The Buick Gran Sport had Pontiac to thank. The latter’s GTO was the first muscle car. As such, it saw a big-block V8 fitted in a medium-sized chassis. The result was hard-punching power – at …
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Buick Gran Sport
Cord 810
Errett Cord was a man on a mission. To get rich – or die trying! Maverick to his core, cars were one of several saucers he was spinning. Cord may not have loved cars unconditionally …
Continue readingAMC AMX
To all intents and purposes, the AMX was a stripped-down AMC Javelin. It was a foot shorter – and weighed a lot less. On its release – in February ’68 – it was the sole …
Continue readingExcalibur SS
The Excalibur SS was styled by Brooks Stevens – one of the great industrial designers. Stevens was prolific, to say the least. In the course of his 61 years in the profession, he amassed 550 …
Continue readingPlymouth Prowler
The Plymouth Prowler was a hot rod for the new millennium. Tom Gale was head of design at Chrysler – Plymouth’s parent company. He had long been a hot rod aficionado – and was especially …
Continue readingCadillac Eldorado Biarritz
The Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz was one outrageous roadster. Launched in ’59, it looked like a Saturn space-rocket. Certainly, you could have seen it coming from a mile away. Not that it would have arrived as …
Continue readingEdsel
In brand-name terms, the Edsel and Mercury were peas from the same pod. In reality, the Edsel was made by Ford. Technically, though, Edsel was a marque in its own right. Certainly, it was sold …
Continue readingChevrolet Corvair
Sadly, the Chevrolet Corvair did not deliver on its potential. That was down to the fact that it garnered a reputation for oversteer. Pro motoring whistle-blower Ralph Nader pounced all over the Corvair’s alleged defects. …
Continue readingHudson Commodore
Founded in 1909, Hudson was a middling motor car manufacturer. Up until ’48, that is. Which is when their Step Down models were launched. Overnight, Hudson became a byword for cool. Even the bottom-of-the-range Pacemaker …
Continue readingDodge Viper
Chrysler recruited Carroll Shelby as consultant for their Dodge Viper project. Previously, he had been linchpin of the AC Cobra. Shelby lavished what he had learned from the Cobra onto the Viper – in terms …
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