In 1968, General Motors (GM) restyled their A-body platform with a more curvaceous, semi-fastback styling, on which the Buick Skylark, Chevrolet Chevelle, Oldsmobile Cutlass, and Pontiac LeMans models were all based. The two-door sedan, hardtop, and convertible variants had a 112-inch wheelbase while the four-door and station wagon variants had a 4-inch longer wheelbase at 116 inches. 1968 A-body 2-door hardtops ...

In the late 1980’s, German sports carmaker Porsche was in a financial pinch. Their front-engine sports cars – the 928, 924, 944 and 968 – didn’t sell as well as expected. On top of poor sales, there was a global economic recession, an unfavorable exchange rate, and aggressive competition from other carmakers. Porsche needed the capital infusion to continue operation, ...

When I was a young boy in the mid-70s, a friend and I used to peek into a shoe box containing the Lesney Matchbox Superfast toy car collection of my friend’s dad. Since we were not supposed to even touch the shoe box (his father would be furious if he ever found out), we cannot play with the toy cars. ...

In 2006, I was in Vietnam for a 15-day motorcycle tour from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City. During one of our several forays into local flea markets, I stumbled upon a 1:10 scale ERTL 2002 Harley-Davidson Road King in its protective plastic packaging case. Through an interpreter, the Vietnamese vendor said that the model motorcycle was a used but ...

In April 2015, I was in Chiang Mai, Thailand for the Asia Premiere of the all-new Ducati Monster 821. My initial impression is that the new naked bike retains the character of the original Monster even with its new chassis and increased muscular styling. The good people of Ducati Asia laid out a ride around Chiang Mai through long country ...

At the 2002 North American International Auto Show, the Ford Motor Company unveiled a new mid-engine two-seat sports car concept that was initially dubbed as the GT40. It was designed in anticipation of the automaker’s centennial year and as part of its drive to showcase and revive its “heritage models” such as Mustang and Thunderbird.  The GT40 was designed to ...

The only connection between this Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR (W297) and the McLaren Mercedes MP4-16 that we featured yesterday are their tri-star emblem and their racing heritage. But there’s a deeper and more “secretive” connection between this über German super car and the 1993 McLaren F1 that we featured two days ago (Tuesday, May 5). You’ll find out in a while. ...

The F1 that we featured yesterday was the road-going McLaren. Today, we will feature the McLaren that competed in the actual F1 races. The McLaren Mercedes MP4-16 was the company’s entry in the 2001 FIA Formula One World Championship that was driven by the tandem of Mika Häkkinen and David Coulthard in what would be their sixth and final season ...

What does talk show host Jay Leno, Mr. Bean series star Rowan Atkinson, the late Beatles guitarist George Harrison, tech wizard Elon Musk, and the Sultan of Brunei have in common? If you guessed that they all owned, at one time or another, a McLaren F1 road car, then you’re absolutely right. Not to be confused with the Formula One ...

On September 15, 1991, the Bugatti EB 110 GT was unveiled at both Versailles and in front of the Grande Arche de la Défense, near Paris, exactly 110 years after Ettore Bugatti‘s birth. The mid-engine sports car’s design elements paid homage to the classic Bugatti automobiles. The factory, Bugatti Automobili S.p.A., was owned by Italian businessman Romano Artioli, and the ...