I’ve been harvesting car clocks at junkyards for a few years now, stockpiling them for a project that requires at least two dozen functioning timepieces. Here’s one of the prizes of my collection. Believe it or not, this elderly mechanical clock, from a country not known for reliable machinery, still works! So, guess the year/make/model of the car that yielded this fine clock for my collection, then make the jump to see if you were right. Read More >

Yesterday on Name That Car Clock, we went to Germany for a subdued ’84 VW Golf timepiece. Today, we’re going… well, that’s for you to decide. Guess the year/make/model of this clock, than make the jump to see if you guessed correctly. Read More >

Yesterday, we saw a majestic Cartier chronometer out of a ’76 Lincoln Continental Mark IV, which was a pretty easy call for many of you. Today’s NTCC contestant should be a little more difficult, though it should be an obvious call to certain single-marque-obsessed types. Make your guess, then make the jump to see what it is. Year/make/model? Read More >

In our last episode of Name That Car Clock, we admired the Jeco analog timepiece out of a 1978 Toyota Corona wagon. That was quite a clock, but it looks pretty drab next to today’s entry. This should be a pretty easy call for you students of the Malaise Era (there’s a hint), so let’s hear your best guess about year/make/model for this designer-edition clock. Answer after the jump! Read More >

I’ve been pulling car clocks from junked cars for several years now, gathering them for a seriously unnecessary sculpture project, and now I’ve got 50 or so of the things in boxes in my office. We started this series with this 1980 Toyota Cressida fluorescent digital clock, made by Jeco, and now I’m going to make it a regular series. Today’s clock is also a Jeco, but this one is a handsome analog unit with a weird conical plastic faceplate. Before you make the jump and see the answer, guess what year/make/model car produced this clock! Read More >

Unless you hate cars and live under a rock, you have undoubtedly seen the recent pictures of the Porsche 911 whose driver tried to take a shortcut through freshly poured concrete. It has been emailed, Facebook’d and even posted on my own message board with snarky comments about the arrogance and ignorance of Porsche owners.

With good reason, Porsche owners are jerks. Read More >

Back in September, I wrote about my search for a 1990s Japanese luxury car as a daily driver, with the Infiniti Q45, Lexus LS400, and Acura RL as the main contenders. Five months later, I’ve made my choice. Read More >

Long-time TTACers know that it’s usually possible to request your humble author as an instructor at any TrackDAZE event. If you secretly want to beat me up, and you’re too lazy to drive to central Ohio, this can be a good way to save yourself a trip. I will be attending several of their 2012 events with my anything but trusty Boxster Anniversary Edition and/or my Plymouth Neon racer.

This year, however, the nice people at TrackDAZE have a new option for instruction, and it’s an even better idea than letting me boss you and your triple-supercharged Corvette Z07 around VIR.

Read More >

One of the most famous cars in the world is one of the most despised cars on my very short list of despised cars.

Hell – who am I kidding? I love all old cars more than most people.

But I don’t love the General Lee. Read More >

I’ve got a truly ridiculous car-parts-based project in the works, a project that requires several dozen functioning vintage car clocks. For about three years now, I’ve been hitting junkyards with an 8xAA battery pack, so I can hit car clocks with 12 volts and see if they’re worth buying. Most (>80% of analogs, 50% of digitals) fail, but enough have passed that I’ve got a couple of boxes full of functional European, Japanese, and Detroit car clocks. It will be decades a while before I get around to building The Great Car Clock Project, so I’m going to show off some of the better vehicular timepieces while testing the TTAC’s readership’s anorakian car knowledge. Today’s Mystery Clock won’t be a huge challenge, but it’s one of my favorites. Quickly: Year, make, model of the car that donated this Jeco digital?

This Desoto has four wheel disc brakes and is the nicest Detroit iron I found...

(Some of the best stories in TTAC are told by the Best & Brightest, our readers. Many a TTAC career (mine included) started with a comment, then the odd story, and before you know it … Today’s story is from Ted Grant a.k.a. Maybelater. He sent in some pictures from a trip to Cuba. Maybelater is Canadian, he’s allowed to.

When asked for a few words, Ted said he’s not a writer. Then, he wrote the email that follows.

If you have a good story to tell, in words, pictures, or both, send it to me. It will be pro bono, but who knows, it could be the start of a glorious writing career. – BS)

I just returned from holidays in Cuba and snapped some shots of some vehicles in and around Santa Lucia. Most of the pre 1959 Detroit iron is heavily reworked and tired, but the fact that they are still in use is a testament to the original design engineers and the Cuban nationals’ ingenuity with limited resources. Our tour guide told us that even the ugliest POS vehicle that still runs commands big money and is a luxury for the locals. Some older cars have been handed down in families, but the majority of car owners have rich relatives in foreign countries that help them with the purchase. A typical 50’s Detroit ride runs 10 to 15 thousand so they are indeed a real luxury. Read More >

The 72 MG Midget beckoned to me from Craigslist like an opened pack of Oreos grinning from the cupboard. I ignored the wisdom of all my gearhead buddies, insisting the little yellow car would be different; it would not leak, not rust, and be as reliable as a nail.

Of course, it isn’t, it’s British. It stranded me six times, the lights don’t work and it usually requires help to start. That is life with an MG Midget.

But I was right. It is different. Read More >

I’ve played many a game of Buzzword Bingo with equally bored coworkers while stuck in 19-hour PowerPoint presentations, back when I slaved as a tech writer in the software biz. Why not apply this concept to a bingo game for car freaks trapped in a boring rental car on a road trip across one of those states that’s nothing but cornfields? Read More >

After officiating at 24 Hours of LeMons races for three years now, I’ve seen every possible style of escaped connecting rod. Through the oil pan, out the side of the block, out both sides of the block, engine internals ground into random metallic hash, you name it. There’s something weirdly beautiful about the sight of an engine that gave its all on the race track, and so I’ve photographed as many thrown-rod victims as possible. What to do with those photos? Why, make them into computer desktop wallpaper files, in all the most common monitor resolutions! Read More >

A couple months back, I visited Southern California as part of a triangular journey from Denver to the Skankaway Anti-Toe-Fungal 500 24 Hours of LeMons. Mazda’s PR flacks handed me the keys to an RX-8 at LAX (review coming soon, really) and I pointed the car’s nose south, heading beyond the Orange Curtain. Since the Impala Hell Project began while I was an art student at the University of California, Irvine and I was devoted to lowering Irvine’s property values while I was there, I figured I’d pay a visit to Mazda USA HQ in Irvine and see about lowering their property values. Read More >