Mercedes-Benz Comes to Oaxaca to Show the SLS AMG GT3 and More

Posted on Dec 11, 2016 in Racing | Comments Off on Mercedes-Benz Comes to Oaxaca to Show the SLS AMG GT3 and More

The GT3 is not pretty; it’s all function. Mercedes and AMG have built a state-of-the-art machine that was unveiled in Mexico this week to a select crowd of journalists and, presumably, potential buyers. It was intended to be a shot heard round the sports-car world. M-B also brought other interesting cars to show—an actual 300SL Gullwing racer from the 1950s (to...

Five quick, easy, low-buck (or free) garage tips to make working on your car easier

Posted on Dec 2, 2016 in Featured | 2 comments

While working on a recent tech story for Hemmings Muscle Machines, I was reminded of a few of the things that I do or use in the garage that can make certain projects a bit easier to complete. I’m providing them here so you can benefit from them, as well. At the same time, we can open a dialog for you to share some of your garage ideas to help the rest of us....

Let’s Hear It for the Cellphone Ban!

Posted on Nov 9, 2016 in Safety | 1 comment

Yesterday, the NTSB recommended banning all cellphone use in cars. The proximate cause of this was the horrific crash in Missouri that tgriffith referred to below. The probable cause of the crash was “distraction likely due to a text messaging conversation…” Further NTSB details are here; more examples of what influenced the NTSB are here. We’ve written,...

The State of Estates

Posted on Oct 31, 2016 in Antique | Comments Off on The State of Estates

Women are like cars, we all want a Ferrari, sometimes want a pickup truck, and end up with a station wagon – Tim Allen Not long ago, I discussed the evolution of the modern estate car (station wagon as we call it in the US) in an article called “Taking Aim at the Shooting Brake.” In it, I highlighted some of the coolest examples of estates ever created, and...

Should I do a color change on my vintage car?

Posted on Oct 24, 2016 in Featured | 2 comments

My 1967 Buick Gran Sport in Verdi Green. I recently wrote a blog on a Pink Mist 1968 chrome-bumper GTO (The Rarest GTO you may have never wanted ) that asked whether its rarity, color and chrome bumper would persuade or dissuade you from buying it. Some responders said that they liked the pink and would retain the color. Others said they didn’t and would just...

Frontier E-brakes Getting Shafted?

Posted on Oct 17, 2016 in Editorials | 2 comments

Greetings, Another longtime listener, firsttime caller … I have a two-parter. First: My 2007 Nissan Frontier will soon be due for a rear brake job. I’ve never worked on rear disks. Should I replace the emergency-brake shoes as well as the service brake pads, or will a simple inspection of them do for now? Also, I’ve had varying advice here: should I have the...

Popular Automotive-Related Mobile Apps

Posted on Oct 15, 2016 in Technology | 2 comments

Supplying 21st century with once-unobtainable access to a vehicle, a dizzying assortment of smartphone and tablet apps provides the driver with an out-of-car experience. Over the course of the past two years, virtually every automaker is now engaged with a brand-specific mobile application making their automotive products more accessible than ever before....

Building Your Own Bugatti: The Kellogg Type 57/59 Roadster Special

Posted on Oct 14, 2016 in Racing | 2 comments

I know a fellow named Budd Blume here in Oaxaca, and we had lunch a few days ago. Budd is an old-fashioned car nut who has built, owned, raced, and been otherwise involved with some of the world’s most interesting cars. I mentioned that I had just done a post on the new Bugatti Galibier sedan, and so he started talking Bugatti lore. Turns out a guy named Bob...

Why All Mobile Phone Use Should Be Banned While Driving

Posted on Oct 7, 2016 in Safety | 3 comments

If there’s any lingering question as to why cell phones and driving should never be used in combination, the picture above should clear it up pretty quick. Between the bus and the big rig is what’s left of a pickup, which was being driven by a 19-year-old kid. Just prior to slamming into the semi, the young driver had sent or received 11 text messages in as...

Green Vehicle News, Some of It Important

Posted on Sep 26, 2016 in Safety | 1 comment

GM Permits Dealers to Sell Demo Volts This will free up 2,300 cars, increasing sales inventory to about 4,100 (up from 1,800). Since GM has increased production capacity over the summer, you folks struggling to find an available Volt (yes, all five of you) can now find one. In fact, there has been some pent-up demand, but don’t hold your breath that GM will...

Lamborghini Miura, The First Supercar

Posted on Sep 20, 2016 in Antique | Comments Off on Lamborghini Miura, The First Supercar

Supercar. That one word describes the ultimate in a motor vehicle, a car that combines the absolute epitome of style, technology, and power into one beautiful piece of rolling sculpture. It all started with an argument between a simple farmer turned tractor manufacturer named Ferruccio Lamborghini, and the high priest of performance cars, Enzo Ferrari....

BFGoodrich KO2 in the Snowy Hills of Maine

Posted on Sep 19, 2016 in Editorials | 1 comment

BFGoodrich’s All-Terrain T/A tires can be found everywhere, from your local construction site to the most grueling of off-road races. I’ve fitted some of my trucks with the original KO and used them on and off-road, so I was curious what improvements BFGoodrich could bring to its latest iteration: the new KO2. BFGoodrich brought me up to Bethel, Maine to test...

Are the days of pole-mounted old cars numbered?

Posted on Sep 15, 2016 in Featured | 2 comments

Used to be – back in the days when distinctive vehicles could be had for cheap or free – if you wanted to really attract the eye of passersby to your place of business, you slathered some house paint on some old car, stuck it up on a pole, and became an instant local landmark. But those landmarks are slowly disappearing and it seems we may in our lifetimes see...