Like cars, or even more so, the quest to find fuel efficiency in RVs has come and gone with the price of fuel. In the early eighties, when gas was around $4.00 in today’s dollars, the RV business crashed and desperately looked for a radical solution. One could say that the Winnebago LeSharo was the equivalent of the 1985 Cadillac DeVille: downsized to the extreme. Winnebago desperately searched for the solution, and found it in…France. LeSharo: the LeCar of RVs. (Read More…)
It might be hard to live down to that exact headline billing. And this Mini-based Wildgoose RV is certainly bigger than the human-powered RV we covered here. But of you’ve ever been around an original Mini, you’ll be able to appreciate the scale of this rig. (Read More…)
The weather is getting nice and the yen to explore America’s great outdoors is rising. It’s just a question of what the right size and cost of vehicle to take. If you work at Goldman Sachs, here’s a little number to consider for a quick weekend getaway. Is it the world’s biggest RV? If not, it sure gets a good grade for effort. Pop-outs on both sides on the first floor. The second floor lifts up from its bridge-safe position. And there’s even an optional third-floor patio-deck! (Read More…)
Suburbans are jacks of all trades. One like this taught me the valuable lessons of the limits of vehicle dynamics on winding country roads that others might have had in their MGs. Does that not define the name sport utility vehicle? (Read More…)
The Suburban long ago achieved iconic status. It may the most American vehicle ever; in what other country would so many folks drive a vehicle so much larger than necessary? Yes, that’s the uglier side of the Suburban, like my former neighbor who terrorized the neighborhood with her driving antics while babbling unceasingly on her cell phone on the way to her Botox injection appointments. The other side has its roots as a practical hauler of eight or more; a sturdy hybrid of pickup truck and station wagon. The Suburban most perfectly reflects America’s two faces. And which is this one? (Read More…)
Only in 1969: Cheap and crappy production values, mispronounced name of the car you’re selling, which was a cheap and ugly wart. All redeemed by the girl in bell bottoms. Sort of.
That Subaru is still thriving is in itself a minor miracle. The small Japanese car makers have either imploded (Isuzu), are threatening to (Mitsubishi), or have sought shelter (even Subaru is now 20% owned by Toyota). Subaru did have its own near-death experience in the early nineties. But in a long string of wild bets, Subaru’s final card in the US was a big gamble on AWD, and the timing couldn’t have been better. And like most successful gamblers, there have been losses along the way (see above). But perhaps because of the bumpy ride, Subaru is still alive and kicking. (Read More…)
Honda CRV, Toyota Rav4, Audi Quattro, VW Syncro, and the whole host of all-wheel drive cars, crossovers and CUVs: they all trace their roots back to this skinny and ugly little Subaru 4WD wagon. Is this the most revolutionary and influential modern car?
Fiat has released photos of its new super-mini Uno, which will initially be produced in Brazil, and may, or may not, eventually be sold in Europe as well. The emphasis is on room and a “crossover look”, not unlike Toyota’s Urban Cruiser (Scion xD). It certainly isn’t on the handsome good looks Fiats were once known for. Times change. (Read More…)
There was a time when Cadillacs were all really big, way bigger than a Chevy Malibu. But in the mid eighties, the natural order of things was turned upside down, with predictable results. Oh, and do you remember when a Civic was just a speck compared to a Caddy? (Read More…)
Detroit has a long list of sins it committed over the decades, but one of the more pernicious ones is name debasement. Think of the Chrysler K-cars wearing the once proud names of New Yorker and Imperial. GM’s history of name debasement and other crimes in naming is extensive. But it’s difficult to come up with a more egregious one than what was done to the Cougar. Better pop a Zoloft, because this is a depressing CC: beige, boxy, generic, feeble, padded half-vinyl roof and tin foil wire wheel covers. But the crimes against names and humanity must be documented for future generations. (Read More…)
The very difficult indeed Valiant rear vertical trim clue had a very worthy winner in Dr Lemming. Congratulations. Now this is vertical too, and it probably won’t be nearly so difficult. It’s also possible that this fine material was used on more than one car, so we may have multiple correct answers if you can back it up.
Nothing very out of the ordinary here, except sometimes the ordinary is somehow actually noticed, like when all the cars are about the same vintage. In 1992, all of these could have been bought new, except the CRX, which was just one year past being replaced by the del Sol. Close enough. The other direction follows: (Read More…)
Recent Comments