The pundits, who supposedly know something about these things, say that in racing, rain is the great equalizer. But from...
Think for a moment what makes a driver great – a true champion. Go ahead, I’ll wait…hmmmh, hmmh, hmmmh. Done?...
Did you ever see the cult movie classic, Mad Max? Ah, it’s great. In a post-apocalyptic future, good guys and bad roam the roads in lightning-fast, cobbled-together junkyard contraptions that would make Rube Goldberg swoon with delight. Fantastic science fiction, you say? I thought so too, until I recently test...
As strange as it may seem, as I write this month’s column, I am looking down on Greenland. That’s right,...
This past weekend saw the 100th anniversary of the 24 Hours of Le Mans and an exciting showdown between the...
Salt. Since the earliest days of recorded history, salt has in one form or another shaped the course of human history. In the early days of human civilization, some club-wielding, wife-dragging genius discovered that sprinkling a little of this white, powdery substance on your flame-broiled yak steak made it almost...
This past weekend my younger daughter turned 21 and during a brief lull between morning Mimosas and evening Margaritas, she...
The Internet has changed our lives in so many ways. In just the past 20 years, the Internet has both...
Recently, my family and I had to venture back to Scotland for a funeral, which was sad, but we decided to make the most of it and so spent an extra week touring the Highlands, where my wife and her family are from. I did a lot of driving in...
Hold on a minute, let me just drag this over. Hrrrrmph. One more second while I climb on top. Ok,...
The car hobby has many tropes, but one of the more common — and perhaps most accurate — is that...
As you’ll read in one of the news pieces below, the F1 world has been all atwitter, over the recent announcement that Ford is officially returning to Formula One as the engine “supplier” for Red Bull. Yes, I put supplier in air quotes because the concept of engine suppliers in...
I don’t know about you, but I’m big into planning. Whether it’s working around the house, restoring a racecar or...
We tend to make a lot out of automotive anniversaries, which is why I’ve been surprised that last month’s 60thanniversary of the Lotus Cortina, slipped by with nary a nod. It was in January 1963 that the Lotus Cortina, ostensibly a homologation special for Group 2 saloon car racing, was...
Ok, Ok… here’s the pitch. You’ve got this kinda mush-mouthed, body-builder guy who is a washed-up racecar driver, see? We’ll...
If you’ve ever lamented that there is nowhere left in the world to find “dry”, good value, classic cars, then...
I have to confess to you that I am the worst classic car owner. Trust me, I take no pride in this, but I’ve sadly had to come to terms with it. I’ve owned a 1962 Alfa Romeo Giulia Spider Veloce for nearly 20 years now and I am, apparently,...
Home tracks – every racer has one. For some, it may be the track nearest to where you live. For...
Is it me? Am I the only person on the planet that feels that parting with a special car is...
So how did you spend this year’s Memorial Day weekend? Personally, I broke with a long-standing tradition. Historically, I’ve spent the better part of my Memorial Day weekends lying on the couch in my underwear and a T-shirt – a small driblet of drool hanging from the corner of my...
What could be more refreshing on a warm, Saturday afternoon than opening up the fridge? Recently, I had the opportunity...
If you’re an automotive enthusiast, and you spent any kind of time in Southern California from 2006 to 2014, then...
Well, I don’t know that any of us saw that coming! If you watched the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix then you witnessed one of the truly great, virtuoso driving performances. No, not the race winner’s, I’m referring to the elder statesman of Formula One, Fernando Alonso. First off, in what...
Are you familiar with the “Trickle Down” theory? If not, you may be soon. As background, the theory was first...
What’s the single most important component, for maximal performance, on a racecar? The engine? Suspension? In the grand scheme of...
Recently, I was invited to a birthday party. Now, in my current life, this always translates into jumping up and down in a scorching hot inflatable “bouncy castle” with ten sweaty toddlers amped up on frosting. So, with this thought in mind, I didn’t really pay much attention to yet...
Once upon a time, it used to be that the most talented drivers made it into Formula One. Quaint notion,...
I was pleasantly surprised to receive so many positive emails supporting my premise last week that the Ferrari 365 GTC/4 is one of the great, unsung, Enzo-era V-12s. In fact, I wrote back to one kind reader, all the way in Tasmania, to thank him and made the joke that...
