CarPort

I don’t usually give much attention to the so-called supercars, Ferraris, Duesenbergs, Corvettes and the like, for they all have their own very substantial constituencies. I don’t even dote on Mustangs, except to appreciate their Falcon origins. As a result I was not wildly excited when invited to visit the Shelby American Collection. By the….
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Although Hudson’s Essex was certainly the first of the so-called companion cars, it’s often Lasalle, the Cadillac companion, that comes first to mind. Introduced for 1927, it was the first hurrah for a young Harley Earl, recently discovered as a talented designer. In fact, LaSalle is generally credited as the first truly designed car, one….
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The whole world knows the US automobile industry is in trouble (and that everyone else’s isn’t far behind). I took particular interest, then, in this year’s New York International Auto Show, to see what the manufacturers themselves would say about the subject. Their attitudes were telling. Most candid was Chrysler. Vice president Jim Press drove….
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We’ve studied Chrysler’s Fluid Drive before, both early and late versions. You’ll notice, however, that Plymouth is mentioned only in passing, having missed out on all the variants that fall under the Fluid Drive label. This is probably because Plymouth was an inexpensive car whose customers were least likely to spend money to avoid shifting.….
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By 1916, the Hudson Motor Car Company had established itself, according to the advertising, as the “world’s largest builder of six-cylinder cars.” Not only had the company produced the massive 421 cubic inch Six-54, it had pioneered the counterbalanced crankshaft with the much smaller Super Six. Company president Roy Chapin there might also be a….
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In 1942, Chevrolet introduced a new model that would profoundly affect the make’s product range for the rest of the decade. We’re referring to the strikingly-trimmed fastback Fleetline Aerosedan, companion to the notchback Fleetline Sportmaster sedan. The Sportmaster, a “four window” sedan, was a more decorated version of 1941’s Fleetline sedan, a mid-year introduction to….
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Except for avid bikers, to most Americans the word “Triumph” calls to mind a nifty little TR-2, 3, 4 or 6. (There was no TR-5 here; our version of the six-cylinder TR-4 was the carbureted TR-250.) In fact, the name was seldom found on ordinary passenger cars.Even in the cars’ British homeland, the company’s name….
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A late winter storm blew through New England this past Monday, leaving behind some six to nine inches of damp snow here in southern Connecticut. Some of us are anxious for spring and were sorry to see it come. For Dennis David, however, it was a dream come true, for the popular school teacher and….
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Have you ever fancied your own car company? Word has it that Saab is for sale. Last week, after the Swedish government declined to issue a bailout package, parent company General Motors consigned the Saab unit to the Swedish equivalent of Chapter 11. “[I]t was determined a formal reorganization would be the best way to….
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During last fall’s presidential campaign we had our choice of mavericks. Senator and presidential candidate John McCain had made his political name as one, but once he chose Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate there were arguments over which one was the greater maverick. In the end it didn’t matter, but it could be….
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