Articles

  • Race, Daily, Restore: 4-Door Rotaries

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    When we think of Wankel rotary engines, usually what comes to mind are sporty coupes, compact econoboxes, (or perhaps mini-pickups, if you’re particular twisted). But there was a time that the Torqueless Wonder was considered a viable means of propelling a crew of four or more, with vier Türen or shi doa. Today, your trilemma…

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  • Race, Daily, Restore: I Say Aluminum, You Say Aluminium

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    The aluminum 215 c.i. V8 that GM developed in the late ’50’s debuted to much fanfare for the 1961 model year, but the design and tooling was solely owned by Rover in the U.K. by early 1965. Rover, which had lobbied hard to purchase the lightweight wonder, undoubtedly ended up getting the better end of…

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  • Race, Daily, Restore: 4-Door Pillarless Hardtops

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    Rollover safety requirements, CAFE standards, and the quest for quieter cabins have killed the pillarless hardtop, especially the four-door variety. But having been allowed to drive my family’s 1973 Pontiac Bonneville 4-door hardtop throughout my teen years, I can assure you that the automotive world is the worse for it. There is a uniquely blissful…

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  • Race, Daily, Restore: Three Turismos

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    One need not be a native of Italy to figure out that Tourismo is Italian for tourism or touring. Evidently, you don’t have to be an Italian car maker to use the word to name your vehicles, either, since only one of our three candidates this week hails from that Mediterranean peninsula. The other two…

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  • Race, Daily, Restore: Economy Spec Oddballs

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    The progression from base model to top-of-the-line is usually quite logical and linear, wherein every model adds desirable content in an additive progression. But every once in a while manufacturers (or customers) take crazy pills and concoct specialized models that are, um, not so special. Oddball, low-power, decontented editions rarely sell in large numbers, or…

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  • Race, Daily, Restore: Sprinty Freshness

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    Sprinters are fast. Maybe they’re not the fastest over the long haul, but for the short time they run, they run faster than anybody. In motorsport, sprint races are short, but intense. Today, we have three very different cars, all of which wore the word Sprint as part of their name, either as a trim…

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  • Race, Daily, Restore: Modern Pentathletes

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    Five cylinder engines were once an oddity. Over the last quarter of the Twentieth century, they became fairly common, especially in European cars. Today we ponder the merits of this middle ground between fours and sixes. Your trio of candidates, in no particular order, are: 1993 Volvo 850 Turbo – 2.4L Turbo I-5, 168 hp…

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  • Race, Daily, Restore: Tenth Anniversary Editions

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    Today, our theoretical conundrum features a trio of 10th anniversary specials: the 1988 Mazda RX-7, 1980 Datsun 280ZX, and 1979 Pontiac Trans Am. A decade in production is not all that remarkable for a model line, so the somewhat lame nature of these limited editions is probably par for the course. All of these aspired…

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  • Race, Daily, Restore: What's Your Type?

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    Sometimes, a car’s type is just that: the general category into which it falls. But sometimes, “Type” is part of its actual identity, so named to differentiate it from other models or trim lines. Here we have three very different cars that wore their Type proudly: The 1982-86 Toyota Supra P-Type (differentiating it from the…

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  • Race, Daily, Restore: Pioneering AWD Passenger Cars

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    Our second weekly edition of Race, Daily, Restore features three early all-wheel drive passenger cars. There was a time when rear-wheel drive was standard for cars, front-wheel drive was remarkable, and 4WD on trucks meant getting out and locking the front hubs before venturing into the snow and muck. But that changed, thanks to the…

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