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The ACD Newsletter recently ran an article entitled “Cord Shifting for Dummies” with emphasis on gear-changing techniques {vsig}2006-1_1904{/vsig} E. L. Cord was a master salesman who acquired Auburn in 1928 after saving it from bankruptcy by unloading about 700 sedans languishing on the lot. He spiffed up the orphans with
In 1929 Errett Lobban Cord, expanding his automotive empire, introduced a front-wheel drive automobile that he named after himself. The Cord L29 offered a distinctive, sporting appearance and great performance for its price. Unfortunately, when the stock market crashed shortly after the car’s introduction, so did the market for the
We of the Boomer generation grew up sneaking J.C. Whitney and Warshawsky catalogs onto our desks during biology lectures. Figuring out how to afford those trick, high-compression, .040-inch oversize pistons and rings for our Bug Eye Sprites was a daily topic of discussion. Tinkering with cars was our lifestyle. There
One of the most respected of automotive design firms, Zagato was founded in Milan by Ugo Zagato, who used techniques learned in the wartime aeronautics industry to create a series of lightweight competition cars. Alfa Romeo immediately realized the potential of Zagato’s designs, and thus commenced a fruitful collaboration that
The Alfa Romeo Duetto Spider, introduced in 1966, continued in production until Alfa withdrew from the US market after 1994. A 28-year run for one model is a notable accomplishment, similar to the Model T and VW Beetle. The original Duetto (a name which Alfa only officially used for the
Left-hand drive chassis number 06470 was delivered new to main agents Tayre Ferrari in Madrid in October 1974 and sold to an American citizen, William Kemmerer, its first owner. The latter was then serving with the USAF and brought the Dino back to the US from Spain when his tour
Following their competition success with the sports-racing A6GCS models through 1953, in 1954, Maserati introduced a second series for a production run of road-going sports and coupe designs on a similar chassis. The twin-cam, 2-liter, 6-cylinder engine fitted into the well-designed twin-tubular chassis layout, which proved ideal to receive coachwork
There is no mistaking the lines of an Austin-Healey. Perhaps second only to the seductive curves of the Jaguar E-type, the long flowing lines of the front shroud and powerful haunches of the short rear fenders make this car an icon of the golden decades of sports cars. Remarkable is
Of all the Porsches made in the 1950s, Speedsters are certainly the most charismatic. First sold in the 1955 model year, the Speedster was conceived for Porsche’s American distributor. For model year 1956, the entire 356 line under-went mechanical and chassis modifications and the revised and improved car was designated
Flames, Flatheads, Fenders, Fatboys: the American hot rod has many manifestations. Each is the personal expression of its creator, which is both the charm and the attraction of the street rods. Some take T-buckets, some favor ’40 Fords, others prefer Plymouths or choose Chevys. The permutations and combinations are endless
This is all Martin Swig’s fault. The iconoclastic, San Francisco-based collector and enthusiast has been trying to lay us away in a Ford for some time. Not just any Ford, mind you, but a 1954 Mainline Six Business Coupe. “It’s the model Piero Taruffi drove in the ’54 Carrera,” Swig
After World War II Alfa Romeo could no longer afford to produce purely the bespoke motor cars that had made the marque famous on both road and track. It was not until 1954 that Alfa found its savior in the Giulietta Sprint, Nuccio Bertone being commissioned to design this small
The introduction of the MGC is a tribute to how royally confused British Motor Holdings had become by the mid-’60s. The Austin-Healey, introduced in 1952, was getting long in the tooth by 1964, even with its new convertible top and roll-up side windows. Marketing managers also recognized that there was
In 1965 the nine-year reign of the “fuelie” Corvette came to an end. Only 771 cars with the L84 option were built in 1965, making it the lowest production year. It was the only year you could buy a fuel-injected, disc-braked Corvette. This 1965 Glen Green model has traveled only
Bugatti Automobili S.p.A., in marketing the sensational new EB110, succinctly defined the new project as “the revival of the spirit of Modernism, which characterized the life and work of Ettore Bugatti (1881-1947).” In May 1992 Bugatti Automobili S.p.A. recorded that at the Nardo Test Track in Southern Italy, the Bugatti
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