PITY THE AUSTIN A-30
AN ASTOUNDING DESIGN LEAP in automobile design occurred in Britain between the 1954 Austin A-30 and the 1959 Morris 850, aka the Mini. Whereas the Mini was innovative in so … Continue reading
MORETTI—AN ETCETERINA OF NOTE
ETCETERINI ARE DIMINUTIVE Italian sports cars, typically snarly Fiat-propelled and charming. I’ve never heard the singular of this Italian noun. But I assume, like macchina, it’s feminine. Thus, perhaps, “etceterina” … Continue reading
AMERICA WANTED A SMALL CAR? THE 1954 NASH METROPOLITAN DELIVERED
“THIS, THE NASH COMPANY ASSURES US,” R&T WROTE IN MAY 1954, “is what the public asked for…. Well, let’s see what the public wanted.” “First,” R&T said, “the public wanted … Continue reading
R&T AND OTHER ART
THE GREAT GARAGE SORTING OF ’22 revealed a bunch of posters among its treasures to be retained. In fact, there’s a file on my iMac’s desktop labeled, prosaically enough, “Posters.” … Continue reading
1954 SUNBEAM ALPINE—DESTINED FOR STARDOM
IN MARCH 1954, R&T MADE quite the prediction: “For comfort-loving Americans who want a certain amount of snob-appeal in their automobile… the Alpine will probably outsell all of its competitors … Continue reading
THE LIMOS’ DEMISE, BUT….
“ONCE THE SYMBOL OF AFFLUENCE, the stretch limo has largely fallen out of favor…,” writes Jesus Jiménez in “The Long Demise of the Stretch Limo,” The New York Times, April … Continue reading
FERRARI TRC—THE ORIGINAL RED HEAD
“ ‘SUITABLY IMPRESSED’ SEEMS HARDLY an adequate expression,” R&T wrote in December 1957, “to describe our crew’s thoughts after testing the newest Ferrari, the 2.5-liter TRC (Testa Rossa Competition).” Here … Continue reading
GALLIC INNOVATION AUTOWISE PART 2
YESTERDAY IN PART 1, Maurice and Georges Sizaire made their automotive mark with hyphenated -Naudin and -Berwick. Today in Part 2, they get wacky with the latter and then settle … Continue reading
GALLIC INNOVATION AUTOWISE PART 1
I STUMBLE ONTO THESE THINGS in straightforward ways: Jim Donnick is editor of Vintage Sports Car, published by the Vintage Sports Car Club of America. Each issue, he selects an … Continue reading
1957 JAGUAR XK-SS
WHAT FUN IT IS TO DRIVE an out-and-out competition car on the street! I’ve had that pleasure a few times, most memorably a week or so with the Fiat Abarth … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 