Columns


  • Pick Six

    Alfa Romeo is the featured marque at a variety of events in Monterey this year, so sprinkled throughout this issue you’ll find a focus on Alfas. Putting all this stuff together had me itching to write yet another chapter in my long saga with the marque, so last week I tried to buy a Spider…

  • 1971-81 Alfa Romeo Spider

    Two ways to view the Spica fuel injection system: “diabolical” or “misunderstood” Universally regarded as two of the best open sports cars of all time, Alfa Romeo’s 750-series Giulietta Spider and 101-series Giulia Spider of the late 1950s and early ’60s were a tough act to follow. To remain the perennial darling of the enthusiast…

  • How My Bimmer Turned into a Pacer

    I drove to Seattle on a Saturday morning in a 2006 BMW 325i, and by the time I returned the following day I was behind the wheel of a 1977 AMC Pacer wagon. And yes, it was by choice.The BMW is a fine car, with a pleasing appearance less Bangle-ized than its upmarket stablemates. As…

  • 1968 Triumph TR250

    For parts support to be any better, Girl Scouts would have to give away TR250 distributor caps with their cookie orders Among all the great stories of British car industry ineptitude, the genesis of the Triumph TR250 must rank among the best.Triumph had planned to replace the TR4A in the summer of 1967 with the…

  • 1969 Porsche 911E Targa

    Soft rear window Targas have become the darling of the early 911 cognoscenti {vsig}2005-7_1853{/vsig} Porsche introduced the 911 Targa in mid-1966 to an enthusiastic audience anxious for an open 911. For the first model year in 1967, only the soft rear window was available. A year later, the glass rear window was introduced as a…

  • 1965 Pontiac GTO

    Pontiac Historic Services build sheets are the only way to tell which cars left the factory as real GTOs {vsig}2005-7_1855{/vsig} The exemplary 1965 GTO offered here is one of only 11,311 Pontiac GTOs that came as convertibles, just 15% of production in 1965. How many came with the ultimate 389-ci, 360-hp Tri-Power V8 and four-speed…

  • 1960 Cooper T52 Formula Junior

    The over-the-top factory team cars like the Lotus 27 and Lola Mk 5 were the reason Formula Junior died off Powered by JAP and Manx Norton motorcycle engines, Cooper’s innovative mid-engined racing cars dominated the 500-cc Formula 3 scene in the 1950s. These cars provided many future stars, most notably Stirling Moss, with their first…

  • 1966 Alfa Romeo Duetto

    Green may work for the Emerald City or the Wicked Witch of the West; however, it’s anything but wicked on a Duetto {vsig}2005-7_1849{/vsig} In the early 1960s, auto enthusiasts were aware of the nimble, small Italian spider made by Alfa Romeo, but it wasn’t until 1967, when a Duetto appeared in the movie “The Graduate”…

  • 1960 Ferrari 250 GTE

    If you can’t afford a nice example, you really can’t afford a bad one {vsig}2005-7_1852{/vsig} By the end of the 1950s, the success of rivals Aston Martin and Maserati in providing Grand Touring cars for the enthusiast with a family meant that Ferrari could no longer ignore this increasingly important market sector. There had been…

  • 1955 Austin-Healey 100 Le Mans

    Dealers were using the Le Mans kit to tart up cars and help move them off the showroom floor {vsig}2005-7_1850{/vsig} This is a rare Austin-Healey with factory Le Mans options, finished in beautiful Reno Red and black. Notice the vented hood with leather strap, fold down windshield, and original dual carbs with original 100M Le…