Car design has been a key part of automotive history since the very first series of carriages was built for...
When people hear I am a car designer, questions come up: “What is your favorite car?” “What car do you...
Every car guy, collector and car designer knows the two major categories that separate car designs—Pre-war and Post-war. Pre-war cars are generally regarded as cars that span from the very first “horseless carriages” all the way up to the start of the U.S. engagement in World War II. Post-war cars...
My Top Ten list changes every year. I know what I like, but once in a while new cars creep...
The Earth is round. These days we say this with reasonable certainty (thanks in part to space travel) and considerably...
We’re all creatures of water. Millions of years ago we emerged from a boiling primordial stew as multi-cell organisms, evolved in the oceans, and then ambitiously emerged from the water to become oxygen breathing land inhabitants. Our living bodies are 60-percent water. Our brain is a whopping 75-percent water. Yet,...
The Ghia 450 SS challenge arrived at Ghia studios as one of the first assignments offered to their newest employee,...
In 1962 the worlds of fashion, design and cultural norms were changing faster than we were sending a man to...
Among car collectors, enthusiasts, even kids who’ve yet to master driving, the Chevrolet Corvette needs no introduction. Introduced in 1953, the fiberglass convertible (at that time, the only body style) was a surprising, but welcomed departure for the conservative Chevrolet division. GMs VP of Styling, Harley Earl, eagerly promoted the...
It’s hard to imagine any scene from “Americana” that does not include a wood-bodied station wagon. Not only were wood...
Throughout the 1950s, American automobile manufacturers developed some of the most extravagant concept cars. While many of these efforts were...
The 1953 Turin Auto Show must have been quite a sight. It presented cars of what would become a landmark year. But most enthusiasts in attendance would not know how fortunate they were. To them, this was just another car show. To Carlo Abarth, however, this show was something special....
While you might think this article is going to address the Chrysler Norsman, we are instead going deep sea diving,...
Studebaker was an innovative company. In the pre-war years, it built some of the finest and most elegant art deco cars of the period. Unlike many other independent brands, Studebaker emerged from the Second World War competing head to head with the big three in design and engineering. By the...
We’ve seen visions of the future before. Cars that can fly, jet-powered cars, atomic-powered cars, robotics within cars, and a...
Cleverly Proportioned & Intuitively Perfect Let’s be clear about one thing. The Shelby Cobra is one of the most iconic...
The BMW 507 is frequently cited as one of the most beautifully designed cars regardless of era, origin or classification. Designer Albrecht Goertz penned a lithe sports car with near perfect proportions, taut surfacing and brilliant branding signature, resulting in a timeless expression of BMW’s heritage. At age 24, Goertz arrived in...
America’s Sport Custom Production Car I had no idea who Howard “Dutch” Darrin was, as I pedaled my Schwinn Sting Ray...
Since first offering its wares to the automotive public, Lancia has excelled at engineering some of the most technically advanced...
Le Mans, 1960. You can imagine the scene. The coming decade was cresting the ’50s into oblivion. The vast high-speed straights of the new decade revealed technology and design that was radically different from the previous era. No one was slowing down, even in the corners. Materials and processes were...
Designed by the legendary Leonardo Fioravanti, the same man responsible for some of the greatest Pininfarina/Ferrari designs, the original 206...
Aston Martin. The name alone conjures up images of spies, well-dressed Europeans at fine gatherings, record-setting race wins and a company history nearly as dynamic as the cars themselves. Competing against highly established British stalwarts, Aston Martin had to deliver not only performance and elegance, they had to offer a...
How one car changed the culture of Japan and the mindset of America, one sports car at a time With...
Both Ferrari and Pininfarina had quite a surprise in store when they debuted the 308 at the 1975 Paris Auto...
In an age of cell phones, disposable appliances, laptops thinner and smaller than LIFE magazine, it’s hard to remember that we once drove large, slow, hand-crafted automobiles built with beauty in mind, excellence in every leather stitch and pride in final assembly. And while every one of the major manufacturers...
I had dinner with Carroll Shelby in 1997. Among the dozens of things I remember him telling me, the most poignant...
Stunning looks, capable performance and, today, an undisputed fixture in the automotive lexicon of excellence, the Jaguar D-Type has become...
December 2017 Comb through the history of 20th century car designs, and one name continually appears over and over again. Tom Tjaarda. Though Tjaarda never penned his name as a brand or touted his individual accomplishments, he quietly assembled an astonishing career of automotive achievements. Indeed, Tjaarda (a U.S.-born, Detroit...