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50 Years Ago Today, Mazda Introduces Rotary Power
Mazda, known as Toyo Kogyo Corporation at the time, needed to create a unique technology that would differentiate it among a rapidly globalizing Japanese automotive industry in order to stay independent. In 1961, Mazda licensed NSU Motorenwerke AG and Wankel GmbH’s rotary engine technology and the rest is history.
Continue reading...AC Schnitzer: Famed BMW Tuner Is Celebrating 30 Years Of Leading-Edge Performance
Fri, May 12, 2017 | Posted by: Evan
Raising an eyebrow among the BMW crowd can be a tough ask… AC Schnitzer has been raising the adrenalin output of BMW enthusiasts for three decades… that’s saying something. The renowned tuning house is celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2017 so we’re taking a peek back at how it got started and what they’re doing […]
Continue reading...Video: McLaren – See The Trailer Of The Upcoming Bruce McLaren Biographical Film
Tue, Apr 11, 2017 | Posted by: Evan
A motorsports legend like no other, New Zealander Bruce McLaren was one of the few men to do it all. He was an inventor, self-taught engineer, Formula 1 driver, skilled mechanic, race car designer, team owner, development driver, and businessman. There’s a movie about his incredible life coming out soon and we have the trailer.
Continue reading...Steve McQueen’s “Bullitt” Mustang Chase Car Found
Wed, Mar 15, 2017 | Posted by: Evan
According to the “Los Angeles Times” the star of one of the most famous chase scenes ever put on film, the Highland Green 1968 Mustang Fastback from the movie “Bullitt,” has been found… in Baja California, Mexico. It seems the Ford’s been living ‘La Vida Loca’ south of the border, enjoying carne asada and margaritas […]
Continue reading...The Chevrolet Corvair: Flop or Success?
Fri, Jun 3, 2016 | Posted by: Evan
With sales of more than 1.7 million units, how can the Corvair be considered a flop? It was the Motor Trend Car of the Year in 1960 for goodness sake. On numerous “worst cars of all time” lists yet gaining respect as a collector car, the Corvair is a conundrum on four wheels.
Continue reading...Feuer Rettungswagen: 1963 VW Single Cab Fire Rig
Tue, Jul 1, 2014 | Posted by: Evan
This ain’t your granddad’s flower power festooned VW Bus. This 1963 single-cab is an all-original vintage fire rescue rig straight from the homeland: Historischer Loschzug Pelfum, Germany. It’s complete down to the last fitting and owner, Jason A., told us with a chuckle that the pump almost out-powers the Bus: Pump 36, Bus 40. Yikes.
Continue reading...Famed Supercar Builder Alois Ruf Visits Griot’s Garage
Alois Ruf started wrenching out of his father’s service station in 1960, and from Day One his passion was Porsches. In 1974, he took over the shop and stepped up his game. A year later, the first Ruf-tuned Porsche took to the Autobahn… it would not be the last. And the world of performance Porsches […]
Continue reading...Unrivaled: Niki Lauda and the Ferrari 312T-022
Wed, Sep 18, 2013 | Posted by: Tim
I remember the day it rolled off the trailer. I couldn’t believe the car was here. THIS car. Dirty and worn, sure, but every bit as beautiful as in my childhood memories. I had to sit in it. Hold the steering wheel HE held. Imagine the Veglia tach sweeping toward 14,000 RPM. Snap the gated […]
Continue reading...Fatherly Courage
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 | Posted by: Richard
When I was in the sixth grade, my father decided to put his working career on hold and take our family on a year-long adventure that started in Europe and ended in Cape Town, South Africa. With a 1971 VW Campmobile and a meager amount of cash, we set out on a life-changing experience that […]
Continue reading...Vince Gardner and the Two-Seater Mustang
Thu, Feb 7, 2013 | Posted by: Mike
The world of custom cars is fascinating. Sometimes history is well-preserved. Other times, as with a shortened, two-seater Mustang that resurfaced a couple years ago, it must be peeled back layer-by-layer. Often, the full and true story (mired in years of fable, or even corporate secrecy), can never be realized.
Continue reading...Reviving a Tired Bull: ’68 Lamborghini Islero Restoration II
Mon, Aug 13, 2012 | Posted by: Tim
Disassembly is my favorite part of a restoration. You uncover the details that make these automobiles so unique. Unmolested cars can show you the original finishes used when the car was built at the factory. It’s especially interesting when dealing with a low production number car like the Islero.
Continue reading...Bucky Fuller and the Dymaxion Car
Thu, Jul 12, 2012 | Posted by: Mike
Architect and engineer Buckminster Fuller sought to live his life as “an experiment to find what a single individual can contribute to changing the world.” One result of this philosophy was the fascinatingly futuristic Dymaxion Car, the first of which was manufactured in Bridgeport, Connecticut on this day in 1933.
Continue reading...What’s the greatest Chevrolet car or truck ever?
Wed, May 2, 2012 | Posted by: Mike
On this day in 1918, General Motors acquired the Chevrolet Motor Company, and positioned the fledgling automaker to create mainstream vehicles to compete with Ford. In the years that followed, Chevrolet produced some of the most iconic cars and trucks ever to grace the roads. Who can’t spot the fins of a ’57 Bel Air […]
Continue reading...Reviving a Tired Bull: ’68 Lamborghini Islero Restoration I
Lamborghini produced just 125 Series I Isleros, so seeing one in person is a rare treat. Our car, Chassis #6282, rolled out of its transporter in a foul cloud of varnished gas, and with rust bubbling through the paint on all four fenders. No matter. The old bull deserved to be revived and shared with […]
Continue reading...10 Spiffy, Holiday-Themed, Vintage Car Ads
Thu, Dec 22, 2011 | Posted by: Mike
Think Holiday car advertising started with Lexus and the “big red bow”? You can trace the trend a lot farther back than that, friend. Buick in the 20’s, Mercury in the 40’s, Cadillac… well, pretty much all the time. Yep, automakers have been using Christmas to tug at our heart and wallet strings since the […]
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Tue, May 30, 2017 | Posted by: Evan
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