TALL TAILS, LOW RIDES & KOOL KATS!

Posted on May 30, 2018 by MartynL

Map your course for a Concours d’Elegance then head 180° in the opposite direction. That’s how you get to a car show like 35th Annual West Coast Kustoms’ Cruisin' Nationals, blogs Jim Palam. It’s the multifariousness of Car Culture that makes it so appealing to so many people. And it’s the people as much as the cars that make the 2018 Cruisin Nationals such a fun three-day event. There’s the Santa Maria City Cruise on Friday night, the Show-n-Shine on Saturday and Sunday – plus a swap meet, ven...

’87 GNX REDUX: DRIVING BUICK GNX #002!

Posted on March 21, 2018March 21, 2018 by MartynL

Scott Oldham recalls his GNX driving experience and being the first to be involved in a GNX fender bender. That’s something he’ll never forget. Neither will I. In 1987 I handled media relations for Buick on the east coast, wrote the BUICK GNX book that went with each of the 547 GNXs and had #002 in my New York City press fleet. The first media loan went to Joe Oldham at Popular Mechanics magazine, and son Scott, later to become a respected member of the automotive media community, borrowed it t...

’19 CORVETTE ZR1: KING OF THE ROAD & TRACK!

Posted on February 1, 2018 by MartynL

The ‘19 Corvette ZR1 set a production-car lap record on the 4.1-mile Grand Course West at Virginia International Raceway with a time of 2:37.25. Along with a harness bar and track seats with five-point harnesses, the record-setting stock ZR1 coupe was equipped with the available paddle-shift eight-speed automatic and ZTK Performance Package. The ZTK package includes an adjustable carbon-fiber High Wing, a front splitter with carbon-fiber end caps, Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 summer-only tires, a...

ARCHIE URCIUOLI: RRDC 2017 BOB AKIN AWARD WINNER!

Posted on January 25, 2018 by MartynL

Archie Urciuoli, an SCCA racer in the 1950s and 1960s, a former Marine, and head of a private investment and consulting firm, was named the 2017 recipient of the RRDC Bob Akin Award. He was presented the award at the annual Road Racing Drivers Club members' dinner last evening, prior to the running of the Rolex 24 At Daytona, the season opener of the 2018 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Each recipient of this honor, considered the top award in motorsports for amateur, vintage/histori...

FOR SALE: FORD TUNGSTEN & HERITAGE GTs!

Posted on September 28, 2017September 28, 2017 by MartynL

Limited-edition '06 Ford Tungsten & Heritage GTs celebrated iconic wins at Le Mans for Ford and rarely come up for sale. Here’s a pair that have hardly been driven. Bill Kolb, Jr. has for more than half-a-century been involved in the carguy world as a hot rodder, drag racer, innovator, new car salesman and Ford and Subaru new car dealer. During the 1960s he was best known for campaigning Ford factory racecars: A 427 Galaxie Lightweight, followed by 427 Thunderbolt. Working with Carroll Shel...

JD CLASSICS: GT40 WINS SPA CLASSIC!

Posted on September 19, 2017September 19, 2017 by MartynL

JD Classics took two victories at Spa Francorchamps in Belgium this weekend, including overall victory with a GT40 in the 25th anniversary of the Spa Six Hours race. The team’s Ford GT40 won the Six Hours, while their Costin Lister took victory in the Stirling Moss/Woodcote Trophy race. Racing success at Spa Francorchamps follows JD Classics victory and two second-place finishes at Goodwood Revival the previous weekend The team’s Ford GT40 was driven by Chris Ward and Andrew Smith. Celebrati...

’63 PONTIAC SD-421: SWISS CHEESE LITE!

Posted on June 27, 2017 by MartynL

Production of lightweight ’63 Super-Duty Pontiacs was extremely limited, but high-profile racer Mickey Thompson got the first two. One of those featured here is in the Factory Lightweight Collection. Roger Huntington writing in Hi-Performance CARS is often credited with first using “Swiss Cheese” to describe lightened Super-Duty Pontiacs. It came to him after he counted 120 holes drilled in the perimeter frame of Royal Pontiac’s Catalina, driven by Jim Wangers. A total of 18 aluminum body parts...

GREEN4U/PANOZ: ELECTRIC RACECAR!

Posted on June 15, 2017 by MartynL

Don Panoz reveals his ‘plug-in and play’ Concepts for road & track at Le Mans. Green4U Technologies, Inc., formed in 2016 to provide electric vehicles (EVs) and EV technologies, and Panoz, a Green4U company, today unveiled an all-electric racecar concept with the goal of delivering performance and range similar to internal combustion engine and hybrid powertrain racecars. And be able to compete in long-distance endurance races. Chairman Don Panoz unveiled the new racecar concept this mo...

LYNN ST. JAMES: RACER, AUTHOR & MENTOR!

Posted on June 11, 2017June 11, 2017 by MartynL

Our racer-in-residence, Stephen Cox, chats with Lyn St. James about everything Indycar. Indycar fans fell in love with Lyn St. James in 1992 when she won Indy 500 Rookie of the Year and kicked off a decade-long open-wheel career that would eventually include nine starts at the Brickyard. She worked her way up through the road racing ranks, starting with a 1970s Ford Pinto. It took four years of sponsor hunting before she was able to land an Indy ride with Dick Simon Racing, which specialized ...

‘17 AUDI A8L 3.0T: OLD SCHOOL MAGIC!

Posted on June 10, 2017 by MartynL

There’s an all-new A8 on the way, but it’ll be hard to beat the current version of this high-luxe limo, blogs Road Test Editor Howard Walker. It’s no secret that Audi will be pulling the silk off an all-new A8 flagship next month. Word has it that not only will the car have a polarizing, love-it-or-hate-it new design, but it’ll pack more computing power than a Google server farm, allowing it to move one step closer to fully automated driving. One of its multitude of ground-breaking featu...