LOTUS CORTINA (VERSUS FIRST FORD MUSTANG)—1964 PART 1
WHAT AN INTERESTING QUANDARY for an auto enthusiast in the summer of 1964: Buy one of the just-introduced Ford Mustangs tested in R&T August 1964? Or, having read R&T July … Continue reading
COME SI DICE SPRITE IN ITALIANO?
THE QUESTION ABOVE (“HOW TO SAY SPRITE IN ITALIAN?”) has a perfect response in “Innocenti,” pronounced “I-no-CHEN-ty.” R&T concurred in May 1964: “A newcomer among the sports car currently offered … Continue reading
MY FAIR 日本 LADY GETS A RELATIVE MEH FROM THE R&T TESTERS (PLUS A DATED COMMENTARY)
THE DATSUN SPL-310 WAS KNOWN as the Fairlady in right-hand-drive markets, the name linked to My Fair Lady, the fabulously successful Broadway show at the time. Indeed, Wikipedia notes, “To … Continue reading
DATSUN 1000—“WHOLESOME RICE CAKES, NOT EXOTIC SINGING AND DANCING”
I DON’T KNOW THAT JAPAN HAS EVER been known for “exotic” singing and dancing, but someone at R&T in 1958 thought up this contrast. Not that any Japanese imports of … Continue reading
JAGUAR TRIPPIN’—VIRTUALLY
THE JAGUAR HERITAGE TRUST is in Gaydon, south of Coventry in the English Midlands. It’s a vast continent and vast ocean from my home, but I’ve just tripped there—virtually. All … Continue reading
TOYOTA TOYOPET DE LUXE—A 65-YEAR LOOK BACK
“WE BELIEVE,” WROTE R&T IN March 1958, “this is a first complete report of any kind of a new car whose significance may not be fully realized for at least … Continue reading
ALFA ROMEO SUPER SPIDER—THE ALFISTI WERE RIGHT!
THERE’S A BACKSTORY to R&T’s road test of the Alfa Super Spider, October 1959: The magazine acknowledged, “The Alfa Romeo Veloce Spider test (March 1958) was a classic example of … Continue reading
1959 ELVA—VRAIMENT, ELLE VA!
“IN ENGLAND, AS IN THIS COUNTRY,” R&T wrote in June 1959, “nearly every amateur ‘special’ builder has more or less grandiose dreams of seeing his machine win race after race … Continue reading
PEGASO TIDBITS PART 2
YESTERDAY, WE LEARNED FROM R&T, November 1954, that Wilfredo Ricart’s Pegaso cars seemed well-nigh unbreakable. Today several other sources contribute to this Spanish exotic’s history. More Pegaso Lore. Wikipedia gives … Continue reading
PEGASO TIDBITS PART 1
READING OLD R&T MAGAZINES is like experiencing a time machine, in this case, back to November 1954. Robert C. Goldich’s “The Flying Horses of Barcelona” was about the Pegaso, Spain’s … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 