The history of mid-engined Corvette concepts is almost as old as the car itself, but even more colorful. Once the performance and racing potential of the ‘Vette was unleashed by its father, Zora Arkus Duntov, ambitious developments intended for the race track, Futurama, or the front pages of buff books speculating about the coming mid-engined production Corvette have never ended.

Duntov is shown here, proudly posing with his 1959 CERV (Chevrolet Engineering Research Vehicle) I, clearly a racing-oriented concept intended to test advanced designs and components for future use. The CERV’s independent rear suspension was adapted to the 1963 Corvette. It’s 350 hp 283 CI V8 featured aluminum block and heads, and fuel injection. A grand start to a long series of exciting Corvettes, even if they never made it into production. (Read More…)

[Note: this car does not have the original rectangular taillights. Someone mounted some sixties round lights in an attempt to confuse our readers, at least some of them]

In our recent visit to 1976, we virtually pitted the Accord against the Malibu. One garnered the title of “The Most influential Modern Car in America”, the other was disgraced as a “GM Deadly Sin”. Lots of folks said the two would never have been cross-shopped; they’re probably right. By the time a buyer stepped into a Honda dealer, a Malibu had already fallen of the list. But what about the Nova? A hatchback Nova with the options to make it comparable to the Accord’s standard fare would put it right around the Accord’s price. Let’s pit America’s most popular compact against the upstart challenger from Japan for round two.

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Umm, what’s that strange looking motorcycle up ahead? (Read More…)

Despite being pretty rare nowadays, I can’t quite summon the inspiration to pound out a proper CC for this 1978 Datsun 310GX (Cherry/Pulsar). Seeing as it appeared three years after the first Golf, the general resemblance is not coincidental, especially the front grill, a virtual  dead ringer. It has some historical significance, since it marked the light at the end of Nissan’s tunnel of bizarre styling. This 310 replaced the F-10, which we titled as “The Ugliest Car Ever?” Although this hatchback looked fairly conventional, the coupe still had vestiges of F-10 ness in its rear quarters. (Read More…)

Once again, last night’s clue went too quickly. Within minutes, yoribe called out the MB 240D. Commentator sfdennis1′s correct guess actually appeared on the front page first, but what happens is that first time comments get held up a bit in the back end. But they have a time stamp on them which is what we go by.

Anyway, in hopes of stymieing you id wizards, this car is not quite original; a mild custom actually. But its not something far out like the Envoy Epic, if you get my drift. Anyway, GI will only get you so far. Have fun.

There’s a powerful sense of urgency in getting this Curbside Classic written. It’s to document the remarkable horde of old Mercedes W123 diesels hereabouts, most of them proudly sporting a biodiesel sticker.  But the biodiesel fad was already waning substantially when I shot this car a year ago. And since the $1/gallon federal subsidy for biodiesel disappeared with the new year, biodiesel itself is at risk of becoming a CC (canola classic?). Congress is currently considering a renewal, but regardless, Mercedes W123s will still be around. In fact they may well be the last internal combustion engine cars running long after Peak Oil is a distant warm and fuzzy memory. Without being uncharitable, these cars are the automotive cockroaches: they’ll eat the grease out of your dirty frying pan, and you can’t hardly kill them. (Read More…)

Sorry about the lateness of tonight’s clue. You Easterners are probably in bed by now, but the left coasters will take up the slack. Speaking of slack, Loser guessed the Ford cop car on the first comment. That makes you a Winner! Hopefully, it won’t go quite so quickly tonight.

Jim Sikes’ Prius high-speed dash to fame or infamy is a media hype-fest, with wild swings in sentiment from Toyota bashing to Sikes trashing. The rush to judgment is innately human, and Sikes certainly makes an easy target. But in the process, very little effort has been made to analyze what actually happened, or what might have actually happened, on the basis of the facts rather than Jim Sikes’ financial history and sexual proclivities. (Read More…)

Grand Prix, GTO, Firebird, LeMans, Catalina 2+2, Bonneville. The names instantly evoke automotive excitement — provided you were an enthusiast between the ages of six and sixty during the sixties. For today’s pistonheads, these storied names; indeed, the entire Pontiac brand long lost its adrenal association long before it was euthanized. Bob Lutz’ attempts to inject some life into the once-storied excitement division all came to naught: GTO, Solstice and G8. He might as well have been mainlining meth into Pontiac, but decades of budget-priced, badge-engineered mediocrity had taken their toll. Pontiac’s fall from grace may not be the worst (best?) example of GM’s branding cataclysm, but it’s certainly one of the most emotive. Pass the Kleenex. (Read More…)

We can’t all be Irv Gordon, who’s racked up over 2.6 million miles on his 1966 Volvo P1800 since buying it new. And that was in 2007;  he plans to hit 3 million (full press release here) sometime in 2012. I’m certainly not going to impress anybody in this QOTD: the ’66 Ford F-100 probably has about 225k on it (I’m assuming it spun once around before I bought it in 1987), and I only average a couple thousand miles a year with it (I can only use so much mulch or gravel a year). Stephanie’s 2000 Forester just turned 130k. And my five-year old xB has all of 33k on it; working at home has its benefits. But what about you? What’s the highest mile car a TTAC reader owns now? Or ever did? No exaggeration please!

Bad weather frustrating your itch to work on the project car? ADD scare you away from building a kit car? Always wanted a Saab 900 Turbo? The solution is at hand: download the complete kit here, print it on some heavier stock than usual, get out the X-acto knife and some glue, and build away. Bonus: First person to e-mail me (curbsideclassics@gmail.com)  a picture of their completed kit will get a posting celebrating their accomplishment. Thanks to hemmings.blog

If you need help in the form of what the final product is supposed to look like, it’s after the jump: (Read More…)

Thinking about a Dodge Neon racking up 500k miles is a bit like imagining Britney Spears celebrating a golden wedding anniversary. Dodge Neons just don’t come to mind when thinking about hi-mileage cars. But with a bit of dedication and understanding, cars with a rep seem to run forever for the right owner.  Here’s a 1998 Dodge Neon R/T (no less) with 446,000 miles on it, and that was last July. And that’s with the original engine, no less, in case you were wondering. OK, there is a bit of a secret to the owners’ success: it’s their sixth Neon, so they’re familiar with all their hidden warts. (Read More…)

Reuters reports that Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas along with private attorneys filed the first U.S. consumer protection lawsuit against Toyota USA. The main charge is that Toyota has endangered the public by selling defective vehicles and engaged in deceptive business practices. From the 18 page suit filed Friday morning:

“Against this backdrop of fraud and concealment, Toyota has for decades touted its reputation for safety and reliability and knew that people bought its vehicles because of that reputation and yet purposefully chose to conceal and suppress the existence and nature of defects,”

The suit seeks to restrain Toyota “from continuing to endanger the public through the sale of defective vehicles and deceptive business practices.” Toyota said it has no immediate comment. (Read More…)

There’s lots of places to find old cop car photos, but I was perusing a 1953 Popular Science at bed time the other night, and remembered a story about the just-opened NJ turnpike and its new fleet of cop cars. Here are one of each of the fleet of 23 Fords and stealthy Chryslers. The Fords came with Mercury engines installed; their 255 cubic inch flathead V8s had a whopping 125 hp instead of the stock Ford 110 hp. The also had dual exhausts, “souped up rear ends”, and heavy duty cooling systems. The ten unmarked Chryslers “are capable of 120 mph”, which I wouldn’t question given their 180 hp hemi engines. Three “portable” radar timers (roadside, not hand-held) were also in the arsenal. And every trooper was trained in auto mechanics as part of the training; they would have known how to stop their runaway car.

Old Popular Sciences are a treasure trove of the bizarre and curious, reflecting American’s folksy inventiveness. I couldn’t resist scanning just two of these and sharing: (Read More…)

Finding Andy Griffith’s cop car on the streets of Eugene wasn’t exactly high on my predictability scale. But I’ve finally thrown that away, and nothing surprises me anymore. As far as I know, Deputy Barney Fife grew a ponytail, headed to Eugene and is using his old Mayberry cruiser in a ruse to keep the cops away from his grow operation. But there it sits, and it being Cop Car Friday, it’s now yours to ponder its existence on a side street off 1st Ave. But since its light isn’t flashing  and might not hold your attention sufficiently, let’s also do a mini-history of the cop car. (Read More…)