Spotting and hunting down interesting cars is hard but fulfilling work. I was driving to lunch yesterday and noticed a glimpse of bright red one block and three cars behind me. The unique headlamp was enough for me to realize that I’ve spotted a 280ZX. As it pulled into the large strip mall behind me, I doubled back, quickly surveyed the parking lot, and saw its owners alight from the Datsun Nissan grand tourer. … Continue Reading
This past weekend, I had a homecoming in more than one sense. Firstly, of course, I went back home to Kalamazoo, Michigan to visit a friend for his birthday. Being just minutes from my childhood home, I had to stop in for a hot meal cooked by my tremendous mother (happy early mothers day, Mom!). Every time I go home, I like to pick up a few more of my things. First, it helps unclutter their home, and secondly, it always gives me an opportunity for nostalgia.
This time, I was sitting at my old desk when I came across these five photos that I had seriously forgotten I owned. I don’t know much about these photos, except that they were taken by my father in the late 1980s. These photos were my second homecoming. I had a homecoming of the automotive persuasion, as I grew up a Mustang fan under the fierce tutelage of my stern Mustang loving dad.
We’re nearing the end of the megalomaniacal photo post bonanza of early May. And as no US car cruise is complete without a dedicated Corvette parade, that’s exactly what we’re seeing here.
The first one to be posted is a cool-as-hell sunshine yellow Corvette C2. Perfect colour combination right there.
Right now, it feels like the Toyotabaruion FRZ-86 is the car of the moment. It’s got the basics right: a reasonabru four-cylinder engine, rear wheel drive and a sleek fastback two-door shape. I do think it’s got too much of the 2010s kinetic ADD design feature gadgetry about it, as there’s hardly a clean angle on it, but it’s a step in the right direction.
Thing is, I want and expect other manufacturers to continue in that direction. I need them to. The Eclipse is dead, but being a Celica competitor it never was the same thing, was it? Mazda’s most likely doing something with an RX-8 replacement. Nissan should make something that fits the Silvia bloodline, since it’s now been without a pulse for years after the S15 was phased out.
Here, then, we have something Silvia-related that still looks good after all these years. It’s a 1989 200SX and it’s got the right bits everywhere.
While this olelongrooffan was up in The Hoosier State checking out trailer manufacturing plants and taking some images of trailers we have sold but will never see again, I spotted something lurking behind one of the cars in the parking lot.
I have been told by multiple sources that this picture is real. I once reheated, toasted if you will, a sandwich wrapped in aluminum foil on an exhaust manifold… with mixed results. And now I’m hungry. Have a nice weekend and happy BBQing everyone.
[Source: OneHotLap.com]
Over at Hatchtopia, I’ve ruminated a number of times on an idea that I have – that there used to be a far greater selection of hatchback vehicles than there are today. I don’t have any numerical evidence to back that theory, but I know it to be true. It used to be that a car buyer could walk into nearly any dealership in the United States and find at least one mainstream vehicle available in a hatchback configuration. I’m not talking about low-volume sports coupes or niche rides, but rather a 4- or 5- seat compact or midsized car with 3- or 5- doors.
Twenty years from now we may be looking for an unmolested one of these on Craigslist, if not for ourselves then perhaps for our sons or daughters (wow). In the mean time, let’s take a closer look at this car these two vehicles which were specifically designed with the practical and cheap enthusiast in mind.
You already know that they’re basically the same cars and the only differences are in styling and equipment. Both have the Subaru pancake 200hp engine matched to a proper 6-speed transmission. Automatic transmission is available for losers people unable to operate three pedals with two feet.
These two cars can be divided into three trim levels: The base, which is the Scion FR-S, and two versions of the Subaru BRZ, the Premium and the Limited. The Scion FR-S starts at $24,930 (with shipping). That price gets you standard safety and convenience features which include an iPod connection and Bluetooth. No other details are specified at this point – I couldn’t even tell if it comes with a limited slip diff.
Both of the Subaru BRZ versions come well equipped. Included are leather wrapped steering wheel, shift knob and e-brake handle. Both come with an after-market-ish looking navigational system, HD radio, USB and BT. Both also come with a limited-slip diff and HIDs. All that is $26,280 with shipping. Step up to the Limited and you get Leather and Alcantara® seats, remote entry, rear spoiler, and fog lights for $28,280.
Other differences come in styling, and this is where my friend Jeff Butler comes in. Jeff is an industrial designer by trade and his spare time runs a blog called Motoriginal. While at the New York International Auto Show, he shared some of his design expertise on the differences between these two cars:
Welcome to another Fastback Friday, and this particular car was an accidental discovery. I usually look for cars that are a bit on the oddball side of the equation, like Other Makes, or Imperials, or Corvairs for that matter. However, I decided to look at mid 60s Fords for a possible weekend theme, when I saw this listing, and decided to share it with all of you on the most appropriate day possible… Fastback Friday!
For a change, it’s time to feature a sporty coupe that never was sold in the States. A lot of my sightings have been US-made cars or something that was available there in another guise, but the GM-sourced and sometimes Finnish-built Opel Calibra isn’t something that can be seen sitting by the side of the road in your corner of the earth, dear American readers.
It’s hardly super-exotic, since the powertrain and platform is all A-Generation Opel Vectra. Everything oily on it can probably be traced down to a Saturn near you, but the aerodynamic shape is one that’s to my taste. When it debuted in 1989, the base Calibra had a drag coefficient of 0.26, which made it the most aerodynamic production car until it bettered by the first-generation Honda Insight. Amongst Euroboxes, it’s a slick fish. I really like the rising rear flank meeting the C-pillar arch, too.
But despite being nearly teflon-coated when it came to splitting air, the Calibra had rust stick on it like nobody’s business. Another thing it had was a sometimes-fragile drivetrain, made worse by merciless owners due to the low residual values of used, slightly rusty Opels. It’s rare to see a Calibra these days that hasn’t had a tough life, and this example is pretty much at the end of its road.
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