Columns


  • 1962 Lotus Elite Series II

    1962 Lotus Elite Series II

    The important origin of the Lotus street car Desirable Series II model with ZF close-ratio gearbox Coventry Climax FWE engine with twin Weber carburetors Cosmetically restored; engine rebuilt for former owner by Tony Mantle

  • 1955 Hudson Italia

    1955 Hudson Italia

    Always one for creative thinking, Hudson designer Frank Spring thought he had just the right idea to improve sales of the small Jet. Spring worked with Italian coachbuilder Touring to design the Super Jet, a prototype that looked like nothing else on American roads in 1953, with its wraparound windshield, doors cut into the roof,…

  • Risky Business

    Risky Business

    Some shy away from doors that open to unknown places. I have always been drawn to them. I don’t recall what caused my instant and all-consuming obsession to own a 928, this most-unloved of exotic Porsches. But once I got onto the roller coaster and the safety bar clicked down, there was no getting off.…

  • Toyota Corolla, Mitsubishi 3000GT,  Datsun 240Z

    Toyota Corolla, Mitsubishi 3000GT, Datsun 240Z

    1986 Toyota Corolla SR5 #37232. S/N JT2AE86C8G0227932. 229k miles. “1.6-liter inline 4, 5-speed manual transmission, red over gray cloth, Nardi steering wheel, aftermarket stereo, Konig wheels, Weber carburetor, window sticker. ” Condition: 2-. SOLD AT $10,695. Bring a Trailer, 10/2/2020. Brian’s take: The Toyota Corolla SR5, one of the icons in the world of drifting,…

  • A Busy, If Not Boisterous, Market

    A Busy, If Not Boisterous, Market

    Enthusiasts are buying and selling cars. Although the market is not boisterous, it is busy. The current COVID-19 situation has not eliminated or diminished our love of cranky old cars. Rather, it has caused us to find appropriate, safe ways to enjoy our cars and each other, all while modifying our collections. Look at some…

  • 1986 BMW M5

    1986 BMW M5

    Sold at $102,359 (€90,200)RM Sotheby’s Online-Only — The European SaleFeaturing the Petitjean CollectionJune 3–11, 2020, Lot 358 Chassis number: WBSDC910401018399SCM Condition for this car: 2- I was shopping for a new car in 1988 and never considered the M5 until I started poking around my local dealer’s inventory of 535is and 528es. I was alerted…

  • Understanding Auction Theory

    Understanding Auction Theory

    Dear Legal Files: I read your article on shill bidding (“Legal Files,” November 2020) this week. It was funny because I had just bid at auction for a piece of art that I didn’t win. The bidding went to my bid limit, which was me, and then $20k higher on the next bid. I was…

  • Type Righter

    Type Righter

    The motoring press went wild when Jaguar brought out the F-type in 2013. Normally sober critics such as Car and Driver described it as “the car you want to be seen in.” Even my own spouse went a little starry-eyed over the F-type the first time I brought one home. She compared the car to…

  • Artistic Drive

    Artistic Drive

    “A roaring motor car … is more beautiful than the Victory of Samothrace.” — Filippo Marinetti, a founder of the Futurist art movement Picture the scene: a quaint cobbled London mews that once housed the horse stables of the Kensington aristocracy but had since become a mecca for classic-car collectors, the global center in the…

  • 1959 Tojeiro California Spyder

    1959 Tojeiro California Spyder

    A unique post-war racing car conceived by famed race engineer John Tojeiro Completed to a very high standard in accordance with Tojeiro’s original vision Hand-formed body to original designs by Coachsmithing of Blair, WI 300-plus-hp, 302-cubic-inch GMC inline 6-cylinder engine; Muncie “Rock Crusher” 4-speed manual transmission Accompanied by history files, dyno sheets, race reports, and…