My hit-and-miss experiences with parts cars

Posted on Apr 2, 2014 in Featured | 1 comment

Parts car availability seems to be shuffling toward the realm of dinosaurs, VCR repairmen, desktop computers and hula-hoops, thanks mostly to the fact that with collector car prices being what they are, every candidate is now viewed as restorable. Some parts cars may be good enough to save; others, however, may require the replacement of 97 percent of their...

Cool Gadgets or Lazy Tools?

Posted on Mar 27, 2014 in Technology | 2 comments

As cars become ever more technical with every new model, I got to thinking: Are all these cool new gadgets helping us be better drivers, or making us uber lazy behind the wheel? I thought this as I popped my Lincoln MKT tester into Active Park Assist, took my hands off the wheel and let the car parallel park itself. I didn’t even have to find the spot, the car...

All-Wheel Drive Could Lead You Into a Ditch

Posted on Mar 10, 2014 in Safety | 1 comment

Keep an eye on the sky, folks, because snow could start falling at any moment! In my part of the world, the white stuff will likely make its first appearance of the season within the next couple of days. While that’s great news for snowmen and skiers, it can seriously suck for the ill-prepared driver. Owning a vehicle with all-wheel drive certainly helps...

So, Where is GM’s Fuel Cell-Powered Car?

Posted on Feb 25, 2014 in Technology | 2 comments

Hydrogen power was all the rage last decade as the thought that the most plentiful substance on Earth could be harnessed as a fuel source for a not-so-distant line of automobiles. Though hydrogen can be supplied within current internal combustion engine designs, the prospect to welcome a new paradigm in motoring existed as fuel cells proposed converting fuel...

Driving a slow car fast: The Alfa Romeo Sprint and the “Top Gear Theory”

Posted on Jan 23, 2014 in Featured | 2 comments

This contribution comes to us from Australian reader and Alfisti Steven Wade, who recently acquired a 1986 Alfa Romeo Sprint. We asked for his take on the car, as well as his opinion on the pseudo-infamous “Top Gear Theory” of Alfa Romeo ownership. Steven is also passionate about Saabs, and is the founder of the Saabs United website. I only heard this saying...

New Turtle Wax Headlight Restoration Kit

Posted on Dec 27, 2013 in Technology | 1 comment

Last year I ran an article about how to restore headlights when they get cloudy or yellow. I used a Turtle Wax product, appropriately called “Headlight Lens Restorer,” which did a great job at restoring them to a clearer look. One thing I did notice, however, was that it didn’t take long for the headlights to cloud back up – a few weeks and I could tell they...

Remember when Oldsmobile embraced the diesel engine?

Posted on Nov 16, 2013 in Featured | 4 comments

The 1979 Oldsmobile diesel range. As the 1970s came to a close, automakers were faced with ever-stricter emission regulations on gasoline engines. Thinking outside the box, GM tasked its Oldsmobile division with creating a range of diesel engines that would be immune from gasoline emission standards, while delivering the performance and fuel economy that...

Surprising Winner in New NHTSA Crash Test

Posted on Oct 27, 2013 in Safety | 2 comments

If you ever feel like no one cares about you, just remember that the good people at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration have got your back. Or at least they are doing all they can to keep you from dying in a car crash. Hey, that’s something, right? The NHTSA has used its Five-Star Safety Ratings System for years to test our nation’s fleet of...

Driving Distractions to Eliminate (and One to Keep Around)

Posted on Sep 25, 2013 in Safety | 2 comments

BAM! You look away just for a second, maybe even a half-second, and suddenly you find yourself intimately familiar with the rear end of a school bus. Conditions in traffic can change that quick, which is made even worse by the sheer number of distractions that tempt drivers to look away from the road these days. Whether the distractions are in the car with us...

Catalog giant J.C. Whitney celebrates its centennial

Posted on Aug 25, 2013 in Featured | 4 comments

Roy Warshawsky (R), with the catalogs that helped build his auto parts empire. In 1915, Lithuanian immigrant Israel Warshawsky opened a scrapyard on the corner of South State Street and South Archer Avenue. Sensing the significance of the automobile, particularly the Ford Model T, Warshawsky began to focus his business on used auto parts, and soon opened a...

World’s Fastest Production Car: Now in Electric?

Posted on Jul 27, 2013 in Racing | 3 comments

I guess it’s not enough to build the fastest production car in the world. Shelby SuperCars makes the 1,183-horsepower Ultimate Aero, the car that currently holds the title of World’s Fastest Production Car. How fast does it go? Well the speedometer on the 2008 model goes up to “only” 260, while the 2009 model should be capable of burying the needle at 270 mph....

Big Toyota Recall, While Corollas Conquer Afghanistan

Posted on Jun 15, 2013 in Safety | 1 comment

Toyota just issued a recall for 1.33 million Corollas, Matrix hatchbacks, and Pontiac Vibes of the 2005-2008 model years (2007 Corolla above). The problem is in an engine control module that can cause stalls or failure to start. NHTSA has reported six crashes and no deaths, and is stepping up its investigations into Corollas. Some 1.13 million of these cars are...

My Personal Car History

Posted on May 30, 2013 in Antique | Comments Off on My Personal Car History

I recently bought a new scanner and decided to scan pictures of every car I’ve owned and write a self- indulgent fluff piece about my personal car history. The next 30 or so pages will list every car I have owned and the reasons you should rush out to your local salvage yard and buy one. Enjoy. 1953 M381A Military Jeep I learned to drive on one of these babies...