Every year the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance offers a spectacular showing of amazing cars. I am fortunate to get a...
Quintessential adjective quin·tes·sen·tial | \ ˌkwin-tə-ˈsen(t)-shəl :of the pure and essential essence of something :of or relating to the most perfect embodiment of something By the time the second world war came to an end, the...
Fair disclosure, I’m a multiple Lancia owner. I love everything about them. Their wonderful engine sounds, the brash audacity of their designs, the innovative engineering, and the daring risks the company founders took, year after year, with complete lack of regard for profits. Bold Italian passion oozes from every crevice of...
The first time I saw a photo of the Lamborghini Countach I knew it was something special. I was probably...
This is my 50th article for Vintage Road & Racecar. I didn’t realize it until my editor sent me a thank...
Car Design is a wicked beast. The purpose of design is to create both alluring and engaging combinations of mechanical and sculptural elements as a means to attracts buyers willing to pay money to possess such an object. But once the car is released, a whole new series of considerations...
With so much new digital technology arriving daily in our lives, it’s hard to imagine that something as simple as...
I’ve had a fortunate car life. I’ve owned a wide range of cars, enjoying various shows, events and the pleasure...
A few weeks ago McLaren released their new sports car to the public. It’s not fair to really call it a sports car anymore. Sports cars have radically changed since the term first classified these vehicles as lightweight steeds with agile road handling capabilities and spirited performance, more than 60...
When first introduced in 1959, the Mini Cooper was a revelation of automotive simplicity, economy, and delight. Designed by Sir...
Quintessential designs of the 20th century are all around us. These items are so familiar we often take their shape, color and ease of use for granted. Some of the best examples of design quintessence include the Coke bottle, the Monte Blanc fat black pen, the VW Beetle and the GE...
Fair disclosure—I’ve wanted to write about this car for years. The Ford GT appeared, in 2005, as a production offering...
This is technically the first issue of Vintage Roadcar as an online-only periodical. While many of us will miss the...
May 2018 The first major car show I attended was the 1971 L.A. Auto Expo. As a wide-eyed nine-year-old, everything seemed special. Bright colors, racy shapes, and a handful of pretty ladies (still a few years away from becoming a distraction from cars) the event was largely dominated by the...
The year 1962 was a big one. Not only was Seattle sporting its beautiful piercing tribute to the futuramic skyline...
When I was a college student, some friends told me about a woman who ran a hair salon in her West Los Angeles apartment. She ran a steady business cutting hair for most of us attending UCLA. Perfectly positioned near campus and offering haircuts at student rates, short, perky Karen...
I pedaled my bike past the edge of our main street and down the Santa Monica canyon road toward the...
Stunning looks, capable performance and, today, an undisputed fixture in the automotive lexicon of excellence, the Jaguar D-Type has become one of the most desirable sports cars of the modern era. Even if you separated the stunning good looks, amazing engineering and racing prowess from the fateful fire that would...
I had dinner with Carroll Shelby in 1997. Among the dozens of things I remember him telling me, the most poignant...
In an age of cell phones, disposable appliances, laptops thinner and smaller than LIFE magazine, it’s hard to remember that...
Both Ferrari and Pininfarina had quite a surprise in store when they debuted the 308 at the 1975 Paris Auto Show. Consider the times. The world was still reeling from the fuel crisis and car design was struggling with rapidly changing standards. The 308 launched into what has to be...
How one car changed the culture of Japan and the mindset of America, one sports car at a time With...
Aston Martin. The name alone conjures up images of spies, well-dressed Europeans at fine gatherings, record-setting race wins and a...
“Simplify, then add Lightness.” Whether fully attributed to Colin Chapman, or simply the lore that surrounds his engineering genius and design prowess, this philosophy is certainly embodied in the cars that have made Lotus a legendary performance company for more than half a century. And nowhere else is this more...
Designed by the legendary Leonardo Fioravanti, the same man responsible for some of the greatest Pininfarina/Ferrari designs, the original 206...
Le Mans, 1960. You can imagine the scene. The coming decade was cresting the ’50s into oblivion. The vast high-speed...
Since first offering its wares to the automotive public, Lancia has excelled at engineering some of the most technically advanced cars in nearly every decade. It is the post-war cars, however, that present some of the most advanced ideas and designs of the time. This is certainly the case in...
