Category: Times Were
Vintage racing and the Formula Ford: Merlyn means magic
Attempting to catalog automotive design under the umbrella of ‘purity’ doesn’t – regrettably – build a very large file. Everyone will have an opinion, but in the last century (or so) designs remaining ‘top of mind’ are relatively few: Ford’s Model T and A, the Bugatti Type 57, ’49 Ford, ’55 Chevy, Chapman’s Lotus Seven, [...]
1967 Mazda Cosmo Sport 110S: Honorable rotary origins
The thrill was back, they told us, and how right they were. Emissions controls, beginning in the 1968 model year, had gradually turned most new cars into performance eunuchs. But Mazda was different, and the power of its Wankel engine made the phrase “rotary rocket” part of the automotive lexicon. The humdrum sedans the engines [...]
1960-1976 Dodge Dart history: Putting the Dart before the Dart
Remember the Dodge Dart? No, not the Dodge Dart that was introduced at the Detroit Auto Show but the original Dodge Dart from the 1960s. The Dodge Dart that debuted at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit is a front-drive compact four-door sedan based on an Alfa-Romeo platform and powered by an engine [...]
1969 Dodge Dart GTS 383: Hot Dart from the ’60s
Crank the steering wheel around at least a couple times, gingerly let out the heavy clutch and edge up the revs just a bit. The big V8 chuffles and the car chuffles forward and around, out onto the narrow two-lane blacktop road. With all that lock in the steering system, there’s no choice but to [...]
1966 Ferrari 330 GTC: Special
Special is a word for the 1966 Ferrari 330 GTC. It came from an era when Ferrari grand touring cars were coming into their own. The separation between racing and road cars was complete, and touring cars no longer suffered under the compromises imposed by competition siblings. The Ferrari 330 GTC was introduced at the [...]
1959 Saab 93B: The Saab America loved first
The first Saab to come to America, at least officially, was the Saab 93. It was an unusual addition to the automotive landscape. To a continent rife with aircraft-inspired styling came a truly aerodynamic automobile, and one made by an aircraft manufacturer, no less. Yet most Americans thought it was the Saab that looked peculiar, [...]
How Saab came to America: The ultimate insider’s story
That Saab—automobiles, no less—would come to America could hardly have been considered by the Swedish Parliament which, viewing the darkening political situation in Europe, passed a resolution to strengthen national defense, including formation of the Royal Swedish Air Force. And too, encouraging the establishment of a modern aircraft industry in Sweden as soon a possible. [...]
1969 Dodge Charger 500: The missing link of NASCAR’s aerodynamics
The 1969 Dodge Charger 500 was a short-lived bridge between a standard-bodied Dodge and the pointy-nosed big-winged Dodge Daytona, little heralded then and now mostly forgotten. But the story began in 1968. Both the Dodge Charger and the Ford Fairlane had been freshly rebodied. The Charger’s swoopy new styling replaced the angular tacked-on fastback of [...]
1967 Dodge Dart GT Convertible: Topless and touring was grand
Does a 1967 Dodge Dart GT convertible meet the criteria for “grand touring”, compact, even if it is a convertible? It’s like this: Certainly “turbo” was the most overused automotive term of the 1980s, misapplied to everything from computers to washing machines. But at least when it came to automobiles, if it said “turbo” on [...]
1977 Porsche 924: The Porsche they love to hate
It’s the Porsche everyone loves to hate. By what’s been said and written about the original Porsche 924, one would think it had square wheels, power by Vegematic and styling only a commissar could love. Admittedly, it has a proletarian heritage. The 924 was originally a project to be a solely Volkswagen successor to the [...]
