagerty.com/media/uncategorized/barn-find-falcon-is-a-gt-ho-phase-iv-clone-but-its-a-reminder-of-australias-supercar-scare/   ... View more

When Chevrolet looked to take its fourth-generation Corvette to the next level of performance, it reached out to Lotus, which was at the time under the GM umbrella. Chevrolet wanted to build a high-powered Corvette with an exotic, world-beating engine, so Lotus took the lead in developing a V-8 unlike any small-block that Chevrolet had ever built.   Around 25 development mules were deployed by Lotus to test this new, “King of the Hill” Corvette and its engine, and only two of them survived in running and driving condition. One is currently up for auction on Cars & Bids. It’s part of the Lingenfelter collection and has all the hallmarks of a development prototype. For example, while it’s equipped with a ZF six-speed manual, it bears the center console of the C4’s Doug Nash 4+3 overdrive transmission and the 315mm-wide rear Goodyear tires have “Not For Sale” molded into the sidewall ...    Read the full article on Hagerty.com: https://www.hagerty.com/media/buying-and-selling/this-1988-corvette-zr-1-prototype-was-salvaged-and-restored-by-a-lotus-employee/   ... View more

Unfortunately, there won’t be any holiday parties this year for most of us (COVID strikes again). Thankfully, we still have Zoom and FaceTime, handy video aids that are more than capable of keeping that ugly sweater tradition alive.   Read the full news on Hagerty.com: https://www.hagerty.com/media/entertainment/holiday-horsepower-ugly-hemi-sweater-or-redeye-hellcrate/   ... View more

For a long while, General Motors sold two full-size trucks in the same market segment that (until the current generation) looked almost exactly alike, using most of the exact same tech. Differentiating points you might hear to distinguish between the GMC Sierra and the Chevrolet Silverado include phrases like, “It’s the better(ish) looking one!” and “you guys like Denali, right?” Thankfully, late in the 2022 model year, we’ll be able to add, “it’s the one with Super Cruise” to the GMC’s repertoire—if only on the Sierra 1500 Denali, to start.   Read the full news on Hagerty.com: https://www.hagerty.com/media/news/super-cruise-hands-free-tech-is-coming-to-the-gmc-sierra/   ... View more

Up until the early 1960s, BSA was the largest producer of motorcycles in the world. The 1950s had been a good decade for the marque, with the success of the Gold Star as well as the development of two well-respected pre-unit (separate gearbox and engine), vertical twin-engine series: the A7 and A10. Not only was BSA a giant in producing motorcycles, the company also manufactured other goods such as buses, agricultural equipment, bicycles and, of course, weapons. Flush with cash generated from this diversified business, BSA also bought up other motorcycle marques—Triumph and Ariel, among others—making it a true empire.   Read the full article on Hagerty.com: https://www.hagerty.com/media/motorcycles/stock-stories-1966-bsa-a65-lightning/   ... View more

The winter months can be trying times for car lovers. Some of you are better at finishing projects than I am, or maybe you recently sold your project car. Either way, for those of us in colder climates, this is the season where the driving stops—but the wrenching doesn’t have to. If you want to give yourself the gift of an ambitious project without the rust, hackery, or general mess that most old project cars can include, maybe you should look into building yourself a car from a kit. Here are six ideas.   Read the full article on Hagerty.com: https://www.hagerty.com/media/lists/6-build-it-yourself-cars-that-you-could-be-driving-by-spring-if-you-finish/   ... View more

Today’s featured car is a 1940 Ford coupe hot rod. Owner and builder Eric Wittak spend much of the ’70s racing at Great Lakes Dragaway in Union Grove, Wisconsin. Inspired by the Stone, Woods, and Cook’s Willys gasser, Wittak decided to build a Willys street rod. However, he’d take a few detours on the way. The first was a 1939 Plymouth coupe. The second came in the form of a beautiful original 1940 Ford coupe. Wittak promptly sold the Plymouth to finance his new project and got to work.   Read the full article on Hagerty.com: https://www.hagerty.com/media/hagerty-community/rides-from-the-readers-1940-ford-coupe-hot-rod/   ... View more

Let’s start with the over-simplified version of the story, the one you’ve already seen everywhere from newspapers of record to second-tire automotive websites: Cadillac announced it would probably be an electric-only brand by 2030, which seems like a long time away until you think about where you were in 2010. Cadillac’s dealer reps then told the dealers they’d have to spend some serious money to become “electric ready” between now and then. As is often the case, the dealers were given an alternative: they could take a buyout of between $500K and a million dollars to relinquish their franchise and walk away.   This sort of thing happens more often than you’d think, but until now it’s usually been related to aesthetics or a particular sales/service capability. You’ve probably noticed that all Mercedes-Benz dealers look alike now, and that all VW dealers look alike now, that sort of thing. Changes like that are expensive, so the manufacturers usually offer some sort of buyout as an alternative. Usually the number of dealers who take the buyout is between one and zero. Are you aware of a single Benz shop that didn’t adopt the expensive new architecture? Me neither.   Read the full column on Hagerty.com: https://www.hagerty.com/media/opinion/avoidable-contact/avoidable-contact-86-you-bet-your-calais-id-take-that-cadillac-buyout/   ... View more

Audi has begun assembly of its Tesla rival e-tron GT and claims the production process is completely carbon neutral.   The new high-end EV is being built at a factory in Neckarsulm, Germany, that is powered by renewable energy, which also minimizes waste and maximizes recycling ... Read the full news on Hagerty.com:   https://www.hagerty.com/media/news/audi-begins-building-the-new-e-tron-gt/   ... View more

Over 70 Bugatti owners are facing an unscheduled trip to the dealership after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced two recalls for the Chiron, Chiron Sport, and Divo.   Read the full news on Hagerty.com: https://www.hagerty.com/media/news/bugatti-bugs-cause-recall-of-77-hypercars/   ... View more

Jaguar’s starting the 60th-anniversary festivities for its renowned E-Type a few months early—but, given the nature of 2020, and the extraordinary legacy of the E-Type, we won’t begrudge the company a bit of anticipatory fanfare. The E-Type  celebrates 60 years next March , and, though Jaguar’s already announced  six matched pairs of restored 3.8-liter E-Types , it’s also releasing a batch of 60 special-edition F-Types.   Read the full article on Hagerty.com: https://www.hagerty.com/media/news/in-rapture-over-the-e-types-60th-jaguar-douses-a-few-f-types-in-a-60s-paint-color/   ... View more

It’s not too often that American supercars with four-figure horsepower figures hit the used market. When that American supercar hails from a manufacturer that’s raced at Le Mans, and when the car in question is both exclusive and unmistakable—that’s when supercar fans really start to take notice.   This 2007 Saleen S7 LM   sold for $1,205,000 on Bring a Trailer a few weeks ago, marking the first time an S7 LM has crossed the block. The final result shattered the existing S7 auction record.   Read the full article on Hagerty.com: https://www.hagerty.com/media/auctions/this-1-2m-saleen-s7-lm-smashed-the-auction-record/   ... View more

Ford Performance is beginning to expand its crate-engine ambitions for the heavy-duty 7.3-liter “Godzilla” V-8 that originally debuted in the 2019 Super Duty pickup. For gearheads interested in Ford’s return to big-inch, pushrod powerplants, the future is bright.   Read the full news on Hagerty.com: https://www.hagerty.com/media/news/ford-performance-goes-all-in-on-7-3-liter-v-8-crate-engine-program-teases-megazilla/     ... View more

At the Canadian Museum of flight in Langley B.C., docents donned gloves to push a gorgeous Ohio-built, red and cream 1937 Waco AQC-6 out of the hangar, parking it next to a fawn-colored Ford Roadster. The Roadster, a 1931 Deluxe model owned by Ed and Susan Beye, have driven it out on this overcast day to pay tribute to a legendary pioneer in Canadian aviation. Her name was Elsie MacGill, and she was the world’s first female aeronautical engineer. She was a woman of many firsts.   Read the full article on Hagerty.com: https://www.hagerty.com/media/people/the-ford-roadster-and-the-queen-of-the-hurricanes/   ... View more

The eleventh installment of the Gymkhana series is both a departure from past videos and a return to the show’s essential spirit. The tire-slaying seems to never subside, but Ken Block has left the driver’s seat and allowed Travis Pastrana to slide in, buckle the five-point harness, and rip the handbrake. The results are exactly what you’d expect.   Read the full article on Hagerty.com: https://www.hagerty.com/media/video/travis-pastrana-puts-a-fresh-spin-on-the-2020-gymkhana-series/   ... View more

Ford will once again offer a Tremor package on the F-150, creating an off-road focused model that joins its Ranger and Super Duty Tremor trucks already on the market ... Read the full news on Hagerty.com:   https://www.hagerty.com/media/news/ford-reveals-2021-f-150-tremor-to-bridge-gap-between-fx4-and-raptor/   ... View more

Be it the Model T or Mondeo, Ford’s been selling a sedan-bodied vehicle across the globe longer than most companies have been in operation. However, very few slip under the radar quite like the Mk I Ford Cortina two-door, sold in America well before the likes of the Mercury Capri, Merkur Scorpio,  or Ford Contour.   Read the full article on Hagerty.com: https://www.hagerty.com/media/car-profiles/this-ford-cortina-is-a-lotus-on-steroids-with-a-honda-s2000-heart/   ... View more

“No officer I haven’t been drinking, that whiff of whisky is my Aston Martin.”   That’s the awkward conversation 18 future Aston Martin DBX owners could face when they take delivery of a new limited-run collaboration between the sports car maker and Scottish distillery Bowmore.   Get the full news on Hagerty.com: https://www.hagerty.com/media/news/aston-martin-unveils-boozy-bowmore-edition-dbx/   ... View more

Zero Labs has introduced a range of electric vehicle platforms specifically meant to underpin 1947–1975 classic cars, trucks, and SUVs. The Hawthorne, California, company plans to start offering the conversion beginning late in 2021 and has plenty of options available.   Read the full news on Hagerty.com: https://www.hagerty.com/media/news/zero-labs-to-offer-electric-powered-vehicle-restorations-starting-in-2021/   ... View more

When I lived South Carolina, I could drive 100 miles in any direction and the style of regional BBQ wouldn’t even change. Slight shift of the drawl, taller pine trees, and mild variations in asphalt composition, at most. Here in Europe, where I now live, traveling that same distance could entail passing through areas that speak three separate languages, possess varying social attitudes, and have different perspectives on the acceptability of public nose-picking (yes, it’s a thing). All that said—and to my great delight—I had not anticipated such colorful variation in road signage.   Read the full article on Hagerty.com: https://www.hagerty.com/media/driving/the-unmarked-cars-of-european-street-signs/   ... View more

Ford initially projected that deliveries of the two- and four-door 2021 Bronco models would begin in the spring of next year. However, due to pandemic-related delays in the supply chain, deliveries of the Bronco will begin no earlier than June of 2021. Get the full news on Hagerty.com:   https://www.hagerty.com/media/news/ford-bronco-deliveries-delayed-until-summer-2021/   ... View more

In 2002, my friend Alex McGillervery and I heard about this coupe for sale. We drove to Phoenix to meet with the seller and arrived at what could be described as the ultimate hot-rod house. The guy had been building hot rods his entire life. Facing old age and realizing he would never get to build all of them, he had started to liquidate his stash of projects.   After looking at the coupe body, we were told that another coupe body would be for sale, as well. We each made separate deals for our prospective bodies and parts, then loaded the trailer to head back to Tucson.   Alex and I started with my coupe since it was the cheaper one and in worse shape. It had 227 bullet holes in it, and that became the car’s name ... Read the full article on Hagerty.com:   https://www.hagerty.com/media/member-stories/227-bullet-holes-didnt-stop-this-1932-ford-5-window-coupes-resurrection/   ... View more

The 2021 Daytona 500 will have fans in attendance; how many remains to be determined. We know, however, that Daytona International Speedway won’t be at full capacity for the 63rd running of NASCAR’s iconic season-opening race, scheduled for February 14.   According to the Daytona Beach News-Journal and other media outlets, the number of spectators allowed to attend the 500 “will be limited” because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Regardless, Speedway officials are optimistic.   Read the full news on Hagerty.com: https://www.hagerty.com/media/news/2021-daytona-500-will-allow-a-limited-number-of-fans/   ... View more

Benjamin writes:   Dear Sajeev, I have spent many hours devouring information on Panther Love of all kinds from your columns and former colleagues, so I wanted to write for two reasons: Thank you more than you know, for reminding me there are many others with Panther Love. I’m entering my 30s, and I really have no use for the cheap, tiny, modern cars. I first owned a beater ’99 P71 that didn’t even have cruise control. I don’t wish for another vehicle except the venerable Crown Vic P71. I now own a 2008 Crown Victoria Police Interceptor in a beautiful Arizona Beige. It has cruise control. God willing, you’ve rather inspired me to see how long I can maintain my Panther. It was the administrative vehicle for the county sheriff. I bought it at 104,000 miles for $4000 some years ago. As of now, it has 188,600 easy miles and 346 idle hours, 3.27.1 rear axle ratio, limited slip diff, original steel rims, with very little rust or road vibration. Other than a new alternator and a re-soldered gauge cluster, nothing has gone wrong. No wrecks. Haven’t needed to replace the brakes or shocks yet. Beautiful paint with a few gravel chips and a near-spotless interior. It burns the top half-quart of oil off (but stays only a half-quart low) unless I spring for the full-synthetic high mileage oil (I do, and Bosch D3410 filters to boot). Any tips for long term preservation, resto-modding, and use? I’m not mechanically inclined, so I would be paying people for repairs and upgrades, but I hope to see it outlive me. As you said, “… What kind of Lover considers open-mindedness regarding Panther Love? You, as a Crown Victoria owner, are a stubborn traditionalist with a nearly xenophobic reaction to non body-on-frame platforms. You remain as ‘unmodified’ as the Panther since 1979: toe the autojourno’s line!” Sajeev answers:  Hi Benjamin, I thank you for your recognition of my dogged efforts promoting the Panther chassis, and for your personal dedication to the cause at a young age. I mean, we rarely hear about people like you! So let’s marinate on this, while we   take a pause for the cause.   Read the full article on Hagerty.com: https://www.hagerty.com/media/advice/piston-slap/piston-slap-of-panther-love-and-resto-modifications/   ... View more

Porsche may have ended production of the 964 in 1994, but German legends RUF never stopped pushing performance to the edge of the envelope. At this point it appears to have licked the stamp and sent it, by somehow wrestling 425 horsepower out of the Porsche’s 3.6-liter motor ... Read the full news on Hagerty.com:   https://www.hagerty.com/media/news/with-over-400hp-this-964-ruf-is-on-fire/   ... View more

Last week, I described how Zelda, my former car—a slightly ratty but fully functional 1999 BMW Z3 2.3, the center of “The Cult of Zelda” (women friends who borrowed it for stress-busting drives), and now owned by my dear friend and neighbor Kim—suffered a curb strike when her son drove it over a median strip in a careless moment. The right front wheel had been mashed backward into the fender well, the airbag had gone off, the front air dam was splintered, and all four wheels were bent.   Further collateral damage included the broken A/C compressor bracket, bent condenser, and partially destroyed electric fan, the missing plastic fender liners, and a variety of pulled or sheared electrical connectors. It was damage that clearly would’ve caused the insurance company to total the car. However, miraculously, no sheet metal had been bent. At least that was what I thought. And it was almost true; I later found that the tire had caught the corner of the right front fender when it got mashed under. While this was trivial, the pushed-back front wheel was not.   Although I don’t own the car anymore, it and its owner exist within my karmic orbit, so there was no question that I’d help Kim out ... Read the full column on Hagerty.com:   https://www.hagerty.com/media/opinion/the-hack-mechanic/the-resurrection-of-zelda-part-2-finishing-a-curb-override-on-a-budget/   ... View more