’72 PONTIAC FIREBIRD, FORMULA & TRANS AM

Posted on August 19, 2025 by MartynL

Arguably, 1972 was the last year of the great ones. The ’72 PONTIAC FIREBIRD, FORMULA & TRANS AM, however, still delivered head-turning style, sporty car ride & handling, plus big-block performance! Chrysler and Ford followed GM with a vengeance, not only reducing compression ratios but killing some great engines and models. This resulted in GM’s carryover vehicles, including the ’72 PONTIAC FIREBIRD, FORMULA & TRANS AM, powered by underrated engines, dominating the marketpl...

BUICK GNX #002

Posted on May 21, 2025May 21, 2025 by MartynL

Scott Oldham blogs about driving BUICK GNX #002, the first GNX to be involved in a traffic accident! In 1987, I was handling East Coast media relations for Buick Motor Division, wrote the BUICK GNX book that went with each of the 547 GNXs, and had the second production GNX (#002) in my New York City press fleet for a few months. 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 communi...

’70 BUICK STAGE 1 SKYLARK & GSX

Posted on May 21, 2025May 21, 2025 by MartynL

Targeting the Olds W-30 4-4-2, Chevy SS454 Chevelle, and other max-perf Motown Muscle, the ’70 BUICK STAGE 1 SKYLARK & GSX catapulted Buick into the heat of the battle for Supercar supremacy. The ’70 BUICK STAGE 1 SKYLARK & GSX, in 360 horsepower trim, were the industry’s first “adult” Supercars. It was a powerful, high-quality, well-balanced midsize coupe (or convertible) with superb ride and handling qualities. While the GS-455 was almost invisible compared with competitive of...

FRED MACKERODT, A LIFE WELL-LIVED.

Posted on January 10, 2024January 11, 2024 by MartynL

A bid farewell to a colleague, a mentor and a friend: FRED MACKERODT, A LIFE WELL-LIVED. Frederick T. “Fred” Mackerodt died peacefully at home in upstate New York on Christmas Day, December 25, 2023, surrounded by loving friends. Born on September 17, 1938 in Brooklyn, New York, he and his former wife of 35 years, Christy Woods Mackerodt, resided at the Stone House Farm in Chester, New York, and in New York City. Fred was respected as a creative communicator, founder and president of...

’70 BUICK STAGE I GS-455 – FIRST ADULT SUPERCAR

Posted on April 28, 2023 by MartynL

Certainly not in keeping with Buick’s traditional image, the ’70 BUICK STAGE I GS-455 – FIRST ADULT SUPERCAR catapulted the Flint automaker into the heat of the battle for Supercar supremacy. The Skylark GS-455, in 360 horsepower Stage I trim, was the industry’s first “adult” Supercar. It was a powerful, high-quality, well-balanced midsize coupe (or convertible) with superb ride and handling qualities. Yet it was almost invisible compared with competitive offerings like the SS Chevelle,...

’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...

MUSCLECARS 101: BACK IN THE DAY!

Posted on May 29, 2017May 29, 2017 by MartynL

Musclecar was barely part of enthusiast vernacular when iconic GTOs, Hemis and Camaros and Mustangs were new and prowled the streets. Today, it’s the only word used to define those ground-pounding Supercars and Ponycars. When Pontiac built the GTO in 1964 they jump-started Detroit’s performance car revolution; the Supercar was born. That same year, Ford gave us the Mustang. It became the quintessential Ponycar. It was Supercars and Ponycars, period. Musclecar was the catchall descriptor used ...