The new Porsche Tequipment two-person roof tent comes in a sleek hard case that was developed at Porsche's performance-oriented Weissach Development Center to be more aerodynamic than your average overlanding setup.
The Mille Miglia was a dangerous race, not just for drivers but also for the spectators who pressed up to and over the edge of the roadway, to better see and feel and hear the cars hurtling by.
Happy Birthday, America! For Independence Day, we wanted to celebrate with an appropriate list. We thought we’d combine one of our favorite things—the automobile—with everyone’s favorite part of the Fourth of July (apart from, of course, our freedom from the redcoats).
The world is full of auto enthusiasts who love buying, tinkering with, and driving great cars from years gone by. But there’s more to it than that, or at least, there should be, and that’s been part of the Keepers mission from day one. Every now and again, stories crop up about enthusiasts driving hundreds of miles to deliver much-needed parts to someone they’ve never met, or clubs organizing tech meets to help get a fellow car nut back on the road, all with no thought of reward or financial gain. We mention this because the Pontiac Fiero community gets it; they get that it’s not enough to just love the car. Auto enthusiasts helping other enthusiasts—sometimes it’s better than actually driving the car, and sometimes, if the stars should happen to fall in line, something down right inspirational happens.
There are few automotive genres that polarize the motoring masses more than the one we’re about to discuss. Perhaps the word genre isn’t entirely accurate here, because the three vehicles featured in this comparison have, at one point or another, been labeled the following: crossover, sport-utility vehicle, compact, subcompact, five-door hatchback, station wagon, and our personal favorite, foxy boxy. (It’s possible we made that last category up.) What matters here is that these three cars are pretty much all of the above, making them a bit hard to pigeonhole. And therein lies the appeal for these, um, vehicles. They’re not status quo, they’re not cookie cutter, and while their love-it-or-hate-it styling isn’t for everyone, there’s no denying the sense of individuality these vehicles bestow upon their owners. So go ahead and label these non-conformist rides goofy, or hideous, or ugly, but don’t forget to include quirky, cool, and the most important descriptor of all, successful—especially in the youth market where individuality is everything.
As I stepped into the Lotus Evora, it occurred to me, as it might to you, that I knew the car had received its share of plaudits, but I wasn’t exactly sure what character was really being delivered. “Well”, thought I, “let’s see.”
You’ve seen Fieros. Most likely you’ve seen some for sale. You may even have spotted a Fiero priced so low that you thought about buying it, just to satisfy your long standing curiosity about this car. Of course, being priced so low, odds are the car needed something significant, like, say, a new engine and transmission, right? This could well be the case, but then again, maybe it isn’t.
I may have mentioned before that this rusty, red 1989 Taurus isn’t my first SHO. It may be a sport sedan with a spiffy engine, but I’ve been made aware (from a Toyota Avalon no less) that it’s no longer the rolling four-door superhero it once was. And to that end, I can only say that I really, really don’t care.
Ah yes, the glorious Fiero. Nothing says 1980’s poseur mobile better than a cheap version of the same-era Toyota MR2, and that’s not including the countless fiberglass body kits—some of which are truly craptastic—to have graced the pint-sized Pontiac over the years. It seems that even Fiero owners are embarrassed when sitting behind the wheel; what other reason would drive a person to shell out substantial coin for a Ferrari F-40 conversion kit designed by someone without depth perception? Have we totally lost our minds to call this car a Keeper?
Achtung! It’s time for a quick history lesson. 1915: Germany sinks the RMS Lusitania, ultimately drawing the United States into World War I. 1939: Germany invades Poland, igniting World War II. 1968: German automaker BMW sends the 2002 to U.S. shores. 1970: German automaker Audi enters the U.S. market for the first time.
Buying a cheap used car for daily duty—especially a sub-$1000 performance ride—is almost always a roll of the dice, but that’s exactly what I did in part 1 of this series. For some reason, the masochistic side of my personality loves the risk. Chalk it up to adrenaline or the thrill of the challenge, but it’s definitely part of what makes cheap car challenges so much fun. There are always surprises to be had. And, as with any new relationship, it takes time to uncover all those little mysteries and secrets. The Old ’89 is no exception, though I’m pleased to offer a positive report after nearly a month behind the wheel.
Life in the northern latitudes—or nosebleed elevations in the west and southwest—gets a bit more interesting during the winter months. Sure, you could pilot a rear-wheel-drive performance sleigh through snowy roads, much the same as you could go skydiving with a parachute packed by The Three Stooges. You may convince yourself that nothing bad will happen or that you can handle the consequences. Some people may even derive some excitement from the challenge.
The notion of finding a cheap car, fixing it up, and flipping it for cash has been a tried and true practice for shade tree mechanics since the early days of motoring. As the title suggests, our goal for this endeavor is to do just that, but being that this is Winding Road and not some generic used car sales guide, there’s a bit more to it than that.
With the launch of the sixth generation of the 5-Series, BMW has taken the time to celebrate the sale of 5.5 million total models over the course of five generations. As part of the celebration, some new images of past models have been released (which we have compiled in the gallery). BMW has also penned a piece on the history of the sedan which is sure to capture the hearts of Roundel-lovers everywhere.
There’s good news and bad news for Miata enthusiasts looking for club based camaraderie with which to share their roadster excitement. Despite being one of the most popular two-seat sports cars in the world, there is no single American Miata organization. This wasn’t always the case—the Miata Club of America served as a traditional owners club from 1989 through 2000, and when that organization went out of business, Mazda created the manufacturer-backed Miata Owners Club in 2001. That venture only lasted a year and a half, leaving Miata gearheads to rely on local clubs for their fix of automotive bliss.
The nice thing about the Mazda Miata is that no matter which flavor you go for, they all pretty much have that same elemental feel to them. In our first Miata piece we mentioned focusing on the second generation cars—they preserve that first generation featherweight feel while offering extra horsepower, tweaked handling, and a handsome list of available equipment akin to the current generation Miata. Yes, there’s something to be said for the character of the original car, and we know many Miata purists consider luxury items and safety systems to be automotive heresy, but the reality is the second generation Miata is just a damn fine automobile, and of the three generations on the market, it’s the one we would did pick.
We recently tried out the new 2011 Ford F-Series Super Duty, and found out that it is pretty tough. We took this video on our journey to a quarry in the Southwest. Those things each weigh 85,000 pounds. We were racing.
If we could choose only one car to represent the epitome of Winding Road’s philosophy, well, it wouldn’t be the Miata. But you can bet your driving gloves and designer sunglasses that the little Mazda would be in the top five, maybe even in the top three. Few cars in the past 20 years have captured the essence of basic, undiluted driving enjoyment as well as the Miata, and it should come as no surprise that this outstanding little machine isn’t just a Keeper, but an icon among motoring purists around the world.
Though we usually hear from him when camped out next to the Nürburgring in Germany, with various long-lenses at the ready, it seems that our trusty spy photographer Andreas had a bit of a vacation recently. The lucky photog sent us this cheerful set of photos today, telling us that he had recently spent a fun week driving this snow tire-equipped Lamborghini Murciélago in his home Sweden (at least that’s where we think he is).
Those who read the last two Keepers segments on the ZR-1 (here and here if you missed them) already have some familiarity with the premier Corvette ZR-1 enthusiast group, ZR-1 Net Registry. Aside from flooding our inboxes with gorgeous ZR-1 photos, the experts at the Registry are, well, experts. We’re not just talking about folks who may have owned a ZR-1 here or there, or host occasional backyard ZR-1 cookouts—ZR-1 Net Registry is also home to several members with various ties to the original ZR-1 program, and being affiliated with that kind of knowledge only makes ZR-1 ownership that much sweeter.
First things first; don’t expect to step into a Corvette ZR-1 for pocket change. The original 1990 model topped $60,000—double the cost of a regular Corvette and that ratio held true throughout the ZR-1’s production run, with the last models in 1995 actually nearing the $70,000 mark. Nor do these figures account for dealer markups of the day, some of which reportedly took the ‘Vette to six-figure price tags.
Take a close look at the title, and reserve your letters of correction until you finish reading this piece. We’re not talking about the current Corvette ZR1, which eliminates the hyphen according to GM’s present day alpha-numeric designations. Nor are we talking about the 1970-1972 Corvette, 53 of which were sold with an optional ZR1 package that swapped luxuries like power steering for performance upgrades. There’s only one generation of Corvette that used the designation ZR-1, and from 1990 through 1995 it positively ruled the roadways of America, not to mention holding its own against the world’s best super cars of the day. We’re of course talking about the original “King of the Hill” Chevrolet, the Corvette ZR-1.
Front-wheel drive gets a bad rap. Not every performance machine on the planet needs a buffet of horsepower and torque driving the rear wheels. And yeah, torque steer can sometimes be a handful, but then again, reining in a Corvette ZR1 on an aggressive launch isn’t exactly a simple case of point and shoot. Like it or not, plenty of really great cars tend to be overlooked just because they’re labeled as wrong-wheel drive, and folks, that’s just a shame.
