Nature favors traveling in multiples; loners are at risk of death, or running down their energy sources, and unable to share their stored resources. To really appreciate the charge that traveling in twos can provide, make the jump (literally): (Read More…)

N.B. In anticipation of Saab’s (inevitable) demise, we’re going to have Dead Brands Week at CC.

We’ll start off Dead Brands Week with a royal Rover triple bang, with this Sterling zombie corpse. When it comes to persistence (idiocy) in trying to flog dead corpses in the US, Rover absolutely takes the cake. It took three US deaths to finally convince Britain’s favorite maker of cars (and its government medium-wigs) to give up the ghost. The last attempt, Sterling, is the classic English car disaster story. Despite Rover’s intentions to avoid the usual pitfalls, by building an essentially reskinned Honda/Acura Legend, they still managed to create the ultimate rolling clap-trap English nightmare. (Read More…)

The RR “radiator” just won’t die. Now Eugene may be a great place to find Datsun 710 wagons and steam injected Bobcats, but its not so hot for garish Caddys. We’re just about as far from south Florida as you can get, in almost every way, and still call ourselves Americans (Alaska and Hawaii excepted, of course). Of course, that’s the overwhelming genius of America: everyone can find just the right place for them. Old Datsuns congregate here, garish Caddys there. Well there are a few exceptions, and the best place to find them is in the Medical Center parking lot. I know this is far from earth-shatteringly gauche, but its pretty rare stuff hereabouts. Although I do have a killer Eldo Biarritz that I’m saving for a CC. These are just outtakes after all. The other obligatory padded-top Caddy in the same lot after the jump: (Read More…)

We’ve had our Saab wake, so its time to move on to the Requiem. And what could be more fitting than Saab’s own “Saab Suite”. This 1987 video launched the Saab Performance Team demonstrations, but the original, like most things in life, remains the best.

Can’t we just be done with this Saab story? Reuters reports that Spyker has submitted a new bid to GM for Saab. And GM has commented on it. You can choose to ignore this story, safe in the knowledge that the odds of this deal coming together are not likely any better than the last one, or you can make the jump and read the details: (Read More…)

My tribute to Saab was the Saab 96 Curbside Classic. But I’ll excerpt the first and last paragraphs here as well as my parting Saab memory: (Read More…)

The great thing about cars from seventies is that they make the cars from the fifties look…better. Here’s a nifty concept car from Chrysler, the 1956 (not so) Plainsman. It was Virgil Exner’s take on the wagon, and gave a glimpse of the direction Chrysler’s radical 1957 models would take. And it can be yours! It’s coming to auction on Jan 22. More shots: (Read More…)

I admit, I got it wrong with the Shelby Ultimate being the new Bugazzi. Something about the $740k price and the predictability (unoriginality) of it made me pull the trigger too fast. This better?

We’ve wallowed in Bobcat inspired seventies nostalgia (or nausea), but that was just a little turd. If you really want to know what the seventies were all about you have to experience a taste of the huge wave of fine original artistic coach-crafted cars that enticed us. Perhaps the grandest (and most originally named) of them all was the Bugazzi, which contrary to a subversive and vicious rumor, had no connection whatsoever with a mere 1972 Lincoln Mark IV. And it can now be yours! The seller promises: “you will not be disappointed in this truly magnificent Barris creation!” All the gory details and pictures of its fine interior appointments follow:  (Read More…)

Today’s Supra CC is a humbling reminder that Toyota has stumbled before. With all the hoopla about Chrysler’s sales being down 38% this year, its easy to overlook that Scion’s sales are crashing, down 51% this year, and a whopping 66% since its peak in 2006. That year, Scion moved 173k of its youth-oriented cool-mobiles,even if most of them went to the target buyers’ parents. This year, Scion will be lucky to sell even 57k units. Time to prune the family tree? (Read More…)

Toyota’s failure to crack the US pony car market over the long term is one of its few major stumbles. When I found the pristine Celica Supra Mk I, and then ran across this sad looking and likely abandoned/stolen Mark III, I knew it was fated for me to do a three-parter on the first three generations of Toyota’s ill-fated pony car challenger. It took me a while to find the Mark II, but now we’re at the point of pulling the whole thread together. I’m far from an expert on the Mark III, so please add to the limited body of knowledge that I can muster or fake. One thing is clear: Toyota’s trajectory with the Supra led to a dead end, and that path started early on, perhaps right from the get-go. And the Mark III clearly marked the beginning of the end. (Read More…)

It’s over. The deal with Spyker (surprise) fell through, and GM has announced that Saab will be wound down and 218 US dealer closed. Automotive News reports: “We regret that we were not able to complete this transaction with Spyker Cars,” GM Europe President Nick Reilly said in a statement. “We will work closely with the Saab organization to wind down the business in an orderly and responsible manner.” (Read More…)

Would you set out for a drive with your low fuel light on, knowing there was no place to buy gas? That’s the painful reality many EV drivers are going to be faced with every morning after unplugging their fully-charged battery and heading out on the road. Most conventional cars have about 50 to 60 miles left after the gauge hits empty, plenty of time to find a gas station. But according to a Consumer Reports test of a Mitsubishi i-MIEV, the stated range of 100 miles with a full battery is more like 60 or 50 under typical conditions, if you consider using lights at night, indulging in heat or A/C, or driving at 65 mph typical. I do. And so will most drivers. Disappointment with their $40k electric mini-car is inevitable. Just don’t say Darryl Siry or I didn’t warn you: (Read More…)