I once heard an automatic transmission referred to as “The Black Box of the Devil Himself.” How the myriad pumps, bands, fans, valves, accumulators, gears, clutches, and even computers work in harmony to provide smooth and durable power delivery for decades remains a mystery to the uninitiated. I certainly haven’t disassembled a gearbox, nor do I have the time and knowledge base to do so.

It’s likely that many of us in the car hobby do not know how an automatic transmission actually works. Watching YouTube videos as a hobbyist doesn’t really count, and I reckon very few people have torn down the Devil’s Black Box (as it were) to see the insides firsthand. Those who have are potentially rewarded with a skilled trade that could pay quite well. But that’s only one example, so what other parts still don’t make any sense to us?

Yaw’ll Help Me With This

Meet the yaw sensor. This little gyroscopic doo-dad is at the heart of many an active handling system, and its been commonplace in vehicles for well over a decade. Heck, even my 2011 Ford Ranger has one, and it barely has anything else. I give this part a lot of credit for making travel on low friction surfaces a whole lot easier, and it all starts with gyroscope in the sensor.

One day I’d like to dissect one of these sensors. I’d love to see how changes in yaw are translated into a change in values that a computer processes, eventually leading to a change in power or brake application at any of the four wheels on a vehicle. It’d probably be quick, easy, and clean, not unlike taking apart a throttle position sensor. It would be much easier than finding the space to do that with an automatic transmission!

So the question goes back to you and everyone else in the Hagerty Community: What parts of a car still make no sense?

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James writes:

Hello, last year during one of my morning walks I passed a nearby home where an S-Class Mercedes was parked on its driveway. As I approached, the silhouette was that of an early 2010’s Mercedes S-Class with noticeably flared wheel arches. As I passed by I observed the model identification on the left side of the trunk. Instead of the anticipated S 550 badge, it displayed a CLS 550 badge.

I did eventually meet the owner, an elderly man who could not provide any information about his car. And by this time he had replaced this “CLS 550” with a newer S 580 Mercedes. I did research on the internet, but no luck with a possible CLS 550 S Class.

I am fairly certain with my identification that this vehicle is at least an S-class Mercedes. (As a previous owner of a 2014 CLS and a current owner of a 2022 CLS, I have some familiarity with Mercedes models.) So, are the trunks of this S-Class and the CLS Class of this era interchangeable, and a junkyard CLS trunk was used to repair a damaged S-Class trunk? Or, the S-Class Mercedes needed its trunk repaired and the repair shop put the wrong model identifier on the repaired trunk?

I seriously doubt there ever was a CLS 550 S Class Mercedes. What do you think?

Sajeev answers:

Dang, I really would love to see a photo of this machine. But I share your doubt, and I suspect someone with an S-Class Benz bought those CLS 550 emblems from a place like eBay to be cheeky.

I get the vibe, however. Both the W221 (2007–13) and W222 (2014–20) bodies of the S-class have a distinctly sleek, curvilinear CLS flavor to them. Once the CLS hit the ground running, all sedans (save for Rolls-Royce) had to re-think their position as being staid and stately. Perhaps the CLS offered the sedan a lifeline to coolness in the wake of CUV/SUV dominance. Even the S-class can’t be immune to this trend.

Adding a body kit to the S-class also aids in the CLS-ification of these flagship Mercs. But let’s focus on the phrase “flagship”, as that answers your other question. Sheetmetal on a flagship isn’t interchangeable with cheaper models from the same brand. Not that the CLS is a bad car, but it’s based on the smaller E-class: That trunk lid is unlikely to have the same hard points as an S-Class.

Even if it technically could bolt up to an S-class, the surfacing and cut lines would make absolutely no sense. There’s a good chance you saw an S-class with an aftermarket body kit that made it look sleeker, and the owner decided that it became a CLS in the process.

And the W221 makes a rather awesome CLS-daddy. It’s hard to tell what’s an actual “wide” body kit on these cars, as this era of S-class came with flared-out rear fenders from the factory. But there’s also the issue of looking at 2-D photos on a computer screen, which is my current conundrum.

What say you, Hagerty Community? Did James see a widebody S-class, a CLS-class, or just some CLS emblems on that big-body S-class Mercedes?

Have a question you’d like answered on Piston Slap? Send your queries to pistonslap@hagerty.com—give us as much detail as possible so we can help! Keep in mind this is a weekly column, so if you need an expedited answer, please tell me in your email.

***

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Be it a scoop, duct, or even speed holes (they make the car go faster, you know), there’s little doubt that negative space improves a vehicle’s design. Some are real and help with induction, cooling, or aerodynamics, but many are fake. With the wide variety of body side holes available, we asked the Hagerty Media team for their thoughts on the best examples of the breed. While many of their answers won’t surprise you, some are likely to do just that!

RUF CTR Yellowbird

“I’m a sucker for the side scoops in the original 1987 RUF CTR ‘Yellowbird.’ So massive, so bold, and necessary for that car to cement its name in history as one of the all time greats. Speaking of which, it’s about time for my monthly watch of Faszination on the Nürburgring. —Nathan Petroelje

Ferrari 308

“I’m going Ferrari here. Testarossa is the obvious choice, but it’s almost too obvious. The F40 nearly nails the look with its twin NACA ducts, but everything on that car is overshadowed by the rear wing. The 348 is too ‘baby Testarossa,’ and while the 355 is a bit more understated, I’m going to go with the long, sharp simple scoop carved out of the belt line of the 308.” —Stefan Lombard

Pontiac Trans Am (Second Gen)

“I had a hard time pinning one down. First-gen Shelby Mustangs, Cayman GT4RS, Italian anything. Even the box-flare scoop on the mid-engined Ford Shogun looks cool to me—I like aggressive-looking cars. But I’m going to go with second-gen Pontiac Trans Am fender vents. They’re a cool design, I’ve been drawn to them since I was a kid, and they’re a nice bit of ‘means business’ on the side of a car that was all about bravado.” —Eddy Eckart

Ferrari Testarossa

I have to go with Testarossa. Not picking it as an icon and pop culture masterpiece is like not acknowledging Harley Earl’s impact on car design. The way Pininfarina got away with ensuring small critters wouldn’t take residence into its side scoops is pure brilliance. It’s literally aluminum window dressing that looks like it could slice an apple, but man, what a way to decorate an empty space. —Sajeev Mehta

Cizeta-Moroder V16T

“A good side scoop has to grab your attention, so I’m going to go with the Cizeta V16T. Its strakes and scoops aren’t as elegantly pulled off as the Testarossa it’s ripping off, but they are more over the top. And in a car with 16 cylinders and two sets of pop-up headlights, being over the top fits with the theme. Honorable mention to my Lotus Elise. Those are some damn good scoops.” —Andrew Newton

Corvette Grand Sport (C6)

“The sixth-generation Corvette has been hot and cold throughout my life as an auto enthusiast. Lately it has been on the rebound and my interest only growing stronger. Of the available C6 models, the Grand Sport seems to be the car for the buyer in the know who actually plans to drive it and wants a great balance of performance and livability. The twin scoops on the side are unique to the Grand Sport trim and enhance the lines of the C6 in a positive way, unlike those of some of the other trims.” —Kyle Smith

McLaren 765LT

“The scoop carved into the door of McLaren’s modern 765LT (along with its many siblings whose names begin with 7). Its placement and rake recalls that of the F1, McLaren’s legendary ’90s road car. The vent that exists here mimics the side strakes of the F1, with some sort of flare and tuck and crease business behind and below it. I don’t speak enough designer to really break it down, but wow, it’s nice to look at. The hard edges of the vent, both at top and at the trailing edge, are such a yummy contrast to the smooth surfacing of the rest of the door.” —Grace Houghton

There are dozens, if not hundreds, of great or at least interesting side scoop and vent designs out there. Which one is your favorite?

***

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Put yourself in the shoes of a product planner at Ford during the 1980s. It must have been a great gig by the time 1985 came around, when this particular Lincoln Continental was in production. After all, your company’s stock price has tripled since the beginning of the decade. People wanted to buy these fresh-faced Fords over their competition, and your role at the company can take some credit for it.

Every year since 1981 had been a smashing success, and it was only a matter of time before everyone knew it. The 1981 Ford Escort “World Car” was a gamble that paid off with over 400,000 units sold in 1985 alone. The 1982 Continental was a brilliant blend of cost-engineered downsizing and flagship Fox Body engineering, with sales five times higher than the outgoing Versailles. (An admittedly low bar, but still a noteworthy accomplishment.)

The 1983 Thunderbird was a bellwether for the revolution of aerodynamic design and European-ish road manners, while the 1983 Ranger sold over a quarter million units in its freshman year. This was definitely a good time to work in Dearborn.

The hits kept coming. In 1984, something on par with the Ranger’s success happened for the Lincoln brand. The Continental Mark VII didn’t necessarily set the world on fire, but it provided a new baseline for how a personal luxury coupe should look and perform. To compare the Mark VII to a 4.1-liter Cadillac Eldorado is disingenuous. It’s an insult to mention one and the same breath as a K-car based Chrysler LeBaron. It was closer to a Mercedes SEC (C126) than anything from America.

Continuing that Ford truck analogy for Lincoln in the 1980s, if the composite-headlight Mark VII was a fresh-faced Ranger, then the wildly popular Town Car was akin to the iconic F-150.

That puts the 1984-87 Continental and its retro Rococo styling in a difficult spot, as its 1984 redesign wasn’t terribly different than the now-dated, neoclassic 1982 model. It threaded a difficult needle, getting lost in all the hype and fame given to other Fords of the era.

This is where I mention Project Valentino, as it has parts from a yellow-ish beige 1984 Continental donor car. The 1984-87 body style never did it for me, but it certainly possessed items that I needed for a restomod. The later Fox Contis are odd mix of give and take from my jaded viewpoint, likely best explained in a list of attributes. So here are the items Lincoln added to the redesigned 1984 Continental:

• Four corner, computer controlled air suspension
• Rear anti-roll bar
• EEC-IV engine computer
• Power front vent windows
• Power trunk pull-down
• A front end almost as ramp-like as the rear
• Bumpers that look suspiciously similar to the Mark VII
• Multi-function overhead console
• New door trim with (optional) real wood veneers
• Power recliners and (optional) seat heaters
• Rear seat heat ducts
• Push button electronic climate control

To aid the transition, here’s what they “took” from the 1983 model:

• Aluminum hood
• Engine temperature gauge
• External, backlit thermometer
• Spring-loaded chrome fender trim (to give the bumpers a wraparound look, but emerge unscathed in a frontal or rearward impact)
• Aircraft style, adjustable reading lights for rear passengers
• Bespoke cast iron front wishbone suspension

Those front wishbones were then donated to the European-influenced, turbocharged 1984 Mustang SVO. Knowing that fact brings some irony to the following Motorweek Retro Review: While it’s about the 1985 Continental, the video starts with the Mustang Vignale show car based on said SVO.

Was this brilliant work of foreshadowing actually an editing choice on the part of Motorweek’s Social Media team? Do they love 1982-83 Continental engineering as much as yours truly, or is this all just coincidence?

All joking aside, Motorweek host John Davis pushes hard on advancements “that few foreign cars can offer.” That might be a stretch to some, but he proved the point by discussing the innovative air suspension and spent an inordinate amount of time on the unique ABS brakes for 1985. The latter included everything from detailed explanations to brilliant B-roll footage of ABS in action.(Some literature suggests anti-lock brakes were a mid-year upgrade to 1985 Continentals and Mark VIIs, and only if they were not equipped with the BMW-Steyr turbodiesel engine. I suspect this Motorweek video was filmed closer to 1986, when the Corvette also received ABS as standard equipment.)

But the 1985 Conti’s hardware was never tuned for blatant high performance, so explaining all the interior gadgets that owners can show off to friends with flagship BMW and Mercedes products (with more austere interiors) was a smart play. Motorweek also noted the clumsy AOD transmission performance, and called the styling “neo-nauseous.”

Considering this is the era of the ballyhooed Ford Taurus, such a phrase is a journalistic sick burn worthy of a TikTok throw down. And Motorweek likely got away with it by Ford’s judgmental eyes, as the deck lid emblem on this particular 1985 Continental Givenchy designer series suggests it came from a Lincoln-Mercury dealership. (Continentals in Ford’s press fleet wouldn’t have an emblem on the driver’s side of the trunk.)

Watching this Motorweek Retro Review reminded me how the air-sprung 1984-87 Continentals had the potential to be so much more. It was a wasted opportunity for Lincoln, as 1985 could have been the year to add a legit “touring suspension” to the Continental. It could have blown away other efforts to add performance to the American luxury sedan, thanks to the magic of being based on Ford’s Fox Platform.

Witness the 1984 Continental Valentino in the photo above. It was a safety car when the radical Mark VII PPG Pace Car was made for the paint-company-sponsored IndyCar race series. Someone had the bright idea to make a souped up Continental with color-matched BBS wheels for the sake of safety. If only someone at Ford did this for the sake of mass production!

Indeed, there were a firmer set of air springs, shocks, sway bars, and wider alloy wheels for better handling just lying around in the Mark VII LSC parts bin. Not to mention a faster steering ratio for the superior road feel available on the Thunderbird Turbo Coupe. And don’t forget the high output 5.0 engine with tubular exhaust headers, dual exhausts, and dual intake snorkels already in production for the Mustang GT and Mark VII LSC. That provided a respectable 165 horsepower: Ten more ponies than a 380SE Benz and only eight less than the spritely BMW 733i. The motor’s extra punch could be multiplied by Ford’s selection of quicker axle ratios for that Fox body rear axle, not to mention a readily available “Trac-Lok” limited slip differential for aggressive corner carving.

Imagine you are that product planner from the beginning of the story, and the calculus it took to not make a high performance Continental the year after its lukewarm redesign. Sure, there’d be some validation testing and corporate hoops to overcome, but all the parts were just lying there at your disposal.

I coulda built a contenda I tells ya!

I couda scared Mercedes and BMW owners if Ford had the nerve to let me!

Considering the gravity of the risks taken elsewhere at Ford in the late Malaise Era, making a Hot Rod Continental feels like another no-brainer. It’s a shame that missed opportunities are just that, and that we can’t always get what we want. But now you know another reason why Project Valentino came to fruition, as wrongs must be addressed: Better late than never!

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Last week we asked the Hagerty Community about when they decide its time to take a break from working on a project. Not necessarily quitting, just merely quitting for the day.

Your answers were insightful, and are likely to give everyone reading some personal validation in their own circumstances. One particular response was aimed directly at my comment about throwing in the towel when a hydraulic lift fails. Hagerty Community member JW suggested a better alternative:

Lifts are a frustration that I don’t want to deal with if I don’t have to. Which is why when I design my dream garage it’s going to have an inspection pit so general maintenance things are free from the stress of worrying about 4000 lbs falling on my head.

Not going to lie, my dream garage would have enough space for both an inspection pit and enough vehicle lifts to store all the cars I wanted as a child. If only dreams could come true … in the meantime, let’s get back to the things that make you “call it a day” on your project:

Don’t Try To Get It Right

Jeepcj5: Dread. I never understood “running when parked” until I did just that because I dreaded a complete front end rebuild on a car. I was afraid of it snowballing into more, so I kept putting it off. Time, life, kids, etc. and before I knew it 10 years had passed and the car hadn’t moved.

My 12 year old son had no memories of the car ever running. One day last year I decided it was time to do the repair and either drive it or sell it. I think it took a Saturday and a few evenings and it was done. We’ve been enjoying it and aren’t going to sell it. I try to take Freiburger’s motto to combat my dread now—don’t get it right, just get it running.

Take a Break and Tough It Out?

(Several interesting points came out of this particular thread, so we are publishing them in series, unedited.)

hyperv6: My limits are general: Lack of parts at 1 AM and no one open, or the major loss of blood or related major loss of flesh.

Otherwise just keep on trucking. You can’t let things rattle you or you will never get it fixed. If frustrated, just stop get a drink of cold water, look for advice on Youtube and get back at it. If I had things going wrong rattle me too much I would never get much done. All 15 min jobs take an hour.

Joe King: Agreed with parts availability and tending to a wound, but I don’t know that I fully agree with that last point. There is little glory (or sense of accomplishment) to me in toughing it out when something just won’t go my way, unless that means I need to hitch a ride to work the next day. I can’t tell you how many times not calling it a night has resulted in something even more broken than when I started.

hyperv6: Well, my mind set comes from making a living working on cars. You just can’t walk away from a customer’s car. It takes a degree of emotional intelligence or maturity to keep things in check and you just have to learn it when working on cars for a living. Walking away is not an option.

Joe King: I honestly didn’t get the impression that was the mindset from the “lack of parts at 1 AM piece”. I know few mechanics who are that dedicated or hate their families that much to stay at work that late.

Anyways, I think 99% of the readers here come from a hobbyist background and the professional mechanic mindset doesn’t need to apply and the “some people can and some people can’t” comment somewhat gives me the impression that your view is that if you can’t tough it out, then you shouldn’t be in the shop.

Either way, I get your view, but I am just not sure it is applicable to most of the people in this space. If you have the luxury to walk away, regroup and hit it again fresh in an hour or two or even the next day, then there is a lot of honor in that.

Know your limitations

hyperv6: The greatest key to success here is also know your limitations. Be it knowledge or even the lack of correct tools to do the job. Know the job before you take off the first part. Today Youtube is a great help, as are forums and other sites that hold info. Like taking a trip read the map before you go not after you get lost same here on working on the vehicle.

“Frustration is what you make of it”

BMD4800: When I used air tools it was time. Now with electrics, it is mostly dictated by what is happening the next day. Frustration is what you make of it. Laugh it off, take a moment and re-examine the scenario.

I keep a box of pawn shop tools that can be cut, welded, bent, or modified for specialty purposes. Fabricating a solution makes it enjoyable too.

Frequency of Cuss Words?

DUB6: There are so many examples and variables that I can’t just cite a “general rule—” but for the most part, I will just know that the limit is reached, and it’s time to stop “for now”. Often, my level of cuss words is an indicator.

Maybe Do Something Else To It Instead?

DUB6: Just this past weekend, I was struggling with removing a buggered key-lock hood pin mechanism. After breaking a drill bit and nearly scratching a shiny hood, I put the tools away, wiped off my fingerprints, and just took the car for a drive. I don’t really need under that hood for awhile, unless I get an engine fire!

Yesterday, a calmed-down me successfully drilled out the offending hood pin and installed a new one. It was obviously the correct thing for me to stop wrestling with it for a few days and go back to it when my frustration level had subsided. I was so happy that I decided that an under hood detailing session was in order!

Well, What Time Is It?

TG: 7:00 PM is my general cutoff point for wrapping up a project for the day. I have enough toys to drive that there is never an extreme need to finish a project today.

When I Feel Like a Kid Again? 


Craig: I know it’s time to stop when I start to feel like I’m an inexperienced angry teenager again. Back then I had to fix it to get to work and there was no YouTube for help. I used brute force and stupidity when anger took intelligence out of the equation. Ha.

Now I have so many luxuries. Time, experience, the internet, alternative transportation. When I start to feel like I did as a kid and this fun hobby isn’t anymore I realize how silly I’m being and take a break. I call a buddy, watch a YouTube video, finally feed myself. I like to channel my inner Stacey David from the show “Trucks!” back in the 90’s. That guy was so prepared, patient, happy, and dedicated to doing a good job. He is always my ideal when I lose my crap.

When The Instructions Become Contradictory

Not old not grumpy: If I am diligently following directions and turn the page on said directions to find they directly contradict what I was told to do on the previous page, I take a break.

When Something Intervenes

John: Actually it’s quitting time when I need a part and can drive another old car to the auto parts store, or when it’s too cold to keep going or when lunch or dinner is prepared by family and continuing would jeopardize that situation.

Cars are fun, getting old cars going is fantastic but rushing to the finish line more often than not results in time wasted, pointless arguments with loved ones and less focus on better fixes, which come from enough time to plan and mentally rehearse an operation.

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The post According To You: Things That Make You “Call It a Day” on a Project appeared first on Hagerty Media.

Phil writes:

I have a beautiful 1956 Ford Fairlane Victoria Town Sedan. I would like to get the car re-chromed, but cannot locate a service provider in Maryland. I’m trying not to drive the car too much, because I am not interested in adding a huge amount of mileage to something with 31,000 original miles and great paint.

Sajeev asks:

What a beauty!  Sedans don’t get enough love in my book, and I am glad you are caring for this one. Would you be comfortable removing the chrome and shipping it to a business? That might help me with your answer.

Phil answers:

My current mechanic is dealing with health issues, so I’m not sure he could help remove parts and ship them off for re-chroming. The car is in phenomenal condition, and perhaps I’m just being picky.

I’m happy with this car so please do not spend a huge amount of your time on this.

Sajeev concludes:

Here’s the perk about emailing pistonslap@hagerty.com with your automotive questions—it’s my job to spend a huge amount of time on this! And if there ever was a car to go out of my way for, this is definitely it!

But the term “huge amount of time” is relative. I’ve already discussed the need for auto enthusiasts to embrace the Google Near Me search, and Chrome Plating Near Me is no different. When I click on the second link in my last sentence, my preferred plating shop in Houston shows up first on the Google Maps, and is the second website in its list of suggestions. The reviews are overwhelmingly good (but not five stars, as that’s often a red flag). Their website gives you the right amount of insight into the work they do, the company history, and how they operate as a business.

So I did the same search, except for a chrome shop in Maryland. One company ranked as high as my shop in Google search, so I was immediately intrigued. Their website has the right amount of content, and they seem willing to get the ball rolling (i.e., send pics of your chrome issues) via their contact page.

Another good website served up to me by Google was this one. While they have five stars, that’s not really a red flag because they only have six reviews collected. So you have at least two options in your area, but you can scroll down the “near me” search and see if other shops work better for you.

In case it needs to be made clear, I am not specifically naming or recommending any shop, as I can’t verify their work from my position as an armchair quarterback. This is where I pass the ball to you, so you can send them photos of the trim, and see what vibes you get back. Tell them your needs and concerns, and see how good they are at reassuring you. My biggest concerns would be quality and turn-around time, so you might ask pointed questions about those in particular.

If these two businesses aren’t as rock-solid as you’d like, expand your search by using the zoom feature on the Google Map or enter a different location in the “chrome plating near (location)” search.

Now you need to find someone willing to remove the parts from your Ford that you can trust. Is a Classic Car Mechanic Near Me search also in order? (Same principles apply, quality and turn-around time is important, because you don’t want your classic put on the back burner while they work on newer cars.)

Best of luck in your hunt! Or maybe just “happy motoring,” if these flaws aren’t worrisome enough to address? Sometimes they aren’t, especially on a car so original.

Have a question you’d like answered in Piston Slap? Send your queries to pistonslap@hagerty.com—give us as much detail as possible so we can help! Keep in mind this is a weekly column, so if you need an expedited answer, please tell me in your email.

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One of the perks of being someone in our shoes is that we are often in an enviable position when it comes to cars, trucks, motorcycles, or anything in between. Maybe not to everyone we come into contact with, but at least to enthusiasts who have a keen eye for spotting the more desirable vehicles in a parking lot—which often means we’re approached for conversation. And, more frequently than you might expect, offers to purchase our rides. Whenever this happens, I am reminded of a not-so-famous scene from a long-forgotten crime drama about a man who loved his vintage Mustang.

Everyone has their price, I suppose, but for the most part, we tend to be motivated to hang onto our vehicles. Managing a would-be buyer can be difficult, depending on how you deal with them. And that’s what we asked the team here at Hagerty Media, as we wondered aloud how we handle those notes left on our pride and joy asking to contact them with a sales price.

Were we salty, sweet or did we just ghost them like a bad first date? The answer is a profound yes on all counts.

More than you wanna spend, pal.

“My piles of over-restored, highly maintained, undesirable junk normally rest below the surface of appeal to the general public. As they should, as they are the rolling embodiment of the sunk cost fallacy. Well, except for my 2011 Ford Ranger XLT: The one bright spot in my portfolio is this compact truck with a regular cab and manual transmission.

I am regularly asked if it’s for sale, often after it receives a compliment for its condition. My answer usually revolves around “an asking price higher than Carvana lists them on their website.” That ends the conversation quickly, nobody has yet to whip out their smart phone and start checking prices online. Everyone wants a cheap truck, and everyone wants it for cheap.” —Sajeev Mehta

But money can’t buy love?

“While on a run to the hardware store for a few bolts to wrap up a project, I came out of the crisp air conditioning of the bolt aisle to the steamy summer humidity. Before pulling my helmet back, on I noticed a slip of receipt paper folded and tucked between the two large gauges. Apparently someone named Tim took a liking to my 1977 Kawasaki KE175 and was interested in purchasing it. Sadly, I was more interested in riding this vintage enduro than sitting on my couch with a small stack of cash in my pocket. I can’t knock the attempt though. Sorry Tim.” —Kyle Smith

Your question is irrelevant?

“To avoid this headache, I simply don’t own any cars that anyone would ever offer to buy from me! Problem solved!” —Ben Woodworth

“Sir, I would like to buy your car, now you have a problem.” – Sajeev Mehta

No, but if it did happen…

“In a world where I had anything of value, I would pull up the Hagerty Price Guide and request the #1 value for the car.” —Cameron Neveu

“Followed by the classic words, ‘Don’t low ball me! I know what I got!'” – Ben Woodworth

Silence isn’t necessarily golden

“Yes! I street parked my 1986 Mustang over the summer of 2022. Over those three months, three separate people left notes asking to buy it. I didn’t reply to any of them.

In return, I’ve probably left a dozen notes myself and don’t remember ever getting a call.” —Larry Webster

Well, that’s a silly question!

“At least twice a year, some rando knocks on my door and offers to buy the shitbox Volvo 242 that has been growing moss in my driveway for the last eight years. ‘Why would you want to do that?’ I say, and then I close the door.” —Stefan Lombard

Delete, block, and unsubscribe?

“I haven’t gotten any notes on my cars, but Carvana didn’t hesitate to share its ongoing interest in my Cadillac ATS-V, especially at the height of the pandemic. The dealer reached out several times wanting my wife’s car, too, but we both tend to hold our vehicles for a long time. Thanks, but no thanks, automated offerers!” —Eddy Eckart

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Las Vegas is one of those places that changes you, and that’s by design. The gambling connection is obvious, but the decadent displays of hospitality are everywhere from hotels with world-class amenities to cultural ambassador-worthy restaurants, and entertainment that never fails to inspire. The same applies to the cars living in Las Vegas, at least for two owned by the legendary magical duo known as Siegfried & Roy.

As you’ll soon see, these two Vanden Plas Princess limousines are properly Vegas because of their nose jobs. While the blue Princess from 1967 sports a custom grille with a Rolls-Royce style emblem and “Spirit of Ecstasy” hood ornament, the white 1965 Princess apparently lost the emblem over time. No matter their current state, the Rolls-Royce upbadge (as it were) makes sense for sensibilities in the City of Sin. It doesn’t hurt that the Roller-style look works well on any car crafted by a coachbuilder, especially one with the English credentials of Vanden Plas.

The original grille is certainly acceptable for places with less to prove than Vegas, with a more finessed grille texture and an understated, body-colored shell. It even has a bit of Bentley flare, as the shell has a fluted face. But the Princess’ body contours are more like that of an SUV: The greenhouse lacks taper, instead choosing to move straight back from the base of the A-pillar to the beginning of the trunk. The look is more utilitarian, and this practical design even won over The Beatles as they were ergonomically whisked away from their fans.

The Vanden Plas Princess’ practical sheet metal made it perfect for the magic duo of Siegfried & Roy, either as a prop in their show or a flashy commuter vehicle for the entertainers who embodied the magic of Las Vegas. Because these two vehicles performed different tasks, their design was altered accordingly. The white 1965 Vanden Plas is likely the more appealing example to most enthusiasts.

Siegfried & Roy’s “street car” was reportedly restored in the 1980s in Germany, and the exterior presents well enough to be a show piece in any light. The Rolls-Royce grille conversion will convince most Las Vegas tourists of an elevated lineage for the star performers. Still, the whitewall tires exhibit a yellowing that is likely a sign of extended storage periods.

But this was likely indoor storage, as the interior appears to be in excellent condition, complete with a vintage color TV that could be the same age as the vehicle’s restoration. A wet bar lies between the rear seats and a sliding glass partition from the driver’s cabin, while rich wood and pale leather feel classically British. Take a closer look under the hood and you’ll see a Rolls-Royce grille emblem affixed to the valve cover of the Austin D-series engine. A curious location for that emblem, but the engine is reported to be a non-runner at this time.

Siegfried & Roy’s blue 1967 “Show Car” bears the telltale signs of being a prop for the duo’s Vegas show. While the paint looks acceptable on stage (in the photo closer to the top of this article) it’s clear that the light of day is less kind to this particular Vanden Plas Princess. There’s a significant gash in the coachwork, and the paint looks dulled by oxidation. Look closer at the rear quarter panel and it’s clear the Vanden Plas Princess was modified so a wild animal could fit in its cargo hold.

It appears a body shop made incisions at each side of the vehicle, pulled up on the trunk area to increase its internal volume, and then built filler panels to “blend” in the work. The rear window aperture also seems to be shortened, presumably to ensure wildlife can’t exit from a location unmonitored by Siegfried & Roy’s staff. While the conversion isn’t likely to raise any eyebrows at the expertly lighted performance of Siegfried & Roy, daylight proves that show props can live a hard life.

Siegfried once noted this vehicle was owned by actress Greta Garbo, but that cannot be verified. If true, the mind can only wonder what Garbo thought of the modifications done to the inside of her former limousine. Aside from the driver’s seat, the rest of the compartment has been modified for transporting an aggressive feline onto a Las Vegas stage. The pictures speak for themselves, especially the scratches where the front passenger seat once resided. But the reupholstering of the driver seat and door cards in a brown naugahyde material point to a need for durability with a dash of elegance. Too bad that elegance is only an illusion, aimed at audience members seated yards away from this Princess.

And does an illusion truly work if it sounds like an Austin D-series engine at idle? Apparently, this Vanden Plas Princess made a silent introduction on stage, as it was likely converted to an EV for the transition from Garbo-worthy transportation to Las Vegas show prop. The massive lead-acid batteries are only overshadowed by the size of the front mounted powertrain, while the dirt and corrosion present adds credibility to the claim this vehicle is also in non-running condition. Perhaps someone who has revived depreciated golf carts will find this under-hood experience familiar. Or maybe anyone who rings up the still-in-business Quick Charge Corporation can be brought up to speed with a mere visit to their website.

But buying and restoring either the white “street car” or the blue EV “show car” from the estate of Siegfried & Roy has merit, especially in America where names like Austin and Vanden Plas are overshadowed by the clout of a Rolls-Royce. I can imagine a conversation with visitors to a British car show, where they make a Rolls-Royce remark and the new owner uses it as an opportunity to mention the heritage of both Vanden Plas and the magic of Siegfried & Roy.

These cars embody the uniqueness that is American car culture, with coachwork and body modifications as “apple pie” as slot machines and lounge shows at one of the most famous cities on the planet. This is something you cannot replicate with the successor to the Princess limousine, based on the wholly conventional Austin Princess compact family sedan. Once Austin changed gears, Vanden Plas had to reinvent modern cars in the only way they knew how: chrome, curves, wood, leather, and coachbuilding.

It’s a change not unlike the Siegfried & Roy entertainment experience. The duo made famous for blowing away audiences with wild felines in magic acts started their career on a cruise ship, one that wasn’t terribly thrilled with their decision to let a live cheetah on board. Their dedication to their craft took them from Germany to Las Vegas, and both Vanden Plan Princess limousines are a testament to their legacy. But times have changed, and the passing of both Siegfried (2021) and Roy (2020) denotes a change in guard that leaves these two limos twisting in the wind, waiting for new owners at the Hagerty Marketplace.

This pair absolutely needs new benefactors, those who can embrace their previous owner’s heritage but let their spirit soar once more on the road. The white 1965 Vanden Plas appears to be an easier restoration and is currently at a $4000 high bid on Hagerty Marketplace. The blue 1967 Vanden Plas needs specialist attention and an owner who can appreciate its EV bones and show prop engineering. It’s currently going for a $2500 bid on Hagerty Marketplace, and shares the same high bidder as it’s 1965 brother. Could they meet the same benefactor when the auction ends?

We can only hope both EV and gasoline Vanden Plas sell to that same high bidder, and that these two limousines will one day impress participants in American car culture as they did when working for two legendary entertainers.

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The post These Two Limousines Embody The Success Of Siegfried & Roy appeared first on Hagerty Media.

We all handle stress differently. At some point in the process, all of us who work on our vehicles have gotten to that point—the one where we simply put the tools down and walk away. Hopefully it isn’t on a regular basis, but sometimes circumstances push us to just stop working. Psychologists generally define this kind of breaking point as when stress causes intense mental distress.

But walking away from a project vehicle, a repair, or even maintenance doesn’t necessarily happen because it becomes that taxing on your soul. You can also just be tired of dealing with the problems at hand and know your limitations well enough to walk away. Call it a day!

Here’s an example from my experiences, and I rightly walked away for the sake of my sanity.

Failure to Launch…Er, Lift?

Luckily this video is just used for shock value, as I’ve never lost a vehicle to a hydraulic lift. Instead of the carnage you see above, my lift problems stem from hydraulic failures that keep me from raising a vehicle.

Failure to launch from the ground just means you can drive off and do something else. Failure to return back to earth means you perform the repair (or part of it) before your day is cut short. Somewhere in between (in my case, when my lift got stuck with the car three feet in the air) means you are stuck and out of luck. That happened to me last year, and the lift also donated a big puddle of hydraulic fluid to the shop floor as token of its esteem. Once I cleaned up that mess I knew I had to pack it in for the day. I was mentally done with that project, the car, and that leaky lift.

So the question comes back to you, dear member of the Hagerty Community: What makes you “Call it a Day” on your projects?

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Jay writes:

I’d love to hear Sajeev’s thoughts on the changes passenger vehicles have undergone pre-1967 to today.

Of course, these changes include complexity, i.e. safety/emissions/reliability etc., but also the nature of passenger transport. Vehicles are no longer point-to-point transportation, but a living room on wheels.

Sajeev answers:

Jay, your point about cars being “living rooms on wheels” resonates with me. There’s a parallel between where we live and the inherent designs of our vehicles, and I bet it’s one that many folks can appreciate. Put another way, while it’s true that vehicles have permanently altered the landscape of the cities we live in, cities have also forced changes to what automobiles get made and which never see the light of day.

So this won’t be a Piston Slap article about the car itself, because we can’t possibly live in a vacuum this time ’round.

One of the biggest reasons why cars don’t live in a vacuum is urban sprawl. Sprawl has made life better for many, but no far-reaching plan is without consequence as the decades march on. Sprawl incentivizes travel, and luckily, cars improved over time. Cars have filled in the gap between one’s place of residence and place of business.

And cars have become roomier, faster (higher compression engines, overdrive gearing on the highway), have better NVH controls (padded materials, asphalt/butyl insulation, etc.), and justified their existence via reducing smog when urban density and increased populations became a concern. That extra speed from punchy 1950s small-block engines also brought about increased safety since 1967 (collapsible steering columns, airbags, ABS brakes, etc.) making for safe and comfortable personal transportation. All good stuff.

With my rant about Malaise Era engineering in mind, remember that vehicles are always exposed to the latest technology of their time. Cars from the 1930s were influenced by Streamline Moderne products that cleaned up their airflow at speed, space travel and small block V-8s were common themes for the 1950s, and computer science (ironically) underpinned neoclassic style in that 1970s Malaise Era.

The advancement of the automobile was once a progressive dream come true, but these days it feels more run-of-the-mill. Platform sharing means SUVs are actually sedans, and your engine can get replacement parts anywhere from the UK to Southeast Asia. No matter the country of origin, everyone adapted by making bigger, quieter and faster vehicles, at any price range.

Perhaps that is expected at such ridiculous asking prices in today’s market. Not designing a car that can effortlessly cruise at 85 mph with a plethora of airbags, handling nannies, active cruise control, a great stereo and a quiet interior for five occupants, means your business will be run out of business. (Unless you’re in China, but that’s a whole ‘nother ballgame.)

But cars do not operate in a vacuum; rather they are a byproduct of the available technology, financial constraints, consumer feedback, and city/state/federal government input. Where we live tends to dictate our automobile purchases, so I apologize in advance for projecting these wide-ranging impacts into a single city—one that might not represent your specific location.

Yes, I am talking about the urban hellscape that is my hometown of Houston, Texas. I remember when there was a national 55 mph speed limit, and it didn’t seem like a big deal in the city. Congestion wasn’t terribly bad most of the day, nobody knew the term “road rage,” and we were all taken aback when they were building a second loop around the city. Perhaps I was naïve in my youth, as I thought urban sprawl would end at this second loop.

Now we have three loops, some of the worst congestion in the nation, 80+ mph speeds on the freeways that are a daily occurrence, and the roads are getting kinda dangerous for pedestrians and motorists alike. I’m not suggesting that correlation equals causation, but one likely reason Houston motorists behave this way is because we’re stuck in our vehicles for a disturbingly long time. We are the embodiment of the city with living rooms on wheels.

Houston is likely an edge case, too extreme for other parts of the country. But odds are you have seen how urban sprawl changes your landscape, either as it encroaches on your property or how your tax dollars are spent maintaining/expanding all these roads you never use.

While technology, economies of scale, and innovative design continue to advance the automobile as Jay suggested, I can’t help but think these are both needed and encouraged by the way we, as a society, live. And as our commutes get longer thanks to urban sprawl, we absolutely need the aforementioned living room on wheels.

But my thoughts are never the end of the story. What say you in the comments section, Hagerty community?

Have a question you’d like answered on Piston Slap? Send your queries to pistonslap@hagerty.com—give us as much detail as possible so we can help! Keep in mind this is a weekly column, so if you need an expedited answer, please tell me in your email.

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Welcome to This Week on Hagerty Marketplace, a recurring recap of the previous week’s most noteworthy cars and significant sales from the Hagerty Marketplace online auctions.

Some cool vintage rides sold last week on the Hagerty Marketplace, so we picked three very different vehicles to highlight all the action.

1979 Triumph Spitfire 1500

Sold for $13,108

British sports cars continue to be a fantastic value in the classic vehicle market, and this Triumph Spitire proves the point. While it’s a later model with Malaise Era big bumpers, this example sports thin chrome bumpers from a pre-1979 model. Then factor in the appeal of dark green paint, Minilite-style alloy wheels, a leather and wood interior, and a strong service history, and this Triumph is likely to provide thrills with the next owner for many years to come.

1969 AMC Rambler Rogue

Sold for $20,603

The third generation Rambler (1964-69) sported clean lines and offered tremendous bang for the buck when new. This range-topping 1969 Rambler Rogue sports an inline-six engine with an automatic transmission. While not necessarily the stuff of muscle car dreams, the price reflects the rarity, originality, and overall excellent condition of this AMC. And it answers the question, “Is any clean American coupe from the 1960s even remotely affordable these days?” with a resounding yes.

1974 Mercedes-Benz 280 C

Sold for $21,400

The W114 280 C was theoretically a less prestigious vehicle than the W208 S-class, but its postwar design signaled a new era in Mercedes-Benz engineering prowess. These models were powered by robust six-cylinder engines and the coupes had unique coachwork that made them significantly sleeker looking than their sedan stablemates. It makes for a solid European classic with more than a flair for extravagance. This vehicle’s originality with reasonable upgrades (its modern air conditioning compressor is highly recommended) makes this sale on the Hagerty Marketplace a great purchase for the buyer.

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The mid-cycle refresh for the eleventh generation Honda Civic, which debuted in 2022, has just been released. It sports a more aggressively styled front bumper, tweaked tail lights, and a new hybrid powertrain in the Sport Hybrid and Sport Touring Hybrid trim levels. The hybrid has a combined 200 horsepower and 232 lb-ft of torque thanks to a 2.0-liter Atkinson-cycle four cylinder paired with two electric motors. The result is the most powerful Civic ever, aside from the range-topping Type-R.

The hybrid powertrain is mated to a CVT transmission that provides “vehicle speed-linked rev feel typically associated with a conventional drivetrain shifting gears under acceleration.” Further reading between the lines yields the bigger news: The Civic’s manual transmission, once available in the Sport and Sport Touring trim levels, is no longer available.

The manual, a mainstay in Civics since their inception, will likely still be present in the forthcoming Si and Type R (we can’t imagine the latter without one). And value is still in the Civic’s equation: The cheaper LX and Sport trim levels remain, powered by a 158-horse, 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine and no battery-electric motivators. The simple, ICE-only powertrain is a clear play to keep costs down and retain its younger audience with an attractive price point. For those looking for a more tech-friendly economy car, the top-trim Sport Touring Hybrid has the Civic’s first implementation of Google built-in architecture, promising a seamless experience between smartphone connectivity and automotive interfaces. All models now receive multiple USB-C ports for maximum functionality with modern electronics.

Pricing hasn’t yet been revealed, but Honda expects 40% of Civic buyers to opt for the new hybrid powertrain—a significant amount, but still showing just how bread-and-butter the entry-level trims are. With the bump in power in the middle of the Civic lineup, we’re curious to see what this refresh holds for the Si and Type R. Let’s just hope that three pedals remain in their future.

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We recently asked for your feedback on finding the right repair shop for your vehicle. Once again the Hagerty Community provided some fantastic feedback, after my initial conversation starter that centered around asking if you could supply your own parts. That’s a loaded assertion, and one with several pitfalls. Let’s first hear a rebuttal to my suggestion, and see where the feedback takes us!

Supply Your Own Parts? Yes, but…

hyperv6: Here is the problem if you supply the parts: Most people screw it up. And the best way for a bad relationship with a business is to bring your own parts and not get them right.

They often get a wrong part or a poor quality part and most shops don’t have time to play games with a car apart on the rack because the new parts are wrong and it is not their fault. It is a money loser for them. Second, they will charge you more as some will give labor breaks and make it up on list price of the parts.

You do not save a thing in the end as they will charge you more labor. Only in the case of a rare or N/A part that you may have saved NOS in the box does it make sense for a shop to use your parts.

Andrew: I think that this might actually be how you (expensively!) learn that your shop is a good one. If you bring them parts which are incorrect, do they kindly and timely let you know of your mistake and offer a straight forward and reasonable resolution? Or are they jerks about it?

hyperv6: The deal is if you screw up, you can cost them money tying up their equipment. Even if you order a part on the web, and it is wrong as it often happens on ebay. They have every right to dock you something, this is often why most shops rely on their own parts.

Also consider the on quality of fitment, durability and the warranty. They prefer to make the call so if it goes south, they take responsibility for it. This leads to better relations vs. telling the customer his parts were crap and it is his fault. Generally you are not going to save much money. Even with your parts they will add labor cost since they are not making money on parts.

Word of Mouth

DUB6: If you are linked in with the car community (and maybe especially with those folks who have cars similar to yours), you have the best reference material available. Yes, someone needed to be first to try a shop out, but unless your taste in autos run towards brand new stuff, it’s likely that there are plenty of others out there who have “been there – done that” and will share their experiences with you. I have found that my circle of friends and acquaintances know just about every local business and have some input on whether or not to use them. One just needs to ask around!

hyperv6: The best way to find a good shop is word of mouth in the auto community. I had to find a good local body shop this winter for the wife’s car. I did not want to work with a national chain. Many local shops were bought up by national chains and they are “rush it in and out” type of shops that make insurance companies happy. (Sorry, Hagerty!)

With some research I found a shop that is independent and has been around for 60 years. They had the latest equipment and the work space was like a clean room. They also were a reasonable price.

audiobycarmine: Word-of-mouth and public reviews are usually the best. Why? Because it’s only the Customers whose opinions matter. Even though I’d believed I had trustworthy shops, I twice had to part ways, and one deserved legal proceeding. “Once bitten, twice shy; twice bitten, just afraid.”

Today, I still don’t have a shop that I feel I can trust entirely. It’s like having a nail salon treat a shoulder problem.

Qualifying Questions

Andrew: Is the person who owns the shop playing a large role in the day to day operations of the shop? Are they a mechanic or at least the person you directly interact with on the phone and in person?

This seems to narrow down any service job to a small group where I’ve had good success hiring out work, for my cars and otherwise in life.

Can I Still DIY?

Kyle Smith: My favorite shops are ones who will let me pay them for diagnostics, and do the repair myself. The photo of the tie rods and drag link above are from when I took my Corvair to the alignment shop before a 2000-mile road trip. The tech called me before lunch saying it wasn’t worth aligning because there was a lot of play, which I could totally believe.

He had no problem with me picking the car up that afternoon, doing the work, and scheduling an appointment for the alignment in a week or two. Honest and respectful. All around a great business.

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The post According To You: What Questions Help You Find the Right Repair Shop? appeared first on Hagerty Media.

Alan writes:

I have an original Ford Taurus SHO from 2010. Your recent comments on cheap plastic parts hit home. Within about three years, I noticed that the “chrome” surrounding both taillight lens covers were peeling.

On later models, Ford didn’t bother with this detail, apparently it just wasn’t worth it.

The chrome peeled about halfway around the taillights, then stopped. The part that remains sticks well and won’t come off, so I’m left with an ugly taillight that is rare and low enough volume as to be considered an orphan. Is there an option to re-chrome plastic?

Sajeev answers:

The short answer is yes, some chrome shops are equipped to re-chrome plastic trim. While you might not find one locally, there’s always the option to pull the offending item off the vehicle, stuff it in a box, and ship it off to a specialized shop.

But the short answer is also the wrong answer, in the case of a 2010 Ford Taurus SHO. I’d be remiss if I didn’t offer a better alternative.

Take it from this NOS Ford parts huntin’ fool with a Project Valentino: Finding Ford replacement parts online or from NOS parts vendors is a wiser move. Just because the dealership says it’s no longer available doesn’t mean the parts aren’t collecting dust elsewhere. They are hidden in remote corners of the internet, while the intended recipients are depreciating themselves right into the junkyard. It is the opposite of low volume, high demand vehicles like a Porsche 911: I still feel a smidge guilty for speaking this truth in another Hagerty article, as it feels like rubbing salt in their wounds.

The first thing you need is a part number, like BG1Z13404A for the right side tail lamp. Plop that into a search on eBay Motors. If you don’t find what you need (at a fair price) immediately, make that a saved search in your account and get notified for new inventory by email.

We got lucky with this particular part. Only $90 with free shipping for a bit that’s new in the box? Sign me up, and never think about re-chroming again. You can expect freshly plated chrome to be more than double the price, and that might be me being generous.

But let’s say eBay Motors brought you no joy. It’s then time to check the NOS vendors just waiting for you to Google them. Here’s the link, and you’ll find the most luck if you scroll down to Green Sales, Inc. first. They have the most stuff, and are a well-kept secret for Ford nerds. (Sorry about that, Ford nerds.)

Here’s the important thing to keep in mind: This advice changes if Alan was restoring something like the little chrome strip around the top of the dash of a 1969 Dodge Charger. But for a 2010 Taurus SHO owner? The world is your oyster: The Internet will serve up just about anything you need. From there all it takes is a phone call or a few mouse clicks to seal the deal.

I’d wish you good luck finding new tail lights with fresh chrome, but I have a feeling you don’t need it!

Have a question you’d like answered on Piston Slap? Send your queries to pistonslap@hagerty.com—give us as much detail as possible so we can help! Keep in mind this is a weekly column, so if you need an expedited answer, please tell me in your email.

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For this installment of Our Two Cents, we asked the team here at Hagerty Media about their dream vehicle. But we aren’t talking about a vehicle they can buy, rather we asked about one that doesn’t exist on the market.

Many of us wanted a new vehicle with features of older ones, but that wasn’t all we came up with. I bet you’ve never considered some of these ideas until now, so let’s get right to it!

A Throwback Truck?

“Brand new, full-size pickups that just do pickup things well, no excessive luxury items, that costs under $25,000. I appreciate the old days where the trusty pickup was a means to do work, and not a luxury vehicle. In reality, I think what I am asking is for GM to just bring the GMT400 back.” – Greg Ingold

A Legit Fast Toyota 86/Subaru BRZ?

“A BRZ/FRS with reliable 300hp. I don’t have a ton of time in these cars, but the small amount I do I really liked the feel and experience, I just wanted a little more under my right foot. Sure, I should just buy a C5 Corvette but it would be cool to not have to shop a 25-year-old chassis when a new platform is so close to what I want.” – Kyle Smith

The Best of Japan, Inc?

“I want a new, AWD Honda wagon with clean, timeless styling and a 300-hp inline-six mated to a 6-speed manual. Then add a Mazda-gorgeous instrument panel, and an efficiently packaged cargo hold that will swallow my bike.” – Joe DeMatio

All Or Nothing?

“A front-engine, rear-drive, stick shift convertible that has a V-12, Italian styling, and a sophisticated European interior, but the reliability and running costs of a ’99 Camry. It’s trackable but not uncomfortable around town. It’s inexpensive enough that normal people can afford one and stays that way. No flipping. Only genuinely cool people buy it.” – Andrew Newton

“When I grow up, I want to live in Andrew’s dreams. They seem like such a cool place.” – Kyle Smith

“Now I want a beige Ferrari 812 with a slush fund, ensuring I have a comprehensive ownership experience that mirrors the reliability of a Camry.” – Sajeev Mehta

The Ultimate In Auto Transport?

“I want a C-130 cargo plane with electric props that can haul my favorite cars wherever in the world I wish to drive them, but won’t give me the equivalent CO2 footprint of France.” – Aaron Robinson

The Most Practical Off-Roader?

“Oh man! Tons of great ideas here! Big fan of Joe’s wagon idea. Can’t decide if I want to say something that would actually be possible to create/build or just go full-on dreamland mode. How about both?

Dreamland: full-size 4×4 camper van that seats/sleeps six with plenty of cargo room for skis and bikes. It will handle/perform like the best off-roaders on earth, and on dirt it handles/performs like the best hypercars do when they are on the road. Is that too much to ask for?

More realistically: I would love a full-size SUV with minivan sliding doors. Give me plenty of ground clearance, decent 4×4 performance, excessive towing capabilities, and the greatest doors ever conceived in the history of the automobile, all in one package! Oh, and add a hybrid drivetrain of some sort for amazing MPGs and fuel-source flexibility!” – Ben Woodworth

A Gran Touring Minivan?

“It’s hard to argue that the most sensible vehicle available isn’t a minivan, because it is. New ones handle adequately and some have decent horsepower—Honda Odysseys have 280—but my issue remains that no manufacturer has ever built a genuinely performance-oriented, fun-to-drive minivan. I’m not talking a sliding-door Hellcat here, and of course, it would be a niche version of whatever minivan it was based on.

But give me seven seats, a taut, lowered suspension; maybe 325 horsepower with a snorty exhaust, a pair of Recaros up front, Brembos at all four wheels, reasonably wide, sticky tires on good-looking wheels, plus an all-wheel-drive option and a Class 3 towing package, which can handle a reasonable number of towable toys. Suddenly you’ve got a bunch of potential customers who have never seriously considered a minivan before»like me.” – Steven Cole Smith

Chop ‘Em Down?

“Mine is simple, yet complex: I want trucks/SUVs to sit as high as modern CUVs, and CUVs/cars to sit as high as cars from 20 years ago. Then we can have less frontal area, better visibility, and smaller wheels with taller sidewalls. What I wouldn’t do for vehicles with smoother rides and better outside views!” – Sajeev Mehta

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The call of the open road is hard to ignore for most car enthusiasts, and those who read this website are no different. The feedback we received from this question stretched across the United States, was enlightening, and a bit overwhelming. Some answers went beyond the lower 48 and were impossible to overlook in this collection. Organizing such a comprehensive list of driving roads can be difficult, but luckily Hagerty Community member Bruce suggested, “please do us all a BIG favor and arrange these by state!”

I’m with ya, Bruce. We split it up by state or informal geographic regions, so pick your next vacation spot and see where its roads will take you.

Hawaii

Steven: The Road to Hana in Hawaii – Very worthwhile memory.

Paul: My favorite drive has to be the Road to Hana on the island of Maui. 65 miles of nonstop fun, one lane spots, blind curves, no shoulders, centerlines that reduce down to 1 inch and super steep drop offs: It’s got it all. Plan for a bit of a trip as it takes 3.5-4 hrs to make it through, but it is well worth it!

Chris: We just did the Road to Hana—50-ish one lane bridges and 600+ curves. The destination isn’t much but the journey has lots of beautiful scenery, surf hangouts, scenic overlooks. Not for the weak of stomach.

Glenn: I really like the Pacific Coast Highway but the Road To Hana in Maui is the craziest road I have ever driven. Lots of bridges and curves. I can say I survived the road to Hana.

DeeJay: On the island of Oahu, driving along Hwy 83 on the east side from Waimanalo Beach up to the north shore to Haleiwa Beach, and back across the mountain via H3 thru Kaneohe. Just breathtaking especially after a good rain on a really hot day you can drive through the clouds.

Michigan

John: The Woodward cruise in Michigan!

Cuda Jim: Hines Park in metro Detroit is my favorite place. They also have the best cruise in late August, one week after the big Woodward cruise. The cruise is only for classic cars, all other are not allowed.

Bruce: Peninsula Drive on the Old Mission Peninsula, Traverse City, Michigan. The views are amazing, speed limit is 35 to 45, 17 miles long. A great top down ride.

Vince: Drive along US 2 in Michigan’s upper Peninsula. Lake Michigan on one side forests on the other side. Time your ride for the fall color change. Stops for smoked whitefish or a pastie.

Papa D: Lakeshore Drive along Lake St. Clair through the Grosse Points. Nothing fast or winding, just a relaxing stretch with the lake on one side and mansions on the other, some of the mansions have been demolished to make way for More “mini mansions” over the years. Most originally owned by famous families (Dodge, Ford of automotive fame), bankers, department store executives, doctors, designers etc. Like I said, an extremely relaxing drive.

Renard: A couple of my favorite driving roads are in Southwest Michigan from Saint Joseph, Michigan to Dowagic, MI. That beautiful drive takes you through an area called Sister Lakes, which consists of about eight small lakes populated by both year-round and weekend residents. Another great drive is from St. Joseph Michigan through the grape vineyards headed south toward Berrien Springs, MI

Bruce: A lap around Torch Lake in Northwest lower Michigan. Mostly county roads. Also circle Lake Leelanau, northwest of Traverse City.

Ronnie Schreiber: Michigan 119 between Cross Village and Harbor Springs (near the ring finger of the mitten), also known as the Tunnel of Trees. 137 curves as the road travels 20 miles alternating between forest and the bluff overlooking Lake Michigan. Lots of elevation changes. Drive it in both directions. You can’t really drive it very fast, it’s a narrow road with trees inches from the shoulder, lots of blind corners, and there are vacation homes on the road so there are cyclists and pedestrians, but even driving it at a brisk pace is huge fun.

Tom: No, no nothing to see on M 119. Stay home, head somewhere else. I’ve done this road both as a cyclist and driver. Fantastic. Try Leggs Inn when you get to Cross Village. Authentic Polish food and a fabulous beer selection. And life-size stuffed animals native to the area. Forget about it during color tour season, its a bumper to bumper parade. Try a Wednesday in the spring or summer.

DroF: The west side of the Leelanau peninsula on M22 isn’t a bad ride either.

Michael: Mine is M-32 between US131 and East Jordan, Michigan. About 18 miles, lots of twists (when on our way from Indiana to Charlevoix, the kids used to refer to this road as The Twistys), hills, and a couple of long stretches where you could let the car out a bit.

big block bob: in Northern Michigan explore Leelanau county roads. There’s something for everyone: Sleeping Bear National Lake Shore, M22 with beautiful water views and lots of fruit tree orchards (which are especially beautiful when they blossom!).

DroF: I found a great road in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan—H58 between Melstrand and Grand Marias, along the shore of Lake Superior—approximately 25 miles, well paved, mostly in the wilderness with plenty of curves and elevation changes—don’t tell anyone—OK?

Rick: For a nice day drive in my SLS AMG, I say M22 starting in Traverse City. Great views, enough curves to be fun, and many great spots to stop for a lunch or a cool drink.

Mark: I live in NW Michigan, home of nearby Hagerty Insurance in Traverse City. The roads North of TC offer an amazing variety of great roads. Don’t tell anyone, but those roads are in Leelanau County.

Glenbob50: The Keweenaw peninsula MI. From Phoenix on M26 to Copper Harbour to the beginning of US41. Then US41 back to Phoenix. These twisting, turning, and undulating paved roads will have you working all three pedals. Scenic any season but gorgeous in the autumn. While in Copper Harbour shoot up to the top of Brockway Mountain Drive for kicks for a view that will take your breath away!

VairsUPnorth: Living in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan we are spoiled by the abundance of low traffic scenic roads but I have to 2nd Glenbob50’s top choice of the loop from Phoenix to Copper Harbor and back on M-26 and US-41. A run up of Brockway mountain drive allows for a second pass on M-26 along Lake Superior.

Southwest/West

RD: Definitely Route 66 especially through New Mexico and Arizona, so much history and scenery, absolutely amazing.

John: I-15 through the Virgin River gorge across the corner of Arizona and into Utah. It’s a blast!

Robb: Yes! As long as you hit the “Arizona Strip” when traffic is light, this is one of the best drives in the country. As a driver with the right equipped car/motorbike the twisties make 100mph feel like 130mph, and passengers get to see one of the most thrilling views in the country.

Blahdeblah: The Bear Tooth Highway in Wyoming.

Studebacher: US 191 from Hoback Juction to “the Rim” (off season only) or US 26 from Moran Junction to Dubois (off season only). Both are in western Wyoming, south of Yellowstone National Park.

Mangusta Me: In the 70’s the Arab oil embargo brought a national speed limit of 55, and I searched for a quicker east/west route than interstate 80. Luckily I found it in the stretch of US 50 through Nevada that was later named “The Loneliest Road in America” by Life magazine. Publicity brought no doubt fame and traffic, but when I drove it you could go for a half hour without seeing another car. Needless to say, the “speed limit” was whatever you wanted to go. I’m sure it’s still just as scenic but definitely not as lonely…

Jeff: My favorite driving road is Nevada’s Loneliest Hwy. 50. I’ve completed at least 14 round trips on it from Redding, CA (once from Florence, OR & soon again) to visit my brother Doug in Vail, CO starting in 1986. The Loneliest Highway has way more traffic on it now since 1986.

Rick: This may sound weird to many, but my vote for favorite road is “America’s Loneliest Highway” NV Route 50. It is remote for sure, but it is peaceful, scenic, historic (it follows the Pony Express route), and very relaxing. As long as I don’t need cell reception, frequent rest and service stops, it can’t be beat.

John: I totally agree! loved the flat sections through the desert and then the climbs and and the drives down from the high points. Last did that in 1981 and hope to do again!

Lynn: Highway 191: Flaming Gorge to Vernal, Utah to Wyoming and Wolf Creek Pass (east of Park City).

Kent: Rim trail: Beautiful views from the vantage point of driving along a cliff with a valley almost 1200 feet below you. A dirt road through Tonto national forest, the entire road is an old trading route trail from Fort Apache to Fort Verde (where Geronimo was captured) in Arizona. The cliff portion is primarily between Strawberry and Payson.

Jcx2bby: Deer Creek road along Mt. Charleston north of Vegas. A twisty mountain climb, wicked fun in a hot rod!

Zmega: High Road to Taos, New Mexico.

Philippe: My favorite drive is Apache Trail, aka AZ-88, east of Phoenix AZ, starting from Apache Junction. Nice and smooth pavement, twisty, great sceneries until Tortilla Flat, after the road turn into gravel .

Rob: My favorite would be Arizona State Route 89A from Flagstaff to Oak Creek Village, passing through Oak Creek Canyon and Sedona along the way.

Scott: US 191 Devil’s Highway in AZ is one I plan to drive soon. The sheer number of turns and mountain scenery guarantee an engaging drive. The drive up Kit Peak and Mount Lemmon in Tucson are also enjoyable when traffic is light and the roads are open. They are close enough to get to without much planning.

David: The enchanted circle in northern New Mexico. 75 miles of high mountain roads with plenty of turns and straight roads. The scenery is amazing.

Mike: AZ-89A between Prescott and Cottonwood is one of my all time favorites. Snaking through breathtaking mountain vistas and going through the touristy old ghost town of Jerome is my idea of a fun drive.

Roy: Byway 12 in Utah. Winding roads, long straights, and tons of elevation changes all while taking in breath-taking landscape.

Colorado

Bradd: Pikes Peak in Colorado. I used to work on the mountain and have been to many of the race weeks.

Mike: The “million dollar highway,” north of Durango, CO. Back in the dark ages they blasted/chipped a 2 lane paved road out of a solid rock mountain side, a million dollars a mile, twisting & turning with the mountain contour. Most doesn’t have a guard rail, so down you go, a few hundred feet. Exciting in the summer, try it in the winter. Scenic, if you care to look while driving it.

MLG: The Million Dollar Highway from Ouray, CO to Silverton, CO.

Blahdeblah: Trail Ridge Road, and Old Fall River Road in Rocky Mountain National Park.

Edward: Trail Ridge Road from Estes Park CO to Grand Lake CO it is open from Memorial Day to Labor Day, It crosses the continental divide and at its highest point is over 12,000 ft. Beautiful views and lots of fun driving stretches. Also lots of Elk and other wildlife.

3Deuces: San Juan Skyway, an absolutely breathtaking 232-mile loop though the Southwest Colorado high country with lots of twisties, scenic views and very few guard rails!

Leonard: 130 from Carbondale to Paonia Colorado. Even better, the Grand Mesa to Powderhorn Ski Area

Francisco: Ute Creek Pass, a winding road between Woodland Park and Manitou Springs, CO on my motorcycle. I have ridden that road many times and each time I feel like it is the first time I have ever ridden it. UCP is part is part of Route 24.

Ron: Currently living in the Houston area, good driving roads nearby are very scarce. But my many years in Colorado provided some great roads. The best is Hwy 550 called “The Million Dollar Highway” in southwestern CO between Durango and Ouray over Coal Bank, Molas and the bad boy, Red Mountain Pass. Not for the faint of heart if you don’t like 300’+ drops off the side with no guard rails. Drove it many times, summer and winter.

Tom: Highway 141 in Colorado.

Brian: Colorado State Highway 14 heading west from Ted’s Place along the Poudre River, through the Poudre Canyon, connecting to US 40. Then continuing west over Rabbit Ears pass to Steamboat Springs.

Donald: The Million Dollar Highway is great for sightseeing, not for thrilling driving – too many RVs and trucks. Try Cottonwood Pass between Buena Vista and Taylor Park Reservoir on a weekday. But if you’re in the area of 550, catch CO 141 from Naturita to Gateway. For deserted sweepers, it’s hard to beat. Another fav is Guanella Pass between Georgetown and US 285.

CaptPaul: So many good roads already chosen, and so many more to choose from. One of my favourites though is the drive to the top of Pike’s Peak in Colorado. Beautiful vistas and just enough curves to make it interesting.

ilan: Colorado 141 from Grand Junction to Gateway, then CO 145 From Gateway to Telluride is pretty spectacular

California

Brent: California Hwy 1 though the Redwood forest. Front tires burned holes in the inner fenders of a BMW 540, but it was worth it, unless you ask my wife.

Alvin: Pacific Coast Highway from Santa Monica to Ventura County Line. Or the Pacific Coast Highway from Half Moon Bay to San Francisco. Or the Pacific Coast Highway from Carmel South to Nepenthe Restaurant!

Jack: In CA, Highway 46 West from 101 freeway in Paso Robles driving west to Highway One, no traffic lights, one roundabout. A roughly 26 mile run with valley, mountain and ocean views. This is one of the best roads to take your ride on, car or motorcycle!

Joseph: The best road in Southern California is the Angeles Crest Highway, Highway 2! It is more than 120 mile loop twisting and turning through the Angeles Forest and San Gabriel Mountains from La Canada to Wrightwood. Come back around from behind the mountains on Mt. Emma Road to Pearblossom Highway and you have one of the greatest drives you can imagine just a few miles outside downtown LA.

Tony: Highway 9, from Saratoga CA to Santa Cruz will always be my favorite. It can be frustrating on weekends, but a wonderful twisty, scenic ride.

David: CA Highway 229 from Creston to Santa Margarita. Lots of twisties and elevation changes. Very little traffic. And be sure to stop for lunch at the Loading Chute in Creston for some real cowboy grub!

Chuck: We go for mid-week drives in the Gold Country Foothills of the Sierras here in California. Hwy 49 runs north/south and has great sections to enjoy. Nevada City to Sierraville is a great stretch at the north end. Then south and the section from Sonora to Mariposa is a lot of fun.

Mac: My overall favorite drive in my Corvette is California Pacific Coast highway. Without a doubt the best drive on the globe!

VictorK: In California, Hwy One from Carmel Highlands through Big Sur to Cambria. Hwy 120 through Yosemite and to Tioga Pass. Hwy 108 above Twain Harte to Sonora Pass. Avenue of the Giants, off Hwy 101, Humboldt Redwoods area. Skyline Rd, Santa Cruz Mountains from Castle Rock Park to Sky Londa.Hwy 9 between Saratogagap and Big Basin St Park.

Mar4357: Favorite country road is Cal 128, heading west from I-5. The first part goes through twisty, rocky, up and down riverside terrain–fun! Then it goes through lovely green, treelined countryside on its way to the Napa Valley. Favorite dirt road is the Oakville Grade between Napa and Sonoma. Very narrow and twisty.

Cory: San Francisco Bay Area west Peninsula drivers have it right. Take Highway 35 (Skyline Drive) south of Highway 92 all the way to Santa Cruz (include pieces of Highway 9) for a winding, scenic tour through Redwoods. If you want an abbreviated tour, go east or west on Highway 84 back to the town of Woodside or west to La Honda and stop in at Apple Jack’s (iconic bar that used to belong to my Brother-in-Law’s Uncle) or stop in at the General Store in San Gregorio for a bite, drink, or both and you can mix with locals, billionaires, and bikers. My good friend and co-worker lived across the street. It’s like the Wild West and I reserve my right to withhold comment. After JUST ONE DRINK, head north on Highway 1 to Highway 92 east or all the way up to Sharps Park in Pacifica or connect with the 280 Freeway.

James: CA Highway 32 Red Bluff Sacramento Valley to Susanville CA. or Highway 32 Chico to beyond Chester are both great (not what they used to be, though!), or US Highway 395 Redding to Burney (or further) are fun and still safely engineered. The Feather River Canyon is twisty, beautifully rugged, and historical, but a lot of trucks must use all three roads.

Richard: Rt 66 from California to Chicago.

Steve: Highway 1 up the California coast.

Capt. DG: RT 74 from Palm Desert, CA to Idyllwild CA, great views of the desert and mountains.

Mike: Carbon Canyon Drive (Hwy 142} between Placentia and Chino Hills in Orange and San Bernardino counties in So. California. I have not driven it since 2001, so I have no idea what it is like now!

Dean: I think the most fun I’ve had on a road is 84 out to Alice’s Restaurant in CA. I was driving the chase Dodge minivan on a Viper trip with 13 lead acid batteries strapped to the floor for hot start testing. Amazing just how well minivans handle, especially with some ballast.

JB: Hey Dean, you were almost there. Taking a turn south out of La Honda, you would be on Alpine Road to Pescadero Road. Makes 84 Seem straight and wide.

Jason: All the roads in the San Diego backcountry are fabulous. Palomar Mountain, Mount Laguna, Old Hwy 94. Best place to ride motors year round. While most of the nation is hunkered down for winter, some of the best riding and driving is during the winter months. And, the roads are mostly empty year-round. I guess people out here prefer going to the beach.

3DogsIsALot: Tuna Canyon—be careful! Then there’s Glendora Ridge Road & Glendora Mountain Road. And the best kept secret? Gilman Hot Springs Road, when our kids were little, we did it in a fully loaded Odyssey and all of us still talk about it with smiles!

Robert: My favorite road is Highway 1 in Northern California starting in the coastal town of Half Moon Bay and traveling some 20 miles south to the village of Pescadero. This section of Highway 1 has everything: world class scenery by the Pacific Ocean, sensuous rolling hills, intoxicating curves, stimulating straights, and light weekday traffic. Then, when you reach your destination, the village of Pescadero, you can enjoy the finest coffee for miles around at the best coffee shop in Northern California, Downtown Local.

Ronald: Boonville Road (AKA Hwy 253) from Ukiah, CA to coast Highway One. Perfect combination of climes from dry oak woodland through cast redwood to the Pacific Ocean. Perfect jaunt top- down in my 1959 T-Bird convertible. Then an option to follow Hwy one north or south as long as time and fuel allows. Done this many times in the past.

David: Whenever we travel to California and the San Francisco/San Jose area we always have to drive Skyline and the La Honda area roads…EPIC! Remember to stop in Pescadero for the BEST Artichoke bread around. In 2015 when we went to the Porsche Rennsport V at Laguna Seca—a fellow with Canepa told us to make sure we stop in Pescadero for their bread, been there 3 times now.

Granville: Pescadero is where we had the best coleslaw ever. Lots of great roads in the Peninsula too but timing your drive to avoid traffic, including cyclists, is a must. I live in Mendocino County where there are many great driving windy routes. Arguably even better ones in Sonoma County but those have a ton of pesky bicyclists.

Larry: There are a lot of really cool roads in So. Cal. One is the road that runs through Oak Glen and connects Yucaipa to Cherry Valley Another is The road that connects Yucaipa Ca. to Redlands Blvd. through Live Oak canyon. It’s not just the road it’s the scenery along the road. Both are cool roads with good scenery.

Mike: Live Oak Canyon Road through Trabuco Canyon in California.

Luis: Put the top down and go to any southern California beach. My favorites, Highway 101 to Ventura and Highway 1 to Big Sur.

Rich: Head north of San Francisco on 101 and over the course of several days take EVERY east/west road between 101 and the 1 (it’s not called the PCH up there.) Some are fast and curvy, some are slow and curvy-every one is a blast! Lots of redwoods, ocean cliff views, interesting places to stop and eat. Plan on buying new tires when you’re done.

Jim: I’m in Marin County, CA. Close to home, I love Novato Blvd from just west of town to Pt Reyes-Petaluma Rd. It’s only 9 miles, but it’s a fun twisty curvy road through farmland and on a weekday morning has little traffic so I can really push the light VTEC in my 2002 Accord. The car is really not fast but it does a good job of pretending it is if you push the tachometer towards the ketchup range coming out of each curve. As others have mentioned PCH is great if you don’t get stuck behind someone. Several years ago I was on the especially squiggly stretch south of Big Sur and had a good half hour with no one in my way so I could push it as hard as I dared.

Ccan: My vote is a weekday, 4 hour, one-way run from SF to Yosemite. Once you hit Manteca it’s 2 lane heaven for patience, the setup, and safe passing, with beauty all around. If the road is open to Toulomne Meadows, slow down and enjoy majestic views. Lunch at the Awhanee ain’t bad before the run back. Great to exercise a nimble car and manual tranny.

Ron: Here are three nominations:

3) For scenery, diversity, and length, the Pacific Coast Highway is hard to beat although Scenic Byway 12 in southern Utah is a competitor. PCH offers rewards all the way from San Diego in the south up to Seattle 1650 miles distant. Great vistas, significant landmarks and driving bliss….As long as you’re not trapped behind a string of sightseers or trapped behind a motorhome! The classic stretch between Cambria in the south and Carmel to the north is best traversed at first light to avoid traffic.

2) South Grade Road up the side of Mount Palomar. I admit I’m spoiled by the number of great roads we have to chose from here in the west. I live just north of San Diego. Palomar Mountain is a convenient 20 minutes away from our home. And there are excellent roads through the foothills to get there. If the stunning vistas (you can see the Channel Islands out in the Pacific, down to Mexico and as far north as the coastal city of Oceanside) aren’t enough to excite your senses, the road itself is one of the best Hillclimb extant. Make sure to watch out for cyclists, both human powered and motorized!

1) California Hwy 229/Webster Road. The 3.5 mile stretch between Blue Star Memorial Highway and Rocky Canyon Road just south of Creston, California is pure driving nirvana. UPS, downs, twists, blind turns, rhythm sections; this stretch has it all. After you drive it in one direction, turn around and go back the other way. This road is narrow at about 1.5 lanes in width for about half of its length. So exercise situational awareness! When finished head over to the Longbranch Saloon in Creston for lunch, a beverage and live music on the weekends. The perfect topper to a great driving experience.

Pacific Northwest

Aaron: US 199—Crescent City, CA to Grants Pass, OR. Starting only a couple of miles from the Pacific Ocean,it winds through the tall trees of Redwood National/State Park, runs along the Smith River, carves through canyons filled with pine and deciduous woodlands, and goes through quaint small settlements. It presents technical banked and off-camber turns, hairpins, undulating “S” turns, long sweeping curves and a long straight here and there. The road has traffic at peak hours sometimes, and is often busy at the height of tourist season, but taking advantage of a very early or very late run can be quite the excellent experience.

DUB6: There really are too many good drives in my area to list and especially to choose as the “favorite”. However, it’s pretty hard to ignore the Highway 55 from Boise to the Banks-to-Lowman Road and then back to Boise via Highway 21. This takes you north through sagebrush-scrub hills up into the timber alongside Class III whitewater on the Main Payette River. Then, eastward from Banks along some Class IV water and through Garden Valley and up and over some great climbs. Watch out for deer, elk, and wild turkeys along this route. Over Grimes Pass, you descend into Lowman and turn back south through Idaho City, along Mores Creek and Robie Creek until it empties into Lucky Peak Reservoir, and then along the Boise River into town. This is an extremely popular ride for motorcycles in the summer, but doing it in a classic car and making a few stops (picnic spots, cafes along the river, hot springs/pools) is also a ton of fun.

Joe: An obscure road near Port Ludlow, Washington state, Thorndyke Rd. That, and the Olympic Peninsula Hwy 101 Loop. Also the North Cascades Scenic Highway.

John: My vote is for Bell Road above Newburg, Ore. Close to town, but feels like a million miles away, a side trip to Bald Peak is nice too. Many of us put up with the crazy west coast and expensive cost of living to drive its gorgeous terrain. Light on traffic, heavy on curves and hills, 141 begins sandwiched between the Missouri River floodplain and the windblown Loess Hills as far as Smithland. At Smithland, Old 141 turns into the current 141, taking a turn to the east for a direct assault on the rolling bluffs. Dodging cornfields, farmhouses, and abandoned rail lines, it’s also possible to find a few stretches where the speedometer can flirt with the century mark. (Or so I’m told.)

ron: Driving the Oregon Coast on a clear day from north to south has great curves, incredible scenery, tree lined hills and along the edge of the ocean. Huge bridges, small and large towns and end up at Crescent beach, CA.

Pat: State Route 410 across the Washington State Cascade Mountain Range. And then there is a very twisty little road out of Asotin Washington going south into Oregon. Wow.

Brian: So many great roads, but my favorite is Highway 395 between Burns and Pendleton, Oregon. The curves and remarkable vistas, especially near the town of Long Creek, are flat-out wonderful, and the lack of traffic makes it even better. The route invariably reminds me that there are huge portions of Oregon where almost no one lives.

David: Oregon State Highway 34 from Philomath to Waldport! Twisties all 55 miles of the way through the coast range plus beautiful scenery and often no traffic at all.

Alvin: US 101 – Near Cannon Beach, Oregon

John: Starting in Lewiston, Idaho. Head East on US Highway 12 to Lolo Hot Springs in Montana. This is a great motorcycle ride, with plenty of big sweeping curves and not much traffic. Just make sure to fill your gas tank in Lewiston because there are few gas stops on this 180-mile route. Spend the night at the Lolo Hot Springs Resort. On to Missoula, MT next morning for breakfast and I-90 back to Coeur d’Alene, ID or Spokane, WA.

Roo: The Cascade Loop in WA State. Start on Hwy 2 at the entrance in Everett WA. Stevens Pass, then drop down through the white water rapids to Leavenworth. Drive up the Columbia River and head west to Winthrop. From there you drive up the Alpine Lakes Wilderness and down to Rockport, then Darrington and back to Everett. There is a spot between Rockport to Darrington where you wont see a cop for years.

John: Chuckanut Drive just south of Bellingham, Washington. Lots of sharp curves on a bluff overlooking Puget Sound. A plus is a stop for fresh oysters at Taylor Shellfish Farm.

Rick: There are two or three roads that are worth driving in the northwest. The spiral highway is found on the north side of the Snake River in Clarkston Washington. Then there’s Lolo Pass in Idaho with 95 miles of almost non stop curves with trout fishing along fantastic scenery. Finally the north side of the Columbia River on state highway 14 from Maryhill to Vancouver is just as scenic as the Oregon side but if you like spurts of speed don’t take this road on the weekend with shoal paced Sunday drivers.

Rick: Lolo Pass on State Highway 12 east of Lewiston, Idaho to Missoula, Montana follows some of Lewis & Clark’s trail. It’s 95 miles of curves along the Lochsa River. Also State Highway 14 in Washington along the Columbia River between Maryhill Muesum and Vancouver offers similar scenery as the Oregon side but travel weekdays to avoid Sunday drivers.

DUB6: U.S. Highway 12 in Washington State from I-5 (just south of Chehalis over White Pass to Yakima is one of my favorites. It’s not really a technically challenging road, but it covers so many differing types of geography that it’s just a pleasure (except in winter!) to travel on. From flower and blueberry farms down around Mossyrock, to amazing views of the backside of Mount Rainier up by Randle, to the orchards of Fruitvale. It’s more of a “route choice” to take when traveling across that state than it is a “cruising road.” I take it every trip to and from the Puget Sound area—weather permitting!

Northeast

dward: Two short and sweet rides I do in CNY near Syracuse. Cedarvale Rd below Rt 173, aptly named 13 curves. Two minutes of fun especially in the uphill direction. In 10 minutes you’re back in the city of Syracuse. To the east of Syracuse, Rt 13 from Casenovia to Chitinango, a 15 minute fun ride.

audiobycarmine: As the decades pass, and population/traffic grows, the old “fun” roads become somewhat less enjoyable. Here on Long Island, we’re blessed with quite a few, whether on the hilly North Shore or the flatter South Shore. One of my favorites is also quite an historical one: the Vanderbilt Motor Parkway.

JerseyBoy66: I’d go with 347 south through the pines into Cape May Court House (off season only)

Ron: Hwy #87 between Plattsburgh, NY and Lake George, NY was at one time voted one of the most scenic in the nation.

Dr. Seldom B. Overboost: Route 169 in Northern Connecticut and Southern Massachusetts. Beautiful tree-lined road with historic old homes.

Mike: The Litchfield Hills in N.W. Connecticut. Beautiful twists and turns, vineyards, covered bridges, rolling hills and endless pastures.

Pete G: Second that! The Northwestern corner of Connecticut is flat out gorgeous. So please…stay away!

Herb: That part of CT is beautiful, especially in October. And how I would love to spend a weekend on the track at LimeRock!

Andrea: In my current small state of Delaware, there are two roads that I go out of my way to travel with my Miata: The first, along my daily commute, is Fork Branch Road, southwest of Frederica, DE. It’s a quiet lane with a few hills (a rarity in such a flat state), passes horse farms, cornfields, and crosses a tidal creek between an undeveloped tract of woodland. My second-favorite in Delaware is Route 9 from Reedy Point Bridge to just south of Dover Air Base. The view from Reedy Point Bridge offers a breathtaking view of the C&D Canal, marshlands, and Delaware Bay, and it winds its way through quaint fishing villages, historic farms, and wildlife refuges.

Scott: CT Route 7, from its junction with RT 202 in New Milford, all the way to the Mass border. Also known as “The Road to Lime Rock.”

Mat: My favorite Driving Road is Beach Road in East Norwalk Connecticut I enjoy driving around the Beach with the view of the Long Island sound.

Tom: Always a spectacular drive: The Kancamagus Highway in NH.

Mark: Western mountains of Maine create a square from Kingfield to Stratton to Rangeley down to Phillips. Big elevation gains past 2 ski areas with plenty of turns following streams and waterfalls. 98 Mile loop.

Phil: Many back roads in Lancaster County, PA are lightly traveled and are perfect for cruising in my ’66 Beetle.

Paul: At the right time of day, the combo Lincoln Drive & the Kelly Drive ranks way up with me. Morris Road from Germantown Academy to Salford Township, PA is excellent as well. Take the trip both ways; they were very different rides on my Ducati 750 GT.

Peter: Rt. 120 in Harimon state park NY. in my Backdraft Cobra.

Tom: River Road, between Youngstown NY and Lewiston NY along the Niagara River in the morning or after dark in the spring or Summer with the top down.

Frank: Route 8 from Winsted, CT to Dalton, MA.

Craig: In New York, State Route 97 from Port Jervis north to Hancock. It is a scenic paradise, weather you are skirting the Delaware River in many spots or in the twisties of the “Hawks Nest”. There are many pull off areas, and if you stop at the Historic Roebling Bridge you may even see a Bald Eagle or two diving for a fish dinner where the Lackawaxen River meets the Delaware River. I’ve seen it and it is something you will not forget. The drive is very relaxing.

Tom: Growing up on Long Island, we would vacation in New England. We always used Route 2, The Mohawk Trail, in northeastern Massachusetts. I haven’t been back there in a few years. I hope it hasn’t changed. There was also the Kancamagus Highway in New Hampshire. Those were amazing driving experiences. These days if I have some time and want some curves, I follow route 142 along the Klickitat River in southern Washington.

Ron: Hwy #87 between Plattsburgh, NY and Lake George, NY was at one time voted one of the most scenic in the nation.

Ronald: There is hardly a straight road on Cape Cod! My favorite is Pimlico Pond road in Sandwich.

Espo70: I live in Northern NJ where most roads are either pothole ridden, or too regularly patrolled by the long arm of the law. Yet, there is one section of road in Andover, NJ called Andover Mohawk Rd (613) that allows for a little “open it up and let her rip”. It has nice bends, sharp curves and long straights among some very pretty scenery.

Frank: Routes 89 and 90 around Cayuga Lake and routes 14 and 414 around Seneca Lake, two of New York’s Finger Lakes…Spring through Fall!

Paul: The combo, on my Ducati GT 750, at the right time of day, of the Lincoln Drive and the Kelly Drive in Philadelphia was an ideal route. A bit further out is Morris Rd from Germantown Academy all the way up to Salford Twp. Take those roads both ways; it is a very different experience.

John: Route 100 in Vermont from the MA line to Stowe and beyond. And there’s Route 2 above Burlington through the island in Lake Champlain up to Alberg and Quebec.

ADZ07605: US RT 6 from Milford, PA West to at least Honesdale or all the way across the state. Hills sweeping curves on and off camber sweeps.

Albert: For me it would have to be the Kancamagus highway in the white mountains of New Hampshire, although my experience was on my motorcycle. I know that it would be a blast in my ’69 vette.

daddy stev: New Hampshire’s Kancamagus Highway, Lincoln to Conway, stopping for a swim or a hike or to camp nearby – but used to be even better long ago when it was rough and undeveloped, and parking was free. Then go north to Mt Washington Road, pay the toll and up to the top – in foliage season – along with everybody else in New England. There’s lots nearby if you got the time, like a cog railway on the west side of Mt Washington.

J White: Route 100 up the gut of Vermont just east of the Green Mountain Range.

Texas

David: For a road near a major metropolitan area, Lime Creek Road in Austin isn’t bad at all.

Leonard: A few hours west of Houston, Sajeev’s location, is Wimberley, Texas. The Devil’s Backbone is a famous run. There is a tavern with the same name, and a roadside park to watch the sunset. (Haven’t been there yet. Gonna add that to my personal list! —SM)

Eric: Spent a week in Houston, TX a few years ago and drove that very same Katy Freeway. Crazy. Get out of that left lane—cars going by at 80-90 MPH or more like they were driving on the German Autobahn.

Glenn: FM1431 between Cedar Park, Texas and Marble falls. Lots of hills and curves. It’s a blast.

Keith: Not naming roads but if you Head down to Luckenbach TX and then to Kerrville, you can pick some of the most stomach-tingling and butterfly-giving roads I’ve ever been on. Rolling hills you can’t see over until it’s too late, with sweeping blind turns that change in elevation and make you almost weightless at times. Think Isle of Man.

Mark: RR 335,336 and 337 (aka the Twisted Sisters) in the Texas Hill Country. Mostly acclaimed as a motorcycle route, it is very enjoyable in a great handling car as well!

Kevin: Highway 285 Fort Stockton to Sanderson Texas. If you are lucky enough to enter and drive in the Big Bend Open Road Race, you can go as fast as your car can go if you qualify. This Highway has many blind turns as you cut through the mountains. Unlimited prepped cars exceed 220 mph, with course record near 180 mph average speed during the 120 mile contest.

Mark: The Twisted Sisters starting in Kerrville Texas. If you drive the entire 222 mile loop, plan on seven hours of driving plus stops for food and drink along the way.

Doug: FM 1431 between Lago Vista, TX and Marble Falls, TX is a fast and curvy trek built for sport car fun (and motorcycle). A bit of a challenge when slow traffic is in front of you, but there are “Slow Traffic Turnouts” that you can encourage the offenders to take.

South/Deep South

Evan: Two favorite roads: Arkansas #7 from Harrison AR to Hot Springs AR and Arkansas #23(commonly referred to “The Pig’s Trail”) from Eureka Springs AR to Ozark AR.

Dave: US-460 from Paris KY at least to Mt. Sterling. Or continue to the Red River Gorge area.

Michael: Richard B. Russell Scenic Highway (SR 348) between Helen and Choestoe Georgia. So many great roads in that area. SR180 from Vogel SP down to Suches, then SR 60 all the way to Morganton. You’ll run out of gas before you run out of curves. And all without the crowds on Tail of The Dragon. And it is closer to lodging and restaurants.

Dave: US-421 North from Frankfort, KY at least 18 miles to Defoe. (Or continue to Madison, IN.)

jeffery: Arkansas Scenic Pig Trail.

DeeJay: Hwy 90 from New Orleans to Pascagoula. Especially in early October during “America’s Largest Block Party” aka Cruisin’ the Coast. If you got a convertible, it’s extra fun. But you may want to apply a heapin’ amount of sunscreen.

Lars: In Atlanta, we’re 1-2 hours away from some of the most amazing driving roads in the country. The tri-state corners region of TN, GA, and NC is full of opportunities for spirited driving on twisty roads. We frequently make that trek north and it never gets old. My all time favorite is the Cherohala Skyway between Tellico Plains, TN and Robbinsville, NC. Drive it from west to east on a Sunday late afternoon in the fall. With the setting sun behind you, illuminating the ridges and valleys beyond with a warm glow, cruising the perfectly engineered, constant radius corners can flow so wonderfully (if you go fast enough) that it takes on a zen-like character. The elevation changes and views are dramatic, too. Highly recommend!

Terry: The Natchez Trace!

Don: The Lake Pontchartrain Causeway in Louisiana is the longest bridge in the United States, spanning 23.79 miles across Lake Pontchartrain. It’s also the longest continuous bridge over water in the world. The bridge connects New Orleans with smaller communities on the north shore of the lake. It’s made up of two parallel bridges supported by 9,500 concrete pilings.

Ken: Hands down; the Overseas Highway (Route 1) from Key Biscayne to Key West in the Florida Keys. No better road with better scenery; Atlantic Ocean on one side, Gulf of Mexico on the other!

North Carolina (and Neighbors)

Daniel: My favorite road goes back to around 1969 while riding with my parents as a child and remains my favorite today to drive “sportedly”, US Hwy 176 “Saluda Grade” between Tryon, NC and Saluda, NC. In the years leading up to around 1978 this narrow US highway, with it’s one lane bridges, was the main road and only connector for I-26 between Saluda and Tryon, NC as the interstate had issues being built with rock slides and wash outs at the time. In my early driving years, and living only 20 miles away, I loved driving my Firebird and brother’s Spitfire on this twisty road. I still love driving it, even if it’s in my Silverado when I’m in the area visiting family and friends.

Dane: Tail of the Dragon was my first true riding experience on my brand new 2004 HD Road King Custom. Beautiful area!

Jose: The Dragon is the one everyone knows about, but in Western NC just throw a dart and you will find some sweet asphalt winding its way to somewhere or nowhere at times. My personal favorite is HWY 64 from Franklin, NC to Murphy, NC but keep that between us we don’t want it getting spoiled like HWY 129.

Tim: My wife and rode the Tail on our H-D Ultra’s. When we discussed what we thought was the best part of the ride we came to the conclusion that we were so focused on being in the correct lane position we missed a lot of terrific scenery.

Thomas: I agree, the Tail of the Dragon, in Western North Carolina, is a really fun drive in a manual-transmission car. Personally, I’d love to see the Blue Ridge Parkway closed off for ONE DAY, to allow Northbound traffic at thirty-minute intervals. It would be a BLAST!

Trekker: Yes! As a resident of North Carolina, I can attest to Tail of the Dragon and the Blue Ridge Parkway as “must drive” roadways in Western NC!

Mark: “Tail of the Dragon” on the North Carolina / Tennessee border!

William: One of my all-time favorites is US 129 from NC into TN. It’s called Deals Gap and is one of the twistiest roads in the USA. It’s nickname is The Tail of The Dragon and for good reason! There are 318 turns in just over 11 miles! We would go up there for a week at a time twice a year to escape the rigors of city life in Fort Lauderdale and its was pure paradise! Many car clubs as well as motorcycle groups are there from Memorial Day through Labor Day when the weather is at its best. The Deals Gap Resort is on the NC end and is a Motel as well as a country store and fuel station.

Eldo: The World-Famous Tail of the Dragon (TN/NC) is 318 curves in 11 miles. As soon as you come out of one curve, you start preparing for the next one. Hard to beat this for driving adventure and scenery.

83Scamp: I love The Tail of the Dragon. Unfortunately, it has now become infamous, and all the morons who think they know how to drive run it at stupid speeds. Just this week alone, there have been three serious accidents on it already, and it’s only Wednesday! I think my Dragon slayer days are over, I’ll find other, better roads where some moron with more car than brains won’t kill me.

JR: Living in NC, I avoid the Dragon like the plague. It was fun 20 years ago before the YouTubers found it. A better choice in NC is…Sorry, not telling.

George: Tail of the Dragon, even with the traffic and cops. One road you don’t need to be driving fast on to enjoy it.

Scott: Route 231 from Gordonsville VA to Somerset VA, perfect mix of curves, straights, and elevation change for a solid-lifter Corvette.

Tommy: My favorite is in Virginia. Take State route 43 from Altavista to Eagle Rock, especially from Bedford to Buchanan. Part of 43 is on the Blue Ridge Parkway from the Peaks of Otter through Powells Gap. Side trips include Smith Mountain Lake, The D-Day Memorial, kayaking on the James River, and Natural Bridge.

Barbqme2: I live in Chattanooga, TN. There are many excellent roads in my area. Everyone has heard of Tail of the Dragon. It is an easy day’s drive from my house. Here are some other roads that are IMO much better than the Dragon and are an easy drive from Chattanooga. HWY 30 from HWY 64 to HWY 411. This is hands down my favorite road in this area. There is an excellent 50’s style restaurant at the intersection of 30 and 411 that I highly recommend stopping at. Alternately, and perhaps even better is to take HWY 30 to Reliance, cross the bridge over the Hiwassee River and take HWY 315 to HWY 39. Turn right on 39 and this takes you to Tellico Plains, the entrance to the Cherohala Skyway. The Cherohala Skyway is a fantastic road through the mountains. This takes you to Hwy 129. Turn left and this takes you to the Dragon.

Herb: I’ve found lots of great roads over many years as an enthusiast, but #1 has to be highway 276 between Marietta, SC and the top of the mountain at Cesar’s Head State Park. The backroads of Floyd and Patrick counties in SW Virginia are a close second. They didn’t do lots of grading, they just followed the lay of the land and the land is ultra rural and beautiful.

Mark: Between Black Mountain NC and Bat Cave NC is Hwy 9. A real fun drive in a Mini.

Bill: We’re lucky to live in western NC. Have been on the Tail twice (once on bike, once in car), that’s enough. We have easily a half dozen comparable roads in the area with dozens of other good rides as well, plus 9-10 months of decent driving weather. As a good alternative, try Back of the Dragon, VA 14, from Marion, VA to Tazewell, VA.

Birdman: Back, not Tail of the Dragon. Too many idiots on Tail. There are many great roads in western NC, but don’t want to tell the secrets.

John: Another vote for back of the Dragon!

Brad: Hwy. 16 out of Marion Va. One direction takes you to the Back of the Dragon the other into No. Carolina. If you like mountain roads the Back of the Dragon will get your adrenaline going. Beautiful drive in either direction through the Jefferson National Forest.

RichyRich: Skyline Drive in VA. Can’t remember the route number or road name but the road that runs from Gatlinburg, TN to Cherokee, NC.

Oldtexasdog: Tail of the Dragon is the sweet spot for my BMW M5 but as others have said it is getting rather crowded with rubber necking wannabees and folks on their Big Harleys trying to make those beast behave like a Ninja. So I have found the surrounding roads around Deals Gap and Robinsville can be just as much fun and very lightly traveled especially on weekdays or early in the morning.

Terance: A while back I lived in western North Carolina in the middle of a highway they call the Rattler. It has 290 curves in 24 miles. It is fun the first few times but after a while you get to where you wish you could straighten it so you could get somewhere quicker.

Tim: Living in East Tennessee, Here are some of my close by “favorite” driving roads — Cherohala Skyway, Foothills Parkway, Devil’s Triangle, TN — just to name a few. So lucky to have these and many others within an hour from home. Notice I left out “The Dragon”, it’s for tourists.

David: Blue Ridge Parkway!

Mark: The Cherohala Skyway, a beautiful mountain highway winding up and over 5,400 foot mountains for 18 miles in North Carolina and descends another 23 miles into the deeply forested back country of Tennessee. The road crosses through the Cherokee and Nantahala National Forests thus the name “Chero…hala”. Lots of nice sweepers for a motorcycle.

Midwest

Brian: I live in St. Louis, and just south in Jefferson county, there are numerous good roads, but my favorite one is further south. Highway 32, from Banner to Bixby (and on to Salem, if I’m honest). I teasingly call it the “Tail of the Possum”.

Tom: Minnesota 1, between Ely and Lake Superior (near Finland, Minn.) was a pleasant discovery in the C8 Corvette last summer. Highly recommended, lightly traveled.

John: Rt 7 runs along the Ohio River and there are several others in that area. Great on a Harley.

Aaron: Locally my favorite road is the twisty blacktop up to my local ski hill. It’s 8 miles up Blackjack Rd in JoDavies Co. IL from my ski house in Hanover to Chestnut Mountain located outside Galena,IL. I know that road like the back of my hand, so much fun in something sporty to drive.

Duane: Pigtails, Highway 87, Black Hills SD but in shoulder seasons before or after it’s too full of tourists.

Douglas: State Rt 139 in southern Ohio will always be my favorite from Northwest Boston to Jackson.

Craig: Fairfield Road in Lake County Illinois. Winging road passing much trees and ponds. Approximately 12 miles of road.

Marvin: Chagrin River Road on the East side of Cleveland is a nice drive for being in a metropolis.

Gary: Route 125 south, 8 miles East of Springfield, MO through the Ozarks dropping into Arkansas. It ends at a 4 car ferry across Bull Shoals Lake. Fantastic twists and elevation changes with great scenery.

JIm66: I have a couple: Ohio State Route 800 south off of I70 towards Barnesville, OH. Seems to go on forever south. Twisty and scenic. Another is River Road from Perrysburg OH to Grand Rapids OH, then return on the north side of the Maumee river. Probably all built up now, but it was a nice beautiful drive.

Blahdeblah: Route 14A from Savoy to Spearfish in South Dakota

Don: Iron Mountain Road in the Black Hills of South Dakota is 17 miles long and is known as Highway 16A. The road starts at Custer State Park and ends just south of Mount Rushmore National Park. The road is very unique and has pigtail bridges, tunnels, and one-way roads that divide and give you a more natural setting. The tunnels have a view of Mount Rushmore in the distance. Great drive!

David: I-90 west of Wisconsin til you run outta road. Speed limit is a reference for fun. Avoid Sturgis during bike-week. Nobody to hassle you.

Bruce: Needles Highway in Custer State Park, South Dakota.

Robert: The Triple Nickle – Ohio RT 555

Dutch: Old Highway 141 between Sioux City and Smithland in western Iowa. The view over the Missouri river valley is outstanding. Just watch out for the deer, and the John Deere!

Roger: Indiana Highway 62 between Madison and Dillsboro is a little-used and twisty thoroughfare. Madison is a trip back to the 19th century—a great place to overnight. You can cross the Ohio at Madison on US 421 and pick up US 42 to Louisville.

Ken: For me it’s gotta be Old Highway C141, exiting southeast out of Sioux City, IA, aimed in the general direction of nearby Denison. The scenery changes but the fun remains high on U.S. Highway 30 between Denison and Carroll.

Larry: Highway 67 between Elkhorn, WI and Oconomowoc, WI.

British Columbia, Canada

Bob: Sea-to-sky Highway from Vancouver to Whistler, British Columbia. Spectacular vistas!

Lester: Thats just the start, Bob! Keep going past Whistler and you will find Pemberton BC to Lillooet BC. Beautiful ribbon of twisties for most of the 60 miles whether your touring in you pickup truck or stitching it together in your favorite sporting machine.

Lew: Yes, the road to Whistler in British Columbia is a very fun road!! I really need to go there again!

Mark: Sea to Sky in BC then all the way around to Hope, down the Fraser Canyon form Lillooet was one of my favorites. Also Crowsnest Hwy 3 from Hope to Osoyoos is rad and has some great stops for wine. Awesome roads.

Graham: Another great highway is the Trans-Canada Highway (Hwy #1) that stretches 7,102 KM (4,413 miles) from Victoria, BC to St. John’s, NL. One of the longest highways in the world.

Web: My favorite drive is the Sea-to-Sky highway, from Vancouver to Whistler!

Alan: Duffy Lake beyond Whistler is even better. Then past Lillooet down the Fraser Canyon. Then try the roads in the Kootenays.

Donnie: Highway 4, Vancouver Island BC takes you out to the Pacific Rim National Park. Beautiful, soul searching and not for the faint of heart.

Eric: Nelson, British Columbia to Kaslo, BC to New Denver, BC.

Dan: In BC, Canada there are many great roads to drive. The one closest to me and the Pacific Crossing, the border between the US and Canada is the Sea to Sky Highway. This runs from Vancouver to Whistler. Lots of twists and turns with straights you can blow the cobwebs out of your turbo. (Just make sure you watch for the RCMP, checking for speeders!) Gas stations are at both ends with 93/94 octane.

Daniel: British Columbia Hwy 3 eastbound from Hope to the Alberta border. Three mountain passes. Fabulous scenery as you traverse coastal rain forest, interior forest, the northern tip of the Senora Desert, range lands, and the western approach to the Rocky Mountains. Stop in Osoyoos to jump in the lake, and visit a couple, or 40 wineries. Enjoy the ride!

Alberta, Canada

Mark: Without a doubt, Highway 40 in Alberta, the Highwood Pass. This is the highest paved road in Canada, and is closed from December to June. From my home in Calgary, it’s about 30 minutes on the Trans-Canada Hwy to the Hwy 40 turn off, through rolling prairie and forested foothills. From there you ascend the Highwood Pass through Kananaskis Country, a collection of provincial parks, with spectacular mountain and glacier scenery. Once you descend the other side of the pass you follow the Highwood River and its canyon to Longview. (This, incidentally, is where they filmed “Interstellar.”) This is also the home of the Longview Steakhouse, where you have to reserve months in advance.

Night Ranger: Icefields Parkway (Highway 93) from Lake Louise to Jasper, along the spine of the Canadian Rockies!

Kevin: I really like the trip from Lake Louise, Alberta up to Saskatchewan Crossing. Also known as Highway 93 or Icefields Parkway. 

Ontario, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland

Rakesh: Cabot trail on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia. It’s like a country racetrack with tight corners and lots of hills. Fun driving, but careful of driving off a cliff. Engine breaking will likely destroy your clutch. Did I mention amazing scenery?

Zmega: Cabot Trail, Nova Scotia.

Stewart: I really enjoy the Cabot Trail in Cape Breton Nova Scotia. I’ve done it twice on a motorcycle, and plan on doing it in my Mustang or BMW Z4 next month.

Frank: The Forks of the Credit park in Ontario, Canada.

Gary: Highway 17 and 11, from Sault Ste. Marie to Thunder Bay, ON.

Ed: The Baccalieu trail on the Avalon Peninsula in Newfoundland winds from 1000 ft cliffs to small cove villages at sea level along the seashore for about 120 miles with many lookouts.

Alan: Dufferin County Rd. 21 north of Mansfield, ON. from Airport Rd (16) west to Hwy 124. Hills, curves, spectacular views. One small town but otherwise very quiet.

Laverne: The Cabot Trail, Cape Breton, Canada. A gorgeous 298 km paved narrow 2 lane road along the coast that can take a day to drive with all the spectacular views!

Bill: The Cabot Trail in Nova Scotia. I drove the Cabot Trail in a Mini Cooper and it was so much fun. The Cabot Trail is 298 km (185 mi) long and takes about five hours to drive without stops. However, you’ll want to give yourself way more than five hours to enjoy all of the trail’s beautiful scenery, activities, natural wonders and small towns.

D. Linton: We live in rural south western Ontario. We’re lucky enough to live about 20 minutes from Lake Huron. There are some nice small towns along there that let you drive along the beach road. It’s usually a nice drive to get there too.

andrew: Also consider the Frank Miller highway in Muskoka, ON. Absolutely wonderous winding road abuts lake, river, creeks, winding canopied road with changes in elevation and great curves.

William: The Toast of the Coast Trail on the north shore of Lake Erie from Port Dover to Turkey Point is a great drive in my Datsun 240Z. Winding through farmland, cottages and beach communities with wineries and microbreweries as an added bonus.

John: Northeast end of Toronto has Twyn Rivers Rd, a small but beautiful valley pass surrounded by a network of rolling, twisting country roads. Plug Hat Rd, Old Finch Rd … if you are a Toronto area car guy, you probably know this area. Pop out on a quiet summer evening, drive a new mixture of roads for an hour, every visit is something new. I had a lucky break, living on the north end of Toronto.

Alaska/Northern Territories

PaulL: Hands down, most incredible road in North America is the Dempster Highway. The Dempster Highway is a 740 kilometer bucket list journey from Dawson City, Yukon to Inuvik, Northwest Territories offering incredible scenery, wide open spaces and remote beauty.

Gary: Anchorage south to Homer and Soldotna, along the beautiful fjord of Cook Inlet. Did this in my air-cooled 911 with Targa top off. Late September/October for less traffic and turn up the heat.

Alan: Anchorage, AK to Palmer then the Glenn Highway from Palmer to Glennallen, head south to Valdez. Put your car on the ferry to Whittier, drive through a mountain tunnel and return to Anchorage. Mountains and more mountains, massive glaciers, waterfalls, extensive wilderness, terrestrial and marine wildlife. Hard to beat a drive like that!

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The post According To You: Hagerty Readers’ Favorite Driving Roads appeared first on Hagerty Media.

The Malaise Era ushered in modern technologies, luxuries, and efficiencies into the American automotive landscape, and the sixth-generation Buick Riviera might perhaps be the best example of the period. It had all the style of a traditional personal luxury coupe, but with a fully independent suspension, space-saving front-wheel drive, and a bevy of technological upgrades set the tone for future luxury cars. The sales brochure for the all-new 1979 model even went so far as to suggest that

“Like an iceberg, most of its content lies beneath the surface.”

That statement has passed the test of time, as the GM E-platform underneath the 1979-1985 Riviera managed to position a new direction under a traditionally styled body. It even traces its radical roots back to the stunning 1966 Oldsmobile Toronado, most notably with its longitudinal-mounted engine powering the front wheels. The Riviera offered something for everyone seeking a premium automobile, and this particular 1985 model with less than 24,000 miles on the odometer is a perfect time capsule of a car that embodied its era.

This Red Firemist colored Riviera, currently listed on Hagerty Marketplace, looks showroom fresh and was clearly loved by its three previous owners. One of them was likely a member of the Antique Automobile Club of America (AACA): Back in 2019, that owner entered this Riviera in Class 27p (Production Vehicles; 1984-1985) and won first prize. There’s even an AACA emblem on the grille as proof of provenance.

The interior looks close to perfect, with nary a sign of wear on the driver’s seat leather. Notable features include an upgraded three-spoke sports steering wheel, standard Concert Sound audio system, and Buick’s lever-free “touch” HVAC control panel.

Power is delivered by the standard 5.0-liter Oldsmobile V-8, and not the optional 5.7-liter Oldsmobile Diesel or turbocharged 3.8-liter Buick V-6. This motor is likely the best of the bunch for the luxurious Riviera, with smooth V-8 performance and a durable design. Perhaps our own Andrew Newton summed up this performance best in a review of the Riviera’s platform-mate, the Cadillac Eldorado, as he suggested these vehicles have a “complete lack of sporting pretensions, take-it-easy attitude, mild cost of ownership, and opulence per dollar [that] is seriously charming.”

This low-mile Riviera may be original, but newer whitewall tires suggest it can and should be enjoyed for shows and pleasure cruises. This isn’t a shrink-wrapped museum piece, and the touched up paint work on the front end proves the point. Flaws are minor and wholly forgivable, including an inoperative engine bay light and sun visors that do not “stay in the upright position without stays.”

A full complement of paperwork comes with this Riviera, including repair manuals, sales literature, owner’s manuals, and awards from the Buick Club of America. This car is a fantastic example of the sixth generation Riviera. And with a high bid of $4,750 at the time of writing, it’s clearly an underappreciated classic car. That 1979 sales brochure was right—the Riviera clearly offers much more than its vintage sheetmetal may suggest.

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The post This Low-Mile Riviera’s True Promise Lies Beneath the Surface appeared first on Hagerty Media.

Danny writes:

Sajeev,

Last spring I bought a 2005 Volvo S60 with transmission issues for $550, thinking it would be an easy fix and flip that would provide a little extra spending money for my other car projects. At first, I installed a used transmission from a salvage yard, and the car drove well for a few weeks, then it wouldn’t move at all. The ATF looked like someone mixed chocolate milk into the fluid, so I returned that transmission and got my money back.

I then took the original transmission (Aisin AW55-50) to a rebuilder, who has had it since September. It took ages to source good rebuild parts for decent pricing, and now I’m still waiting for the transmission to be rebuilt, as the shop is backed up with other customer projects. My questions are:

• Do I remain patient while this car takes up space in my garage?
• Will the rebuilt transmission prove trustworthy?
• Should I instead part out this extraordinarily clean (though boring) sedan, cut my losses and get my shop space back?

Sajeev answers:

The one perk of Danny’s situation is that there’s no wrong answer: buying an “extraordinarily clean” car for $550 means you don’t have a lot of money tied up into this investment. Hauling it off to the junkyard would be a net loss, but parting it out and selling the good stuff on eBay/Facebook Marketplace will likely earn you money.

Parting it is the smart move for your checkbook. But that kinda stinks, as most car folks prefer to save a clean car from doom. We enthusiasts are usually aware of a wide array of repair options, but unfortunately they all have pitfalls.

Danny’s experience hits on common problems with both local junkyards and local transmission rebuilders: accessibility to the right part at the right time is almost always a crapshoot. It’s not a big deal if you need a gearbox for a vintage Ford or Chevy, but it gets dicier the further you get away from a C6 or a TH400. I reckon your bad gearbox from the junkyard, and logistical issues with local rebuilders, is far from uncommon. It doesn’t help that this particular transmission from this era of Volvo doesn’t have the best reputation, either.

The superior alternative might be buying a low mileage, used transmission from an online parts aggregator like Car Part, or the publicly traded junkyard juggernaut known as LKQ. LKQ seems to get the best quality/age/mileage stuff for modern automobiles, shelves it in their warehouse, and makes it stupid easy to purchase. I’ve had reasonably good luck with clicking around LKQ’s website (or buying from them on eBay Motors) and just waiting for the stuff to arrive at my door.

Their warranty is pretty decent (especially if you pay a mechanic to install it) and sometimes they deliver the parts straight to your door. That’s what I recommend to Danny, and even though it’ll cost more, paying a shop to install it might be the smartest path given the warranty scenario. That’s the type of servicing that really helps on resale too, which I expect you’d do with this Volvo sometime in the near future.

Let’s step back and list all the choices in this particular automotive conundrum, with their pros and cons laid out for all to behold:

• Local Junkyard: Limited selection, but sometimes you find a diamond in the rough for dirt cheap.
• Local Rebuilder: You’re at the mercy of their level of staffing/customer service, but the convenience can’t be beat.
• Online Junkyard: Parts will generally cost more, but you aren’t limited by local inventory and can spend more for something with less mileage.
• Online Rebuilder: Can have a better quality product and customer service than a local, but it can cost more, and take more time when factoring in a local mechanic’s time for installation.

Odds are I’ve missed a few options in Danny’s sketchy transmission scenario, so I hand it over to you, esteemed members of the Hagerty Community.

Bonus! A Piston Slap Nugget of Wisdom.

Our very own Eddy Eckart brought up a compelling alternative for this particular application. So let’s get right to it:

“The Aisin five-speed autos found in these Volvos can be problematic. Sajeev has good advice above, and I’d add that finding the newest transmission that’s compatible with your car will help, too, as incremental changes were made over the years. Also, manual swaps are also an option, and they’re more reliable than the automatics in those cars. I have a 2001 V70 T5, and though I have been fortunate to make it over 160K miles on my original automatic box, a five-speed manual swap has always been on my radar if the need ever arose. Parts for the swap can be wrangled together for under $1500, and the car will need a tune. I’d be hard pressed to think that taking the automatic to get repaired would be any less.”

Have a question you’d like answered on Piston Slap? Send your queries to pistonslap@hagerty.com—give us as much detail as possible so we can help! Keep in mind this is a weekly column, so if you need an expedited answer, please tell me in your email.

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Thanks to recent news from Aston Martin and Ferrari, the V-12 engine layout thankfully remains in production and continues to find a home in new vehicles. It’s great news, and easily put into words. Less easily described, though, is the sound of a V-12 engine—you truly need to hear one to appreciate their symphony.

Those sonorous notes, along with the silky smooth power delivery that comes with them have graced the automotive landscape for decades. In celebration of the V-12’s continued presence, we took a look back into the V-12 engine’s storied history across multiple brands to pick some of our favorites.

Packard Twelve

The Packard Twelve started life as the Packard “Twin Six,” but the second generation of Packard V-12 (1933-39) and was known for a body design worthy of a V-12 engine. Packard’s iconic grille was paired with some of the most famous coachbuilders of the era, including LeBaron and Dietrich. The Packard Twelve was indeed the flagship of Packard line, with the Super Eight, Eight, and “Junior” models like the One-Twenty, Six, and One-Ten slotting below. They were fine models with perfectly acceptable engines, but the Twelve was the one that stood out.

2008 Audi Q7 V-12 TDI

You weren’t ready for this one, were you? But it’s true, as the Volkswagen Group made a V-12 engine for the flagship Q7 utility vehicle. This was before Dieselgate came to fruition, so this turbocharged, direct injected, V-12 diesel had the potential for success.

Audi’s oil burning V-12 was used on this single vehicle from 2008-12, sporting 493 horsepower and a whopping 738 lb-ft of turbodiesel torque. While this particular Q7 never made it to the U.S., it would absolutely be one of the most amazing diesel vehicles in America, when they are legal to import in 2033, that is.

Jaguar V-12

While an inline-six rests beneath the bonnet of many iconic Jaguars, it was only natural for larger, later model Jags to utilize the relaxed cadence of its V-12 motor in 5.3- or 6.0-liter displacements. Luxury cars were getting bigger and bolder, and doubling the cylinder count certainly helped with that transition.

Jag even developed a 7.0-liter example used in motorsport, but Jaguar’s V-12 was primarily notable as a top-tier luxury car powerplant during the Malaise Era, thanks to the addition of fuel injection and a High Efficiency (HE) combustion design in 1981. This smooth, relaxed engine was the perfect dance partner to a cabin fitted with decadent leather and burl wood, and its demise in 1997 was the end of an era for British motoring.

Lincoln-Zephyr V-12

Like so many other components found in Lincoln vehicles, the flathead V-12 found in 1932 model Lincolns and Zephyrs was heavily based on parent company Ford’s flathead V-8. The motor wasn’t without its flaws however, mostly present in its PCV, oiling and cooling systems. Those issues were addressed over time, however, and Lincoln’s V-12 ultimately became part of the brand’s success: Take something from Ford, modify the heck out of it, and turn it into something worthy of a luxury vehicle.

Ferrari Colombo V-12

Named after its creator, Gioacchino Colombo, this Ferrari V-12 powered some of the most famous, desirable and valuable vehicles to wear Ferrari’s prancing horse emblem. The sheer volume of changes this motor underwent over the course of its 41-year production run is impossible to cover for this list.

No matter, though: Every iteration of this all-aluminum masterpiece delivered the feel and sound of exotic performance befitting a Ferrari, from its placement in the original 1947 Ferrari 125 S, to icons like the 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO, and delightful touring cars like the final Ferrari 412i from 1988.

BMW M70

While BMW’s flagship V-12 came in four variations over the course of several decades. Perhaps the most appealing example is the M70 design that powered the E32-generation 7-series and E31 8-series. Be it a BMW 750i or 750iL, you were guaranteed one of the best performing luxury sedans on the planet. And the 850i, 850Ci, and 850CSi were grand touring coupes of the highest order, especially when optioned with a six-speed manual transmission.

But the real reason why the M70 V-12 from BMW was so special is its legacy with the McLaren F1. Its stunning 618 horsepower helped propel the F1 to an insane top speed of 240.1 mph in 1998, thanks to four-valves per cylinder, variable valve timing, and a surprising lack of forced induction. Ah, if only modern hypercars could take a page from BMW’s M70 masterpiece and ditch the turbochargers!

Cadillac V-12

Here’s an awkward twist to the overall theme of this story: While most auto manufacturers had a V-12 as their flagship, top-of-the-line, first class powerplant, this doesn’t apply to Cadillac. Their V-12 was actually one of their V-16 engines with four cylinders lopped off.

The V-12 Caddy was made from 1930-37, and “only” made 135 horsepower relative to the V-16’s rating of 165. While both were premium offerings with features like overhead valves and hidden wiring/plumbing, this V-12 rightly plays second fiddle to the Cadillac V-16.

Toyota GZ

While Japan is better known for engines with fewer pistons, the Toyota Century and its V-12 engine are the crown jewels for an entire nation. Toyota had premium-car intentions for decades, but no other brand in Japan had the nerve to equip a vehicle with a V-12 engine. Toyota did just that for their flagship Century luxury sedan in 1997. In doing so, the V-12 (codenamed 1GZ-FE) soldiered on for another 20 years, ensuring Toyota’s place in luxury car history.

Lamborghini V-12

Ferrari was slow to full embrace dual overhead camshafts for their V-12, but Lamborghini (as was their wont) chose a different path, going all in on the four-camshaft phenomenon with the V-12 in their first car, the 350 GT. The same engine family powered Lambos for decades, including the Miura and Countach, and ending its reign with the 2010 Murciélago. While modern Lambos under the watchful eye of Audi are clearly better performers with modern V-12 engines, their improvements only serve to enhance the original’s mystique. And perhaps it proves that all supercars need twelve cylinder engines, otherwise perhaps they aren’t actually that super at all?

Mercedes M275

While there are four generations of Mercedes-Benz V-12 opulence, the M275 was both twin turbocharged and impressive enough to remain in production for the latest Pagani hypercars. That’s right, even the new Pagani Utopia uses an M275 (technically an M158 derivation) to achieve forward thrust with 754 horsepower, with a manual transmission to boot.

But the M275 V-12’s zenith doesn’t necessarily point solely to the crème de la crème Pagani—there were too many fantastic automobiles that utilized this engine. The list includes Maybach luxury sedans, S/SL/CL “600” class luxury cars and their AMG tuned “65” series counterparts, the radical SL65 AMG Black Series, and even the outlandish Maybach Excelero sports car. Their torque output was legendary and impossible to match, and it’s one of the few engines that can provide EV-like thrust at low speeds with Lamborghini-like top end acceleration.

Perhaps we saved the best for last, as this motor could be considered a gold standard for which all modern luxury cars are judged by. Mercedes has made a replacement for this motor (M279), but it doesn’t do anything to tarnish the twin turbo M275’s performance potential. We can thank Pagani for that, or perhaps we should credit Mercedes for keeping the V-12’s flame alive in more ways than any other automaker possibly could.

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We’ve learned a bit more about the powertrain in the next Bugatti hypercar since our last update, and it seems that turbocharging is no longer in the equation for this exclusive brand. The V-16 in the upcoming Bugatti will be naturally aspirated, offset with a hybrid power pack. The end result chimes in with some impressive numbers: a 9000-rpm redline, three electric motors, and a combined power output that could reach 1800 horsepower.

This amazing engine is claimed to make 1000 horsepower on its own, which is no small feat for a naturally aspirated mill. The news comes directly from Bugatti-Rimac chairman Mate Rimac, announced during the Future of the Car Summit in London (via Motor1). The annual conference features a wide variety of guest speakers from automobile and automobile-adjacent industries, and Rimac’s news was likely a shock to everyone in attendance.

Motor1 also reports that two of the three electric motors are likely to drive the front wheels. This layout is similar to that of the Ferrari SF90. The third motor assists the V-16 at the rear, likely with an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic putting the power down. Motor1 is also reporting that “Bugatti’s engineers are cramming in a 24.8-kWh battery good for 37 miles of electric range.” That could ensure the next Bugatti earns the right to drive in congested parts of Europe with the same freedom as a modern EV.

A congested city isn’t exactly the best place to enjoy an 1800-horsepower Bugatti, but don’t we all need to catch a show and eat at a Michelin-starred restaurant every now and again? The next Bugatti promises the best of all worlds, and it might just provide the naturally aspirated thrills you see and hear in this V-12 McLaren F1 video. Fingers crossed on that.

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“For the Suprematist, the proper means is the one that provides the fullest expression of pure feeling and ignores the habitually accepted object.”

– Kazimir Malevich

The perfection of bare geometry popularized by Russian avant-garde artist Kazimir Malevich has arguably created some of the most controversial paintings of all time. Take, for example, the one that looks like he painted a white square on a white canvas.

People often revile such minimalism, especially when it comes with a similarly radical price tag: I’ve lost count of how many people think they can replicate suprematism with a can of white paint, display it in a gallery, and get chumps to buy it for insane prices. Except these haters (as it were) never woulda considered doing it in the first place had it not been for artists like Malevich. And I reckon they weren’t already immersed in abstractionist theory, ensuring art remains unbounded and unrestricted by human constructs.

Automotive design is significantly different, as it can only take a pure form so far before things like safety regulations, functional requirements, and manufacturing constraints come into play. The suprematist design of the Tesla Cybertruck threaded that needle shockingly well, much to the beholder’s delight/dismay. So let’s run it over the vellum and see what conclusions come to the surface.

Tesla’s design team and their controversial CEO likely didn’t have Russian suprematism on their minds when fashioning the low-resolution Cybertruck. The front end has a unique stainless-steel face and light signature that resembles the mask of a superhero, with a strong neck (bumper) below and a monolithic mane of glass shooting back from an impossibly flat hood.

Headlights lie between the “mask” and the neck below, and searching for them is almost unnecessary. It takes away from the sheer joy of the hard lines of the fenders and windscreen, which share a vanishing point that is easier to explain than on any other automobile in production.

I am terrible with sci-fi references, but this cloistered space for sensors and cameras reminds me of some spaceship’s appendage from a Star Wars movie.

The perfectly flat, trapezoidal shape of the Cybertruck’s windscreen is part of the vehicle’s radical signature, as it blends seamlessly with the hood. It’s reminiscent of design studies from Italian studios in the 1970s, or Trevor Fiore’s Citroën Karin from 1980.

Part of the windscreen’s appeal comes from the lack of a cowl to house the wiper blades and fresh air ducting for the HVAC system. Here, the only functional element of the cowl is the oddly shaped footprint for the base of the Cybertruck’s massive wiper arm mounted at the lower right. Singular, because the other side is just unadulterated glass.

Just below the seemingly non-existent cowl is one of the most understated, distraction free hoods ever to grace a pickup truck.

The only issue is how the stainless steel fenders and hood butt up against each other. Looking more like unfinished construction than a mass-produced machine is almost part of the equation, however: A case can be made that these are akin to blade fenders on older luxury vehicles. That case may be poppycock, but it’s convincing in person.

Appalling panel gaps aside, the superhero mask makes more sense from this angle. The front fascia, fender, hood, and lighting strip all look like items you’d see on a “normal” vehicle, but they’ve been reduced to their most basic forms, like a full-face helmet on a motorcyclist.

But when you step back and admire (as it were) the whole design, you see how Malevich’s suprematism is contorted into cyberpunk transport for elitists escaping a dystopian future: There’s a cab-forward cabin, angry angles and slashes, a squinty light bar under a furrowed brow, and headlights that are forced out of the equation.

That squinty light bar took a fair bit of surfacing to come to fruition. While the hood is close to flat, its outer contour makes the lights’ general shape. Below is the front fascia in stainless steel and a black plastic(?) textured filler panel. That filler panel allows the radically angled light bar to make sense with the far flatter stainless steel face (with only two bends on its profile). Panel fitment between the light, filler panel, and fascia is surprisingly good.

The Cybertruck takes to the next level the modern designer’s mantra of hiding headlights in places normally reserved for understated fog lights. This is pure architectural excellence, worthy of an office building or a high-end living space.

Below the front license plate bracket lies a rather ordinary, almost HVAC contractor–grade grille. Which is a nice throwback in an era of overdone grilles on modern vehicles, and there’s even a shutter mechanism to seal off the system and reduce aerodynamic drag.

The civil engineering references continue elsewhere on the bumper, as the plastic trimmed tow hook and its garage door–like background remind me of a loading dock in some Robocop-ian action scene. To the right of the hook is a front valance with clever angles that make the light dance on its body.

The Cybertruck’s frunk is nothing to sneeze at, but the hexagonal washer fluid reservoir cap and the contrast of the stainless steel hood against its aluminum substructure are fascinating in their presentation of geometric supremacy.

The transition to the side view is challenging. The vertical fender looks uncomfortably static against the downward slope of the wheel arch, but it makes more sense when stepping back and seeing the A-pillar blend with that arch.

And what an A-pillar this truly is. It’s intentions are fully realized by the hood and front fender, much like on a Ford Aerostar. Except Ford’s minivan wasn’t clad in stainless steel, with this material’s minimal surfacing requirements. The harsh angles and semi-reflective finish make the sunlight and shadow absolutely dance on the Cybertruck’s profile.

But the rest of the body doesn’t necessarily appreciate or believe in the A-pillar’s sleek overtones. There is conflict at every point below the A-pillar, and that challenge continues down the body side. In fact, this is a vehicle that challenges you from almost every angle, and that isn’t necessarily a good thing.

But geometric surprise and delight lie in the details, especially how the angular fender arches complement the harsh bends present in the Cybertruck’s stainless-steel cladding. And the triangular carve-out for the camera is abstractionism worthy of an art gallery.

The wheel arch bends in harmony with the crease in the stainless steel, but it makes no such effort to do the same with the charcoal-colored rocker cover below it. The intersection feels like a primitive cave, or the lair of a Batman-like hero.

A big problem with this design stems from the wheel arches and the bespoke Goodyear tires each being designed with geometric flair in mind, but the structural wheel doesn’t want to abide. Tesla made an angular wheel cover that fit into the recesses of the tire’s sidewall, but it quickly proved to dig into the rubber in real-world driving. We are left with this unfinished wheel design instead.

Goodyear likely worked hard to make a sidewall worthy of a Tesla wheelcover, to the point of adding its Wingfoot logo where the cover ended at the sidewall. There are talks of a new wheel cover in the works, with spokes that won’t not extend into the sidewall. And with those covers comes a far more conventional tire, allegedly.

If true, that has the potential to make this Goodyear the rarest of rare tire designs on the planet.

Above the wheel arch is where the Cybertruck’s remarkable look has more merit: The body-side crease turns into a sharp, angry triangle thanks to the A-pillar and a daylight opening (DLO) that extends far ahead of the front door.

You don’t necessarily remember that the Cybertruck’s minimalist cowl area lacks a VIN plate. So it’s instead placed on the A-pillar, behind the windscreen.

The intersection of tinted glass and brilliant stainless steel feels right, but the weatherstripping’s fade-away action at the top of the A-pillar is a bit disconcerting. (The vehicle was dead slient at speed during my time with it.)

This is such a strange combination of black trim, glass, rubber, and metal (stainless steel) in an automobile. It feels more like interior design for a high-end dressing room, not an automobile.

That’s just the start of automotive design intersecting with architecture and interior design. A pyramid-shaped truck with stainless-steel cladding worthy of the poured concrete aesthetic of brutalism does not make for a conventional assessment normally found here at Vellum Venom.

Tesla wisely stuck with a front DLO made entirely of glass, leading to a side-view mirror mounted to the door. But since this is the Cybertruck, the mirror body is also pyramid-like, with a base that varies in thickness to keep the design from looking static at any angle.

The front door glass is as terrifyingly triangular as the side-view mirror, sporting a steep rake at the A-pillar, a modest amount of tumblehome, and an awkward door aperture with a rounded weatherstrip seal. Not having any section of the roofline parallel to the ground is beyond unconventional for a truck, but this application works: Most folks will be able to enter the Cybertruck without their heads getting anywhere near this pyramid-shaped top.

The B-pillar is remarkably conventional, as even a pyramidal roof needs an upright support. The verticality is complemented by the strong bends in the sheetmetal, complete with a door cut line that adds a forward-thrusting element to the design.

The rear door is a bit more conventional, with a radical downward slope but a more conventional-looking four-sided polygon as a sheet of glass. The shape cheats your eye at a quick glance, as the stainless steel roof cuts off at a different point than does the window’s glass. Tesla added a black plastic insert (with electronic door release) after the window glass, but for some reason this DLO FAIL makes sense as a functional door release and not just a fake vent window.

No such complications when looking south of the Cybertruck’s belt line, as there’s a single crease in the sheetmetal, with an almost conventional rocker cover underneath.

The rear wheel arches suffer from the same incongruity as the front (thanks to a lack of blocky wheel covers) but make for a great place for a battery-charging door. The angularity also allows for a logical transition to an integral flap at the base of the rocker panel.

If only the wheel design was as angular as the rest of the body, as this C-pillar takes what we saw with the Chevrolet Avalanche (i.e. flying buttress) and turns it into a razor-sharp arrowhead that loves to play with sunlight and reflections.

From a lower, more head-on view, the Cybertruck loses its arrowhead levels of sharpness. The tall, upright cladding becomes far more like a conventional truck.

But there’s nothing conventional about this truck, as no truck has ever considered the boldness of just a few lines run across its entire body. The most obvious example is the crease that runs from the top of the front end’s light bar, to the top of the rear lighting assembly.

While the pyramidal roof has more initial bite, the Cybertruck’s flavor profile comes into full view while digesting this endlessly long crease.

Much like the front end’s negative space reserved for headlights and turn signals, the space between the bed and the bumper is perfect for a side marker light.

Like a large shop window facing a street, the red lense extends around the side and to the rear, where it’s greeted by a minimalist bumper that looks like a deconstructed Ranch Hand bumper.

And much like a brutalist building that faces a main street, the Cybertruck’s bed (and tailgate) sliced off the bottom right angle to reduce the visual weight above the red “shop window” in the bumper.

That massive array of quadrangles comprising the bumper make plenty of sense with a flat, rectangular rear tailgate that fully extends to the Cybertruck’s corners.

Due north of that stainless-steel tailgate is one of the Cybertruck’s more impressive design features, a smoked panel with parking and brake lights. Both it and the stainless steel have chamfers to add visual tension to an otherwise flat and boring posterior. Add in the blade fenders (as seen in the front) and you have a posterior that accentuates this lighting feature.

The only fly in the ointment is that the minimalism promised here isn’t present when you tap the brakes and realize very little of it illuminates. It’s best to leave the parking lights on (the whole thing illuminates) and never touch the brakes. Well, in theory.

The entire panel might not be a brake light, but building a triangular footprint for the rear camera integrates well with the rest of the Cybertruck’s angular theme. The triangle’s 3-D shape also makes it easier to aim the camera correctly, without the need for amoebic tumors used on other vehicles for correct camera orientation.

Open the Cybertruck’s bed and you’re rewarded with a redundant red reflector, a deep storage well à la Honda Ridgeline, and handy power outlets, both hidden from view until needed. The onboard power is certainly appreciated but falls functionally flat compared to the plethora of outlets available in the bed/cabin/frunk of the Ford Lightning EV. The Ford also has more ergonomic outlet covers, but ergonomics were clearly not paramount in the Cybertruck’s design. (Remember, this vehicle lacks a functional rearview mirror when the tonneau cover is unfurled.)

Speaking of that tonneau cover, it operates quickly and effortlessly behind all this easily stained plastic cladding. Considering how well this stuff aged on the Pontiac Aztek and aforementioned Avalanche, the Cybertruck is going to be an automotive detailer’s nightmare. This could be just as bad as the stain-creating steel chosen for the body, but it’s certainly an exciting piece of industrial design when in perfect condition.

With the tonneau cover closed, the Cybertruck has an impressive contrast of plastic, glass and stainless steel, all meeting up like an edgeless infinity pool. The details (i.e. weatherstripping) aren’t necessarilty as elegant or weathertight as one would hope, but this isn’t a mass market vehicle.

Never forget, this contrived and polarizing design cannot appeal to everyone like a functional/practical Ford or Chevy truck, no matter what Tesla said back in 2019.

Although the build quality on this example was better than what the Internet might lead you to believe, the gaps around this panel between the tonneau cover and the glass roof clearly leave something to be desired.

Which is truly a shame, because the transition between bed and roof is otherwise perfect. It looks expensive. It even feels expensive, because nobody else would have the nerve to make truck with a one-piece glass roof.

Nor would anyone else dare craft a bumper of brutalist, concrete-looking blocks arranged to both play with light and mask its functionality (center step, receiver hitch cover) so effortlessly.

Even the backup lights are recessed deep within the rear bumper, much like many an iconic brutalist building.

But sadly, the Cybertruck as a whole cannot delight like the individual details do when examined up close. The overall design lacks refinement, something normally resulting from months of surfacing treatments by car design teams within a manufacturer. This design was meant for quick consumption on par with a meme or shitpost, not for a loving embrace with longform content in a video or a white paper.

Nothing brings this lack of detail home like a Tesla dealership that uses packaging tape to install a paper tag. Yes really: Above, that is packaging tape on the back of a luxury vehicle that someone spent/financed $102,000 to purchase. This adds a new wrinkle to retailing concerns seen elsewhere at this company.

Never before have I come across a design that so delights in details, yet ultimately fails in the fundamentals. These feel like the mistakes a freshman design student will make once, and only once.

The minimalist cyberpunk theme has validity to some, though it brings about equal parts excitement and cringe to yours truly. The Tesla Cybertruck is a luxury good for a unique audience, likely a demographic that mirrors those who sided with Kazimir Malevich and his artistic suprematist followers back in the day.

But this is a product made in volume, not a controversial work of art. All vehicles (especially trucks) are primarily designed to be appealing in function and form. Even a Lamborghini Urus or Porsche Cayenne can be a soccer-mom SUV, but the Cybertruck doesn’t exist in the world of fleet managers, off-roaders, or family-oriented crew cab trucks with normal things like metal roofs and durable exterior finishes.

Instead, it feasts on the social media buzz that is so important to this company’s controversial CEO. Perhaps functionality is overrated, as its worked quite well up to this point. (Just don’t tell that to some Wall Street types.) The Cybertruck is the unobtainum minimalist wedge that was the Lamborghini Countach’s exclusive territory a few decades ago. Except it’s even more polarizing, and not necessarily for the best reasons. Thank you for reading, I hope you have a lovely day.

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The Packard Motor Car Company had an impressive run as a standalone company, then as part of the Studebaker-Packard Corporation (1954), making high-end vehicles in one of the best times in American history. But we aren’t here to discuss those distant memories, nor are we discussing the controversial V-12 sedan made by Roy Gullickson in the 1990s. What’s before us is a custom-bodied convertible with a 1949 Packard title, named the Packard Bayliff Lebaron.

There’s a lot to unpack in that name, as Packard stopped making cars after 1958. LeBaron is a prewar coachbuilder that made famous bodies for luxury cars before it was folded into Chrysler, after which its name morphed into a trim level for mid-century Imperials and premium vehicles in the 1980s. Bayliff is the funeral- and custom-car maker that made what you see above. Its tribute to two long-forgotten names is currently available on Hagerty Marketplace with a high bid of $35,000.

Again, Bayliff didn’t make only this Packard; it is a famous name in coachbuilding circles. Perhaps the Bayliff LeBaron was a final tribute to the company’s coach-building heritage, as it created this vehicle sometime in the early 2000s. There was precedent for such a project, as Bayliff made a similar vehicle before it sold the Packard name to Gullickson for $50,000 in 1992 for his failed attempt to relaunch the iconic brand. (How Bayliff managed to make this Packard Bayliff LeBaron without raising the ire of Gullickson remains to be seen.)

Meet the bright red “1934” Packard Bayliff Victoria (via Undiscovered Classics). This less streamlined design of this fiberglass tribute car was intended to look 15 years older than the burgundy LeBaron we are profiling today. The deeply contoured doors are the best example of the Victoria’s heritage, looking more like something from the early 1930s and less like the sleek, straight lines of the Bayliff LeBaron.

The Bayliff Victoria also appears to use fewer parts from recognizable donor cars, and it was likely made a full decade before the Bayliff LeBaron. Details are minimal and photos are vague, so this assumption is based on the audio system installed at the time of manufacture: The Bayliff Victoria’s radio looks like a 1990s vintage Kenwood CD player or similar. (The Bayliff LeBaron has a 2000s-era Sony, as seen below.)

Speaking of “recognizable donor cars,” the Bayliff LeBaron used many parts from the 1987–89 Chrysler LeBaron convertible. While the use of the LeBaron name might be coincidence, there’s no doubt this long-forgotten coachbuilder found a good home on this custom Packard.

Parts shared with the Chrysler include the cowl, A-pillars, and support structure for the glass and top mechanism. The Chrysler LeBaron’s cowl also donated key interior elements, including the HVAC system, the dashboard, the center stack for the Sony radio, and a glovebox for the passenger.

To be fair, the overall interior design feels like a worthy tribute to a classic Packard: Details like the banjo steering wheel, Lokar shifter, and upright dashboard almost feel period-correct. Only the “Packard” script pillow on the passenger side, and the “Custom Deluxe” graphics on the door panel, oversell the conversion. Perhaps some modern 3-D printing technology could make neoclassic trim panels, and a chrome-laden RetroSound audio unit could better integrate the designer’s original vision into the package?

Under the Bayliff LeBaron’s long hood is a SOHC Ford Modular V-8 displacing 5.4 liters with 260 horsepower, disguised as a Packard powerplant with an engine cover that cleverly integrates two air filters. While the Lincoln Navigator’s more assertive DOHC mill wasn’t implemented in this build, the Holley EFI Terminator X system likely keeps that motor purring like that of a proper Packard. The rest of the chassis appears to have a truck-like ladder frame with rear leaf springs. This was likely by design, part and parcel of Bayliff’s roots as a funeral coachbuilder.

None of which detracts from the elegance of this design and the delightful audacity of its creator to bring it into existence. The 1949 Packard Bayliff LeBaron is downright stunning on its massive wheelbase, with its flowing fenders and 100-spoke wire wheels. Now that the Chrysler LeBaron convertible’s demise is almost three decades in the past, I reckon the Bayliff LeBaron can stand on its own at any car show in the country. Nobody will know what’s underneath, or where it came from.

Decades later, being a Chrysler under that burgundy paint certainly helps. The fabric top is torn in places, which can be resolved for $400 or less thanks to aftermarket support. Paint chips, fading, and swirl marks are noted in the auction, but they point to an owner who enjoyed the vehicle and didn’t let it rot in perpetual storage, and driving such a stately machine is likely what Bayliff wanted in the first place.

The oldest record of this vehicle’s sale was at Barrett-Jackson in 2005, where it sold for $79,200. It then sold at RM Sotheby’s a decade later for $71,500. Where it will land on Hagerty Marketplace at the auction’s close on Friday remains to be seen, but there’s no doubt that the next owner will be part of the storied history of the famous brand. And they will be responsible for a stunning piece of automotive coachbuilding that capitalized on the best of the word “LeBaron” from multiple decades.

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In May of 1954, a new car maker emerged with the blessings of both Hudson and Nash-Kelvinator stockholders. It was called the American Motors Corporation (AMC), and it created iconic vehicles that became beloved by legions of customers and fans. While AMC’s fire was officially extinguished in 1990 via merger with Chrysler, we recently asked members of the Hagerty Community about the perfect AMC vehicle to celebrate the company’s founding, a full 70 years ago as of 2024.

The answers did not disappoint, but before we get to their suggestions, let’s dive into the responses to my suggestion, which fell shockingly flat with the community: the Jeep brand.

Jeepers Creepers

@hyperv6: The Jeep is not really AMC. Jeep was really a Willys, not originally an AMC. Then it was a Chrysler and now Stellantis. Jeep is a brand of its own and never really represented the true AMC line. To use Jeep is like someone getting credit for a paper someone else wrote.

@J. Michael: Agree with @hyperv6 completely. The AMX is my pick, and Jeep ain’t AMC.

@Mike: Every company that has ever owned Jeep has went out of business. It will happen again—they’ve overpriced everything. Javelin and AMX represent the brand! Listen to a Wisconsin guy who repaired many a Hornet and Matador owned by the college and state in my work-study job at UW-Eau Claire in the late ’70s. Those cars were not the ideal, but they ran forever.

Jeepers Keepers?

@Dave: I had 2 “AMC” Jeeps, an ’81 CJ5 and an ’86 Cherokee Pioneer. Both were awesome vehicles.

@Paul: I have an 1983 Jeep Renegade. Mechanically a great 4×4, but on a quiet night you can hear it rusting away!

@DUB6: I’m a long-time Jeep guy, but honestly, I never owned one made by AMC. However, to be fair, when AMC bought Jeep, I think they saved that brand—or at least they kept it alive until Chrysler came along with the money.

Kaiser was losing ground drastically and it quite possibly could have killed Jeep had it stayed there. Of course, it could be argued that the Jeep purchase saved AMC. Either way, it was a big deal at the time, and quite controversial. I distinctly remember the Jeep crowd I hung with being all up-in-arms. (“What? Rambler is gonna build Jeeps?”) I’m giving some credit to American Motors for Jeep, but it’s perhaps not the “best” AMC to celebrate.

AMC AMX

@DUB6: If I just sit here and think, “What AMC vehicle made a big impression on me and that I think of as being connected to the brand,” I honestly come up with the AMX—followed CLOSELY by the Pacer! I reject the suggestion that the Pacer was ugly: It was a bit weird, yes, but it had some wonderfully advanced ideas designed into it. I only put it behind the AMX because back in the day, I was a performance-car guy.

@Loving AMC: The two-seat AMX, hands down.

@Joenumeruno: The AMX and Javelin were my favorites, but the American convertible and Ambassador with seats reclinable into beds (and with “Instant Overtake”) should get votes, too.

@Stuart: For me, hands down the AMX.

@Northern Rambler: 1972–73 Javelin AMX—401-cubic-inch, four-speed Hurst factory shifter, Fresh Plum metallic paint, and the Pierre Cardin interior. This low-production model boldly just screamed the ’70s in the waning days of the muscle-car era, and was the last of a limited production series of powerful and bold designs by AMC as it tried to compete with the Big Three. It showed AMC’s design versatility, and it was perhaps the most radical of the cars that they produced as alternatives to the more conservative—and economical—production cars that they had become known for.

@hyperv6: I would choose the AMX. This was the best car they ever did, and it represents AMC.

@Billy: For me it’s a toss-up between the Javelin and the AMX. My first car was an AM (American Motors before the C) Ambassador: two-door with a 343 four-barrel. It could fly! Not the prettiest, had a few girls turn me down because of the car. 

“You’re taking me out in that?”

Their loss. I wish I had that Ambassador back!

The Last Nashes

@keeton: No one is mentioning the early-mid ’50s Nash line, where the styling was done by Pininfarina. From 1954, you could have the Weather Eye air conditioning, which was the first modern in-dash integrated system (and not one of those clunky trunk-mounted systems everyone else was using).

The 1956 Ambassador could be had with the Packard V-8 and Ultramatic. These were quite distinctive in their day, but if you liked the Pacer, you would love these!

AMC Rebel + The Machine

@Jim: The Rebel Machine. I had one, and it was a true unicorn. And it was very rarely beaten in a street race, much to the chagrin of all the Big Three muscle-car drivers.

@Glenn: I never had one but was going to nominate it. This is a great-looking car with really clean lines and it had the performance to match. I would love to have one but these things are out of my reach.

AMC Javelin

@Cavedave: I owned a 1969 390 Javelin. I surprised a lot of GTOs, Mustangs, Cameras, and Chevelles. The car was very quick for its size and engine. I put my guardian angel through some real scares in there.

@Tom: My brother had a ’68 Javelin automatic with the 343 four-barrel. He bought a ’69 with a four-speed for $200 and put the manual tranny into the ’68 in our parent’s driveway. Man, that car flew!

@AS29: I have loved AMC since I was a little kid. Growing up and still living in Wisconsin I always felt more of a connection to the brand. I would go to car shows with my brother and dad and would always point out the AMC vehicles. My dad (a diehard Chevy guy) would always say I was crazy. He would say, “They made refrigerators!” I own a 69 AMX and it’s my one of my dream cars and I absolutely love it.

Since owning it I have converted my brother, who now owns a ’70 Javelin, and my dad, Mr. Chevy, wants a Rambler Rouge! Took them a while to come around! To answer the question the true unicorn and IMO the best AMC was the Javelin Trans Am.

AMC Rambler

Ronnie Schreiber: The 1961 Rambler, or any of the compact Ramblers, for the matter. They kept AMC alive long enough to make the Javelin, AMX, Rebel Machine, and other cars mentioned above.

@TeutonicScot: Both the Rebel Machine and the AMX would have to be at the front of this conversation, not to mention the SC/Rambler, but I think you can go back even further and mention the original 1957 Rebel and/or the 1955 Rambler as both being great examples of what AMC was capable of on an always tight budget. The Rebel was one of, if not the first, American car with a large-block V-8 in a mid-size car which would become the thing to do seven to 10 years later for everyone else, it was capable of 0–60 speeds in under 8 seconds which would be considered quick even 30 years later.

Arguments can be made that it was the first “muscle car” and included many features considered “de rigueur” for later performance cars.

AMC Pacer

@snailish: Pacer. Is this just real life? Is this just fantasy???

AMC Spirit

@Jake: I bought a brand-new AMC Spirit in 1980. I worked at Ford. For the same price I could have bought a Pinto—no thank you! The Spirit was a far better car. If AMC was still around, I would not hesitate to buy another one.

AMC Gremlin

@Michael: I grew up an AMC kid in Kenosha County. MydDad worked there from 1958 to 1988. My vote is for the Gremlin, there was nothing like it. (I’d also like to add the entire 1967 line. Redesigned cars with new V-8 engines.)

AMX/2 and AMX/3

@Don: Best by far was the AMX/3, a mid-engine Italian design that puts all others to shame. I have actually drove #1 many times—it was like driving a Ferrari!

@Jim: Rather than dwell on the models that fill their failed portfolio, while acknowledging the continued success of Jeep, I agree with Don and cast my vote for the lovely AMX III of 1970. A genuinely interesting beauty that could have been oh-so-special from the little guys in Kenosha. Alas, it was not to be.

@Woodrow: Don and Jim were close, but for my money it’s the AMX/2 of 1969. 

***

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Carrol writes:

I replaced a bad driver’s side telescoping sun visor on a 1982 Corvette. The problem I had was that the little retainer clip that fits over the spring keeps breaking (I’ve gone thru 2-3 clips) as I tried to install it. It appears that the replacement clips are thin aluminum and break easily while the old one, which I was able to resurrect, is steel. I need to replace the sunvisor again, but I need good retainer clips. Any suggestions?

Sajeev answers:

I’m gonna go out on a limb and suggest a workable replacement could be available at a hardware store, an industrial supply company (like Grainger), or one of thousands of online retailers on eBay or Amazon. All you need are some measurements from the old washer and a handy chart like this one from McMaster-Carr.

What you are looking for is called an “internal toothed lock washer” made of stainless steel, not aluminum. Stainless steel is significantly stronger, so it should hold that little spring nicely, and make your sun visor stay in its happy place against the windscreen.

So choose your hardware vendor, measure your current lock washer carefully, but feel free to buy a few different sizes if you have concerns about the accuracy of your measurements. The big concern is getting the correct outer diameter to fit into the C3’s windshield frame. The inner diameter likely won’t matter as much, because it gets crushed around the rod that holds the sun visor. Just get as close to the factory part and you should be good to go.

What say you, Hagerty Community?

Have a question you’d like answered on Piston Slap? Send your queries to pistonslap@hagerty.com—give us as much detail as possible so we can help! Keep in mind this is a weekly column, so if you need an expedited answer, please tell me in your email.

***

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Roads give us freedom. They take us to our destination, whether that’s an actual place or a metaphorical reference to the thrills and fulfillment of the perfect combination of automobile and path. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a miles-long straight, a gravel farm road, mountain pass, or canyon asphalt, we all have at least a few favorites on our lists.

So we humbly ask members of the Hagerty Community one question to help us celebrate next week’s special award: What is your favorite driving road?

This is normally where your humble author chimes in with a suggestion in hopes of spurring conversation. But good driving roads are over an hour away from me, and I rarely get the chance to drive that far just to drive some more.

Don’t Look At Me

Instead I have this monstrosity, the Katy Freeway, just a couple of miles from me. I admit the flyovers can give you a giddy little thrill sometimes, but otherwise my life as a car enthusiast revolves around visits to other places with better roads, smaller highways, elevation changes, and a lack of streets designed around a grid.

So help me out here, Hagerty Community, and tell me your thoughts on the matter. What are some good driving roads, and what is your favorite driving road?

***

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I doubt I’m making a bold statement when I suggest that finding a repair shop for your vehicle can be challenging. Some places are far too pricey for the work they perform, while others don’t appreciate customers who see vehicles as more than just mere transportation. This holds true for a classic car, a vintage truck, or even for a cherished daily driver, and readers of this website certainly care to this extent, and want someone who will treat them with the respect they deserve.

Unfortunately we ourselves can’t fix everything that fails on classic and modern vehicles. Finding a shop that we can trust for repairs is paramount. It’s an easier task when we know the right questions to ask—those that will separate the wheat from the chaff. So let’s ask the Hagerty Community how they find someone who can do quality work, perform it at a fair price, and be reasonably accommodating to your schedule. I will add one question to start things off:

Can I buy my own parts?

This is a delicate question for any repair shop for two reasons. The first is the notion that mark up on replacement parts is a significant source of revenue, so someone who brings in their own bits is not the ideal customer. And asking this question can therefore quickly eliminate potential repair shops from your list.

The other, less nefarious reason this question is a concern is because the shop must then trust the customer’s judgment. That’s not easy, as the customer must provide items that both fit, and are good quality. Just because you can get something for cheap at Rock Auto, Amazon, eBay, etc. doesn’t mean it’s the right part for your vehicle. (And you must know that a running production change can affect what parts fit on your specific vehicle.) Mistakes are inevitable, but brands with poor reputations often lead to poor quality parts that fail after a few months on the road.

But if you know what you’re doing, you make the shop’s job easier: they can focus on fixing cars and not waiting for parts. This is especially true if your vehicle is notoriously hard to procure replacement parts, and therefore makes this a win-win for both parties.

Personally speaking, I can find New-Old-Stock parts for my fleet of oddball Lincolns at a fraction of the original asking price on places like eBay. I know what to look for and rarely give my preferred repair shop bad parts and incorrect guidance. But even if I didn’t have this experience (or I am too busy to hunt for bits) the mere fact my shop is receptive to my needs adds a level of trust you cannot have with a shop that refuses to accept parts from the customer.

If the shop and the customer are a good match, the mutual satisfaction of both parties might lead to a loyal customer that refers valuable people to the business in the future. But this is only one of many questions to ask, so now let’s hear from the Hagerty Community:

What questions do you ask to find the right repair shop for your vehicle?

***

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Adam writes:

Sajeev,

Thank you for your response (regarding the need for repair manuals)! I followed your directions exactly and also reviewed the newly arrived shop manual, and everything looked up to snuff. I checked the door wiring and also around the pedal assembly and couldn’t see any chafing, etc. and no wiggling of the wires in those areas—seemed to all check out fine. Meanwhile, at the same time, I also had an issue with the 4WD transfer case motor. The motor was binding, and sometimes it would go into 4WD and sometimes it would not, and it would rarely illuminate the 4WD light on the dash.

I took it to the dealer to have them look at the transfer case, as I wasn’t sure if it was an internal failure of the case, the transfer case motor, the switch, or relay. The dealership called and said it was the transfer case motor, so I told them to replace it. When I went to pay for it, they said:

“Oh, we noticed your power mirrors were not working. We checked and the fuse was blown, so we replaced it and its working normally now.”

I explained to them the trouble I’ve been having with the fuse and they said, “Well, it worked fine for us—we road tested the vehicle, ran all the power accessories, and it still works fine.” I’ve checked it daily since I got it back and the mirrors are still working. Although I do doubt my ability to replace a fuse, and doubt that I bought a batch of bad fuses. I’m going to try not to obsess about it. It did force me to spend the money on the shop manual while I could still get one cheaply. So it’s a win in that way. Thank you again for your help!

Sajeev concludes:

I am glad I could help … sort of? Armchair quarterbacking is a pitfall of this series, but I’d like to think this was a learning experience for many of us.

Your quandary points to something I learned years ago, something we tend to ignore: Our eyes often lie to us. Be it a match on a dating app or a fuse with a hairline fracture, the reality of the situation might not be accurately reflected in what’s before our eyes.

The fractured fuse above became my problem about 11 years ago. It took out the headlights of my UK-import Ford Sierra, but the untrained eye believed it still had a good fuse. Luckily, the Sierra is a famously easy-to-service vehicle, so I pulled the wiring harness at the headlight and tested for voltage. When I found no voltage, I replaced the fuse. Care to guess what happened?

We should do ourselves a favor and only test fuses with a multimeter and the exposed metal bits (video above) present in all (most?) fuses when installed in a fusebox. We may not always have a multimeter, but if one is handy, do not remove them and trust your eyeballs for an accurate decision.

What say you, Hagerty Community? Yank and look, or test with the proper tool?

Have a question you’d like answered on Piston Slap? Send your queries to pistonslap@hagerty.com—give us as much detail as possible so we can help! Keep in mind this is a weekly column, so if you need an expedited answer, please tell me in your email.

***

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As you will soon see, I picked this question for this Our Two Cents episode for a personal, almost selfish reason. The motivation is unique to me, but many of us recall the first vehicle that took us down the road for the first time. Odds are it was the vehicle that drove you home from the hospital as a newborn. If so, that’s also a moment that non-car people can wax nostalgically about, no matter what.

I was hoping my co-workers here at Hagerty Media felt the same tinge of nostalgia, and would share the first vehicle they ever went for a ride in. Luckily they did, and you don’t want to miss out on this list.

Volvo 140

‘Considering the rest of my parents’ fairly odd car history (in grade school, I was most frequently driven to piano lessons sitting in a Lada Niva seat bolted into the back of a SIII Land Rover), my first ride home was in pure 1970s norm-core: a 1974 Volvo 140. The second of two Volvos my parents bought upon officially emigrating from Northern Ireland, it was at least fitted with the manual transmission and was painted crockpot yellow. Dad says the 122s were highly regarded for their toughness in rural Norn Iron, the whole durable Swedish tractor image that made Volvo a hit in rallying.

Not entirely practical as it was a coupe, the 140 was eventually exchanged for a Westfalia. In the photo, I am making the exact same face I do whenever I notice that the deadline for something has snuck up unnoticed and is now due tomorrow.” —Brendan McAleer

Ford Mustang

“Came home in a Mustang, I believe. The first car I really remember riding in was the rumble seat of a Model A, owned by my great Uncle Russ.” —Todd Kraemer

Volvo 240

“I wish I could say it was my dad’s ’64 Mini Cooper S, but my first trip home from the hospital was in my mom’s 1987 Volvo 240 station wagon, dark red over tan vinyl. Since I was a 12-pound newborn (C-section) the Mini might not have made it home, and a box truck might have been a better choice than the 240.

But that Volvo served our family for a quarter-million miles before we replaced it with…another Volvo wagon.” —Andrew Newton

1953 Ford

“My parents swore that there was no way I could remember that car, but I do: A blue, 1953 Ford, which they owned for the first couple of years of my life, before trading it for a 1955 Chevrolet. Impossible or not, I could describe the style and color of that Ford. I always noticed cars, but I honestly didn’t notice much else.” —Steven Cole Smith

Jeep Cherokee

“A white Jeep Cherokee. I’m the third of three kids in my family, and my parents traded in the Toyota Corolla that served my mom so well for the Jeep since three car seats in a Corolla was not going to go well. The Jeep served valiantly until a dustbuster Oldsmobile replaced it, which was around the time I got my first car: A red Power Wheels Wrangler.

The universe has told me I was supposed to be a Jeep person, I ignored that call and have not owned one since. Maybe one day.” —Kyle Smith

1986 Acura Legend

“A brown 1986 Acura Legend. Would have been cool if my parents had chosen the ’50s Willys wagon my dad inherited from his grandfather, but the Acura was undoubtedly safer … and, of course, it allows me to say that my ride home was legendary.

My dad kept that Acura for a while: I remember waiting for it to pull into the driveway, when he’d return home for the weekends between consulting trips. Once we heard the engine shut off and the door open, my siblings and I would race to see who could get to him first for a hug.” —Grace Houghton

VW Camper

“I came home from the hospital in a 1972 Volkswagen camper van. My parents owned it for several years, and we made our first big camping trip out west in it for a couple months when I was 2. My parents slept on the bed in the rear and my sister and I shared the little cot that dropped down over the front seats.

I don’t have many memories of that van, but I do know my dad had to scrunch down beneath us as we slept in order to move it one night. Seems safe.” —Stefan Lombard

1973 Chevelle Malibu

“I came home in my Mom’s blue ’73 Malibu. It just had the 307 and was pretty basic transportation, but she loved that car and drove it everywhere. It finally quit one day when we were on a trip to Ohio to see family. The ’84 Buick Skyhawk that replaced it was a poor substitute.” – Eddy Eckart

1975 Mercury Montego MX

The car that took yours truly home from the hospital was my Mom’s 1975 Mercury Montego MX. My parents had two Montegos at the time (this and a 1970 MX coupe) so we called this the “Yellow Car” and the other was the “Green Car.” After nine years and 100,000 miles on the road, the Yellow Car was deemed unreliable for a busy family. Much like Eddy’s experience, the low-mileage 1981 Chevrolet Monte Carlo that replaced it was a poor choice, mostly due to the Chevy (not Buick) 3.8-liter V-6 engine.

Our local mechanic took the Yellow Car on consignment with an asking price of $800. My memory is vague, but I do remember seeing it parked there when I was riding high in the school bus, telling everyone that’s “my Yellow Car.” I really wanted to keep it in the backyard and use it has a playhouse, but my parents and older brother shot that idea down pretty quickly.

Then one day in 1984 I stopped seeing the Yellow Car from the school bus window. I never saw another yellow 1974-76 Montego sedan ever again. Well, until now.

The Yellow Car was with me until I was about seven years old, so I remember a fair bit about it: curvaceous fender contours, bumpers big enough to lie down on, black vinyl seats that burned me in the summertime, and even that dead plate in the dashboard where an optional clock could have resided. I most fondly remembered the nonsensical ornamentation on the turn signals. I couldn’t stop touching it as a kid, absolutely fascinated by all those lines and curves.

And that turn signal was the first thing I went for on the “new” Yellow Car, meeting me 40 years after the last one left my life. This car’s story started back in 2021, when my friend in Virginia shared a recently unearthed barn find he was interested in purchasing. It was listed as a 1974 Mercury Montego MX Brougham, but it’s actually an MX Brougham Custom, Mercury’s answer to cars like the Buick Regal sedan (i.e. the top line Century.)

Once I saw the Custom’s color matched wheel covers and velour interior in his photos, I was hooked. I told my friend something to the effect of, “Dude, you don’t know what you found, that’s the ‘Yellow Car’…and that’s the highest trim level!”

My friend does fantastic restorations on unloved vehicles, and his work on the “new” Yellow Car didn’t disappoint. When the time came to sell, I did the deal and shipped it to Houston. There’ll be more to come about me and the Yellow Car here at Hagerty, but for now, thank you for reading our collective trip down memory lane.

Thanks to Brendan McAleer for motivating me to make this story into a reality.

***

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April 17 marked sixty years since the Ford Mustang’s public debut at the 1964 New York World’s Fair. The original pony car immediately became a pop-culture and automotive phenom, and it remains one of the most impactful cars in history. We’re celebrating with stories of the events surrounding the Mustang’s launch, the history of the early cars, and tales from owners. Click here to follow along with our multi-week 60 Years of Mustang coverage. -Ed.

We know how big of a splash the 1965 Ford Mustang made upon its introduction, from its debut at the New York World’s Fair to 22,000 units sold in its first day on the market. The Mustang created the formula for the pony car genre, offering the classic long hood, short deck proportioning of a grand touring car from Europe for the approachable asking price of $2368.00. The base models weren’t outstanding performers, and that’s why many of us know the options that made this pony a real sweetheart.

There were V-8 engines, four-speed manual transmissions, a special handling package, and preferred equipment groupings like the “GT Equipment Group” that added the right amount of flash to go with that hardware. But the Mustang’s interior has an interesting story to tell, one that you likely haven’t heard yet.

This first “pony” car was accessible to many drivers, and its style was crucial to the vehicle’s success. Credit some of the Mustang’s instant popularity with its ability to provide more rungs on its ladder, appealing to Ford Falcon buyers and well-heeled shoppers alike. Going upscale with unique sheetmetal and structural underpinnings is difficult, but the move is quite easy to accomplish with interior trappings. Take the optional floor console, from the Mustang’s extensive options list.

Nobody needs a console, but Mustang owners with bucket seats had an opportunity to add more storage, an ashtray for rear seat occupants, and a ton of flash in a space normally reserved for a carpeted driveshaft tunnel.

For a reasonable(ish) $51.50, this courtesy-light-equipped console gives the affordable pony car a sense of luxury in the Thunderbird tradition. Just look at how it integrates the offset floor shifter while complementing the dash’s chrome accents. But the coolest feature is the “edgeless” rear courtesy light, and how it interfaces with the carpet on the transmission tunnel. It’s like sitting in an infinity pool that merges concrete ground with a stunning backdrop with water as its visual glue. (Or light, in the case of the Mustang.)

Making the Mustang’s interior look like that of a Thunderbird—a vehicle that was twice the asking price of the Mustang—is an impressive transformation for the equivalent of $506.33 in today’s dollars. But we haven’t covered (as it were) the optional wood veneer for these consoles, as that’s where our story kicks into high gear.

While Ford referred to it as the “Interior Decor Group,” the upgrade presented above is colloquially referred to as the Pony Package. The name comes from the horses embossed on the package’s uniquely crafted two-toned seats. While the console was a standalone option, the simulated wood trim on the Pony Package’s console was designed to blend with the wood-effect bits on the steering wheel and dashboard.

Unique door panel inserts with Thunderbird-style handles and courtesy lights were also part of the deal, as was the Mustang GT’s fancy gauge package. Unique kick- and quarter-panel covers with carpet/vinyl coverings and stainless steel trimmings rounded out the Pony Package’s preferred equipment. This is a fair bit of equipment at any price, for any vehicle.

While the Pony Package was a not insignificant $107 hit to your wallet, that $1051.98 spent today can’t even buy the blackout wheels/trim/spoiler combo in the 2024 Mustang’s Night Pony Package. Is black paint and plastic really worth more than all this wood, chrome, ornate trim, and pressed-on ponies?

Very few interior upgrades for a modern Ford can match the bang for the buck of the Pony Package; A Mustang so equipped is more akin to a Black Label Lincoln Continental. The original Mustang might not be crafted like a Jaguar of the era, but that didn’t stop around 27,000 customers (out of 559,451) from choosing this upscale splash of style back in 1965. Clearly, there was a market for a premium Pony Car, and the Mustang’s future competition was foaming at the mouth for a piece of that action.

The Pony Package’s attainable luxury offerings were also part of Pontiac and Mercury’s plan for their pony cars, as those upscale brands traditionally offered more than a mere Ford. Take the Jaguar-esque Cougar XR-7 for 1967, a vehicle which took the now-defunct Pony Package’s game to the next level with extra functionality (more lights and switches), acres of faux burl trim, and decadent leather seating surfaces.

So, consider the oft-overlooked Pony Package to have an enduring legacy on par with that of the Mustang GT: the package had an impact far beyond its two-year lifespan as a factory interior upgrade. This option package gave the masses a shot at personal luxury before the genre even existed, giving the pony-car class an even broader appeal.

Back in 1965, you could get a mere car for $2368.00, or you could have a Mustang. You could also spend $4500 to $6000 for sleek two-doors like a Thunderbird or a Jaguar XKE, or you could have the nicest Mustang in town and save a ton of cash to go with all that flash. (I’d recommend purchasing some of those wild Eames Chairs and a HiFi system for your living room with that extra scratch.)

The purchase scenarios above are brilliant moves at market segmentation, and the Pony Interior shows how important enlightened interior design can be for an entire class of car.

***

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Back in 1954, the Nash-Kelvinator Corporation merged with the Hudson Motor Car Company to form the fourth-largest automobile company in the United States. Once all the Wall Street types did their financial machinations to appease stockholders from both companies, a new company called American Motors Corporation (AMC) emerged in May of 1954.

That pivotal moment in American corporate history is quickly approaching its 70th anniversary, so now we wonder aloud about the best example of AMC engineering, design, and marketing gusto. If you don’t have the ideal AMC in your heart, here’s a cheat sheet to get you inspired.

My choice is pretty obvious, mostly because of its impact on America both then and now:

It wasn’t until 1970 that AMC made what was the most impressive, far-reaching, and impactful business decision of the company’s storied history. That’s when it added Jeep to its portfolio, and it might be the only legacy from AMC that modern-day American citizens in any city, state, or zip code across the country can recognize. We enthusiasts may love Javelins, Hornets, Matadors, Eagle 4x4s, and a precious few of us adore the Summit, but there can only be one winner in my mind.

I doubt anyone at AMC could even imagine Jeep’s long-term success, but they likely saw a glimmer of hope in the Civilian Jeep (CJ). AMC knew this brand had merit in its stable, and it was wise to buy it up from Kaiser Motors. So now I hand the reins to you, and every member of the Hagerty Community: What’s the Best AMC To Celebrate the Brand’s 70th Anniversary?

***

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We are running low on questions for this series, so for the sake of all readers, put your thinking cap on and send me an automotive question at pistonslap@hagerty.com.

Charles writes:

Hi Sajeev,

I enjoy your contributions to Hagerty. I am in Alberta, Canada, and I need to replace the driver and passenger door handles of my 2008 Lincoln MKX. Where can I get compatible or a used ones?

On mine, the silver is peeling and my wife doesn’t want to drive the vehicle. I have tried twice on Amazon, but the wrong items were sent.

Sajeev answers:

Your Lincoln Mark X—sorry, MKX—shares door handles the Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan, Lincoln MKZ, and probably even more Ford products. What was wrong with the ones from Amazon? Did they look right and just didn’t fit correctly?

Charles answers:

Thanks for the response, Amazon did not have the driver and passenger inner handles. 

Sajeev concludes:

Ah, that narrows down the problem: Inside door handles, not outside! That changes everything, as the MKX does not share door handles with the Ford cars I mentioned. Instead, they interchange with the Edge SUV, its sister ship from Ford.

From what I see online, part number SET-REPF462185C gets you a pair of aftermarket door handles that work. If you bought these and they did not fit, try from another vendor using the Google search I made in the above link. Using eBay might also help. But what if it does not?

Buy them used, either from a junkyard in Canada or from a used parts vendor on eBay. It looks like the handles on the rear doors interchange, so you can likely get a set of (barely used) rear ones and slap them up front. There’s another perk to buying used door handles from the rear doors of an MKX or Edge, and that’s worthy of some bonus content.

Bonus! A Piston Slap Nugget of Wisdom

Let’s talk about quality, as I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve preferred to buy used OEM parts in lieu of new aftermarket bits. There’s a chance that the quality of new aftermarket bits are just as good as their factory counterparts, as I once bought a Duralast (Autozone’s house brand) switch only to find a Motorcraft (Ford) part in the box. But that’s the outlier in a general trend.

Low prices are often there for a good reason. And these aftermarket Ford Edge/Lincoln MKX door handles remind me of the quality issues present in aftermarket replacement chrome grilles for modern cars and trucks. These chromey-plasticky bits rarely last as long as the factory plasti-chrome grilles. (Not that the factory stuff lasts long enough, as manufacturers don’t make ’em like they used to in that regard.)

It’s hard to know for sure, but for body parts like door handles, I defer to my experience with aftermarket chrome grilles. Going to a local junkyard will likely net you a set of OEM Ford door handles (from the rear doors of a Ford Edge) for the same price as the aforementioned aftermarket replacements. And that money is better spent, because they will likely last longer.

Have a question you’d like answered on Piston Slap? Send your queries to pistonslap@hagerty.com—give us as much detail as possible so we can help! Keep in mind this is a weekly column, so if you need an expedited answer, please tell me in your email.

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The original Ford Mustang is celebrating its 60th birthday this month, but owners of the seventh-generation (2024 model year and newer) pony car are the ones getting the presents. Yesterday Mike Levine, director of Ford’s North American Product Communications team, posted a video of the gift on Instagram. The buildup begins with a glance at a 1967 Mustang’s gauge cluster, and ends with a quick start of the 60th Anniversary Edition to show off the new gauges, gifted to new Mustangs via an over-the-air update.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Mike Levine (@mrlevine)

While OTA updates are nothing new in the industry, this iconic overlay is a delightful throwback design element that loses none of the impressive information presented in the S650 Mustang’s user interface. If anything, the chrome ring renders help to differentiate the cluster’s traditional functions from the modern ones we expect in a new vehicle (tire pressure, fluid temps, cruise-control following distance and speed, song selection, etc.).

It’s wonderful to see an OEM embrace its deep roots, using software updates as a new way to delight the customer of an iconic marque. Who knows, maybe this new overlay makes the next throwback Bullitt Mustang a foregone conclusion? That iconic Highland Green paint job likely cannot wait to meet these gauges.

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The Hagerty Community has embraced the According To You series even more fully than I expected, and last week’s question spoke to many of you personally. Your answers were both entertaining and enlightening, including many from folks who offered priceless advice for my personal issue with oil filters on a MN-12-derived Ford product. This series is officially the gift that keeps on giving!

We had a lot (I mean a LOT) of comments last week, and we had to trim them down to a much smaller list for this week’s publishing. So don’t be shy, do yourself a favor and read every comment from last week when you have a chunk of time to spare. But in the meantime, here’s a list of answers you will truly enjoy.

Opti-Spark Stress

@Kenny: Mine was a ’93 Corvette OptiSpark replacement without removing the radiator and fans. Blind access to bolts, greasy hands, impossible back position, and skinned knuckles were a given. Worst part, I had to do it 3 times due to bad parts from a discount auto parts store. Hard to stand straight for several days.

@Hank: Distributor Cap, Rotor Cap, Plugs and Plug wires on a 1996 Buick Roadmaster.

Sacre Bleu! (Two from France)

@Ken: The toughest job I ever had to do was to change the water pump on a Citroen. The pump sits on a bracket less than a quarter inch from the radiator. I tore up my knuckles trying to get the water pump out and the new one in. Next time, which will never happen, I would take out the radiator first. I did learn how to swear and curse like a French sailor! MERDE!!!

@Duckcanuck: Here’s one that I doubt will have come up: on a Citroën 2CV, the front brakes are mounted inboard, on the gearbox transaxle. If you have model with drum brakes, it is close to impossible to get a finger behind the drum to hold the center pin for the shoe hold-down spring. Of course while you are trying to hold the pin in place, you have to be pushing and twisting the spring-and-cup from the other side. And remember, all of this is happening with your arms outstretched, due to the inboard location of the brakes. It probably took me 20+ attempts, over several hours to get all four springs in place.

Rue The Day (Four from The UK)

@Dan: The Series I Jag XJ6 heater core. As the Haynes Manual states, strip entire car to the bare uni-body and reassemble in reverse order. You may also be required to smite briskly with mallet.

@Gareth: It’s easier to remove the axle than it is to do the rear brakes in the car on my XJ-S.

@Mike: Think that’s hard? It’s impossible to do the brakes WITHOUT dropping the rear axle on my E-Type.

@Fred: 2006 LTI TX2 London Taxi Cab, removing starter to access solenoid.

So Many Spark Plug Problems

@Albert: On a 1969 Corvette 350 with air conditioning, the number 2 and 4 spark plugs are next to impossible to access. It’s a little easier now that I have a lift. I can’t imagine accessing these on a big block with air conditioning.

@Andy: I have a ’69 350 as well. Agree on the spark plugs. Even worse is getting under the dash to do any work there. Feet up, head down, no room to move and if you need another tool, well you get to climb in out again.

@Eric: Even finding the spark plugs on my C8 Audi RS6. Thank God that I have Audi Care which covers parts and labor to replace them at 30K miles.

@Bruce: The last 2 spark plugs on my V-12 Jag.

@Jeff: Jaguar XJS V-12 spark plugs. I started. Never finished.

@Bob: Does anyone remember the Chevy Monza? Its engine bay was never intended to house a small-block V-8 and access to the rear spark plugs was such that, on many cars, they never got changed.

@Prof+X: My father-in-law had an early seventies Ford truck with a 390. The passenger rear spark plug was physically impossible to remove, without somehow removing the inner fender or dropping the drivetrain, disconnecting the motor mounts, and jacking up the engine. This was in the mid-eighties and I don’t think it had been changed since new.

@Papa: Getting the rear plug wires off of my 2006 Monte Carlo 3.8 was a 2 hour, 8 different style “wire pullers” and 4 different screwdrivers, P.I.T.A. Job. They are holding on for dear life! Never seen boots hold like that one, the front ones fortunately are right there but still needed a puller.

@David: The half of the spark plugs on my Nissan Frontier’s 4.0L V-6 that require you to remove the upper intake manifold to get to them…

@Richard: The rear plugs on my ’04 Toyota Solara. The official way is to drain the coolant and remove the intake manifold and pile of miscellaneous parts. I was able to do it by removing everything at the back and driver’s side of the engine and with a large assortment of adapters, extensions, wrenches, sockets etc. 1 hour per plug! Thankfully it is a rare occurrence—every 400k km (250k miles).

@Dan: The plugs on a Sunbeam Tiger.

@BeamerBob: The rear most spark plug on a Sunbeam Tiger. Changed from under the steering wheel through a hole in the drivers side toe board. Also, the one under the generator.

@William: Changing the spark plugs and adjusting the valves on an original Sunbeam Tiger. There is a grommet through the firewall to give access to the #8 plug, and removing the valve covers is a horror…

@Richard: Passenger front spark plug on 1973 Trans Am with 455 and A/C. Not visible under compressor and difficult, if not impossible, to get a ratchet with spark plug socket down there without risk of breaking ceramic tip of plug or worse, cross-threading it. The simple solution was to remove passenger front tire and go in through wheel well above the upper A-arm. It was a straight shot with a long socket extension(s) and you could easily see what you were doing. it became one of the easier plugs to replace.

@Tim: Two spark plugs on my ’75 Pacer were buried in the firewall.

@Jim: The later model Lexus RX350’s are a joy to change the rear spark plugs and coils on. Not only does the intake manifold have to come off, but the windshield wipers, motor and panels above it. It took hours and hours the first time I did one. Even had to fabricate a tool to pop the windshield wipers off. Even with everything removed it’s a b%$#@ to get to the plugs and bolts holding the coils down.

@Robert: Here is an old school one: The center 2 spark plugs on each side of a 1969 Mustang or Fairlane/Torino Cobra with a 428 Cobra Jet, complete with original smog system and tubes in place. The center plugs are canted towards each other, you have to work under the steel smog tubes that enter the exhaust manifolds, and you are tight to the shock towers. It’s a challenge, actually it’s a PITA.

@miataman5: Changing the plugs on my parent’s ’73 Chrysler New Yorker with the 440 engine was no fun.

@Glenn: I had a ’74 Corvette with a 454. Changing plugs was a challenge.

Mustang Fastbacks

@Chuck: Cleaning the inside of the rear window on my 1965 Mustang Fastback. Very steep angle and a roll cage.

@Espo70: Where the rear deck panel and the sharply raked back window meet on my S197 Mustang. Trying to clean that area is difficult.

Bedauerlich! (Three Regrets from Germany)

@David: BMW 2002 owners who have not relocated their battery to the trunk (or under the rear seat as I did) know the struggle of trying to remove the oil filter with the full size battery in place.

@Ray: Porsche 356B: In the engine bay the two front spark plugs are hidden behind the intake manifolds. They are literally out of sight and are changed using the braille method. Have dropped more than one plug into the engine tin and am now totally paranoid about installing a new plug without cross threading. In the interior, the fuel lever is hidden under the right-side dash in the passenger’s foot well. The lever is for on-off-reserve, moving from on to reserve while driving is dangerous. I have turned the gas supply off trying to do this and this is dangerous and requires a rather quick do over. More sticking your hand under the passenger side dash and further groping while trying to watch the road and other traffic. The markings are in German, even for the made for USA cars so its still a bit confusing even if the car is not moving. i.e. Auf is On!

@Peter: My problem is with my ‘74 super beetle. 1835cc with two Webbers which put the carbs out towards the fender well. And just try to get to those 2 front spark plugs out. Or trying to get to the jets on those carbs, you gotta have child hands! I may have to make an access panel on the inside of the wheel well.

So Miata Is NOT The Answer?

@James: I have a 2004 Mazda Miata NB and the oil filter is very difficult to get to. Under the air intake, behind the alternator and blocked by the right strut tower. You feel a little bit like a racoon fishing in muddy water and I found a pair of filter pliers at Home depot that make it a cinch. Although there is no turning back as they do pierce the casing.

@Alison: NC Miata driver side headlight bulb cannot reach from under hood. Remove inner fender or front bumper cover for access.

@John: Reaching the oil filter on NA and NB Miata’s (1990-2005) is a pain.

@MiataRoss: I’ve got an NB and I completely agree the oil filter is difficult to see let alone replace.

@Mike: Just try to replace the driver side headlamp on an NC.

@GL: I agree. I have a NA and I still wonder if it`s easier by removing the front passenger wheel. There is no easy way.

@BG95PreludeSRV: The wheelwell access is a myth on the NA. At least on my ‘97 1.8.

Oddio! (Two from Italy)

@mph: Ferrari 308 GTS: the front pan under frunk is the Cavern of Satan if you drop small fasteners while fiddling with the grill, horns, etc. I was able to retrieve a lost grill fastener by thumping the plastic tray to locate the general whereabouts of the piece & then taking a strong magnet to “drag” the piece forward to a point where I could fetch the little rascal!

@Cory: My Ferrari 355 has the battery located in the front right wheel well requiring you to remove the wheel and tire and wheel well inner fender panel to access it. Also, the same car requires you to remove a belly pan 2/3 the size of the undercarriage to get to the oil sump reservoir plug to drain it for an oil change. If the car is not perfectly level, the draining oil will hit a cross member and you will be getting a dirty oil facial you hadn’t planned on. They could have engineered a small access panel or cutout to make the oil changes far easier. I wonder why they didn’t? Well, not really.

Det ligger en hund begraven (Four from Sweden)

@Whitman: Have you every tried to access the wiring behind the dash of a Volvo P1800? Being a contortionist would be an asset!

@RJ: Two Volvo issues—heater fan motor on a 140/240 from 1973-’93. Hard, but harder by the book.

@sAlty 240: The blower fan on these cars is legendary (the joke is the engineers built the car around the blower box). Mine never failed but multiple forum posts indicated it was far faster to just sawz-all the housing open then glue it back together.

But the crank position sensor on my 1991 manual 240? It took multiple 1/4″ extensions and u-joints to even get a socket on the retaining bolt, which came out easily enough, but the sensor itself would not budge and there’s zero space in there between the firewall and the block to pry on anything. If you ever have the engine or trans out, change this thing proactively (it turned out my misfire was bad plug wires, not the CPS) if your car has one.

@Keith: 1993 Saab 900—The belts infamously are between the engine and the firewall thanks to the ‘backwards’ design. Busted knuckles and lost sockets are a guarantee. At least the clutch assembly is right up front!

I Didn’t Order this Apple Pie (Two from Chevrolet)

@Rider79: The hardest place to reach on my 1973 Nova 350 was one of the heater hoses. One had to either remove the inner fender (or at least a liner, I don’t recall), or cut a hole in the inner fender. The factory put a special textured hose there that lasted well over 10 years (a long time for hoses in those days), before it had to be replaced; I guess they realized how hard it would be!

@daddy stev: Considering its modest nature, worst so far has been an inaccessible lousy leaky oil pan gasket on a 96 Chevy Blazer V-6 4.3 with a 4WD automatic—sorry but just couldn’t replace it myself at that time, so had to get help from the dealer. They must have had to take most of the front half of the vehicle apart just to get to it, over more than a work day, and at a cost of more than $2000—yikes! That was nearly the value of the then 21 year old but low mileage daily driver truck. Such simple basic things oughta be better designed to allow easier repairs, seems to be a frequent problem with Chevys.

Bikkuri Shita! (Grab Bag from Japan)

@Gman1954: The Honda S2000 great car but quirky: The clutch pedal has a breakable switch on the backside. Car won’t start without it. & Americans cannot fit in there to change it. The trick is to use sticky tape on a screwdriver to hold it in place, while you screw the bolt on while you are on your back wedged head in under the steering wheel half in, half out of this very small car. Also I haven’t replaced my slowly leaking clutch slave cylinder because of the same lack of space issue.

@JoePags: On a Z32 Nissan 300ZX, that would be everything other than the dipstick. It is the epitome of 10 gallons of “stuff” in a 5 gallon bucket. It is literal origami how Nissan fit it all under the hood.

@BG95PreludeSRV: Starter motor on any Honda or Acura with a 2.4 liter 4 cylinder engine. Two long bolts that you can only turn 10 degrees at a time almost always are galled with aluminum. Takes half an hour each bolt.

@Bob: 2004 Mazda 6 with the 6 cyl. The serpentine belt was difficult. Transverse mounted engine, and the frame rail was so close to the engine most wrenches (and forget your arm) wouldn’t fit. Also the headlights. In the owners manual it said the dealer had to replace them. You had to remove the battery to get to one of them.

@ChrisH: I have a 1991 Toyota MR2 Turbo. EVERYTHING is hard to reach! But there is one particular item that is so notoriously hard to reach that it has been named “The Hose From Hell.” It is a coolant hose on the block, behind the turbo and underneath the exhaust manifold – essentially buried in the center of the engine. Some people say that it can be changed by removing the turbo and manifold. Ant Anstead replaces The Hose From Hell in the Season 16 Episode 2 of Wheeler Dealers—he removed the entire engine to get to it.

@PaulY: Oil filter on first-gen Honda CR-V. Horizontal, back of block facing firewall. You have to snake your arm in to even touch it, barely enough room for a strap wrench and you will have oil running down your arm as you remove it. Obviously designed for mechanics half my size.

@Nathaniel: 2nd-gen Acura Integra, when you have to replace the alternator. Unbolting the thing is easy enough, but once it’s removed you have to drop the suspension and drive axle on the driver’s side in order to physically remove it from the engine bay and insert the new one. A lot of cursing once into the job and I discovered that.

Quality Isn’t Job 1? (Seven from Ford)

@Steve: As the owner of a 60’s Lincoln Continental convertible, everything!! Very few things are easily accessible and those that are, are probably connected to something that isn’t. As John Cashman once said, “the engineers didn’t design these cars for maintenance.”

@Gary: The transmission dipstick on Gen 1 Ford Raptors. It’s a part the filler cap on the transmission itself, right side, only inches away from the catalytic converter. While the engine is running to check transmission oil, slide under the truck, reach up and unscrew the dipstick cap (the dipstick is only a few inches long) whilst trying not to burn your hand. Small hands are a benefit. Try to read the oil level on the dipstick (flashlight needed) then replace it whilst not burning your hand.

@Alan: Changed out my battery on a 2014 Ford Escape. This should be a 10 minute job. Nope. They buried it so far back that you have to remove the windshield wipers, a bunch of screws and clips and 2 sections under the windshield to get access.

@Slow Joe Crow: On my 2002 Ford F-150 a 5.4 Triton, anything at the back of the engine, the cowl is basically shrink wrapped around it so cylinder head work is horrendous. On the bright side you can still reach in there, later F150s are engine out or cab off.

@Rick J: 1999 Ford F-250. Just about anything in the engine bay except the alternator. The engine sits so far back that plugs, coils, and injectors are ridiculously difficult to get to. I have replaced those components on seven of eight cylinders. If and when those things need replacing on cylinder #4 I’m taking it to a mechanic. It might be easier to replace the entire engine.

@Kyle B: Anything contained in the Subframe for a 1997 Mercury Cougar, exhaust manifolds, oil pan, steering rack and lines, anything to do with the front suspension.

@JU: I just replaced the thermostat housing and temperature sensors on a 2002 Mazda B4000 Pickup. IT was 5 hours to get the housing out, sensors etc. and 5 hours to put back. Wiggle room is almost nil to get parts in and out.

It’s a Jeep Thing?

@George: The wire connector for the coil pack on my 2000 Jeep Cherokee. The freaking thing is barely reachable behind the valve cover and the connector has one of the cantankerous red keepers that are near impossible to set free without breaking.

@Boss302: The flywheel position sensor on my 1995 six cylinder Jeep Grand Cherokee. I had my 10 year old daughter reach up underneath the car through the engine to get the socket on. Her mom never knew!

@Wayne: Jeep Wrangler JK clutch slave cylinder bleed screw. It’s on top of the transmission, and very difficult to get a wrench on. And its impossible to bleed without taking a bath in DOT3, definitely not designed with service in mind.

E V E R Y T H I N G

@Norm: At 81 years old, EVERYTHING.

@Bazemore23: When you are 72 and have had five back operations, anything underneath the dash is a major problem repairing!

@Brian: At my advanced age I find anything under the dash that needs attention is reluctantly taken care of. Major jobs require removing the seat/seats to give the body a bit of relief.

***

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The post According To You: What’s Hard to Reach on Your Car? appeared first on Hagerty Media.

It’s been reported by Tesla owners and the news media that the Cybertruck electric pickup is no longer being delivered to customers. This stop sale is likely explained by a TikTok video of a cosmetic metal cover on the accelerator, which could partially slide off during usage and get jammed into the carpeted front cowl of the body. Detective-like guesswork is unfortunately all we have at the moment, as Tesla famously dissolved their public relations department. Here’s the video in question:

While customers waiting for their new Cybertruck are understandably upset with this revelation, there is more to unpack. The TikTok video shows a pedal hinged at the floor, much like some General Motors products of the 1970s and 1980s. We also see a partial shot of the cosmetic cover in the video, including a large lip to seal it around the pedal’s functional base. Presumably there are no clips to lock it into place on both the left and right sides, compared to similar designs made by other manufacturers.

A revised cover with locking clips could potentially resolve the issue. But if the accelerator gets jammed open and the brake is depressed, Tesla engineered a safety item that could help the Cybertruck from running into anything in front of it.

Tesla software is programmed to stop the vehicle if both pedals are depressed. The video above suggests it ignores the accelerator input and subsequently stops the vehicle with the braking system. There’s even a pleasant reminder on the screen, with the phrase “removing motor power.”

This would presumably stop a Cybertruck’s jammed accelerator in its tracks, provided the owner has the wherewithal to hit the brakes when the accelerator becomes stuck. Tesla has remained silent on the matter of next steps for Cybertruck owners who previously took delivery of their vehicle. It’s possible that removing the cosmetic cover to prevent the issue is a good start, as Toyota initially asked of cars with affected floor mats in their floor mat recall. Hopefully a permanent fix comes quickly.

***

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Adam writes:

Sajeev,

I have a 2011 Ford Ranger Super Cab 4×4 4.0 Sport with 52,000 miles on it. I bought it in 2014 with 7000 miles, so I know its history pretty well. Recently, the power mirrors stopped working. I checked the fuse, and the 5 amp was burned out. I replaced the fuse, and the power mirror started to work again. However, when I started up the truck, I immediately heard the 5 amp fuse blow again.

I checked, and it looks like the power mirrors are the only thing on the circuit, per the wiring diagram on the Internet, so I know I have to take that with a grain of salt. I decided to unplug the power mirror switch and replace the fuse. I thought the switch could be the cause. When I went to get back in the truck (the fuse box is on the passenger side footwell) I swear I heard it blow again as soon as I opened the driver’s door.

Do you have any suggestions on how I could track down this issue? I have Googled several videos, but most find dead shorts like this due to body damage or a wiring harness that was compromised due to corrosion or something really wild.

I saw a YouTube video on the South Main Auto channel where the fuse kept blowing on an Altima and after replacing the throttle body. A new fuse box and it was brought to him to replace the ECM. He decided to run down the wiring and traced it down a comprised wire in the cowl. Apparently, the factory did not clip in the wiring harness, and it was resting on the wiper armature and eventually cut through the one wire that controlled the throttle body.

Besides something crazy like that, any thoughts of what it could be?

Thank you,

Adam

P.S. I do have an official 2011 Ford Ranger Work Shop Manual and Wiring Diagram I ordered off of eBay last night.

Sajeev answers:

No, that wiring issue you saw on YouTube is not a “crazy” thing to happen. A short to ground fault is likely your issue, but before we go there, I suggest wiring problems are downright commonplace with modern cars.

There are plenty of fail points in a modern supply chain, so you have to be ready for anything. The factory can forget to fully push in a retainer, install a clip, etc., which eventually causes a wire to chafe on something else. Or perhaps a wiring harness vendor can forget to add said clip or retainer at a specific location? Sometimes the automaker even “forgets” to design it into the wiring harness in the first place!

This is why I am glad you bought the shop manual and wiring diagrams, since you absolutely need them. And since this might one day apply to my 2011 Ford Ranger, I dug into my wiring diagram to see what should be done. At least in theory.

Page 124-1 suggests you need to check a BR-RD wire (Brown with a Red stripe) from the fuse box, inspecting its entire length for a problem. The first connector (C527) to check for damage is the one at the switch that you already disconnected, so it’s probably not your issue. But look at the condition of the BR-RD wire at the plug, and examine the harness for signs of damage.

The second connection for the BR-RD wire at C210, inside the dash, above the pedal assembly. The BR-RD wire at C210 is the first pin in the harness. (Look at page 150-26 of the manual to see what I see). Inspect and disconnect C210 and test again. This is also a good time to note there are better tools for testing a short to ground than a handful of new fuses.

This video will get you the rest of the way, but usually a short to ground happens when accident damage repair, aftermarket parts, or general sloppiness in labor causes a wire to wind up in a place it doesn’t belong. Best of luck to you, though it should be quite easy in a vehicle this simple.

Bonus! A Piston Slap Nugget of Wisdom

YouTube is a great motivator and educator, but nobody ever pulls up wiring diagrams to show you wire colors and locations of where you need to go. I mean nobody. Who would be that detail oriented in a YouTube video?

Well, except for this dork who can’t even hold a phone while making a video. What an amateur!

Bottom line: Use Facebook Groups, YouTube Videos, and even car forums for the advice to set you in the right direction. But when its your turn at the problem, getting factory shop manuals and ESPECIALLY wiring diagrams are mandatory for any do-it-yourselfer. They aren’t cheap, but they pay for themselves after a few repairs on most any vehicle in the last 30-40 years.

Have a question you’d like answered on Piston Slap? Send your queries to pistonslap@hagerty.com—give us as much detail as possible so we can help! Keep in mind this is a weekly column, so if you need an expedited answer, please tell me in your email.

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Our last installment of Our Two Cents included a comment about the ever changing timeline for the V-8 engine’s demise. It seemed unlikely for decades, but serious undercurrents are changing our tune these days. The transition into electric motors capable of frenzied, four-figure horsepower numbers with the docile, street-able nature of a lazy, big block Cadillac means that V-8s are no longer the only game in town.

With that, there’s only one question left to ask: What will be the last V-8 standing? That’s the question I posed to members of the Hagerty Media staff, and the answers might surprise you.

American Trucks*

*As you might recall, the 2025 Ram now has a turbo-six. But Chevy and Ford haven’t given up on the V-8 yet.

“I think that American trucks will be the last vehicles offered with a V-8. Think about it, that engine is so solidly ingrained in the market that I don’t think you could offer a full-size truck without one, even if better options exist. I know I’d have a tough time not selecting my beloved V-8 if I were buying a new truck.” – Greg Ingold

“I think it’ll be the Chevy Pickup because of that glorious small block.” – Larry Webster

Mustang (and Corvette)

“I think it’ll be a focused performance product—I don’t see pickups carrying the day here, especially with solutions like Dodge’s turbo six. I have a soft spot for Cadillacs and would love for it to be the 5V Blackwing, but I think it’ll be the Mustang that is the final holdout.” – Eddy Eckart

“I believe that as long as Jim Farley is running Ford, which could be a long time, his on-the-record support of the V-8 will carry it through. A Mustang? A Bronco Raptor? (Over $90,000 is awfully dear for a 3.0-liter V-6.) A super-heavy-duty Transit van? An F-150 Raptor R with the 5.2-liter V-8?

All that said, I think the V-8 in the Corvette stands about the same chance for longevity. Weaning its loyal customers off eight cylinders will be tough, no matter how much power a V-6 can pump out.” – Steven Cole Smith

Like, Literally?

“Whichever one gets regular oil changes and doesn’t spend winters in Northern Michigan (or other salty states).” – Ben Woodworth

Mercedes Flagships

“This may seem insane, but Mercedes won’t abandon clients loyal to Maybach Limos, and G-class SUVs. They’d love to replace any engine with more batteries and bigger electric motors for their clients in established economies, but the Mercedes V-8 is a global sensation that an EV powertrain cannot replace. The keyword there is global.

Petrol power will still be needed in many countries, especially if one particular “Oil Sustainability Program” does what it promises. If so, the warlord/dictator/elite classes in third-world countries will pay a premium for a flagship V-8 engine in a flagship Mercedes vehicle. Who knows, that could justify keeping V-8s for selected AMG products, too!” – Sajeev Mehta

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As seen elsewhere, the trend towards mass adoption of electric vehicle is slowing down. In a report from AutoCar, we learn that Aston Martin is delaying their transition to electric propulsion, instead looking to hybrids powertrains for the next 10+ years of production.

Aston Martin Executive Chairman Lawrence Stroll has plans for plug-in hybrids that go far beyond the timelines contemplated by mainstream automakers who intend to use the technology as a bridge to an EV future. Stroll suggests that Aston Martin customer feedback includes having the “sound and smells” of an internal combustion engine, which further cemented their plan to go hybrid for both V-8 and V-12 models.

While Stroll suggests that electric cars will eventually happen at Aston Martin, their previous plans are no longer relevant. This included an EV Aston to be made by 2025, which has been cancelled. Stroll told Autocar that “demand for electric cars is particularly weak in the luxury segments as Aston Martins were typically not ‘first’ cars for their customers.”

This reality check from Aston Martin mirrors that of their intention to keep physical controls in their decadent interiors, and keeping loyal customers happy seems like a good plan when considering the current financial struggles of Lucid and Rivian. While Lucid recently received an astronomically huge cash infusion from a Saudi investment firm, Rivian is feeling the heat in the EV market.

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While the C8 Corvette already comes in varying levels of heat, the famous ZR1 moniker has yet to make its appearance on the mid-engine sports car from Chevrolet. That all changes this summer, when the next ZR1 will be unveiled. Until then, Chevrolet gave us a teaser video to whet our appetites.

While the alphanumeric made its debut in 1970, the ZR1 has been the flagship Corvette since the 1990 model year. The engines of ZR1 models have always been heavily enhanced, so we’re expecting nothing less from the newest iteration. Expectations are high for good reason: The base Stingray has 495 horses, the E-Ray hybrid a combined 650, and the Z06 670 ponies behind the passenger cabin.

We can only speculate about what we’ll see this summer, but we know the ZR1 will use a DOHC V-8, as in the good ol’ days of the C4: It might even use the flat-plane-crank LT6 architecture from the current Z06. Forced induction is all but guaranteed. We expect twin turbos, changing a precedent set by the last ZR1, whose powertrain was supercharged. Hybridization is unlikely in the upcoming ZR1; besides the E-Ray, a hybrid system will likely be reserved for the Zora, a 1000-hp beast of a C8 that is supposedly still in the works. Will the new ZR1 be the most powerful, and last, gas-only Corvette? Smart money says yes.

Expect the ZR1 to have more power than the Z06—probably 850 hp or so, delivered via a wholly unique driving experience. Watch this space for updates as we get them.

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We all have to dig into our vehicles to repair, replace or simply retrieve something at some point. Be it addressing a bad exhaust manifold gasket, failed starter, or your cell phone that slid between the seat and the console, some places are notoriously hard to reach. Sometimes it feels like this was created by design, especially when you need to get something done quickly.

This week’s question should generate many unique stories and relatable tales of painfully difficult things to reach in your vehicle. There are just some places that are so much harder than others, especially on some vehicles. For me, it’s the ritual of doing an oil change on my Lincoln Mark VIII, because I truly hate the filter location.

See the Mobil 1 oil filter nestled deep within the engine cradle, further obscured by the anti-roll bar underneath? Granted, I’ve made this job harder for myself, as said bar is a much larger piece from Addco. While access to spin the oil filter off from the block is straightforward, the oil pours down the engine cradle (all around the pictured metal/rubber hose) and collects at the divot in the cradle’s sheetmetal. It’s a mess, especially since there’s another divot which requires careful placement of your oil pan to ensure it catches used oil from both locations.

It’s a hot mess (literally), but I haven’t even discussed the real chore: getting the oil filter between the engine and that Addco bar. The trick is to stick your pointer finger in the oil filter, clamp down with said finger, and pull down hard so it slides past the bar.

I’ve owned this car for over two decades and can change the oil without frustration, but this filter is still “notoriously hard” to reach. So now I shall kick the question back to you:

What places are notoriously hard to reach on your car?

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I never expected a rambling notion I published over a decade ago could have this much staying power. But we’re indeed talking about upgrading an analog car phone with digital guts in the year 2024, and the person behind it shares his efforts across platforms for creators (like GitHub) and enthusiasts (like his YouTube channel) with pride. Thankfully, this generosity also includes an update for Piston Slap readers! —SM

Jeff writes:

I have a big update for my car phone project: everything now fits inside of the original car phone, making it fully functional on its own. There are no external adapters, and no visible signs of modification.

I’ll probably also make a new full tour/demo video in a few weeks when I take my car out of winter storage, but I couldn’t hold in the excitement. I had to share this news with someone that would appreciate it. (I am glad you didn’t hold back! — SM)

I spent the winter learning how to design custom PCBs (Printed Circuit Boards) and developing a new version of my adapter. This completely replaces the original electronics in the car phone’s transceiver, instead of previously piggybacking off of it. In addition to being able to hide everything inside the original car phone, there are some technical benefits to being in control of power supply/management:

• I’m in control of when the phone turns on/off, which means I was able to replicate original behavior where the phone remains on if you turn the car off during a call. The phone then automatically powers off when the call ends.
• I’m using modern rechargeable Li-Ion cells (3 AA-sized cells) for portable power instead of the original giant NiCd battery pack (10 A-sized cells). The original battery packs are all long dead by now and would need to be rebuilt with new NiCd cells (expensive and tedious) if I stuck with the original car phone’s power supply and battery charging circuitry.
• Total weight is reduced by 12.2 ounces.
• The original Mitsubishi transceiver is no longer wastefully consuming power itself in addition to powering my Bluetooth adapter. This particularly helps with battery life in portable mode. Even though the batteries I use have a lower capacity (1100 mAh) than the original battery pack (1400 mAh), battery life is now better than the original phone:
• There’s about 20 hours of “standby time” compared to the original 14 hours.
• Probably most impressive is the roughly 5–6 hours of “talk time” compared to the original’s 50–80 minutes.

I have documented my progress on this new phase of my project in a forum thread. Towards the end of the thread, you will find many photos of the new adapter installed in the car phone, comparisons to an unmodified phone, etc. Unfortunately, I have not yet finished updating my GitHub project with new designs/code/info/documentation, but I should have that updated within the next few weeks.

After more testing and refinement, I plan to offer either a conversion kit or a mail-in conversion service (details/pricing TBD) for anyone who has a Mitsubishi DiamondTel Model 92 phone and is willing to accept the risk of purchasing amateur prototype-quality electronics with no warranty. (Better buy a donor phone while you can, before Jeff’s hard work raises their asking prices! – SM)

I expect it would also work for the Mitsubishi Model 1500, but I need to get my hands on one to confirm it. Conversion is unfortunately not “bolt-on” easy. It requires transferring a couple connectors from the original transceiver (de-soldering and de-pinning) and grinding a bit of metal from the inside of the transceiver case for clearance.

Sajeev concludes:

I’d like to once again thank Jeff for keeping us in the loop with his progress. I look forward to Part VII of this series, showing off this consumer-friendly option for upgrading a Mitsubishi cell phone with modern Bluetooth technology. We truly live in an amazing world, don’t we?

Have a question you’d like answered on Piston Slap? Send your queries to pistonslap@hagerty.com—give us as much detail as possible so we can help! Keep in mind this is a weekly column, so if you need an expedited answer, please tell me in your email.

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There’s something to be learned from any time period, even one as universally disliked as the Malaise Era (circa 1973–83). The number of innovations and popularizations that improved our lives during this era is astounding, and neglecting them in a modern car would doom that vehicle to mass-market failure. So let’s get the obligatory Ricardo Montalbán TV commercial out of the way, as Malaise Era marketing campaigns were schmaltzy, unforgettable, and almost mandatory at this point.

Now that the low-hanging fruit has been picked, let’s consume the good stuff from the Malaise Era. One could even consider these as milestones, examples of American Exceptionalism. Indeed the USA was embracing change while other countries either feared to embrace it or chose not to provide the fruits of such undertakings. That’s especially true in one particular initiative, which we must put as the first milestone in our series:

Milestone #1: Clean Air in Cities

As our population increased, the number of automobiles suddenly became a black eye for our society. And the rudimentary additions to cars of the 1960s like positive crankcase ventilation and air pumps weren’t cutting the mustard. Breathing smog in the air takes a shocking toll on your body, but don’t take my word for it: Visit a city that only recently adopted emissions controls, and your lungs/eyes/nose will make the fact clear.

While the first two decades of catalytic converters would hold back ultimate power for those looking for serious engine upgrades, modern powerplants like Chrysler’s Hellcat prove that catalytic converters let you have your cake and eat it too.

Milestone #2: Luxury for the Masses

The personal luxury genre started in the 1960s with the likes of the Cadillac Eldorado, Continental Mark III, and even ritzy versions of pony cars (looking at you, Mustang Pony interior package). But those efforts pale in comparison to what we got in the Malaise Era. Because if you could afford a bit more than a new 1975 Pinto or Vega, well, you just got yourself a first-class ticket to Brougham-town.

While the Brougham name became the butt of many a car enthusiast’s joke, the added luxuries were underscored with superior noise/vibration/harshness (NVH) reduction techniques: For starters, asphalt-lined sound insulation and thicker interior materials from carpets to door panels. The Lincoln Versailles above was the best and worst example of Malaise Era NVH engineering: It possessed significant upgrades from the era but a pathetic amount of parts was shared with its Ford stablemate.

Speaking of Granada, Ford had the audacity to compare its new-for-1975 compact to a Mercedes-Benz W116. How on earth can something based on a 1960 Falcon platform, with a Falcon-derived engine and a stick axle, possibly be on the same level as a German flagship?

It clearly was not, but the Granada cost a reasonable $3800 for a base model. Even in full poverty-spec, the Granada had the telltale signs of a more premium vehicle from Germany or England, right down to the hood ornament, extensive chrome trimming, and an upscale interior with reclining seats, fake wood, and plush carpeting. We may pan Ford for its personal luxury references, but Chrysler (Dodge Aspen) and the fourth-generation Nova did the same thing.

Chevrolet bestowed significant NVH improvements upon the Nova in 1975, and the more upscale versions (LN and Concours) matched the, ahem, luxury of the Ford Granada. (The base 1975 Nova was about $800 less than a Granada.) And this Euro-centric commercial proves that General Motors was drinking the same personal luxury Kool-Aid as Ford.

Milestone #3: Lighter Land Yachts

The 1977–79 Continental Mark V might be the only vehicle that’s both larger and lighter than its predecessor. While it’s a mere 2 inches longer, a 502-pound weight reduction is nothing to sneeze at.

The quarter-ton weight reduction came from heavy use of plastics in places you can see, like the revised plasti-fake wood trim, and the lightweight plastic/fiberglass front fascia holding its massive metal grille. But what amazed me was the weight reduction found in places your eyes shall miss.

I own and restore both a Mark IV and a Mark V, and the best example of weight reduction that I’ve found are the respective A/C compressors. They may look the same externally, but the Mark V’s unit is roughly half the weight. My personal musings point to a broader trend: Malaise Era engineers were doing some heavy lifting (sorry) behind the scenes to make automobiles lighter. Or perhaps to offset the weight from those big bumpers?

Milestone #4: Bumpers That Bumped Back

For decades, Detroit designers treated the bumper as a mere styling feature, with body-hugging shapes and preposterous dagmars. The Malaise Era was a wake-up call for bumpers, getting them back to prewar duties of actually protecting the vehicle from damage. While the 1973 Pontiac Grand Am wasn’t the first car with the brand’s Endura nose, it proved the concept worked for legislation that required bumpers to become functional once more.

The plastic bumper had a future, as seen in the 1980 Ford Thunderbird. While this is one of the least desirable ‘birds of all time, its wrap-around bumper was trimmer than most chrome affairs and could still pass the second phase of bumper regulations that upped the damage threshold from 2.5 to 5 mph.

And what was the rest of the world doing? Behold the flagship Mercedes SL roadster, and Yuppie-level luxury BMW E30: Running around with battering rams years after the 1980 Thunderbird. But credit must be given to the 1982 Audi 5000, as its Thunderbird-like bumpers clearly pulled ahead of those worn by its German competitors.

Milestone #5: Adoption of Radial Tires

While the 1970 Continental Mark III (not from the Malaise Era) was the first American car with radial tires as standard equipment, Pontiac made a big deal about the benefits of radial tires in 1974 with its Radial Tuned Suspensions (RTS) for more affordable vehicles.

The radial tire’s softer ride (more sidewall flex), longer tread life, and lower rolling resistance made it the right move over the now antiquated bias-ply rubber. Tire manufacturers (save for the Firestone 500 debacle) wisely made the transition, as the writing was on the wall for all passenger cars. And speaking of lower rolling resistance …

Milestone #6: Better Fuel Economy

While much of this effort inadvertently reduced oil pricing shocks from OPEC during the Malaise Era, making lighter, sleeker, and more efficient cars really helped lower fuel bills for American motorists. One of the major improvements of this era was the large-scale implementation of the automatic overdrive transmission.

Ford released its Automatic Overdrive (AOD) transmission in 1980, while GM introduced the 200- and 700-R4 in 1981 and 1982 respectively. Chrysler’s A500 overdrive didn’t hit the streets until 1988, far after the demise of the Malaise Era. Chrysler’s belated efforts were still two years before Mercedes-Benz released the 722.5 overdrive gearbox (1990). While a stunning delay in overdrive implementation, Mercedes did cheat the system via tall axle ratios paired with shorter gears in a non-overdrive gearbox. (My experiences with them were disappointing, especially at less than full throttle.)

Milestone #7: Life-Saving Technology

The days of lap belts, padded dash tops, and fully drum-braked vehicles were either gone or disappearing by the start of the Malaise Era. In their place we had three-point seat belts, fully impact-absorbing interiors, and front disc brakes (1975) across the board. It was good for both the future and the past, as countless first-generation Mustangs grabbed the front spindles and disc brakes from the aforementioned 1975 Ford Granada.

But there was much more to this era of automotive safety, as GM introduced the Air Cushion Restraint System (ACRS) in the 1974 Oldsmobile Toronado. (Mercedes was working on a similar system, which it released in 1980.) GM’s ACRS offered the modern airbag experience for driver, passenger, and center passenger occupants, while Chrysler sold the first four-wheel, computerized anti-lock braking system on an American car in 1971. (Yes, that’s technically before the Malaise Era.)

While these advanced safety systems were poorly received and suffered from short production lifespans, the post-Malaise technology boom made them palatable for everyone. Who knows how many lives ABS and airbags have saved in the last 30 years, but we have the Malaise Era to thank for all of them.

Milestone #8: Aerodynamics for All

Wind tunnels have shaped cars since the Chrysler Airflow, but things didn’t get serious until Malaise Era demands put fuel economy on everyone’s mind. And one great way to lower fuel economy is to reduce the amount of fuel needed to push a car through the air.

Technology made plastics both lighter and cheaper in this era, quickly turning bumpers into tools for air manipulation. And it was indeed for all, as shown in cheaper cars like the German Ford Sierra (above) and traditional sports cars like the refreshed 1980 Corvette. That C3 Corvette infused front and rear aerodynamic elements from the 1978 Corvette Pace Car, lowering its drag coefficient from an awful 0.503 to a significantly less awful 0.443. (The C4 Corvette was a sleek 0.34, and that engineering technically happened at the tail end of the Malaise Era.)

Finding highway mileage ratings for the 1980 Corvette from the EPA was impossible, but the 1980 car did get an extra mile per gallon in the city over the 1975 model, rated at 13 mpg. Factor in the extra drag at highway speeds and it’s fair to extrapolate an even more significant improvement to the highway fuel economy of the 1980 Corvette; for 1975, that figure was only 20 mpg.

Milestone #9: Computers Outside Academia

Computers were still a flight of fancy in the Malaise Era, though some of us had an Atari 2600 or a Bally Home Library Computer by 1978. While I suspect the would-be Bill Gates of the world weren’t the target market for Cadillac’s Seville import fighter, the hardware that made home computing systems likely interchanged with Cadillac’s Trip Computer. This system showed everything from engine rpm to the Seville’s Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA) to a pre-programmed destination. It’s a great system that actually worked, and today everyone benefits from ETA calculations in our smartphone-based navigation systems.

That Seville also had a Bendix electronic fuel-injection system, but the other two Detroit manufacturers were taking a stab at in-house, in-car computer designs. The Malaise Era system that earned enough goodwill to stand the test of time is likely Ford’s EEC System, now in its seventh generation. The original EEC-I computer lacked the wattage to run more than a handful of sensors (often needing vacuum actuators for operation) but the die was cast, and engine computers were here to stay. Speaking of computers …

Milestone #10: Computer-Aided Design For All

Supercomputers were all the rage in the 1970s, provided you had the millions of dollars needed to buy one. And they allowed for computer-aided design, a topic I previously wrote about that inspired this list of Malaise Era milestones.

Computer modeling opened doors to advanced design concepts like ergonomics, finite element analysis, and aerodynamic and crash-test modeling for all cars. The sheer number of doors opened by computers is impossible to count in our modern society, and I reckon most of those doors were worth opening. The portals pertaining to modern automobile innovations are “must sees,” and we can clearly thank the Malaise Era for bringing computer technology to our beloved automobiles.

So how do you feel about the Malaise Era now?

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Hagerty loves stories about cars almost as much as they love the actual cars and trucks themselves. From a member story of a vehicle passed down from generation to generation, to the famous Ford-powered race car that beat Ferrari, there are fantastic stories in every corner of our hobby.

Recently, though, we wondered about the tales that could have been, particularly in the form of cars that got away. We asked members of the Hagerty Community for their thoughts on the matter. And yet again, you folks did not disappoint.

Hertz, don’t it?

@JJC: Early 1967, local Ford dealer had five Hertz GT350’s for sale $3500.00 each. I was in the process of buying a new Camaro L30/M21 at the time for a few hundred bucks less. I couldn’t see the logic in paying more money for a “used” car. Bad investment decision, but I did love the Camaro, wish I still had it. Ah well…

@Squier: In the late 60’s one of my salesmen was driving a Hertz Shelby 350H, black with gold stripes, stick (one of about 90 sticks—before they switched to automatics) as his daily driver. He grew tired of the stick and decided to sell it. I had driven it several times so he offered it to me for $2,500. I had a young family and no place to park it so I reluctantly decided to pass. I kick myself regularly and have a picture of that car as my screen saver on my phone.

No Slacking at Swap Meets?

@Mike: A 1972 Karmann Ghia Convertible at the opening of the Iola Old Car weekend in WI about six years ago. Just entered the swap area and this very nice car was up for $6500. I had the cash on me. I walked past after inspecting it and went to the loo telling the owner I would return. When I came back he just took a fat stack from the lucky buyer. Car was worth at least double…

Take Action at the Impound Auction

@David: Had a tip on a ’69 Camaro Z/28 at a city impound auction back around 1985. It was a mess; heads and intake were missing too. It was winter; cold and muddy but I brought a stack of bills. When the auction came to the car the auctioneer passed on to the next vehicle. I interrupted to ask about the Z and the auctioneer said it was already sold. Guess I never really had a chance!

Passed On Perfection?

@Wade: While renting a house and already having too many non-essential vehicles almost 11 years ago, I picked up my still-going commuter car (2005 Civic EX) for $5300. Approximately one week after that purchase, I found in my town a solid blue 1976 Chevy K5 Blazer, on the front lawn of the original owner.

Asking price was $6500 OBO and it checked every box of desirability for me: original condition (zero visible modifications), single ownership, “never seen snow, always garaged” (this was in Maine), 4×4, 350, 4-speed, white removable top, etc. Everything I could lay eyes on was legitimately near-perfect (…or perfect), down to the USA-1 plate on the front bumper. For many reasons, this truck was not an option for me at the time. Yes, I took pictures and yes, I review them occasionally and of course, I hate myself a little more every time. Still the most ridiculously clean K5 Blazer I’ve seen, for sale or otherwise.

I called the land line number scrawled on the cardboard in the window a little over a year later while in a better position but ignoring the impossibility of this thing not having sold in 2013. It was gone, naturally, and I’ve never seen it around.

Appreciate Before It Appreciated

@MtnCamantalope: During my first year of community college, strolling across the parking lot at the end of the day I saw a beautiful red NSX parked crooked all by itself in the back of the lot. I’d never seen one in person before and man, that thing was awesome. I went home and started searching for one of my own. Decent shape they were running $10-12k, $15k for a really nice one. I could have made it work, but it would have been my daily driver. I decided it would be irresponsible and I’d probably crash it anyway (definitely true). I said to myself “wait a few years so you can more comfortably afford one.” Yeah…

Intercepted By Your Bank Account

@TG: A Jensen Interceptor III. My local fairgrounds holds an annual swap meet, and I saw it there—running but not perfect—for 10K. I had never seen one or heard of them before, but I loved it… the ultimate sleeper car. Unfortunately I did not have 10K in discretionary capital at the time and had to pass. I have seen very few since, and none in running condition anywhere close to that price.

Don’t Judge Me

@MeJ: I guess mine was a ’69 GTO Judge. It was the 1990s and I owned an ’80 Corvette. I saw the Judge and inquired about a trade. The guy said the car had been there for a while and said it was doable. I thought, “Okay, I’ll be smart and think it through the weekend.” Sure enough, I decided it was a good deal, and a much more collectable car. I drove out ready to make the deal and—drum roll please—of course, it was sold.

@James: While traveling as an auditor in the late 90’s for a major bank that financed car dealerships, I would always drive by this body shop that had a 1971 Pontiac GTO convertible for sale in their lot for a few thousand dollars. I said, one day I’ll stop in and buy that vehicle. Then the department was sold and so went my job. I never saw that vehicle again. I also never knew that GM only made 17 of that model. Dohhhhh!

Don’t Check Facebook on Vacation?

@Bernard: This one wasn’t too long ago, on FB marketplace a few hundred miles from me, a pristine 2002 Miata with the LSD and the bigger of the available bodykits, unfortunately I only saw it due to being on vacation. By the time I could talk to my bank about getting the money it was in the wind.

The $5,100 AC Cobra

@Danny: It was 1987 I was coming home from a golf tournament through Pine Hurst N.C. I saw a sign for 1966 Cobra for sale for $5000. I stopped, looked, and it was an AC Cobra. The man would not take a deposit. I was an hour away from home had to get a trailer and come back to get it, and he said that would be ok.

When I pulled back into his driveway another person was loading it up on another trailer. He had offered him $100 more. I was mad and disappointed but what can you do? He showed me another car he had beside his garage he said he would take $500 for it. It had a rusty floor board and I had no desire for that rust bucket. Would love to have it now because it was a 1955 Porsche 356. Live and learn.

But They’d Rather Crush It

@BMD4800: Mid-1996, I was a poor college kid in Phoenix. Desert Valley Auto Parts was clearing out their less popular inventory and had them in line for the crusher. I spotted a ’63 Wildcat coupe with right quarter damage behind the door. I asked about it, the counter guy said it ran and drove, but no one wanted it so they were going to crush it. I asked the price, $2,200. All the cash I had to my name was $1,900. I offered $1,800. They said no. I offered $1,900 cash, they said no. I said I’ll go apply for a credit card and pay $2,200. Nope. Cash, or it was crushed. I watched them crush that car and swore I would tell everyone I could about that day: Desert Valley Auto Parts in Phoenix.

A “Minor” Problem With A Unimog

@Jeff: Around 20 years ago I had a handshake deal on a 1961 Unimog 404 Swiss Troop Carrier with only 14,000 KM. It was in excellent condition, including all the canvas. It even had the original tool kit with it (tools as in shovel, axe, etc). I was soon to purchase a 40 acre parcel of land where it would have been very handy. The seller had it priced at $7500. I told him I wanted it, but needed to arrange financing. We shook on it and a deposit was not needed (my mistake).

A few days later when I had the money and I contacted the seller, he told me that he had someone come by with cash and due to the urging of his wife, he sold it to that guy instead of waiting for me. I saw the same Unimog listed at a dealership a few weeks later for $17,500. So what did I do with the cash earmarked for the Unimog, I bought another vehicle of the same vintage but of the opposite variety, a 1961 Morris Minor.

“No Way”

@Brett: I know most will say “no way”, but when I was 12-13 and visiting my uncle outside Cleveland, my dad and uncle would go golfing. My cousin and I would go along and search for lost golf balls to sell later. On the ride to the golf course, I saw a car in a field on a trailer and I told my dad that it was Ferrari. My dad and uncle blew me off but on the drive back I made them stop.

I waded back through the weeds and there was a ratty looking faded red car on trailer with a roll cage an grooves cut in the hood that you could see the velocity stacks sticking up from the V-12. I was now convinced it was a Ferrari. My cousin and I knocked on the door to the house closest to it, and a lady came to the door with a couple small kids around her, we asked if the car was for sale. She said her husband generally never sells anything, and that was it.

About 10 years ago I saw an article about Innes Ireland being reunited with the Ferrari 250 GTO he raced back in the day with pictures of a faded red car, in a field, on a trailer, in a field of weeds, in a rural area outside Cleveland. Needless to say, the memories all rushed back, as there was the car. The one that got away. Go Google the article for Innes Ireland 250 GTO, it is a great read and some of the ones that come up have old pictures of the car.

@Gary: In 1984, I was offered a very nice Ferrari 250 convertible (I don’t recall which version) for $25,000. I had just started working full time and had just bought a house and it didn’t seem to be a prudent decision to buy a Ferrari. The seller was even willing to take monthly payments over three or four years with no interest added. By 1989, that car was worth more than $500,000 (to my recollection). Clearly I didn’t make the right decision. Nowadays it would probably cost nearly $25,000 to rent one of these for a day!

@Harry: Early ’70s, needed a car to drive 35 miles to work and back. Wound up in a Renault agency in West Chester PA, looking at R5 Le Cars. The manager had a car on consignment for $10K—a Ferrari Fantuzzi Special, V-12 red, beautiful, but it had no top—built as a spyder. I couldn’t see parking it in the street at work every day, rain or shine, so wound up with new Le Car. It was a bunch of fun to drive, but it certainly wasn’t a Ferrari.

Come Back, ‘Cuda!

@Ed: It hurts just to think about this car even today, though I lost it back in the mid 80s. It was a crushing blow that just gets deeper each year I see prices for just a rolling chassis of this car continue to climb.

I bought mine from the original owner for about $600. It was dark blue in and out, a 318 2 bbl auto, bucket seats with console, and only 1 dent under the driver’s side rear frame channel. It drove fine for about 3 yrs, then wouldn’t start and I couldn’t get inspection to renew plates. Then my apartment complex made me move it, I so moved it to my dad’s house. Then a neighbor called local city on it for not being currently licensed. There was no place found to store it, it was almost impounded, so I had to let it go to a junk yard for $50!

Now the kicker: it was a base example of my dream car…. a ’71 Barracuda with a perfect grille & straight sheet metal. Still got the production code sheet from the back seat. I need a stiff drink and tissue paper now.

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Roger writes:

Hi there, I am fighting this issue with my 1962 Ford Fairlane Sport Coupe: On a shift (say, first to second gear), if I keep my foot on the gas, it shifts hard but not obnoxiously, but if I let off the pedal it shifts with a … WACK!

It shifted so hard the first time I thought I’d been hit from behind! But this happens on any shift, if I let off on the gas pedal, although not so much on downshifts. My garage diagnosed it as a sloppy differential backlash, and they said it’s all good now ($450 later). But I drove her home, and it was exactly the same!

Here are the specs on my driveline:

• Ford 302 stroked to 347 cubic inches by a pro builder.
• Ford C-4 built to handle 450-500 hp.
• Attached to the C-4 is a Gear Vendors overdrive.

In the springtime, I took her to a garage that only works/builds/repairs classic cars, from Ferraris to Camaros. Other than changing fluids/filters, they told me my problem is the stock Ford convertor (which stalls around 1200-1500 rpm) and that an aftermarket convertor with at least 2400-2800 stall will “slip” enough to stop those too-hard “BANG” shifts. I know they are on the money about a higher stall convertor, because my engine builder also said I should install an aftermarket convertor.

Do you think this will stop my issue with these horrible shifts?

Sajeev answers:

Yes, I think that’s the ticket! The stock converter shoulda been dumped the moment a stroker small-block and a built transmission were planned. That’s an exaggeration, but you see my point. For the transmission, you normally need the following done with any performance engine rebuild:

• A fresh rebuild.
• A shift kit, shift improver, or an internal upgrade unique to your transmission (a la Ford J-MOD).
• A higher stall speed, “looser” than stock torque converter.
• A standalone transmission cooler, usually plumbed in series with the factory cooler in the radiator (for double cooling).

The fresh transmission rebuild is obvious, since new clutches, gaskets seals, etc. are needed just as badly as a new engine. Not doing so kills the current transmission sooner, and yanking it out while the motor is absent generally saves money in labor costs. Take it from someone who has seen this via building three high-performance transmissions, including a Ford C6 chronicled here at Hagerty. (This may not apply to axles/differentials, especially if you aren’t running racing slicks, and have no interest in doing gnarly burnouts.)

Next is the shift kit: a logical upgrade, as you want quicker shifts to go with your perkier motor, but there’s a catch: Sometimes a shift kit must be specced to work with a specific stall speed in your torque converter.

Installing a looser converter can help holeshot off the line, and fix shifting issues much like what Roger’s experiencing in his Fairlane. Unless the vehicle has a performance-tuned automatic from the factory like a CVPI Crown Victoria, AMG Mercedes, etc., the torque converter stall speed is generally too low for performance driving. Low-stall converters are designed for smoother, less CVT-like performance and more fuel efficiency.

Speaking of factory-perfected tuning, a high-performance powertrain should never be in a situation where one hand doesn’t know what the other is doing. The critical components to discuss with your rebuilders are the camshaft choice, the torque converter stall speed, and possibly the steps to dial-in a shift kit. I reckon Roger’s assertion that the stock converter is 1200-1500 rpm is right, and a 2200-2500 rpm stall converter is needed to fix the shifting behavior.

But I have no clue what cam is in Roger’s new motor, perhaps an even more aggressive stall (i.e. 3000+ rpm) is needed. This is precisely why your engine builder needs to be included in transmission work. Get a torque converter with the blessings of both engine and transmission rebuilders and your throttle off upshifts will be delightful.

Advice from professionals like this is priceless, but it’s also part of their service. I have yet to meet an engine or transmission rebuilder that wasn’t thrilled to share more information with a not-rude customer. So ask them for confirmation, as you have nothing to lose. Rather, you have everything to “loose” in your converter.

Have a question you’d like answered on Piston Slap? Send your queries to pistonslap@hagerty.com—give us as much detail as possible so we can help! Keep in mind this is a weekly column, so if you need an expedited answer, please tell me in your email.

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My last boss in the corporate world had a great phrase he used to weasel out of potentially ridiculous plans, saving our department countless hours of pointless work and meaningless deliverables. It went something like this: “I have [insert concerns here] mostly because I lost my crystal ball years ago.”

Planning for the future is paramount in an industry with as many parts as the car business. But sometimes crystal balls should be lost, because we’ve all been affected by ridiculous predictions. So here’s the question posed to our team, in the latest episode of Our Two Cents: What are some of the worst industry predictions that influenced cars/buying habits but proved to be dead wrong? I think you’ll enjoy the answers.

The “Last” American Convertible

The debacle surrounding the 1976 Cadillac Eldorado convertible has always fascinated me. Buyers flocked to dealers for “the last of the convertibles” in a hype-fueled fervor that spun up faster than the rational mind could realize that, as easily as the company had written the decree, it could reverse that decree. Customers were buying investments based on the promise that the profit-driven company would not reverse its word, should such a reversal make financial sense.

It seems hard to believe that convertibles would actually go away, especially when the push for such a movement came from inside the house.  — Kyle Smith

EVs Will Be the End of ICE

Most recently, the obvious example of wrong predictions is that everyone would rush to buy EVs. After the initial wave of early adopters, the great middle masses of car buyers are putting the brakes on that movement, and have voted with their dollars for hybrids instead.

That could easily change over time, but for now automakers like GM are having to scramble to provide the vehicle configurations that consumers actually want to buy, rather than those that regulators in Washington, D.C., want to decree that they buy. (And, for the record, I say this as an avowed liberal on most fronts.)  — Joe DeMatio

Car Phones

I’ll get real niche: In-car phones. The misstep was in assuming that something that had existed on its own (the telephone) would somehow be made better when tethered to another piece of technology.

Maybe this is revisionist history with the added benefit of hindsight, but someone should have known that telephones would advance and innovate just like home computers. It feels like someone should have seen the leap from hard-wired phones to wireless phones coming far enough in advance to curtail the waste of time and money trying to stuff the phone into a car. Readers, feel free to filet me for this one in the comments.  — Nathan Petroelje

That Ain’t Happening in 1976

For the given 20-year timeline of 1956–76, everything about the predictions in this video from GM are terrible. — Stefan Lombard

OPEC Will Kill The V-8

I remember reading back issues of car magazines from the 1970s and 1980s that suggested oil prices would remain high enough to lower demand for V-8 engines to the point of unprofitability, and eventual extinction. The threat was real; even the small-block Chevy and Ford engines were downsized to save the V-8. But by the late 1980s, the small-block V-8 came back just as strong as pre-OPEC times, and options like the Turbocharged Ford 2.3 died rather quickly. (Perhaps OPEC did put a nail in the big-block’s coffin?)

These days the V-8 might actually be dying, as it is gone from Chrysler Stellantis’ shelves, the Camaro is dead, and 1000+ horsepower EVs are the de facto kings of torque. The new Mustang still has a V-8 and loyalists abound (even in V-8-hungry India), so perhaps the pony car can turn into an American alternative to the likes of BMWs and Porsches. It looks like that pivot is happening, and might save the V-8 from total extinction. Fingers crossed. — Sajeev Mehta

Physical Buttons Are History

For me, it’s the assumption that everyone wants a smartphone experience in their car. Yes, it’s cheaper for automakers to install touchscreens than it is to make physical buttons, but focus groups also suggested customers wanted this type of technology. Turns out, they did not.

Physical buttons are easier to manipulate while the car is in motion, without looking, and a number of tests (including this one from Sweden) demonstrate that they’re safer. If you’ve ever tried to change the climate control in a VW ID.4 using the haptic slider while on a pockmarked Southfield Freeway in Metro Detroit, with cars 4 inches away from you in either lane, you realize how asinine this crap is.

Voice control is a neat trick, but it’s slow, annoying, and never works when a toddler is crying in the background. They want to hear Frozen‘s “Let it Go” and absolutely not “Love is an Open Door,” and that the song should be changed IMMEDIATELY. When that happens, you can’t get them to quiet down enough to say “Hey Mercedes, play _____.” — Eric Weiner

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This week we need you, valued member of the Hagerty Community, to open up a little. But not too much, as we aren’t talking about someone that could have been special to you. No missed connections or broken hearts—we just want to know a story of a car or truck that you coveted and lost.

So please tell us about The One That Got Away (TOTGA), and how it all went down. Did someone buy the vehicle from underneath you? Did they pay more than you could? Did the car quit working and you didn’t have the time/money to repair it?

While I usually get the ball rolling with a personal choice, I am not sure if it truly “got away,” simply because I was too preoccupied to deal with the loss. I was just a kid heading off to college, and my parents selling my car wasn’t necessarily that bad for someone pulled in many directions and given many opportunities.

It’s certainly easier when your car’s next owner is a truly wonderful human being. But he did paint my Galaxie red instead of giving it a fresh coat of black. It doesn’t necessarily feel like the same car anymore, and to be honest, I’ve almost forgotten about my time with this big Ford.

But memories do not fully disappear, especially when you’re asked to write a Hagerty Insider piece about this vintage of Ford Galaxie. Doing so let me get those TOTGA feelings all out as a middle aged adult looking back at his life. In a perfect world, it sure would be nice to get another Galaxie again, but I am a bit busy right now with other projects.

So anyway, back to brass tacks: Hagerty wants to hear your TOTGA story. What vehicle was the one that got away for you?

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In this installment of Reputation Management, we go beyond North American markets for a new story. It’s still about the complex world of automotive retail, but now the situation gets rather seedy in the F&I (finance and insurance) department of a chain of used car dealerships. Even worse, this company has been a household name in Japan since 1976.

In general terms, experiences in the F&I department are generally the worst part for customers on their journey to buying a vehicle. This is because you’ve already agreed on a price with the salesperson, but now have to pay/finance the vehicle, insure it, and add various warranties to minimize future cash outlays. Some items can be necessary (road hazard warranties for 20+ inch wheels) but most take us back to the F&I scene from the movie Fargo.

Transparency is almost impossible to find in an F&I office, and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is currently having a hard time changing that for American consumers. The same truths apply to one of the largest used car retailers in Japan, a company that you can think of as parallel to Carmax here in the United States.

This particular Japanese F&I scandal stems from the unmitigated greed of senior management and collusion with a very large insurance provider. The former centers around damaging and/or padding the repair bill of vehicles with a warranty policy. While some insurance companies balked at the charges, one of them was seemingly okay with this troubling behavior. In return, the F&I departments agreed to only sell warranties from this particular insurance company. The end result was a massive fraud, and Japanese citizens were the victims, as they ultimately paid the tab via higher premiums.

The insurance provider in question has a CEO who is resigning by the end of this month, while the retailer’s nepotistic management team said sayōnara back in 2023. These changes happened for good reason, as Japan’s Fair Trade Commission (also FTC!) reportedly noted “violations on an unheard-of scale” by the auto retailer.

After this informative video hit YouTube, there was news this company might have a brighter future in the long term. Considering its decades of history with Japanese consumers, perhaps the relationship is salvageable.

For now, we can read the reviews like tea leaves to evaluate the short-term prospects of the company. So let’s scan Google Maps and learn a thing or two about poor retailing practices from the land of some of the world’s most trusted automotive brands.

Sakuras in Plain Sight

The word “sakura” means cherry blossom, which is the flower that even we Yanks appreciate around the country come springtime. But it is also a slang term for a fake customer who blends in with the general public. Sakuras are a bad sign, perhaps even worse than this high-pressure tactic to get a would-be customer into the F&I department to close the deal.

The world of online reviews can be harsh when sakuras are spotted. This might be a revenge review (my own term I just made up) to the widespread (seemingly global) practice of paying for good reviews. Doing so improves your ranking on Google Maps, and gives customers more trust in your business. The sakura industry is so big there are websites boldly proclaiming to produce good ratings for your business, but as the YouTube video above explains, this company’s sakuras were likely created in-house.

That is absolutely not strange, as fake reviews are usually from singular accounts made by employees, friends, family, etc. This retailer was in the news when this review was published, so this reviewer is clearly being sarcastic. I wonder if Google Translate softened the blow when it comes to the original tone of this review.

Tree Controversy

At the alleged behest of the CEO’s son, this company poisoned trees so motorists could see its inventory on the lot. See below—there are now tiny bushes where the stumps lie, and just a single tree stands next to the showroom.

This is why being a store manager (a general manager in the U.S.) is a tough gig: You need free advertising to ensure that everyone knows you both exist and that you have cars that people want. But do you kill trees to make it happen?

A seasoned general manager knows that their store’s actions can raise the ire of locals, and killing trees gets the media and the government involved (usually in that order). Apparently that’s not an issue for this company, because they’ve blurred the lines between right and wrong elsewhere. Why not commit a little herbicide in the process?

About That F&I Fraud

Here’s an example of the counterpoint to a sakura: a revenge review that may or may not have any grounding in an actual experience at the dealership.

This comment about the fraud points to a harsh reality about the car business. No matter how sketchy the operation may be, people still need to search locally for car dealerships in their area. And a company with such a storied (as it were) history is still marketing its vehicles to locals, dangling a lure that is both tempting and necessary for many citizens.

One Bad Apple?

A vehicle is a necessity for many citizens, indeed. Being in a hurry to buy a new car is a recipe for getting a bad deal, because there’s a level of urgency that hurts your negotiation strategy.

But it’s a whole ‘nother ball of wax when your salesperson shows up at your workplace, expressing appreciation for your buying a car that was likely headed to auction. Hopefully this salesperson was at least a good tipper at the karaoke bar.

Hey, it’s the same salesperson in the previous review! Looks like the F&I fraud, stemming from overcharging an insurance company for repairs, has now manifested itself in poorly installed (or poor quality?) aftermarket coilover shocks on one of their vehicles in inventory. I suspect aftermarket parts are the bane of any insurer, so this was likely an easy rug to pull out from underneath any insurance company … not just the one you’re getting a quid pro quo from.

The Whole Thing Stinks

The YouTube explainer video above suggests that employee turnover was high because of aggressive goals set by the company. You can expect that seasoned automotive retailers will take jobs with better car dealers, or find sales positions in another industry. I suspect I’m not the first person to tell you that younger, inexperienced employees put up with more rubbish from senior management than older, tenured staff. The same truth applies to this dealership.

Premium car dealerships often task staff members with the sole purpose of customer support. That’s unlikely for cheaper brands, or for a used-car dealership like this one. The last sentence is also telling, as who wouldn’t want a free oil change just for leaving a Google review? That’s technically not the same as planting a sakura, but it accomplishes the same thing for the cost of oil, filter, and a little bit of labor.

The age of this review is telling, as sloppy accounting for these repairs happened well before this company’s chickens came home to roost.

Not every customer is desperate, unsophisticated, or technically ignorant of the differences between a good and a bad purchase experience. This individual is clearly one of those lucky customers. But we don’t all get to buy from a Lexus dealership or even a reputable Chevrolet one. And we can’t all buy a one-price Tesla or anything we want from Carvana, though avoiding the tech company business model might be a good thing. (For reasons here, here, and here.)

Those who grew up in a family with no other alternatives than the buy-here-pay-here lots may not know any better. It’s a sad reality I learned head-on when I volunteered at a local high school, and when I taught middle-school-aged kids about F&I for a fintech startup company. I have no knowledge of automotive retailing in Japan, but I assume a similar issue swirls above Japanese society and this embattled automotive retailer.

No matter your circumstances, getting scammed by a sales or service department should never be allowed. Profit is one thing, but doing so at the expense of society is another. While that’s generally a gray area, this episode of Reputation Management suggests that fraud can also be crystal-clear.

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Perhaps you remember the quality of Japanese cars during the Bubble Era, but there’s a good chance you’ve forgotten the semi-premium positioning of Nissan’s Stanza Altima from 1993. Brands going upmarket was par for the course in the early 1990s, and Nissan saw gold in an Oldsmobile-like vehicle that bridged the gap between their value-oriented offerings and Infiniti’s premium positioning. They were right, and it spawned an iconic vehicle for the best and worst reasons you can bestow upon a family sedan.

Let’s discuss the good vibes first: with Infiniti J30-like styling, a remarkably luxurious interior with faux-rosewood accents, and a $13,000 base price, the original Altima was promoted as an affordable luxury sedan. The nameplate became an instant hit. David Woodhouse, vice president of Nissan Design America, even suggested the Altima was “a Goldilocks of its time: just enough, not too much; a sweet car, with sensibility just right for a mainstream sedan.”

Woodhouse nailed it, and inadvertantly gave a quote that applies to many Bubble Era Japanese cars. But the country changed when the economy soured, and the second-generation Altima was cheaper and boring, with a drab interior and a deformed trunk. Luckily, Nissan had a new platform up their sleeves specifically for the American market, one that sported proper American dimensions and aggressive proportioning.

That chassis turned into the third-generation Nissan Altima for 2002. No longer looking like a cost-engineered Infiniti J30, the new Altima was aimed squarely at the ubiquitous Camry and Accord. It was longer, wider, and taller than anything in its class, setting the new standard years before the Chrysler 300 became a boxy Bentley on a budget. The Altima’s fresh look featured a gentle rise in its belt line, 17-inch wheels pushed out to the corners, and the radical implementation of the Lexus IS-style (i.e. Toyota Altezza) tail lights: Heady stuff for a family sedan.

The huge interior lacked the original’s multi-toned polymers and elongated plasti-wood strips for the dashboard, though its clever gauge cluster had the intimacy of a motorcycle’s triple gauge pod. Just like the original Stanza-Altima, this model put the competition on notice and racked up awards in the process.

“The concept behind the third-generation Altima styling and engineering was simple—stop copying Accord and Camry, as we had been doing—and carve out fresh territory of our own.”

Al Castignetti, Nissan Sales and Marketing VP

Nissan did their job, right down to making a high performance “SE” version with a 3.5-liter V-6 engine (from Nissan’s VQ family), four wheel disc brakes, and a multi-link rear suspension. Perhaps the third (and fourth?) generation Altimas were so good that the only place it could go from there was downhill.

And downhill it went. Just as Altimas had hit their stride, along came a guy named Carlos Ghosn: While his current situation is far from black and white, name drop this former CEO to anyone associated with U.S.-based Nissan dealerships and gauge their reaction. My decade in automotive retail made it clear that Nissan was a pariah, mostly thanks to Ghosn’s inhumane stair step plan after the 2008 recession. The plan was to increase Nissan/Infiniti market share to 10 percent by 2017, which instead tanked the brand’s equity with consumers and dealers alike. This was most notably manifested in the Altima. But you already knew that, didn’t ya?

Package Nissan’s bargain basement discounting, diminished resale value, and worrisome X-Tronic CVT transmissions with the fact that sedans were beginning to cede territory to CUVs, and you doom the fifth- and sixth-generation Altima to automotive leprosy.

But for a brief moment—before Big Altima Energy (BAE) was a thing—the third-generation Altima was a radically compelling vehicle for so many folks.

You could rightly suggest that Motorweek’s take on this new family sedan proved there was BAE afoot. But that used to be a good thing: Camry-killing style with performance-minded swagger, in a full trickle-down effect from the 4DSC Maxima from Nissan’s Bubble Era. Even the four-cylinder Altima’s 175 horsepower was peppy enough to spring to 60 in less than nine seconds. But Motorweek got their hands on a 3.5 SE model, with Nissan’s now commonplace VQ-series V-6 putting out 240 horses and netting a 5.9 second 0-60 time.

Even in today’s era of radically fast EVs and turbocharged family sedans, a sub-six second time to 60 mph is nothing to sneeze at. Some credit goes to the Altima 3.5 SE’s available five-speed manual transmission, though Motorweek noted that torque steer was also present during testing. Their instrumented testing netted a quarter mile trap speed of 100 mph, a figure unheard of in family sedan circles. Heck, a triple digit trap speed shall spank a manual transmission Mustang GT of the era, much less a V-6 Camry or Accord.

This Motorweek retro review took me back to my final year in college. I imagined graduating from my heavily modified Fox-body Cougar and going into $25,000-ish of debt for one of these row-your-own V-6 Q-ships finished in “Seascape” metallic green. Aside from the desire to do front-wheel drive burn outs just like Motorweek did on TV, my post-grad plan was to have a reliable new car, a good job, and a pathway to grow up into a proper adult. And since it’s an Altima, I could enjoy a respectable family sedan for what should be a future with a wife, kids, and a good career with upward mobility.

But that wasn’t in the cards, as I smacked the same brick wall many millennials faced upon their respective graduations just a few years later. Be it as a dreamer or an owner, I doubt I’m the only person who waxes nostalgically about these Altimas, especially the 3.5 SE. It was an affordable sedan that seemingly did it all, a halfway point between the appeal of an SUV and the thrills of a touring car.

No vehicle is perfect, but this one came awfully close. Even the current Altima, with jokes readily available on the Internet and present at the airport rental lots around the country, is a respectable vehicle by the numbers alone. I’ve driven several and have no qualms, as the BAE memes are a badge of honor, not a scarlet letter.

Perhaps that’s because of the legacy created when Nissan gave the world the 2002 Altima 3.5 SE. It’s a shame what happened to the nameplate after that moment, as stair-stepping CEOs and public perceptions tanked the Altima’s prospects for victory. Tragedies are unavoidable without the benefit of hindsight, but least the Altima remains in production while many of its ballyhooed sedan competition passed on years ago.

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Living in most car-centric parts of North America almost guarantees you an ample supply of vehicles for sale, and sometimes those vehicles can be considered classics. Many can be considered a “starter” classic for a budding enthusiast, but my suggested choice didn’t resonate with anyone. Perhaps there are too many cheap Ford Explorers where I live, and not enough vintage trucks/classic cars for the same prices.

But validation from others is not why the According To You series exists. Instead I choose to get the ball rolling, and let the Hagerty Community take it from there. And it clearly was a success, with great suggestions for starter classic vehicles from a variety of backgrounds. So let’s see how you answered the question.

First-Generation Mustang 

@gerry: I think the 1st gen Mustang are a great place to start. There are plenty of units available, you can get a car from with a tree growing through the hood to a fully restored example, and everything in between for whatever your ability may be. Every part is readily available, there’s no searching for obscure parts.

@Mustang Kenny: I agree. They made so many that are still out there and many places make parts. And unlike newer cars that go down in value, classic cars go up in value so you get to enjoy your investment hands on.

@hyperv6: First gen Mustangs have been way under priced for years unless it was a Shleby.

@RichyRich: First gen Mustang…

BMW 2002 

@David: For the first time owner of a classic, I would recommend cars that sold well when new, so there are plenty of examples from which to choose, so you’re not forced into picking something beyond your skills. This also leads to cars that with well-supported parts networks and active owner groups in virtually every part of the country. Mustangs, Camaros, Chevelles, Volkswagens and any number of pickups from Chevy and Ford. Did I follow my own advice?

No. I chose a BMW 2002, which is isn’t a BAD choice, but not the best choice.

@Ken: BMW 2002 is a great choice, IMO. Parts are still readily available and its easy to work on. It has the classic look, and it was my first classic as well.

@Stu: Those are great cars. Plenty of them are in Southern California.

Any(?) Truck With A Good Frame

@hyperv6: The one to do is a truck. Ford or more so a Chevy. if you have a good frame you can buy about any needed part to restore one. The engines were made in the millions per year not in total. The best part is a well restored truck can bring a good profit as they are selling well once restored.

Most Camaro, Mustangs and Chevelles are priced out of reach anymore. Rusted shells can go for $10K. Find a basic truck on a farm and restore it, the 1960-1970’s examples are prime right now for restoration parts. The profit made on this can be applied to a better car at the next level.

@snailish: Truck is the entry-level answer all day long. Where I live the 60s trucks (especially GM) are now really pricey and the 70s are starting to catch up. If you can snag a good one at a decent price do it. Hagerty likes the term Radwood for anything 90s, and this is the sweet spot of hobby entry point.

While you still will see the odd GMT400 truck being used as a beater work truck they are declining fast. Prices on pristine ones in sought after specs (454 SS, shortbox 4×4, etc.) are rising but generally not yet out of reach. 90s trucks are a nice blend of modern/archaic. They made millions of them and they are hitting the bottom of depreciation curve. Modern mechanics have worked on them (unless it’s a really new mechanic at a dealership I suppose). They aren’t giant bloated things, yet they exceed most users truck needs for 99% of the things you want to do (if you need a heavy-duty towing rig –buy a 3500).

@Glenn: Any GM truck from 1973-87 (Square Body) or the C/K series from ’88-97. Easy to work on, and parts availability both new and used, is great. I did a mild refresh on a ’92 long bed a few years ago and was amazed at how easy it was to work on.

C5 Corvette

@MeJ: I’ll vote a C5 Corvette. They are reasonably affordable, easy to maintain, mod, and enjoy. I believe these actually will be considered “classic” one day.

@hyperv6: As a owner of a C5 I will agree. They are the performance bargain right now. as a low mile car can still be had cheap. You may never get split window Corvette money for a C5 since there are so many, but if in good condition they will maintain and grow some value as time goes on.

BMW 3 Series

@TG: 3 Series Beemer. You can get them at throw-away car prices, and there are plenty of parts for them. Not the easiest things to work on, but most starter collectors aren’t going to get into serious engine work anyway. 

MGB

@MGWrench: I think it depends on the purpose of your starter classic. If you want to start a collection, but you’re not interested in maintaining it, then buy the best example you can afford of the car that excites you the most and enjoy.

If you want to learn how to restore and maintain a classic car, then I would recommend an MGB or MGB-GT. They are simple cars that are still affordable and with care can be reliable drivers, but the rules that must be adhered to are: 1. Make sure you keep oil in the carburetor dampers, and 2. Most carburetor problems are actually ignition, so install an electronic points replacement.

C4 Corvette

@Vehicle Nanny: If performance is your desire, I recommend a C4 Corvette (1986 or newer). The digital dash is not the nightmare some might think. Even 20 years ago I was able to fix mine for about $50 (and this was before YouTube!).

Tri-Five Chevy 

@Bob: I would tell them to start with a Tri-Five Chevrolet, 2 door. All parts are available, so find one that has the least amount of rust (they all have some rust) do not worry about the drivetrain. Do all your own work, the internet is full of advice, IMO.

Volvo 122

@JH: Volvo 122 series hands down! I am thinking of youth, or young adults, and a good starter classic that is durable, financially accessible, easy to work on, enough manufactured to have a good parts supply but still rare enough to seem unique, and a safe and fun car to drive! The Volvo 122 can be restored, modified to rally specifications, or built as a daily driver.

When built to rally specifications, the Volvo cars were a worthy match for many of the other cars of their era. The Volvo 122 is far easier to work on with better parts availability and less expensive to acquire and maintain than many of the vehicles mentioned earlier. 

Supercharged GM W-body

@Dave: If you can find one, get a 1997 to 02 Buick Regal GS. It’s a supercharged, 240 HP sleeper with the bulletproof 3.8 V6. I did a quick search and found one in pristine condition, 64k miles, asking price $6,995.

@Sajeev Mehta: Fantastic choice! I’d add all of the Regal’s W-body supercharged brothers from Chevrolet and Pontiac, as they all have great performance with dirt cheap replacement parts.

Volvo 240

@Howard: Volvo 240, especially a later model. Not sexy or quick, but younger people appreciate the cool factor of the quirkiness. 

Chevrolet Corvair

@Paul: If you want something a bit different look at a Corvair. They’re still relatively inexpensive to own and restore. There are Corvairs for every taste. There are cars of all kinds plus trucks if you like. They’re still competitive in vintage racing as well as great cruisers. Parts are fairly easy to source and they’re not too complicated for a beginner. There are tons of info about them as well.

Mercedes-Benz 280 SL

@Ramsey: Mercedes-Benz 280SL! Reliable, respected, readily available support, and almost always the same value when you’re selling as when you’re buying!

Ford Model A

@Jim: I will take a slightly different tack with this question. First, the key words here are “first” and “classic.” In that context, I suggest a first classic should be something designed for the person who is actually entering our world but has little to no experience with either cars or mechanical work in general.

My suggestion is then a bit off the wall: I recommend a Model A Ford, for the following reasons. They are plentiful; Henry literally made millions and a satisfying number are still out there. They are dirt simple. Model As are a wonderful basis for a person to really learn the fundamentals of how cars work. A copy of Martin Stockel’s book on automotive fundamentals and repair (first or second edition is recommended) is an excellent basic handbook for the newbie. A Model A specific book will be invaluable as well. The whole industry that we depend on for maintaining and restoring our classics today was founded on the maintenance, repair and restoration of Henry’s early cars. There is an enormous support for Model A parts and services. The cars themselves are not outrageously expensive, unlike more modern vehicles. Check out a current Hemmings listing for the Model A. Many are available from professionally restored trophy winners down to the bring a trailer category.

I suggest the new person look for a car that has been previously restored, several years ago, and preferably a home shop amateur job. These are amazingly cheap when compared against most other candidates. It will be something that can be repaired fairly easily, is not too expensive, and with simple tools can be repaired or rebuilt easily. By seeking out a previously home brewed restoration, the newbie will get something useful, will be inclined to use it around town and will usually be close to home if some “unscheduled” maintenance is needed. The qualities of simplicity found in the Model A will provide the new person everything needed to learn automotive fundamentals and enjoy a first classic without breaking the bank. Finally, when it is time to sell there will be a ready market for the history and entertainment the Model A represents.

@Septuagenarian Classic Enthusiast: Congratulations are in order, as this is the best answer to the question as stated in the title of the article. I agree completely. Well done Jim!

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Stephen writes:

Sajeev,

I’ve written to you before about my 1965 Falcon. Now I have a question about my 1975 Mercury Bobcat. It gets a nasty vibration around 65 miles per hour—dash and steering wheel. I have put new tires on all four wheels, had a front-end alignment, and balanced all four wheels. Twice! None of this has fixed the problem. Here’s what I am thinking to try next, in this order:

1. Balance the driveshaft and replace the U-joints.  (They are probably original to the car.)
2. Rebuild the rack. (It leaks anyway.)
3. Replace the front end, ball joints, and control arms.

Do you have any other better ideas?

Sajeev answers:

Vibrations at highway speeds are usually (always?) an issue with the driveline. I replaced all the differential bushings on my Lincoln Mark VIII back in 2004, which made a moderately annoying vibration (i.e. my rearview mirror was blurry) disappear. But the bushings were barely worn to the naked eye, with less than 1 millimeter of deflection in their mounting surfaces over new replacements. Now the car is making the same vibration again, so I know that diff bushings on independently sprung Ford vehicles have a 20-ish-year life span.

But this is a Bobcat, not a Ford with an independent rear suspension. While many suspension and driveline pieces can cause this problem, you are very wise to address the driveshaft, as detailed in option #1. Do this and I suspect the problem will be gone. If you have a manual-transmission Bobcat and want an extra dash of fun when accelerating, consider an aluminum driveshaft instead (for less rotational mass). It never hurts to do a worthy upgrade while you’re in there, right?

If #1 doesn’t work (it really should; those U-joints from 1975 are toast!), I would look at the rubber bits in the rear suspension, most notably the leaf spring bushings. Your second option of rebuilding the steering rack is also likely, but I’d check the rear suspension first.

And here’s a quick thought on your final suggestion: if you have an original 1975 suspension, steering, and braking system (i.e. rubber brake lines), I’d recommend you go in there and rebuild everything. That’s not very hard for a mass-produced vehicle from Ford or GM, as parts are plentiful and easy to get in a single place. I just scanned RockAuto, and I reckon they have everything to rebuilt your Bobcat’s steering, suspension, and brakes (lines). I started throwing Bobcat parts into a RockAuto shopping cart, and there’s a good chance you can get everything for around $500.

So take a look under the ‘ol Bobcat and see how good you’ll feel once you throw parts at every nearly 50-year-old system. Deferred maintenance isn’t just a problem for Porsche Cayennes out of warranty or depreciated modern muscle cars at a tote-the-note lot. (Or any other fully depreciated vehicle, for that matter.)

Your Bobcat is probably telling you its time to rebuild everything. Save the receipts because they will add value if/when you ever decide to sell it. And remember one final thing: When you buy once, you’ll only cry once.

Have a question you’d like answered on Piston Slap? Send your queries to pistonslap@hagerty.com—give us as much detail as possible so we can help! Keep in mind this is a weekly column, so if you need an expedited answer, please tell me in your email.

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Words can be unnecessarily difficult in the English language, which does everything from borrowing words from other languages to organizing them in ways that makes no sense to non-native speakers. So for this installment of Our Two Cents, we asked the team here at Hagerty Media about automotive words we’ve encountered that are decidedly odd.

To be fair, we have only scratched the surface. There are oh-so-many words that fit the bill, and some of them are even crazier than the ones we came up with here. So have a look at what we think are weirdest words in the automotive lexicon, and sound off in the comments for ones you wish we brought up.

Kammback

“I’m gonna pick Kammback. That’s mostly because I love the design, but partially because I already wrote the definition for Vellum Venom:

“Kammback: a body design featuring a downward sloping roofline and rear deck that abruptly ends with a vertical panel (or near vertical). Proven to reduce aerodynamic drag by its namesake, Wunibald Kamm.” — Sajeev Mehta

Wrist Pin

“The wrist pin is definitely worthy of this list!” —
 Larry Webster

“Just for giggles, I googled to see if wrist pins are a thing for orthopedic surgery in a patient’s wrist. Who here thinks I got a relevant website from my search?” — Sajeev Mehta

Jubilee Clip

“Isn’t there something called a jubilee clip?” — Larry Webster

“I think the British call hose clamps ‘jubilee clips.’ That’s definitely a cooler name than hose clamp.” — Sajeev Mehta

Layrub Coupling

“And of course there are Laycock Layrub couplings: Only the Brits.” — Aaron Robinson

The, Absence of

“My vote is for the article the and the fact that the auto industry, particularly in Detroit, traditionally does not use an article as a modifier for car model names. For example, a Detroit marketing executive will say,

‘When we launched Malibu, we knew we would beat Camry.’

They do this instead of, ‘When we launched the Malibu, we knew we would beat the Camry.’ I’ve never understood it, I’ve always hated it. It’s like they want the car model to be considered an entity or something. So weird. You used to see it in print advertising copy. But there’s hardly any print advertising copy anymore, but that’s another story.” — Joe DeMatio

Spats

“Not only is ‘spat’ fun to say, because you spit the word out of your mouth, but it reveals an intersection between clothing and cars. Spats were originally a low-rise version of a gaiter (today, usually worn around your neck and/or mouth) for your ankle: a bit of cloth that you’d button over your shoe to keep dirt from getting inside it.

“In the automotive world, spats are removable panels that cover a car’s wheels … which do the same job that our feet (and shoes) do, although spats on a car don’t actually keep dirt from getting inside the tire; they’re mostly for aesthetic or aerodynamic value. Fun fact: Spat also refers to a cover over the upper part of a wheel on a plane.” — Grace Houghton

Splitter

“NACA duct, spoiler, valence—aero devices often have wonky names. The splitter is no different.

“To many a wing is a wing, no matter where you put it, but to the motorsports crowd wings have different monikers based on where they’re attached. Splitter, for example, is basically a wing on the nose that is flat to the pavement. The splitter diverts air to the nose of the car to create downforce. Downforce is good.

“Splitter, final answer. Oh, wait. Dzus fasteners! A ‘d’ followed by ‘z’, how cool is that?” — Cameron Neveu

Giubo

“I think the weirdest car word I’ve ever encountered is giubo, pronounced jew-boh. It’s a flexible coupling that allows rotational torque to be transmitted between a spinning shaft and the piece to which it is mated. Generally constructed of rubber, it corrects for misalignment in the system and dampens vibration. Commonly misspelled as ‘guibo,’ the term is a blend word derived from the Italian giunto, for ‘joint,’ and the engineer who patented it, Antonio Boschi, for use in the Alfa Romeo 1900. It is sometimes called a flex disc and is closely related to the rag joint.” — Stefan Lombard

“It is also known as a Rotoflex coupling, which is not as fun as my Laycock Layrub coupling suggestion.” — Aaron Robinson

***

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In an interview with Motor 1, Alfa Romeo CEO Jean-Philippe Imparato shared preliminary details about the next Alfa Romeo Giulia. We previously reported on how the 2025 Giulia Quadrifoglio transitions to an electric future with a hybrid powertrain, and now we know that transition includes an all-new model for the 2026 model year based on Stellantis’ STLA Large platform. Yes, that’s the same platform that underpins the 2025 Dodge Charger sedan and coupe.

Imparato was quoted at a press event at the Alfa Romeo Museum saying, “What we designed is a bomb, we couldn’t finalize the style of this car without being absolutely in love with it. And now we are!” Bombastic statements aside, the Charger’s eye-catching, retrofuturist design on the STLA Large platform bodes well for the smaller Italian performance sedan. Or will it look more like a smaller derivative of the Jeep Wagoneer S, an electric vehicle that also rests on this platform?

Odds are the Alfa’s flagship sedan will remain a sedan, and it will likely be significantly smaller than its American counterpart to fit in the tighter parking spots of the EU. A perk of using a modular platform like STLA Large is that many parameters can be adjusted in a cost-effective manner: wheelbase, length, height, and width.

Powertrains are likely to be similar to the Charger’s, which include the 3.0-liter Hurricane twin-turbo straight-six and, for the EV model, electric motors at each axle. Perhaps a hybrid setup might also come into focus for the Giulia, and that Hurricane mill could lose two cylinders to turn into a 2.0-liter four. An inline-four would work well in Europe, but the main reason for this is China’s tax on ICE vehicles with engine displacements larger than 2.0 liters.

Considering the buying power of Chinese motorists who need 2.0-liter engines, there’s a good chance that the Hurricane’s six-pot had a 3.0-liter displacement for good reason: Tooling up a 2.0-liter engine from a 3.0-liter inline six sounds downright affordable.

The shorter length of a two-liter four also makes for a trimmer, sleeker Alfa Romeo. And a smaller STLA sedan would certainly be a sweetheart in Stellantis’ global product portfolio. Watch this space, as we’ll keep an eye on the next Giulia for you.

***

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It’s been 20 years since Cadillac’s V-Series made its debut at Sebring International Raceway in March 2004, with the CTS-V race car in the SCCA Pro Racing World Challenge GT race. Cadillac is celebrating this pivotal moment for the entire year, in an effort to highlight the brand’s shift from stuffy luxury to world-beating performance.

Times have certainly changed, and the high watermark for luxury performance sedans has risen significantly in the last 20 years. The naturally aspirated CTS-V of the aughts was eclipsed by supercharged variants, culminating in the 668-hp monster that is the current CT5-V Blackwing. While horsepower isn’t the only metric on the planet, the straight-line performance of the Tesla Model S Plaid and the driving dynamics of the Lucid Air Sapphire mean that internal combustion engines could soon play second fiddle in the world of automotive bragging rights.

But close the door on a Tesla Model S Plaid, and the rattle you hear suggests there’s room for an established automaker to improve upon the concept. So what should GM’s flagship do to get a piece of that action?

Enter Cadillac’s brave new world of Opulent Velocity. The hints of speed presented in the video come from a vehicle with a ride height lower than a CUV, matched with furious electric motor sounds as the Cadillac rushes toward and past the camera.

The signature V-series emblem morphs into the “V” in Opulent Velocity, suggesting that future V-series Cadillacs shall have performance paired with opulence. That’s a stark contrast to the harder edged mission of V-Series past; but a return to the days of Broughams and DeVilles is unlikely. Perhaps Opulent Velocity’s front light signature suggests this is the second coming of the 2002 Cien concept supercar?

Light signatures can be misleading, but the Cien’s failure to launch was a tragedy for all enthusiasts. No matter what this future Caddy looks like, Cadillac executive director Bryan Nesbitt suggests that “Opulent Velocity is designed to foreshadow a zero emissions expression of performance and modern luxury leadership.”

Nesbitt ensured this teaser has a little more legs by suggesting, “We will share more later this year, so stay tuned.” So we will, and we shall keep you in the loop.

***

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The best classic car for a first-time owner is a question for the ages, but don’t take my word for it: This very website wrote about this very topic all the way back in 2015. While some (many?) of those choices still hold water—especially that C4 Corvette—there’s no doubt that we needed to revisit this topic with the Hagerty Community. So for next week’s installment of According to You, please give us your thoughts on what is the best “starter classic,” in your informed opinion.

While the main image above was my first choice for a starter classic, perhaps the VW Beetle is a bit too old-hat for many readers. Bugs aren’t nearly as cheap as they once were, and maybe air-cooled performance isn’t ideal for many modern roads in North America? If so, here’s my second suggestion:

I can see the look of disgust in your faces. But the first two generations (1991–2001) of the Ford Explorer and its derivatives from Mercury and Mazda (yes, really) are disturbingly easy to acquire in the 2020s for dirt-cheap prices.

Millions were produced, and their analog designs and Detroit origins mean that parts are plentiful. They are easier to repair than most newer vehicles. And since they wear the ever-popular SUV body style, you can enjoy owning one of the first examples of the breed. I once saw a younger person attend a car show with his grandmother’s 1994 Explorer and a steady stream of gawkers walked by, peppering him with questions in the process. These things absolutely have legs.

The Explorer lets you own a starter classic with a fine mix of antique car crudeness (remember when SUVs had leaf springs?) and modern car practicality. Unlike other starter classics, its practicality makes it a great second, third, or fourth vehicle for a North American family. And now that the Firestone tire debacle is well in our rearview mirrors, an Explorer is a pretty compelling value proposition.

So I ask once more, members of the Hagerty Community, for your thoughts: What is the best starter classic?

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Chrysler designer Tom Gale once said in an interview that taller tires were key to the success of the original Chrysler 300. He then inadvertently let the cat out of the bag, going into detail as to how the wildly popular sedan had the presence of a Bentley because “the 300 is deceptively tall, and we disguised that with larger wheel openings and larger tires. But we also raised the beltline so that the roof looked chopped. The cars always looked relatively low even though they were deceptively tall.”

Deceptively tall is right, and the Chrysler 300 is one of many reasons we now have a dying crop of sedans with worse outward visibility and significantly less utility than crossover SUVs. It appears the sins of 2005 are revisited in 2023’s final run of this iconic family sedan, so let’s run the vellum over a 6.4-liter example of the breed.

To some extent, the Chrysler 300 lost its trademark swagger once every car sported a nose just as swollen as this. The generic texture of the grille doesn’t help the inability of the 2023 model to stand out in a crowd, either. This honeycomb is in stark contrast to the massive egg-crate texture of the original, which also benefited from the lack of a similarly textured hole below the grille.

Stand up and behold the 300C from an elevated position and the redesigned fascia of the 2011+ model makes sense. The grille is bold and the headlights are squinty. The front-splitter effect of the bumper draws your eyes up and to the grille, while the reverse mohawk in the hood ensures the space above the grille looks visually lighter.

The retro graphics are a nice throwback to the Chrysler 300 J, but this one is unfortunately tucked away in the upper corner of the grille, unlike yesteryear’s gunsight grille design.

The lack of a bold texture for a Chrysler “letter car” is a bit of a missed opportunity. Much like 1980s American performance cars wearing understated charcoal gray trimmings and Sacco Planks, the 2023 300C might be too understated for its own good.

At least this final example of a bold Chrysler sedan has a grille texture that is never blocked up and eschews artificial texture. The parts that don’t need cooling are blocked off from behind.

And the “seeing eye” of the cruise control sensor is framed by both a thick border of plastic and negative space; designers did not even try to mess with the understated grille texture. Perhaps a design like this would make a great frame for the 300 C logo within a gunsight grille?

The bolder, round fog lights on the flat face of the 2005 Chrysler 300C really helped accentuate the headlights and balance out the radical egg-crate grille. This generic 2010s statement of non-functional performance styling cues on the 2023’s bumper waters down the original vision and leaves a bland aftertaste.

It’s refreshing to see a grille that doesn’t try to incorporate technology like proximity sensors for parking, as their omission keeps the texture from getting murky and complex.

While the 2005 model had design elements (like headlights) conforming to a flat-faced bumper, the redesign has headlights that try to become a more evolved surface. That might sound like a word salad, but bear with me …

Here on the inner contouring of the headlight, the Chrysler 300’s bumper extends from the headlight to the face of the grille. It’s a refinement that’s light years ahead of the 2005 model, which had a crude stair step in the same location and a bumper shelf that slowed down the visual speed of the front end. The elegant surfacing looks great on this monochrome 300C, but the lack of a shelf hurt other 300s that still had chrome trim where the shelf once lived.

The outer contouring of the headlight is met with sympathetic rounded forms in the bumper. The integral side-mount reflector has a hard contour, which becomes the genesis of a strong fender crease.

While the subtle transition from the round headlight projector to its chrome bezel is pretty clever, the pattern doesn’t match that of the ribbed turn-signal lights next to it. Another complementary bezel of black plastic that matches the chrome one is clever, but it’s too subtle: the jeweled lights of the 2005 Chrysler 300C, deeply set into the car’s bumper, were more memorable.

And the panel gap where the fender, headlight, and hood meet is clumsy. This is far less elegant relative to the previous generation Chrysler 300.

But it is hard to argue with the cool factor present in a fender crease that’s almost as aggressive as that iconic grille design.

That fender crease does accentuate the strong power bulge in the hood, more so than same feature in the previous generation, with its softer curves.

The one perk to all this extra surfacing over the original is that the current 300 looks far more sinister. And not just the 300C; even a Pentastar V-6–equipped model looks this good. (The same can’t necessarily be said about V-6 versions back in 2005.)

And like most modern vehicles, the 300C has creases that awkwardly disappear into nothing. I reckon it is because vehicles are too tall, too much like rolling billboards: Extending the lines here and there gets your point across. To some extent, this feature would improve the original, 2005 model, as it looked boring and unfinished from many angles.

From the side you can see the redesigned 300 has a much smaller face than the outgoing model, but with similarly large fender flares. This makes the 300 look more aggressive than it really is, or just the right amount of aggressive, when you consider the 6.4-liter engine powering this 300C.

Perhaps that smaller face also accentuates the 300’s long dash-to-axle, which is clearly a million times cooler than that of any other sedan in its class. (Dodge Charger stablemate excluded.)

Adding to the decadent dash-to-axle is that long, sweeping fender crease. It goes from the headlight to the base of the A-pillar in one fell swoop.

The wheels, while beautiful in their organic simplicity, prove the Chrysler 300 was an entry-level luxury car on its best days and a rental-car special at its worst. These particular forgings have the requisite depth (the hub is sunken relative to the spokes) to be the former, but it isn’t priced like a BMW M3 for ample reason.

The wiper/cowl area is short and harder to spot at a glance, as you’d expect with a cab backward, long dash-to-axle design. The steep rake from the (higher) hood to the (lower) windshield suggests this area was crafted with pedestrian-friendly design in mind.

The rear-wheel-drive (i.e. long dash-to-axle) proportioning really shines in the 300’s pillars, as that impossibly thin A-pillar belongs to anything but a space-efficient crossover utility. The sideview mirror has assertive angles and a bold repeater indicator light but tucks away perfectly in a black plastic triangle within the DLO.

The front door is almost exaggerated in length, but this car has more of a coupe flavor than its counterparts from Asia and Europe.

The B-pillar, while static and upright (like all vehicles in this era of head-curtain airbags), has just enough tumblehome to look less like an SUV or CUV, more like a vintage muscle car.

There’s a strong character line a few inches below the DLO, and it’s absolutely needed because the 300 gets even taller in the back (and needs something to break up all that height).

All things considered, Chrysler did a great job keeping the 300 (looking) as trim and low to the ground with its use of horizontal lines and modest surfacing. While not technically a shoulder line, the crease in the C-pillar that turns into the top of the deck lid is absolutely gorgeous and is a nice homage to the 2005 model.

The rear wheel arch is a bit troubling, however. Its thick shape cuts deep into the contours of the rear door, unlike the smooth forms presented in its brother, the Dodge Charger. Perhaps most of the issue is in my head, as I have a particular Avenger haunting my car designer soul.

The minimal contouring of the roof (save for cutlines for a fancy moonroof on this 300C) accentuates the long, luxury-sedan lines of the Chrysler and is a good way to save money. The exposed rain gutter isn’t as pretty as the extra plastic strips of other sedans in its class, but I generally prefer its minimalism in a low-visibility area. Can’t give the same kudos for the lasagna noodle–like rear window seal, however.

The transition from the aforementioned character line and the shoulder line is harsh and angular, which has implications for the taillight. But it is another throwback to 2005, ensuring the Chrysler 300 has a design DNA like so many other American icons of our past.

The redesigned 300 eliminates the smiling rear-end treatment created by the original’s curved rear deck and rotund rear bumper. This is produced by implementing the bends in the quarter panel and rear bumper as design limitations of the rear light. The downward force pictured here gives a contrasting frown to the bumper. It’s a little fussy, in a Malaise Era Chevy Monte Carlo way, but eliminates the under-surfaced issue of the previous generation.

There’s a certain harmony that comes from a bumper that’s directly influenced by the outer contouring of the light, and a trunk emblem that naturally steps down from model name to trim level to reverse light.

The Aston Martin–like emblem Chrysler chose after its bankruptcy never resonated with me, as there was something special about both the Blue Ribbon and the Pentastar before it. All that recognition was lost forever, so that’s probably why I like it better in a morbid-like black finish on the decklid’s otherwise unadorned center section.

Unadorned is right, because Chrysler did a fine job integrating both a push-button trunk release and a rear camera within the CHMSL at the top of the decklid. To some extent, perhaps the designers didn’t leave themselves much of a choice.

Just like the original, Chrysler opted to put the license plate mount in the rear bumper, leaving an acre of underutilized space in the trunk above. It’s a nice change to the usual “trunk plate” seen on today’s Camry and Accord, but it looks unfinished compared to the heckblende-equipped trunks of the Charger, Sonata, and (Kia) K5. I’d personally like to see C-H-R-Y-S-L-E-R spelled out on the back to fill in some space—and to be proud of this once-famous brand, and the founder behind it.

The lower bumper sports a matte plastic insert with arches around the exhaust, sized appropriately to match the wheel arches on the body side. The integration of the reflector lens into the insert’s outer boundary with the painted bumper is a common trick for modern cars, one that is both clever and beautiful.

The ducktail spoiler is a wonderful touch, adding much-needed visual excitement to the 300’s tall and flat-faced posterior. But it’s all relative, because this butt clearly received hundreds of hours more surfacing time from Chrysler designers than the same area of the 2005 original: The decklid is toned and muscular, and the 2022 bumper tries hard not to have a big-faced smile anymore.

It works, as the 300 now has a cocky smirk instead. Be it a Pentastar or 6.4-liter Hemi, anyone who has driven Chrysler 300 knows it’s pretty darn fast. Pick a fight with one and you know that trunk is absolutely giving you a victorious smirk, because it knows who won the race. While it’s a shame that family sedans are an unprofitable genre deemed unworthy for most automakers, at least the Chrysler 300 made a splash in 2005 and went out with a helluva bang last year.

Thank you for reading; I hope you have a lovely day.

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Hagerty Community member TingeOfGinge writes:

Dear Sajeev,

Your Piston Slap column never fails to entertain and educate. Here’s one for you: In what timeframe do we think the most important, most durable advances in automotive technology — and subsequently, automotive ability — took place, and what were they?

My proposal: 1953–60. We started with a 6v charging system, manual brakes, and flathead motors. But we moved to the 12v system the industry would use for the next 60+ years, power-assisted brakes, and high-compression, overhead valve ubiquity.

Now, as a millennial, I didn’t have the joy of experiencing these technological developments as they happened, but I’m sure some in the Hagerty Community did. And they have plenty of tales to tell about how X technology made their dad/uncle/brother’s “New For [insert model year]” vehicle so much better than the one it replaced.

Sajeev answers:

This is a question with multiple correct answers, and it changes over time. I wouldn’t be surprised if all the PhD-level chemists, physicists, engineers, etc. working on battery technology will one day come up with a formulation that makes our current EV frustrations resemble the machinations of people living in the dark ages. And doing so would improve the performance, price, and reusability of said EV battery at a monumental level. But that’s a future we have yet to (or may never?) see, so let’s discuss what might be the most important historical time periods for advancements in automotive technology.

Your time period (1953–60) is indeed a great one. My favorite time period is the Malaise Era (1973–83, approximately) because of the breadth and depth of improvements to automobiles and the societies that rely on them. We can and should hate this era more than any other, and trust me, I used to be one of the haters.

Here’s a little sugar to help the medicine go down: The Malaise Era ushered safer designs, better fuel economy, cleaner exhaust emissions, and superior luxury/NVH controls. And many of these benefits came from two bits of underlying technology: computers (inside and out of the vehicle) and extensive use of plastics on interior and exterior surfaces.

The photos above show the fruits of our Malaise-y computing efforts: aerodynamic modeling, interior ergonomics, and finite element analysis. I condensed all three computing advancements into a singular vehicle: The late-malaise revolution that was the 1982 Ford Sierra.

This Ford and the luxury-oriented Audi 100 were design and engineering tours de force for the time, lack of emissions controls outside of North America notwithstanding. They’d both get stomped on by a pancake catalyst-equipped, 8.1-liter Cadillac Eldorado in that regard. (The “Eldog” also had Malaise Era plastics, but the less we discuss of that the better.)

Let’s discuss in a little more depth the technology that made the Malaise Era a good (relevant?) time period in automotive history. While plastic panels and pleather interiors could owe a debt of gratitude to a singular creator, reducing Malaise Era computing to one hero is pretty easy: Meet the Cray-1 Supercomputer from 1975. According to computerhistory.org, it was 10 times faster than its competition, had over 60 miles of wiring, and drew 115 kW of power (about 10 households worth of juice). Depending on configuration, these sold for about $7.9 million dollars in 1977 (over $41 million in 2024), with a total of 80 units made.

The ring of benches around the Cray-1 was a nice touch, likely reducing uneasiness and fatigue when the malaise of a polyester-clad engineer’s work begins to rest heavy on their soul. But the folks behind Malaise Era automobiles endured, surviving the dark times, making our lives better in the process.

I’ve had a hard time finding an OEM press release that specifically thanked this electronic game changer for being the genesis of our modern automobile. But press releases of the era do suggest computer aided design was created and shared across multiple departments for faster production with fewer errors. Odds are, their rudimentary modeling came from a Cray supercomputer or three. Which is pretty cray-cray-crazy if you ponder on that notion.

While the Malaise Era may not be the best answer for TingeOfGinge’s question, it is definitely in the top 10. Maybe top 5? What say you, Hagerty Community?

Have a question you’d like answered on Piston Slap? Send your queries to pistonslap@hagerty.com—give us as much detail as possible so we can help! Keep in mind this is a weekly column, so if you need an expedited answer, please tell me in your email.

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Rivian, the embattled electric automaker behind the R1 truck/SUV and the Amazon EDV van, isn’t going down without a fight. And everyone loves an underdog, especially when their design team is tasked with making smaller, more affordable vehicles that promise the same good vibes of their current crop of aspirational designs.

That’s precisely what happened yesterday, as Rivian announced the R2 SUV and the R3 crossover. Thanks to the thoughtful body surfacing and a headlight signature that resembles a dual USB port, both concepts have the DNA of the original R1T flagship pickup.

The R2 rests on a new architecture, with party tricks like fold-down rear and front seating for camping trips. But it looks a bit derivative and dull, in a light beer served at a franchised restaurant kinda way. Enter the R3: Photos make it look far more delicious than its larger stablemate, like a hoppy craft brew served on an outdoor patio with a food truck parked nearby. While based on the R2’s platform, the R3 has a shorter wheelbase and, presumably, a cheaper asking price.

That’s a value proposition with some legs, and most of the online chatter since yesterday’s introduction is about the R3. That’s likely for good reason, as we currently have a dearth of small, affordable EVs that offer town-and-country substance with aspirational style. (Sorry Nissan Leaf and Chevy Bolt owners.)

Pricing has yet to be released, and that’s always a concern with an EV startup. Hopefully Rivian has learned from their mistakes because the R3 is hitting a chord with folks who want a cheaper vehicle with the requisite CUV dimensions and price point. This little rig does something that even the Ford Bronco Sport can’t do on with its portly, Escape-derived bones. Heck, even the clamshell hood cleans up the front view, giving good vibes on par with the affordable Kia Soul.

The R3 sits so perfectly on its haunches from the rear quarter view. The rear door’s dogleg hugs the wheel arch, evocative of the original Jeep Cherokee (XJ). The compact rear cabin makes for difficult ingress/egress, but there’s a purity to this design when paired with the upright roof pillars, flat cant rail, and aggressive horizontal bodyside creases. In a perfect world, this purity is paired with Chevy Bolt-like affordability.

But most enthusiasts can’t stop talking about the R3 trim with rally-car flair, the R3X. Analogies to the dynastic rule of the Lada Niva is prevalent across social media, and for good reason: both look like workaday passenger cars from a forgotten analog era, right down to the ride heights, upright B/C pillars, strong horizontal lines, and that flattering clamshell hood.

There’s something about the R3X that tugs at your heartstrings, just like a Lada does. (Or like a Subaru Crosstrek in a sea of Camry LEs, if vintage iron isn’t your jam.) Here we have a promise of added practicality via extra ride height, with a footprint suggesting a price point friendly to lending institutions eager to finance the lower rungs of our society. Of course, that’s relative to the $90,000-ish Rivian R1T, which I drove and quite enjoyed.

Slice the baby Riv’s look another way, and I’d suggest there’s a bit of the Group B rally Lancia Delta S4 in its design. The roofline is purposefully boxy, the creases are crispy, there’s a spoiler at the back, and the wheels fill up their arches like a race car. The latter even gives off the same anthracite vibes of the Delta HF Integrale.

The Rivian family of vehicles is starting to look like a full line of modern SUVs and crossovers for modern lifestyles. Yesterday’s unveling of the R2, R3, and R3X have put the rest of the world on notice, and Rivian is clearly serious about reducing the fixed and variable costs that are an albatross around their neck.

The questions we have left are the same for all concepts: how much and when? Rivian says R2 pricing “is expected to start around $45,000, and R3 will be priced below R2.” Deliveries for the R2 are slated for 2026, but Rivian vaguely states that R3 and R3X deliveries will start sometime after that. Fantastic.

Those hoping for an R3/R3X aren’t getting the plausible price and timeline that buyers of the Escape-based Ford Maverick received back in 2021. And that affordable trucklet still suffered from tech-company-worthy production delays and price increases despite coming from a legacy automaker. That says nothing of the concern I have around Rivian’s negative contribution margin impacting its ability to deliver future product.

And if such financial and logistical headwinds feel like bizarre choices to include in a design column like Vellum Venom, just remember the author dropped out of car design school and got himself two business degrees. While I’d love to gush over the product, perhaps it’s wiser to have cautious optimism. As Neil Young said,

“It’s gonna take a ‘Lada’ love to change the way things are.”

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Meet the 1963 Thunderbird Italien, a custom-bodied show car. Its recent sale racked up a figure high enough for the record books: $456,000 including fees, over 600 percent higher than the value of a 1963 Thunderbird in #1 (Concours) condition. The unique design is one thing, but the reason for its existence is even more remarkable: The coachbuilding company that made the car also saved it from certain death.

First, a little about the car itself. According to RM Sotheby’s well-researched auction description, the Thunderbird Italien was a one-off byproduct of Henry Ford II’s interest in all things Italian. His fascination reportedly stemmed from a well-known failure to purchase Ferrari in 1963, and a courtship with an Italian socialite who became his wife in 1965. The description also makes the valid connection between the T-bird and Ford’s Total Performance advertising campaign, which initially focused on motorsports but quickly pivoted into the promotion of the advanced design, luxury, and durability of cars like the 1965 Ford Galaxie. Ford’s Total Performance was a great way to give an increasingly diverse market anything it needed in an automobile.

Enter the Thunderbird Italien: a custom-bodied hardtop coupe based on a 1962 Thunderbird convertible, bearing a name that’s a bit more, ahem, continental than the traditional American spelling. The car was made by Dearborn Steel Tubing (DST), the folks behind Ford’s famous Thunderbolt drag racing machines.

But DST had a different goal with this T-bird: It was meant to be a showy beauty that would participate in Ford’s Custom Car Caravan, an in-person marketing campaign to drum up attention to the Ford brand with heavily modified vehicles often sporting the “Kustom” modifications typical of the era. And while the design was penned by the stylists at Ford, DST did the heavy lifting to make the Thunderbird Italien concept a reality.

The fastback roofline of the Thunderbird Italien is made of fiberglass, thanks in part to Vince Gardner, a designer who worked with DST on several vehicles for Ford. A set of 1963 Thunderbird fenders and doors were added to the show car, which established a foundation for unique fender vents and bright side molding design for the Italien. A larger chrome strip above the grille was implemented, and the hood incorporated the Thunderbird emblem. Below was an egg-crate grille, a common choice of texture for everyone from Ferrari to Carozzeria Ghia in this time period. Candy apple red paint finished off the look, a period-correct finish for the era. A material commonplace in Italian automobiles was also present in the cabin: Leather, and extensive amounts of it—the headliner, everything around the beltline, and the entire dashboard.

As with most concepts, the Thunderbird Italien was supposed to be crushed after serving its promotional purpose. But since it was based on a production car, DST had the motivation to give it a new lease on life. And that life story is told in the auction’s details, down to the extensive restoration by Tom Maruska in 2005. What’s fascinating here is the fact that DST actually saved this show car in the first place. Turns out they made a habit out of this practice. But don’t take my word for it:

Apparently DST made a significant chunk of its revenues by turning an OEM’s leftover cars into something more valuable than mere metal scrap. Removing “non-compliant parts and using OEM street legal replacement parts” sounds like a labor-intensive job, but DST openly promoted that they can “take what would be a junk car, and turn it into a profit for an OEM.” They partnered with Ford in 1955 and did everything from custom cars to auto show displays to publicity stunts on the Empire State Building, solving seemingly endless logistical challenges for their neighbors in Dearborn.

Do yourself a favor and check out the behind-the-scenes photos on Dearborn Steel Tubing’s Facebook page right now. (Time might be of the essence, as the company closed its doors back in 2020, and the account may not be up for long.) The number of projects that DTS has engaged (and documented!) is pretty astounding. According to its former CEO Brenda Lewo, DST once employed “130 certified automotive technicians and mechanics” with three facilities situated on 29 acres.

While it’s sad to see a company like Dearborn Steel Tubing go out of business, perhaps the 1963 Thunderbird Italien proves that its legacy of saving/repurposing the “surprise and delight” of a concept is an enduring one. The Thunderbird Italien both survived and thrived, as witnessed by the extensive restoration performed by the fifth of its seven owners after DST saved it. Who knows what other classics DST saved from imminent ruin, after spending so much time and money to bring them to life in the first place.

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By 1965, Ford was pushing its Total Performance concept in every vehicle from the fuel-sipping Falcon to the range-topping Thunderbird. While the tie-in to Ford’s motorsports efforts was obvious, Total Performance also included the notion of durability, practicality, value, and luxury. Perhaps there was no better example of the breed than the full-size Ford Galaxie for 1965, and its premium LTD trim level for those seeking performance in its totality (as it were). The sales brochure suggested these Galaxies were “the most changed cars you’ve seen in a decade.”

That’s not marketing hyperbole, as a new 3-link rear suspension utilized a Panhard bar and replaced the clumsy leaf springs of the era with a modern coil setup. The Galaxie’s new 15-inch wheels with lower profile tires were harder to find outside of luxury cars of the era. But what made the 1965-68 Ford Galaxie so special was a body-on-frame design that eschewed the notion that stiffer is always better. Opting for a strategic flexibility program that implemented torque boxes and rubber body mounts all the way back in 1965 was certainly something to talk about. It was another example of Total Performance, especially when it came to reducing NVH levels.

And all the hard work from Ford’s designers and engineers deserved an advertising campaign that proved the point. Working with trusted advertising parter J. Walter Thompson, the hardtop 1965 Galaxie 500 LTD became famous for being quieter than a Rolls-Royce, mostly because of the revised suspension and radical frame. The design was unique in the Ford lineup, as even the Lincoln Continental still used leaf springs at the rear, with a unitized chassis lacking the LTD’s balance of stiffness, flexibility, and NVH reduction technology.

The new 1965 Galaxie sold as well as it rode, besting the prior year’s sales by over 55,000 units (978,429 in total). There were six body styles (pillared sedan/coupe, hardtop sedan/coupe, convertible, station wagon), and trim levels offering luxury (LTD), higher performance (XL), or posh practicality (Country Squire Wagon). A wide range of engines, from a new 240-cid inline six (a descendent of Ford’s legendary 300 inline six truck motor) to the rare 427-cid V-8 (available with a four-barrel carb or dual quads), made the Galaxie a full-size vehicle for every taste and budget. But 1965 was only the start of something special, as sales skyrocketed to over one million Galaxies (1,034,930) the following year.

The 1966 Galaxie was restyled with softer contours that belied the hard-nosed performance with the newly available 428-cid Thunderbird V-8 with 345 horsepower. Dubbed the “7-Litre” Galaxie, it slotted between the relatively tamer 390 (315 horsepower) and the radical 427 (425 horsepower) V-8 engines. The 7-Litre trim could be had with the fire-breathing 427, but these days enthusiasts typically reference the 428 as the 7-Litre or call out the 427 directly.

Values for the second-generation Galaxie do vary somewhat year to year, but the selection of ’66 Galaxie trims below do afford a representative sample. Regardless of trim, 427-equipped cars occupy the top spots, with less-powerful engines rendering the cars they’re in considerably more affordable. While available in every body style, the 428-powered 7-Litre hardtop coupes in #2 condition are now valued at $60,000, much closer to the 390 ($34,300) compared to the 427 ($141,000). Across the board, though, even in a flatter market, values are stable for entry-level Galaxies and on the upswing for the more powerful examples. Four-speed cars command a 10 percent premium, and, if you’re seeking the looks of a Galaxie at a significant discount, six-cylinder cars tend to be worth about 20 percent less than the lowest value V-8.

The Galaxie is a popular 1960s choice across all ages. Insurance quotes sought from Gen X owners are up three percentage points over the last five years, and five percentage points in the same period among both millennials and Gen Z. Between the interest among younger enthusiasts and the sheer number of Galaxies made, we can expect to see them being enjoyed for years to come.

The 1967 Galaxie received even softer styling than the 1966 model, and all the same engines were available (but lacking the 7-Litre moniker). A revised dashboard sported an integrated “Stereo Sonic” tape player where the 1966 had it mounted below the dashboard. Mandated safety features also applied to the Galaxie, from a padded horn button with an energy-absorbing steering column, to a dual bore master cylinder. For 1968, the final year of this body style, Ford gave the Galaxie new front and rear fascias, side marker lights, and horizontally arranged headlights. Concealed headlights were available on the LTD and sporty XL, and the base V-8 transitioned from the 289-cid to the 302-cid small block V-8.

And that’s where it should end, but Ford took this winning template to the next level. An entirely new platform for 1969 had a track “as wide as a Cadillac”, more front head and leg room than Chrysler’s Imperial, and a design that’s “even quieter than the LTD that was quieter than a Rolls-Royce.” Rarely does a trim level create a legacy with such gravity, and by 1974 the LTD actually killed the Galaxie brand beneath it.

And the LTD name was still associated with a Rolls-Royce throughout the Malaise Era, a time when a vehicle’s luxurious attributes took precedent over performance. (Though the downsized LTD was “as quiet as a Rolls-Royce” and no longer superior to the iconic English saloon.) So perhaps the 1965 Ford Galaxie was ahead of its time, and three decades of subsequent Ford flagship sedan history owe it a debt of gratitude.

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There’s nothing quite like the sleek side profile of a vehicle with a long hood, a fast roof, and a smooth decklid. But there is more to our shared love of cars, because, we should also consider the smooth, singular sideline of a minivan. While that isn’t an answer one would expect when asking about the most appealing vehicle silhouettes, a minivan is indeed one of the many candidates we received here in this latest installment of our According to You series.

So what other vehicles did members of the Hagerty Community offer for this question? Have a look below and tell us what you think in the comments!

Shelby Daytona Coupe

@DUB6: Hard to beat an early 911 in my book, but really, I’m voting for the Shelby Daytona Coupe. It has some of the muscle of the Cobras built in, with the sloped down nose for aero, the long, sleek roofline, and then that striking rear spoiler and chopped-off tail.

It may not be the most beautiful, but to me, it’s the most striking silhouette out there.

Chevrolet Corvette

@Bernard: The first few years of the C3 Corvette. I wasn’t around to see them new, but the C3 has always stood out in the school of cool, IMO, especially the silhouette. I think the crash bumpers and other stuff of the later years softened them up too much, but the silhouettes of the early ones could’ve been used as scalpels.

@Tony: I’d say any modern Corvette. They’re all designed in the wind tunnel these days so they’re all aero-efficient, but the later C4s with the rounded ends I think look great.

@Dave Massie: C3 Corvettes—especially the ’80–82 models.

@C: I agree. I am partial to my 1973 Corvette coupe. It’s a one-year-only design and looks great in silhouette.

@Paul: 1984–90 C4 Corvette. The concave rear bumper is just cool. On the other hand, the convex 1990 ZR-1 bumper and its use on the 1991–96 models are strong candidates. In my C4-centric world, the Corvettes nailed the Silhouette Sweepstakes.

Jaguar XKE

@Ken_L: I am partial to my C3 Corvette, but I must say the Jaguar XKE coupe has been my favorite since I was very young.

@Howard: And its “top-down” sibling, the XKE droptop roadster … great road car.

@Doug: Hands down, Jaguar E -ype coupe (XKE)

@Jeff: Had a ’68 XKE roadster. I was about to cast my vote for it, but you astutely beat me to it!

@Lew: The first Jag E-Types with the worthless bumpers and glassed headlights.

Jaguar XK-120

@Gayle: In ’56, my uncle bought a ’53 Jaguar XK-120 FHC and I have been enamored with that gorgeous profile ever since, especially with the disc wheels and the spats (skirts)!

1963 Riviera

@Snailish: ’63 Riviera … Not sure what got us there, but for decades after, so many vehicles owed it a debt. It would likely still be a cutting-edge design if evolved to today’s construction methods/rules. But it’s also amazing from several directions, not just the side.

Lamborghini Countach

@Shiven: Lamborghini Countach! It absolutely accentuates the ’70s and ’80s realm of excess!

Toyota Previa

@ap41563: Toyota Previa! Turn the lights off and illuminate it from behind and the egg shape still looks fresh today, even at 30 years old.

Hyundai Genesis Coupe

@Colton: For the more modern, cheaper cars, I’d say the first generation of the Hyundai Genesis Coupe. The car itself was a mixed bag (I owned one for eight years), but the side profile, especially in low light, just highlighted how well that body was sculpted.

MG TF

@T.J.: Without a doubt, my 1954 MG TF is a constant head turner with classic vehicle lines (running boards, smooth curvature in fenders, spoked wheel on the exterior of the gas tank, etc.). A timeless beauty.

1961–63 Ford Thunderbird

@Jon: I have always liked the 1961–63 “bullet” Thunderbirds. There was just something perfect about their profiles.

Third-Generation Pontiac Firebird

@Espo70: Third-gen Firebird/Formula/Trans Am. One of the best designs to come out of GM. Still looks exotic today.

Aston Martin Project Vantage

@George: I might be biased, but the Aston Martin Project Vantage Concept—which became the Vanquish—is the most cohesive and accomplished shape of all time.

1958 Chevrolet Impala

@Don: How about the 1958 Chevy Impala 2-door hardtop? My wife’s uncle thought it looked like a water buffalo!

GMC Motorhome

@Chuck: For oversize vehicles, the 1973–78 GMC Motorhome. Ahead of its time when new, smooth and sleek (compared to other coaches), and has aged gracefully.

@Kent: Still a very sought-after vehicle after all these decades. Would love to have one!

Ferrari 250 GTO

@David: One of the most recognizable, and possibly the most desirable profiles of them all: The 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO by Scaglietti.

Fiat 500

@Alex: 2012–19 FIAT 500: Totally unique and unmistakable. You would never confuse it for any other car from any other marker.

1966 Oldsmobile Toronado

@John: Without question for me it is the 1966 (and only the 1966) Oldsmobile Toronado.

Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic

@Tom: So many Ferraris—the Dino, 250 GTO, 275 GTB, La Ferrari, etc., as well as the GT40, Miura, E-Type, and numerous British Roadsters of the ’50s and ’60s. But the granddaddy of all side silhouettes has to be the Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic.

2003–08 Mazda Mazda6

@Mike: From a basic sedan point of view I’ve always loved the 2007 Mazda 6 profile with the spoiler.

1956–57 Continental Mark II

@Jeff: The 1956 Continental Mark II is still the most elegant and beautiful production American car.

1984–86 Pontiac Fiero

@Jack: 1984–86 Pontiac Fiero notchback. Best-looking shape of the 1970s and ’80s wedge cars.

Flintstones Car

@Greg: The log car that Barney Rubble drove on The Flintstones … feet and all!

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Ron writes:

Hi Sajeev, I talked to you via email a year ago about my 1954 Oldsmobile Rocket 88. I too had a piston slap noise when I started the motor. You advised me to put diesel oil in place of my regular oil. I did it a few months back and it made a big difference. The engine is much smoother now and the piston noise is to a minimum when I start it. There is a little noise when cold but it dissipates after less than a minute when the engine is getting warmed up.

Thank you again for helping me. I have owned my car since 1983 when I bought it from a gentleman in Van Nuys, California.

Sajeev answers:

I am so glad my advice worked out for you! Bear with me for a second, as there might be a lesson to be learned for all classic vehicle owners.

Too often we get caught up in problems with our cars, and cannot see the forest for the trees. This is one of my (numerous problems) with Project Valentino, and I’ve been forced to listen to my internal project manager and his need to implement a “change management” plan. (Gotta listen to him because he’s got an MBA so he like totally knows what he’s talking about.)

It’s a slippery slope to introduce business concepts in places they don’t belong. But change management has validity in our complex world of automobiles. Otherwise, you’re just banging your head against a wall. The practice requires the user to recognize a problem, note any issue(s) surrounding it, gauge possible solutions, and approve/implement a solution. If your solution doesn’t work, you repeat the process. Simple as that.

In the case of Ron’s Oldsmobile, an engine rattle only has a few logical solutions: increase oil pressure via a change in oil type, tear apart the motor to fix an issue with the oil pump and piston rings, or a full rebuild before more engine damage occurs. The simplest, most logical solution for an armchair quarterback (like yours truly!) is to change the oil first, and diesel oil is generally the best for pre-1975 vehicles.

Luckily for me, the first step in my change management strategy worked for Ron. So if you think I can help YOU, read the next paragraph to make that happen. I could always use more questions to enlighten and possibly even entertain the Hagerty Community.

Have a question you’d like answered on Piston Slap? Send your queries to pistonslap@hagerty.com—give us as much detail as possible so we can help! Keep in mind this is a weekly column, so if you need an expedited answer, please tell me in your email.

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As you may recall, Goldilocks is the story of a woman eating from three bowls of porridge. Said bowls were at various temperatures, but only one was right for her. The same can be true for horsepower figures, as the Lucid Air Sapphire has a scalding 1234 hp. The Mitsubishi Mirage only has 78 hp, which is certainly too cold in our modern automotive climate. So what’s the Goldilocks horsepower number?

That’s the question we posed to the staff here at Hagerty Media, and our answers are just as diverse as our tastes in cars. So have a look at our thoughts, because what’s “just right” for one staffer might not work for others.

400 horses

400: This is pretty easy to get out of most modern engine designs while still having a durable, dependable, and serviceable powerplant. It’s also usually enough to spin the tires when you want to while still returning decent fuel economy. — Kyle Smith

650 horses?

550–650 hp in most applications (modern performance, big SUV, etc.) is about right for day-to-day. Goldilocks, however, is 700–900 hp via a nicely built RY45. — Matt Tuccillo

A “Weighty” Question

You can’t say for sure without knowing the weight. The sweet spot for me is 300 hp, but only saddled to 2600 pounds. Also, peak power doesn’t mean much to me either because if all the power is over 5000 rpm and the engine is asleep at 4000 (where I mostly drive) then I don’t care what those figures are. Okay, more than you wanted to know. — Larry Webster

This is Irrelevant!

Horsepower is meaningless in the age of electrification. The only numbers that matter anymore are range, consumption, and torque. In older cars, horsepower figures are either deliberately inflated (pre-SAE) and/or irrelevant. Does anyone care what the horsepower figure is for a Porsche 912? A Ferrari 250 GTO? A 260 Mustang vs a 289? It’s rare that anyone ever asks me the horsepower of my old cars and for most of them (’36 Riley, ’49 Buick, ’67 Porsche 912, ’73 Land Rover) I couldn’t even tell you, but it doesn’t diminish my interest in them. Goldilocks horsepower? As the man said, I know it when I see it. — Aaron Robinson

Less than 400

I’ll go out on a limb and say that anything much more than 400 horsepower is really just a unit of … well, member measurement for the average skilled driver in an AWD or RWD platform. Make it FWD and I’d go as low as 250–300 horsepower. Straight-line speed is fun, but moderate power where you can plant your foot and not get in too much trouble (either from lack of skill or that by way of that cop you didn’t notice) is my preferred state. — Greg Ingold

36 Horsepower

The answer is 36 hp—in my 370 lb go-kart, anyway. Any less and it wouldn’t scare me, and any more would probably make it illegal in my class. — Eddy Eckart

2400 horsepower!

Sorry y’all, but I gotta get all Texas up in here. Texas mile and TX2K to be precise, and we will take the biggest figure the aftermarket provides. I’ve driven a couple of 1000+hp, pump gas Lambos and they provide tame performance in traffic, while also offering mind-altering thrust in places like Mexico.

But it’s been a minute, and the number of turbocharged Lambos with 1500+ horsepower to the wheels suggests that might be about right for my needs. But 2400 horsies at all four wheels sounds delightful, as my foot knows how to treat a throttle pedal like a rheostat and not an on/off switch. Texas Tea also comes in race formulations, dont’cha know? — Sajeev Mehta

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Pardon the prewar pun, but the storied French-German automaker Bugatti just dropped a doozy of a teaser video for its next vehicle, due in June. The star of the 25-second clip is a sixteen-cylinder engine with an achingly beautiful carbon-fiber intake manifold and an exhaust note that will haunt your soul. But unlike the Chiron and the trend-setting Veyron before it, this yet-to-be-named Bugatti forgoes the “W” engine configuration in favor of a traditional “V.”

That sound is sensational, but look a little closer and this V-16 clearly sports four individual throttle bodies. They suggest that this future Bugatti is an apple that doesn’t fall far from the tree, as the engine could should have four turbochargers to feed that intake, like the quad-turbo Veyron. However, what’s really impressive is Bugatti’s hint that this engine will be mated to a hybrid powertrain.

Odds are this electrified setup will be similar to the party tricks found in the Ferrari SF-90, ensuring the next Bugatti can slow-roll on any street in the EU and the UK. But the similarities are likely to end there, as any Bugatti, even a hybrid one, is designed with the most amount of power and performance possible from an OEM.

While the new, V-shaped engine marks a delineation from VW Group’s past insistence on “W” cylinder configurations, the passion present in that video makes it clear the new Bugatti-Rimac joint venture is paying homage to the Veyron and Chiron, icons that made the brand relevant for the 21st century. Bugatti dates back over 100 years, and it’s clear this V-16 hybrid powerplant is the start of something special.

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Perhaps the best silhouette isn’t a minivan from Oldsmobile in the 1990s, but it clearly gets the ball rolling for Hagerty’s According to You series. Admiring the beauty of the profile view has been a thing for portraits of human beings for thousands of years, so it’s no surprise we apply that aesthetic preference to objects around us, like the automobile. This angle has endless appeal, and I’ll assume I am not the only person in the Hagerty Community who stops in their tracks when the long lines of a well-designed automobile crosses my path.

Car designers spend an inordinate amount of time ironing out the side view to ensure the front and rear ends will look proper for the entire vehicle. So let’s make a big deal about it and see which vehicle has the best silhouette in the eyes of our readers. To start things off, here’s my choice.

As a late Gen-Xer, I saw these Thunderbirds everywhere during my childhood. While their front end wore sealed-beam headlights that didn’t necessarily work with the aerodynamic body, that silhouette was to die for. It was a little bit cab backward, possessed a great mix of soft curves and hard muscles, and included window trim that harmonized beautifully with the overall shape.

But I really started noticing these 1983–86 Thunderbirds after the 1987 redesign eliminated the aggressive drop in the trunk lid, the integrated ducktail, and the muscular contours in its thick C-pillar. The first three years of the “Aero Bird” looked like nothing before or since, and the car and its lovely profile passed far too quickly.

The way this C-pillar reflected the light at dawn or dusk was impossible to overlook, and though the overall shape wasn’t nearly as aerodynamic as the designs that replaced the 1983 Thunderbird, this truly was an automotive silhouette for the ages.

Which leads us back to our initial question: Which vehicle do you think has the best silhouette?

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Michael writes:

My 1997 Porsche Boxster steering wheel gets very sticky on hot sunny days; it can even leave a black residue on the hands. It is not a leather-covered steering wheel, though. The stock wheel is some kind of synthetic material, almost a super dense foam rubber. It is somewhat springy to pressure. I was hoping some chemical would transform the outer surface to its original.

A cover feels too thick, and I don’t really want to buy another wheel. Cures?

Sajeev answers:

This should be an easy one, unless the comments section tells us otherwise! I’ve addressed the same issue on the airbag cover of the C5 Corvette. So before we proceed, can we all enjoy the irony of the Porsche with premium materials having the same off-gassing issue as the Corvette with an inferior interior? (The Porsche indeed has nicer guts, but age conquers all opinions of plastics and vinyls.)

Back to my experience with successfully cleaning off-gassed “goo” from the airbag cover of a C5 Corvette. Long story short, my experimentations ended after just a few minutes, thanks to a can of carburetor cleaner (yes, really) and a plastic scraping tool (like the ones used for drywall) to shed off that gooey mess. After I was done, the airbag cover looked perfect. Even the detailing in the embossed Corvette logo looked like new.

Maybe you’ll get lucky and treating your wheel won’t require such an aggressive chemical. To avoid overkill, I would start by slapping on some latex gloves, getting some shop towels, and trying these chemicals in an inconspicuous area first.

1. WD-40 (least aggressive)
2. Brake cleaner
3. Carburetor cleaner (most aggressive)

Once you’ve ascertained how aggressive your chemical needs to be, then you can turn your attention to the steering wheel. To start, I’d turn it upside down (rotate it 180 degrees) and work on the bottom of the rim, just to validate the investigation you did on the inconspicuous area first.

Follow up your work with a dab of abrasive hand cleaner to get any residue off the wheel, then rinse with water to finish it off. I have done this exact procedure three times now and #3 has always done the trick. Be conservative on how much cleaning agent you use, and work in small areas to keep the residue from making a bigger mess in your Boxster’s interior. Good luck!

Have a question you’d like answered on Piston Slap? Send your queries to pistonslap@hagerty.com—give us as much detail as possible so we can help! Keep in mind this is a weekly column, so if you need an expedited answer, please tell me in your email.

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Welcome to the latest installment of Project Valentino, a series dedicated to the decades-long story of senior editor Sajeev Mehta and the machine that got him into cars: the 1983 Lincoln Continental Valentino designer series. Join us as Sajeev restores this Ford enigma to its original glory… and then some! —Ed. 

Eight years is a long, long time for a simple headlight installation. And even though they look finished, the electronics behind the façade are all whacked out: Those beautiful low beams don’t illuminate with the headlight switch. The weight of electrical glitches in my life is crushing and difficult to overcome. However, even though I am, let us say, overburdened with more pressing classic automobile emergencies, I felt that neglecting these lights any further would be a shame. After all, just like everything else on Project Valentino, I’ve put a lot of effort into restomodding these “eyes.”

Brace yourselves for a wild ride of wires and headlights.

I still remember that weekend back in 2016 when I used my $9 Harbor Freight angle grinder to open up the Valentino’s factory headlight buckets. I cracked into them because my restomodding mission involved the installation of Hella lights with H4 (low beam) and H1 (high beam) bulbs. The Hellas are larger than the factory lights internally, demanding a bit of grinding. A drive to the restoration shop to media blast the buckets ensured they were ready for fitment.

Meanwhile, I mocked it all up in the Valentino’s header panel, verified clearances, and disassembled everything again. I was excited! Remember—back in 2016, Project Valentino was still nothing more than a few crates of parts and a chassis sitting on a rotisserie. I can still feel the anticipation of the moment after paint when, at long last, Project Valentino’s face could be fully revealed.

When that paint work was done, the restoration shop did their job at little too well. It installed every external trim part—even things I didn’t want yet on there, like the “Lincoln Continental” script above the lights, because a tape stripe must be applied beforehand.

Back to the lights, which brought an even bigger annoyance. The Hellas grew cataracts while sitting in storage. Why this happened is irrelevant at this point, but a quick chat with longtime pal and headlight guru Daniel Stern suggested the glue just off-gassed inside the light. All that murky fog does look kinda spooky and cool against freshly plated chrome, and cleaning it off is far from a priority for a non-functional project car such as this.

Priorities change, though, and that’s what happened in the last few months. I’ve had other lighting issues going on, so I pulled out all four of Project Valentino’s Hellas for a proper clean inside the air-conditioned comfort of my house, awayfrom brutal Houston summer heat.

Alas, what cleaning agent removes off-gassed glue from glass? I tried soapy water first, to no avail. Then I remembered there’s this stuff called “glass cleaner” and perhaps I shouldn’t fear using it within the expensive confines of a German lighting pod. Out came the Windex, which I polished off with a slightly abrasive cloth. All this was far more work than I expected.

At this point, I began to think about the upgraded halogen bulbs I originally installed in the light assembly. Halogen bulbs are still a solid choice in modern times, but headlight technology has progressed significantly since 2016.

Meet the Osram Nightbreaker H4 LED. When installing these bulbs in a Hella, you get an impressively engineered beam that’s legal in many parts of the EU. (I hope that by the time Project Valentino is on the road and running, U.S. federal law will have relaxed to allow aftermarket low-beam LED swaps. Regardless, for the moment, such use is fairly widespread and enforcement is rare.) The construction of these Osrams is stunning, especially when lined up next to a conventional halogen bulb, as the geometries are shockingly similar. The LED chip set is nothing like the junk you find online, and assembling it all in my “kitchen verified” setup shows a beam more like that of a modern luxury car. It’s nothing like a lifted truck with $40 Amazon-specials.

Reassembly wasn’t so straightforward. The restoration shop decided to make its own turn signal gaskets after it became obvious that the correct foamy ones from Ford had disintegrated. (No wonder those lights were so easy to remove!) Luckily there was a 1988 Mercury Cougar at a nearby junkyard that donated the right stuff to Project Valentino.

Adding Sylvania ZEVO turn signal bulbs (another quality product that replicates factory performance with LED advantages) gave the Valentino a proper amber “blush” to its cheeks when the parking lights are illuminated by the headlight switch. And that’s when I realized I was in far deeper than expected: A secondary pull on that switch should activate the low beams, but they failed to respond. I tested for power at the headlight wiring, there was none. Fuses? Yeah, they were fine.

I put this whole issue aside for a moment, because I had a more pressing problem with illumination on one of my regular drivers. I have been neglecting the HID headlights in my 1995 Lincoln Mark VIII. And they were on the verge of dying. Again.

Devoted readers of mine will recall I wrote about a stopgap solution for Lincoln Mark VIIIs back in 2016, seeking replacements for the revolutionary Luminarc HID headlights that once had no peer. New replacements no longer exist, and the aftermarket HID alternatives have horrible geometry and deplorable durability. I was forced use one of these aftermarket setups anyway, though my new plan was to do even better with a solution of my own devising.

Sitting on my workspace just a few inches from Project Valentino’s EU-compliant LEDs were a pair of cheap-ish LED bulbs from a well-regarded Chinese manufacturer, with geometry that claimed to match that of a factory 9005 halogen filament. To verify the LED bulbs came with accurate geometry, I found an original set of Ford/Luminarc HID bulbs from my parts cache. The photo in the slideshow above doesn’t do it justice: the HID light bubble and the LED chip line up perfectly.

However, the factory bulbs are just way too old to work well—one half was dead and the other was at maybe half-capacity.

My goal: Remove my crappy aftermarket HID assembly from the car, find a way to make the new LED bulbs fit on the factory-original HID bulbs’ mounting brackets, and reinstall the original Luminarc assembly with the new LED bulbs. It is the closest thing to the original equipment available for the Mark VIII, and it would offer the safest, best-performing forward lighting.

So I stripped the original HID bulbs down to their mounting surface, trying not to break the glass housing so as not to be exposed to Xenon gas. (I’m currently batting .500 in this regard.) Once the mounting surface and its integral red O-ring were freed with a cutoff wheel, they revealed the geometrically correct mount for the LEDs. It’s a perfect match when you measure with a pair of vernier calipers, but even if I were off by a fraction of a millimeter, this would be better than the garbage I’m currently running.

I yanked out the aftermarket HID kit in the Mark VIII’s eyes, ordered a headlight wiring harness kit from Tony Candela at Auto Electric Supply, and slammed in my homebrew restomod LED kit for the Lincoln Mark VIII. The new LEDs illuminate just as well as the original Ford/Luminarc design from 1995, but that’s not exactly a compliment by today’s standards. The Mark VIII’s tiny reflector headlights aren’t emitting a beam like a modern projector or LED array would, but the cutoff line and hotspot are back to the contemporary era’s definition of cutting edge (as it were).

All is finally right at night with my daily driver. Now I had no excuse but to return to Project Valentino, or so I thought…

See, I haven’t yet told you about the all-original, low mileage, 30th Anniversary Ford Thunderbird in The Mehta Collection. It needed a mild restoration thanks to sitting for too long after something in the fuel system died.

With help from friends, this car went from a 3600-pound doorstop to a sleek coupe with a new fuel system, fresh brakes, and a few new gaskets. It’s quite the beauty now, after receiving a fresh set of reproduction Goodyear Gatorback tires, the last NOS speedometer cluster on the planet, an OEM style exhaust system from Waldron’s Exhaust, and this snazzy license plate frame. (The frame is actually for a 1989+ model, but let’s keep that discrepancy between us.)

I thought these finishing touches meant the Blue Bird was ready to be enjoyed. Well, except for the source of that massive battery drain that I have yet to track down. I could ignore that for a while, just disconnect the battery when I’m not driving it. Right?

Going for a quick celebratory spin in the T-bird, I noticed the courtesy light was illuminated around my left foot. Odd. Why would the courtesy light on with the doors closed? Not too bright, either. Bad ground?

Wait, why is it flickering like a literal flame?

“Oh dear, the fusebox appears to be ablaze,” I definitely said, without profanity.

I cannot tell you how physically and emotionally draining it was to put out the fire and remove that once-pristine interior to address the resulting damage. I felt like I lost a beloved pet, and it took days for me to get my spirits back up. This whole ordeal could spawn a series of articles on its own; after seven hours of delicate surgery spanning the driver’s low-beam headlight to the center of the cabin, I extracted the wiring harness. (Typing that triggers the same stress all over again.)

Luckily, help came my way. My stash of spare parts and friends in the car business run deep. I consulted my Thunderbird Turbo Coupe parts car and snagged its fusebox, after verifying it had the same part number as mine. Then I asked around at a 24 Hours of Lemons race I was judging last November, looking for anything from spiritual support to legit advice. To my absolute delight, one race team had a very nice gentleman named Neil in their ranks.

Neil works for Halls Auto Electric in nearby Conroe, Texas. I expressed my concerns about re-pinning the fuse box by myself, especially with de-pinning tools I couldn’t use. He assured me his outfit does “this all the time,” and after the fact, that makes sense. The end result of their work was fantastic and even affordable. I am very confident the source of the issue is now put to bed; the fire likely originated from tap connectors used to install an aftermarket alarm sometime in the 1990s. I removed one tap connector but apparently didn’t notice the other one … until it was too late.

Now I must force myself to reinstall that beast of a harness and deal with whatever consequences may come from it. At least when I go behind the T-bird’s low beam headlight for a second time I won’t be greeted with a face full of washer fluid that’s old enough to vote.

It feels like I will never get around to Project Valentino. Still, I’m proud to be doing restoration work that terrifies most folks—work that most mechanics will (understandably) decline to tackle. Between saving the Anniversary Thunderbird and reincarnating the Mark VIII’s headlights, this work gives me a level of pride that’s hard to articulate in words.

If not me, then who?

One thing is crystal clear: Every car in The Mehta Collection needs a fire extinguisher. It’s not a small expense, but worth it. After this ordeal, you can trust me on that one. I’d recommend it for any old car.

(A shout-out to eBay’s mrfivepointo. In case you’re reading this, your cache of fire extinguishers went to worthy homes.)

Hopefully, my next installment in the Project Valentino series comes quicker than this last one, and maybe next time, I won’t set a rare Thunderbird aflame. Setbacks are painful but they reinforce my belief that perfection in a restoration is an overrated goal. True DIY perfection is in the process, which comes from embracing flaws and learning things you never anticipated. Perhaps Shakespeare said it best in Sonnet 130:

I have seen roses damasked, red and white,
But no such roses see I in her cheeks;
And in some perfumes is there more delight
Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.

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Domagoj Dukec is not your average car designer. As head of BMW design for nearly five years, he is responsible for some of the most radical BMWs to ever make production. (Radical might be putting a positive spin on some … downright challenging designs.) But even yours truly grudgingly admits the design of the current BMW M3 is well-executed.

Too bad “our” opinions as traditional car enthusiasts and/or BMW loyalists don’t matter to Dukec. In an interview back in 2022, he suggested that someone in his role can’t make everyone happy “because BMW was never about pleasing everyone.” As he sees it, his role “as head of design is to always create something which makes a difference.” Perhaps he has accomplished that?

Automakers always give customers new reasons to trade in their old ride for a new, and there are only so many times you can retread that same tire. That truth is magnified by Dukec’s assertion that the BMW iX is not a “beauty from first sight, but sales are 40 percent over what we estimated.”

Faint praise indeed. Sales and good design do not go hand-in-hand: The Fisker Karma was a beautiful dud, and the Tesla Cybertruck won’t be leaving any time soon. We may never know if sweetheart lease deals at BMW dealers, government EV incentives, or any factor outside the control of a design studio played a part in the sales success of the awkward iX; but I come not to bury Dukec’s designs. Instead let’s consider praise for a brand that flourished, on occasion, with boundary-breaking design. Perhaps we can see if the future can be brighter, as told by Dukec’s Instagram channel.

 

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A post shared by Domagoj Dukec (@domagoj.dukec)

Firstly, a round of applause for an upper-level design manager who isn’t afraid to post such interesting content on a regular basis on social media.

Dukec’s mastery of the medium apparently extends beyond the vellum and 3D designs of a studio, as he can place vehicles like the 1972 BMW turbo, a car with a vision that logically and clearly turned into the 1978 BMW M1, into proper perspective. While later concept cars may not be as directly responsible for icons that made production, it’s clear that BMW likes to use concept cars to bounce ideas off people. And those concepts do play fortuneteller, on occasion.

 

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Then we have the AVT concept from 1981, which flirted with the idea of having brand DNA plastered onto an aerodynamic future of sleek lines and plastic faces.  Too bad this was just a design study made of clay, and its DNA didn’t have a direct impact on future products: BMW didn’t love the concept of aerodynamics nearly as much as Audi, as demonstrated by its 5000 (1982), or even as much as downmarket Ford—see the Sierra (1982). But, again, this isn’t under the control of a design team: Multiple departments within a corporation, concerns along a supply chain, restrictions at the retailing level, and governmental regulations all take their toll on a designer’s initial vision of a vehicle.

I bet there are multiple reasons why even the much beloved BMW E30 took so long (1989) to receive the sleek, aerodynamic plastic bumpers its German, American, and Japanese competitors had received years before. Sleekness to the extreme is great, but maybe the AVT concept isn’t the best example of a BMW that shows us our future.

 

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A post shared by Domagoj Dukec (@domagoj.dukec)

Now we’re cookin’ with gas! The 1989 E1 Spider is a design study that clearly foretold a future with long-nosed BMW 8 Series (E31) and the rounded yet taut surface tension found on the hood of an E39 BMW 5 Series. Sure, it lacks things like a roof and wheels, but the silhouette is clean, elegant, and minimalist in its expressive contouring. It’s not unlike BMW products since the first E36 3 Series of 1990 to the last E46 3 Series in 2005: That’s a good tie-in for any concept car … even if it looks like a speed boat, not a car.

 

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These early renderings of the 1996 BMW Z3 show a decadent sports car with the classic long hood/short deck proportioning of a vehicle from the era of British sports cars, Italian touring cars, and American land yachts. It’s pretty amazing to see the production Z3 look so true to the concept, as BMW clearly spent a lot of cash to re-work the E36 platform into something worthy of a classic sports car. While it didn’t have to put in all that effort for such a long hood (BMW’s historical proportioning rarely chooses style over snub-nosed functionality), thank goodness it did just that.

 

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Even the Chris Bangle days of BMW design, an era generally reviled by purists, had concepts that were clear winners. The Z9 Gran Turismo influenced the 2003 BMW 6 Series (E63) right down to the elongated grilles and a Kammback rear that turned into one of the prettiest implementations of Chris Bangle’s infamous Bangle Butt.

 

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A post shared by Domagoj Dukec (@domagoj.dukec)

Now here’s one we haven’t seen before: The I16 a concept that was apparently ready for production, and Dukec suggests it was intended to be the successor to the hybrid BMW i8 supercar. It reportedly used the i8’s underpinnings to speed up production, and Dukec suggests “you will find a few cues” of the i8. He’s right, as I spy the i8’s long hood and scooped C-pillar right off the bat.

BMW wisely left the I16 as a concept, as a restyled i8 isn’t what the market needs at this point. It needs something radical under the skin, on par with the Tesla Plaid or the 1111-horsepower Lucid Air. If the I16 had reached the world as yet another hybrid, it would have become a showroom paperweight just like its predecessor.

 

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Now we get our fortune told by someone who knows our future better than we do. The BMW Neue Klasse (New Class) Concept may be little more than a dream car at this point, but even the name harkens back to an inflection point in the company’s history.

The tapered, fade-away front fascia and ample greenhouse are pure Neue Klasse BMW from 1962. The door glass’ lowered DLO would look wonderful in a production BMW sedan. There’s a tall rear deck as per modern cargo and aerodynamic needs, but all the hallmarks of a modern BMW (aggressive kidney grilles, radical lights, aggressive body side surfaces) are so darn logical it would be an absolute tragedy if this weren’t a lightly disguised production car.

Don’t take my word for it: Have a look at more photos of the Neue Klasse sedan and arrive at your own conclusion. The “New” Neue Klasse concept might be Dukec’s best work yet. It illustrates his need to break from BMW’s staid styling norms—but in a way that more enthusiasts can appreciate. Add in the fact that this concept is intended to have an EV powertrain, and Dukec is clearly giving new generations of motorists ample reason to fall in love with the BMW spinning commutator propeller brand.  So maybe Dukec was wrong when he said:

I can’t, and I don’t want to please everyone, because BMW was never about pleasing everyone. Actually, my duty as head of design is to always create something which makes a difference.

You will absolutely please everyone if this Neue Klasse makes production at the price of a Tesla Model 3, but with BMW build quality and its rock-solid dealership network. The market is constantly evolving, and a conservative German brand can’t stick to its enthusiast ethos forever. But you need not veer too far in the other direction to appeal to radicals and loyalists alike. And that’s quite a wonderful thing to behold.

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Everyone here at Hagerty Media is thrilled to see how you, readers, take our questions and run with them. Last week’s question—what automotive trends do you miss?—was answered with a nice array of elements from our automotive past. We know there are long-lost trends that we thought would never die off, and stepping back to see how life has changed because of them can be revealing.

We may never know why a trend must die, but these automotive trends are at least not forgotten. So let’s see what everyone came up with.

Luxury Does Not Equal Technology

@TingeofGinge: Luxury, implying high-build quality and not just electric or “smart” toys in your car.

CB Radios

The Hagerty Community really ran with my suggestion of the Citizens Band radio:

@70AMXguy: Bought a pristine ’82 AMC Eagle with factory CB/trailer pack from a retired couple. Saved me countless hours on HWY 401 in Toronto. Learned a few “choice” words from the trucker guys in English AND French … good days.

@DUB6: I started driving semi-trucks in the late ’60s and really put on the miles in the ’70s, right when the CB phase was at its peak (along with cowboy boots) in trucking. And sure, when we piled into the family car to make a trip in those days, the CB came out of the rig and went right along with us. Each of my kids got handles and each took turns calling out to find out where the Smokeys were up ahead. Great fun.

In my trucking life, the CB was as important as having an empty bottle on board (TMI?), and it saved me more than once. I suppose that most of the truckers today are just using their cell phones for a lot of what we relied on our CBs to do. Auto drivers, too. But honestly, I would still consider digging out the ol’ Cobra 29 and sparking it up if I were driving across the country again!

@Dan: Ten years ago I bought a used truck that had a CB in it. I made a cross-country trip in it and the CB came in very handy. The interstate was shut down from a bad accident one night and a trucker who happened to be a local guy came on his CB and said, “I know a way around this if anybody wants to follow me.” A bunch of us did and it probably saved us a two- or three-hour wait. I didn’t have a handle but I was towing my 1966 Charger on a trailer and they just named me Charger Guy. It stuck all the way across the USA from San Fran to Cincinnati.

Turn Signals

@WRLotus: To be only mildly sarcastic, one trend that I would like to see come back is turn signals.

@Sajeev Mehta: You bring up a good point, because Tesla deleted the turn-signal stalk from its mass-market Model 3 sedan. I actually didn’t mind the buttons on a short test drive at city speeds, but the arrangement feels odd and I would hit the wrong button if I was concentrating on something else on the freeway.

Vent/Wing/Smoker’s Windows

@JohnG: The door vent windows and floor foot vents like in my parentss 1977 Chevy C-10 truck. Pull them open at 55 mph and all the dirt on the floor flies all over and in your eyes.

@DUB6: Wing windows, baby! Open that door vent window at speed, and you better be prepared or there goes the paper map on the dash, along with any drive-thru napkins you put there, and maybe even that pair of “cheap sunglasses” (nod to ZZ Top here)—whoosh. Been there—done that!

@NovaResource: I’m sure the loss of vent windows has to do with aerodynamics but I agree with you. I’d love to see them make a comeback.

@Sajeev Mehta: I heard the loss of vent windows was due to the proliferation of air conditioning in every car. Kinda makes sense, as they started disappearing around the time everything could be ordered with A/C . Also, don’t door-swap your project car to reinstate vent windows: That was absolutely not worth the effort. Or maybe it was, and I just can’t enjoy the benefit yet.

Analog Vehicles

@TG: Completely analog vehicles. Even though I swore I wouldn’t, I just went up to #6 … a 1972 Ford F-350. This thing is as analog as it gets, without a microchip or transistor to be found with the exception of the aftermarket radio. It performs all the same basic functions as a modern truck, and the only 1s ands 0s going on might be the turn signal flasher

@Tom: TG, your turn signal relay is a bimetallic strip–type deal. Purely thermal/mechanical! (Zing! —SM) 

@TJRL: Real buttons, analog gauges, and radios separate from sat-nav screens! My passengers used to be able to set the radio or sat-nav whilst I reversed out of the driveway. Now we only get a single “infotainment” interface, so the reversing camera stops anything else being done. Worst, if a passenger changes the radio station the sat-nav screen I was using disappears!

@Trekker: I miss the simplicity of older cars before the advent of everything “computerized.” Their mechanical feel, sounds, and smells, analog gauges, engine bays where you could actually see the engine and work on it without a digital reader or sensors, unique designs that clearly separated makes from each other, and simple things like vent windows and roll-down windows that don’t require a motor and switch that ultimately goes bad, and costs hundreds/thousands to replace/repair. Finally, I miss having the tactile feel of actual switches/knobs for A/C, temp, fan, radio, etc. Touchscreens are a distraction that requires the driver to take his eyes off the road to find the right “spot” on the screen.

@Ryknot: Analog gauges. Am I the only guy out there who has no interest in driving a computer? I detest the gauges of today; of course I can’t afford to drive one anyway, but still.

The Devaluation of Child Safety?

@Chris: Yes, I know safety is a factor in the change, but where I live kids these days are not supposed to sit in front seats until they are 13. Some of my fondest childhood memories in the ’70s were sitting “shotgun” while driving with my dad. Just side-by-side chatting, operating the radio or eight-track (!), or rooting around in the glove compartment. I felt like less of a passenger than a “co-pilot.” Not recommended, but I even recall being really small and sitting on the armrest between Mom and Dad during road trips in our big Chrysler Newport!

@NovaResource: It’s surprising that I’m alive. I was brought home from the hospital as a newborn in the front seat on my mother’s lap in a 1966 GTO. No car seat or seat belt.

Maybe you might think I was a bad parent but I let my kids sit in the front seat when they were under 13. I just made sure they had on a seatbelt and the seat was as far back as it could go to keep them far away from the airbag if it ever did deploy. I find adults sitting so close to the steering wheel are far more at danger from an airbag than children far from it.

@TG: My aunt used to sit me in her lap and let me steer.

Actual Colors

@Steve: Colors. Try to buy any new vehicle that isn’t blue, silver, red, black, or white. Yes, exceptions are out there but for the most part the new-vehicle color palette is very monochrome.

@DUB6: When I was driving long-haul for a big company, they at first had a really distinctive paint job, using the company colors. I used to get hailed on the CB by company name from great distances as other truckers and even regular car drivers knew our “colors.” Then, the manufacturers started making all-white trucks significantly cheaper, so we converted—and blended into the traffic so no one knew who we were. Lots of free advertising out the window, IMO. I still have pictures of some of those “company colors” trucks, but I don’t know of anyone who took or saved a photo of one of those plain white ones.

Bench Seating

@William: I miss bench seats for front-seat passengers. With those, you had more legroom up front—especially since you didn’t have a console taking up space between the two seats. The car felt more spacious, and, most importantly, you could get in on the passenger side and slide across to the driver’s seat if you needed to.

@Dennis: Bench seats, so my dog can sit next to me instead of the shift handle, which on my EV could be a toggle switch.

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Donald Lewis Carriere (1929–2016) was a research engineer with many patents to his credit, and his 40-year tenure at Ford likely involved many vehicles we know and admire. We’ll come to his patent for a unique powertrain with T-shaped layout in a moment, but first a quick bit about the man himself. Any person who comes up with a patentable idea is clearly worth a closer look, especially when that idea that could have made production in an automobile.

Details of Carriere’s life outside of his patents are sparse, but he earned a doctorate from Wayne State University in Detroit and visited his alma mater on a regular basis to discuss not automobile engineering but alcoholism. Those talks became a book, currently out of print, probably because some automotive journalist bought the last copy. To wit, the book is remarkably informative but engineering-grade dry, with no personal anecdotes or color commentary. Yet Carriere’s vigor in fighting alcoholism makes one thing clear: His personality is both analytical and passionate.

Some people say, “I’m ashamed to go to the doctor.” My response to that is, “What the hell is there to be ashamed about when you’re fighting for your life? You’re in a death situation here. Its hardly rational to be ashamed when you’re fighting for your life.”

I suspect Carriere understood that human behavior is often irrational, and I wouldn’t be surprised if his engineering passions were sometimes mistaken for irrationality. How else could he patent an automotive powertrain with an inline engine arranged in a “T” with its transmission, instead of in a straight line?

Perhaps you first heard about Ford’s T-Drive from a blurb in Car and Driver back in the late ’80s. Or maybe you saw it floating around in the early days of auto blogging. But now we have access to Carriere’s 1991 patent submission, thanks to Google Patents. Here we see an inline-eight engine, mounted transversely, and a “gearing mechanism” that forms a “cross-axis configuration” in relation to the engine’s crankshaft. The transmission even has a straight-line output for a rear axle, giving Ford the space-efficient option for an all-wheel-drive system. Or rear-wheel drive exclusively. Or only front-wheel drive. Perhaps Ford was making modular moves before a certain 4.6-liter V-8 got that name?

This powertrain lived beyond the realm of patents and vaporware dreams. Roughly three years before Carriere’s patent filing, Ford stuffed T-Drive prototypes into a pair of Ford T’s: the Tempo and a Fox-body Thunderbird. Judging by their utterly convenient positioning in these photographs, it’s likely that both cars were trotted out for the media to photograph, hoods open, with T-Drive technology exposed for all to see.

That could have been the end of the story, but Ford wisely implemented T-Drive for the ritzy concept car scene. A radical powertain setup is indeed a good reason for a wildly styled concept car aimed at the heartstrings of auto show visitors and media wonks alike.

The 1991 Ford Contour concept’s unique proportioning only hinted at the revolutionary bits under the hood, but it’s okay to hide Carriere’s masterpiece with a body that’s this well surfaced. Radical HID headlights mounted atop a front end cribbed from a Phantom Corsair show how T-Drive allows for a tight, narrow, bullet-nosed enclosure. As we move back, these lines foreshadowed the painfully radical 1996 Ford Taurus. But the sound of a straight-eight engine musta been impressive, possibly justifying the ovoid Taurus SHO’s V-8 engine when it made production.

Perhaps connecting the V-8 SHO to T-Drive’s eight-pot engine is a stretch, but the Contour’s wide-open spaces were certainly a precursor to cab forward design. As Ford design vice president Jack Telnack said, T-Drive “shortens the engine compartment by 4 to 12 inches compared to V-6 and V-8 installations in small to large cars.”

To prove that point, the Contour has a shockingly beautiful, extruded aluminum space frame jointly made by Reynolds Aluminum and Ford’s Advanced Manufacturing teams. That frame has both style and substance, as it hugs the T-Drive’s east/west orientation like no off-the-shelf platform could. Ford states the Contour places “the transmission rearward on the vehicle centerline for improved weight distribution and overall package efficiency,” and the “fore and aft dimensions are just one cylinder wide, improving safety characteristics and providing more interior space.”

Enter the Ford Contour’s alter ego as a people mover, the Mercury Mystique concept, which clearly wasn’t the badge-engineered disappointment that made production just four years later.  This multi-purpose vehicle uses the same aluminum frame and eight-cylinder T-Drive, but Ford insisted that “manufacturing flexibility permits engines of four, five, six or eight cylinders.” This is ideal for a space-efficient MPV body as it allows “the capability of using high-displacement engines without increasing vehicle size.”

Ford clearly worked hard to squeeze the most juice out of T-Drive’s unique value proposition, but the 1990 Mercury Cyclone sedan was a prelude to concept car greatness. There’s very little information about the Cyclone, but its press release does mention there is “sufficient space to package a large eight-cylinder engine.” That’s hard to accomplish in a nose that short, so odds are this was a T-Drive vehicle before the design had a marketable name.

That’s where the T-Drive story could end, as Ford instead greenlighted the impressive and generally well-regarded Duratec line of four- and six-cylinder engines with dual overhead cams and an utterly conventional drivetrain layout. But there’s much more, thanks to a Ford Tempo race car, the 24 Hours of Lemons race series, and David Eckel and Greg O’Brien of Cheesebolt Enterprises.

Your eyes do not deceive you, as these two guys recreated the original Tempo T-Drive from the grainy photo published in Car and Driver all those years ago. Well not exactly, but they also didn’t have Ford levels of budgeting to throw at the project. It gets the point across, though, so I asked Eckel and O’Brien about their inspiration to make this abomination tribute to a forgotten slice of Ford history.

Turns out their Tempo was initially saved from a South Jersey back yard, sunken in the ground and full of wasps. It received a roll cage and raced on the stock 2.3-liter motor and automatic gearbox for two Lemons races, one of which earned them the coveted Index of Effluency award (for making something really dumb into a legitimate race car).

When the original engine finally blew up, other members of their team were mostly sick of racing the Tempo. So Eckel and O’Brien were at a crossroads: Ford had many superior engines that could fit between a Tempo’s strut towers. But the two enterprising racers couldn’t turn back once T-Drive got in their soul. As Eckel put it:

“While riding a ski lift after a multiple hard cider lunch, I had the bright idea to replicate the Tempo T-Drive by lining up two four-cylinder motorcycle engines. I immediately texted Greg from the slopes to get his input. He loved the absurdity, and he didn’t completely reject the mechanical feasibility of such a thing. The next thing we knew, I had two Suzuki Bandit 1200 motorcycles in my driveway.”

O’Brien also added that T-Drive isn’t the best way to power a Ford Tempo with a motorcycle engine, and they knew “exactly how we would do it, and it would not be this way. But we did T-Drive because we can.”

Aside from the inline-eight-cylinder engine layout and those beautiful exhaust headers, very little of their Tempo resembles Carriere’s work at Ford. Perhaps it’s better if Eckel, in a Ford Engineering costume, gives you the details.

If that sounds complex, getting the T-Drive Tempo running is an absolute ordeal. Both Bandit motorcycle clutches are controlled from the cockpit, via levers on handlebars mounted to the Tempo’s steering column. The handlebars also have the starter buttons for the engines, and Eckel says “a Rube Goldbergian push-pull throttle linkage operates eight carbs using five cables, seven springs, and a bell crank made from the Tempo’s HVAC control levers.”

Making T-Drive work on a homebrew 24 Hours of Lemons budget was not without its pitfalls, as Eckel noted: “Every work session ended with an unsolvable problem that somehow had a possible solution by the next session.” Like the motorcycle engines, which were an impulse buy without measuring first, because Eckel “figured a Tempo engine bay was wide enough.”

Getting the engines low enough to see over them was an issue, mostly because they were retaining the Tempo’s manual transmission. The driver’s side Suzuki engine almost rests atop the Tempo’s bell housing! Then there were the challenges of fabricating the exhaust (which isn’t nearly as beautiful as Ford’s concept cars) and making the input shaft/flywheel/clutch/engine work in harmony. As Eckel said, “doing so required precise machining from a non-healthcare professional.”

O’Brien added that the end result was worth it, because “once we sorted it all out, the T-Drive system was surprisingly robust. We had way more problems with the engines being tired, as one has 45,000 miles and the other had 100,000.” That’s an important item to consider when participating in an endurance race, as O’Brien says T-Drive can “accelerate briskly” with a fully independent suspension that makes for a “decent handling car for what it is.” Indeed, the little white Tempo passed faster cars in the straights, and lit up the inside front tire when exiting corners. Having spent some time inside this vehicle myself, I believe O’Brien does a great job explaining how T-Drive feels when behind the wheel:

“It’s overstimulating. High-pitched noises. Bangs. General vibration is always there, but at constantly changing frequencies. Everything is rigidly mounted, unbalanced, and spinning faster than ‘engineering theoretical max rpm’. We were scared to death of it in early 2023, but now it’s just a fun novelty car. I’m not sure it’s a good thing that this is now normal for us.”

Since these two know more about implementing T-Drive than anyone outside of Donald Carriere’s circle of influence, I asked if T-Drive should have made production. Eckel was adamantly against it, “No. I like Fords: T-Drive would have bankrupted them with warranty claims.” O’Brien was a bit more optimistic, saying “Not under Ford. They were out of their element with this design. I doubt the Ford customer base would have been willing to pay a premium for T-Drive. It could have been an interesting challenge to Saab, Volvo, etc., or maybe it could be the second act that Merkur so desperately needed?”

I asked how their friends and family feel about a T-Drive Ford Tempo race car. Phrases like “universal incredulity” and “genuine concern for our mental health” came from the racing duo.

Eckel’s son is a mechanical engineering student at Northeastern University, and his classmates assured him his father’s mad scientist plan could never work. Claiming victory over an imminent defeat is one thing, but O’Brien correctly states that the Tempo is “such a car-geek inside joke that not many people get it.”

“It managed to outlast nearly half the field, and it actually worked. The whole crazy idea worked.” — Eric Rood, The 24 Hours of Lemons

Now that the T-Drive Tempo finished a Lemons race and earned its second Index of Effluency award, O’Brien says that people still think it’s insane but “it’s now accompanied by a mischievous grin, not a furrowed brow.” I think their flair for presentation (see the video above at the 14:28 mark) doesn’t hurt their chances at acceptance, either.

David Eckel and Greg O’Brien aren’t done yet, as their Tempo’s durability and Ford’s intentions to make T-Drive in front-, rear-, or all-wheel-drive configurations have them pondering the next version: T-Drive 2.0.

Anyone remember the all-wheel-drive Tempo? You never know where such a Ford Tempo might take us in the future, but it’s a safe bet that Donald Carriere and any other Ford employee who worked on the T-Drive program would be blown away by these two Tempo fans. And for that, I thank them immensely for their contribution to an otherwise forgotten moment in automotive history.

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TG writes:

I like this column and I’ve been racking my brain for a good question. I finally have one. (I could always use more like this, so everyone please email me questions at pistonslap@hagerty.com – SM).

There is a lot of internet lore out there that you can assemble an entire car from scratch from mail-order parts. I believe this has actually been done for a ’69 Camaro, and this may be true for a handful of specific model years for a handful of specific model—but generally it isn’t the case, particularly for body panels.

I have a ’65 Impala SS, of which there were 200K built. If you go more general to just a ’65 Impala, the number is 800K built. As I worked through my body woes, my mind was blown on exactly how many rusted body sections that my car had which are completely unobtainable. I ended up firing up the ol’ MIG and pushing through it one little piece of metal at a time, but what are the options for custom-fab body parts? Think trunk seal gutters, window frames, etc.

So who out there has gone this route, and what generally does it cost?

Sajeev answers:

See the photo above? Those 1967 Mustang fastback bodies are part of a plan to recreate the iconic Pony Car for modern times. And they only need an owner to provide a VIN from a 1967 Mustang to make it road legal. The company behind it is Relic Restorations, but I’m not here to promote them.

No really, I only mention them because their owner works firsthand with every type of restoration vendor in this space. For simplicity’s sake, let’s put them into three buckets. You’re gonna dip into one of these buckets if “firing up the ol’ MIG,” as TG suggested, is not a choice.

Bucket #1, traditional vendors: These are the names you’d commonly find at a SEMA show, and they regularly get media coverage by the hot-rodding side of automotive journalism. While their products may never apply to a “not Camaro/Corvette” Chevy like TG’s Impala, sometimes buying reproduction sheet metal from a place like Dynacorn is your best bet, as it already has some of the correct bends, holes, and shapes for your project because of platform interchangeability.

This was absolutely the case for my Fox chassis based Project Valentino, as rust underneath the battery tray was cheaper to fix when I handed aftermarket patch panels for Fox Mustangs to Relic Restorations’ metalsmiths. The quality was decent, the price was right, and it saved me a lot of labor cost in the process. A big win all around.

Bucket #2, factory direct suppliers: You really got to have your act together and your wallet open if you want do a short run of any reproduction part. You can’t make just one part, so organizing a group buy with fans of your vehicle is ideal. While I don’t have any specific prices, they would be irrelevant anyway as commodity prices, labor rates, shipping costs, etc. change quite regularly. Just know that it will be exponentially higher than buying something off the shelf and metalsmithing it to fit.

You will likely hire a specialist contractor that can work with factories in China/Taiwan on your behalf to get a batch order of parts designed, manufactured, and shipped to you. Which still requires you to create a digital version of whatever you want to make. That work isn’t necessarily easy at the quality levels required for a factory to utilize for production, so an experienced professional might be needed. But don’t take my word for it, as we discussed this previously with new engines made for Ford’s Model A.

Even if you can find a suitable manufacturer in the USA, the same steps will likely apply. After discussing the finer points of this with a former boss/friend with experience in managing contracts like this, I’d consider this option a last resort for most folks. Though it could be a great idea for someone replicating parts for modern classics with a potential upside in future restorations; Tesla Model S and X restoration parts anyone?

Bucket #3, 3D printing: This is the most likely avenue for reproduction parts for low-volume restorations like the aforementioned ’65 Impala SS. If a part cannot be found by any other means, perhaps the pieces on your project car can be scanned into a digital image and printed into a 3D hunk of plastic. Since we are still talking about sheet metal for an Impala, the printed product can be used as a die for reproductions.

Once you have a plastic die, it can be replicated in metal, which can make the sheet metal bits by anyone with a large enough press. Well, in theory, as that’s usually a big ask for someone owning a press. And this is still cost prohibitive, thanks to the equipment and talent required to make a 3D rendering. Perhaps fiverr or a “makerspace near me” search can break down some barriers, or this is the time to learn to 3D print in your own home.

What’s my advice? Don’t bother restoring a car like Project Valentino or any non Muscle/Pony/Sports car with a large following. Buy the project-worthy Mustang, Corvette, etc. and enjoy the fruits of someone else’s labor for a classic car restoration that everyone can appreciate.

If you can’t follow my advice, welcome to the club. We feel your pain and we are always looking for qualified fabricators to fix our rusty junk. The good ones never come cheap, and that might be reason enough to learn to fabricate in your spare time.

Have a question you’d like answered on Piston Slap? Send your queries to pistonslap@hagerty.com—give us as much detail as possible so we can help! Keep in mind this is a weekly column, so if you need an expedited answer, please tell me in your email.

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Quadrifoglio, the Italian word that means “four-leaf clover,” has been the top performance trim level for Alfa Romeo products for decades. In recent times the Quadrifoglio spec Giulia sedan and Stelvio crossover have thrived, thanks in part to a 2.9-liter twin turbocharged V-6 with an impressive 505 horsepower. But things are changing, as the 2024 model year will be the last for Quadrifoglio vehicles with pure combustion engine propulsion.

In a LinkedIn post, Senior VP and Head of Alfa Romeo/Fiat North America Larry Dominique announced a final opportunity to own the boosted V-6 Alfas, saying this chapter officially closes “to North America at the end of April 2024” and the final examples will be built no later than June 2024. After that, Dominique is optimistic about the Quadrifoglio trim level, as Alfa Romeo is involved in a “metamorphosis to an electrified future.”

This leads us to believe that the Bi-Turbo V-6’s replacement will have similar power and performance specs, but utilize a hybrid powertrain like the new Alfa Romeo Tonale crossover utility. While performance hybrids generally promise more power and significantly better efficiency, Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares provides further insight into the Quadrifoglio’s change in propulsion.

The former CEO of PSA Group (formerly Peugeot) who spearheaded its merger with FCA (Fiat Chrysler Automobiles) has made it clear he’s not in the business of buying regulatory credits to comply with government-mandated emissions standards.  Tavares was quoted by Automotive News as saying, “It’s not even a topic of discussion, we don’t buy credits, we’re not buying credits, we’re not going to do that.”

Between the demise of the Hemi V-8 and news of reprioritized goals of the 2025 Alfa Romeo Quadrifoglios, Stellantis looks to change the old way of doing things. If the Hemi’s successor is any indication, there’s a strong likelihood of impressive power output in the process. The only question that remains is how much fun the hybridized Quadrifoglios will provide next year, and if they are truly worthy of the four-leaf clover designation.

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Perhaps because we identify with songwriters as storytellers ourselves, the staff at Hagerty Media has an affinity for songs that tell a compelling, deep, and complex tale. That’s not easy to do, and it’s tough for a track like that to be a popular success. But that’s precisely what Fast Car, Tracy Chapman’s smash hit from 1988, accomplished.

Too bad car enthusiasts were always left with a singular question, one that the official music video never answered. Aside from a worn-out tire (?) at the end, the music video tells us nothing about the car that saved her from the past. If the car condemned her to a less-than-desirable future, it can’t exactly be that heroic of a vehicle … or could it?

Combined with the renewed interest in Fast Car thanks to Luke Combs, asking the Hagerty Media staff about their best guesses was only natural. (I’d like to thank Hagerty contributor Brendan McAleer for posing this question.)

Here are our answers, and we’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!

Beat-up Tri-Five Chevy

Since this story is about escaping a small town, and it was written in the late ’80s, I assume the “fast car” is a rough hot rod that a young guy could afford given his disadvantaged circumstances. A beat-to-hell, two-door-post Tri-Five Chevy always fit the bill for me, as the owner could get one for almost nothing out of a farmer’s yard, then work a menial job to earn enough to yank a hot small-block from a junked first-gen Camaro.

This fast car would be akin to the 1955 Chevy in Two-Lane Blacktop but owned by someone who had no interest in making a sleeper that could go drag racing. — Sajeev Mehta

’78 Camaro Z-28

I see a beat-up ’78 Camaro Z-28 pulling up to the 7-11 and picking Tracy up after her second shift. The passenger handle creaks when she pulls at it, and the long F-body door rattles shut behind her once she’s in. Flowmaster mufflers (and a bit of exhaust leak) sound off, and the car roars away into the dark, even though it’s got nowhere to go. The cinematic view of this song was always clear as day in my head. “Fast Car” and Bruce’s “Racing in the Street” were the musical representations of car-as-escape for me. — Eddy Eckart

Datsun 280ZX

I think it’s a Datsun 280ZX with an automatic, and it was just a used car her comrade bought for $800 off some corner lot in Cleveland. Even though time marches on in the song, and Chapman’s friend essentially turns into her drunkard father, I don’t think the car changes. I think it’s just older and crappier but still considered fast because that’s how she remembers it, and now it only looks fast. — Stefan Lombard

Turbo Buick

Let’s see … late 1980s? In my mind it’s a Ferrari Testarossa. But she doesn’t seem like a Ferrari person. For the type of music and the era, I feel like it has to be American—but not a Corvette. Corvette covers a different genre of music at the time. So I think I’m gonna have to go with a Buick GNX or Grand National. — Ben Woodworth

Third-gen F-body with T-tops

When the song was released in 1988, I figured a V-8 Chevrolet Camaro or Pontiac Firebird. Gotta be. Preferably with (leaky) T-tops, which first appeared in Camaros in 1978, in the Firebird a couple of years before that. — Steven Cole Smith

Lotus Esprit?

With a last name like Chapman, I’m guessing she was singing about a Lotus. But which one? The song was recorded in 1987. That was the final year of the Giugiaro-styled Esprit … so … Esprit, final answer. — Cameron Neveu

1982–85 Honda Accord

I’ll take this a different route … There’s an undertone of optimism throughout that entire song; Chapman is talking about what the subject’s life will look like in the future, right? “I know things will get better … You’ll find work and I’ll get promoted … ”

Let’s say that optimism stretches to the car, and remember that the starting context for the song’s subject probably isn’t that great. There’s probably a shortage of money, so I don’t think the car in question is anything super fancy, more like something to just scrape by. I picture a second-generation Honda Accord, probably a pretty beat-up one. But it’s a car, and the upside of having it is that the subject and his/her lover can use it to make their lives better in the coming days. — Nathan Petroelje

Drop-top Caddy with a bench

I always assumed “fast car” was more metaphorical. Like, just a car that would take them away quickly from their (her) bad situation. (Drunken dad and whatnot.) The people described in the song are not wealthy, likely barely scraping by. Working at a convenience store, getting a job as a waitress, etc. My mind always conjured an old drop-top Cadillac. Probably mid-’70s. Rusty, worn, but capable to take them away from it all. Top down, city lights whizzing by.

Also, it has to be a bench seat up front for the “arms wrapped around my shoulder” scenario to work right. Hard to do while driving in bucket seats with a center console. — Todd Kraemer

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It is getting quite difficult to find a car from the “Rad Era” for an entry-level price these days. The generations that enjoyed these cars when new—as well as a younger audience who might have experienced them on the used market—are recognizing their true worth as relevant historical tributes to a decade known for decadence.

It’s not just Lamborghinis and pre-merger AMGs that are getting the attention, either. Demographic changes and an increasingly globalized 1980s automotive marketplace spoiled “young urban professionals” for choice: cars ranging from a 1982 Ford EXP two-seater to an E32 BMW 7 Series luxury sedan each had their own enthusiast audience then, and they do once again today.

As a result, the list of ’80s cars that are in good shape and can be had for $5000 or less is a pretty short one. We dug into the Hagerty Price Guide for cars in #3 condition (a very clean, driver-quality example that runs well) that met our pricing and age criteria, and here’s what we found.

1984–2000 Jeep Cherokee 2.5-liter (XJ)

Some may forget that the AMC-derived, 2.5-liter four-cylinder motor in the Jeep Cherokee lasted so long, but you could indeed get this entry-level mill up until the 2000 model year. It even had a cool name by that point: “Power Tech,” though, given its 125 horsepower and 150 lb-ft of torque, the phrase risks overselling. (The next and final year of the Cherokee was exclusively powered by the 4.0-liter inline-six.) And when you opt for the big four in your Cherokee, you get the perk of owning a 2020 Bull Market pick, but with a more approachable transaction price.

That’s not to say all four-cylinder Cherokees sell below our promised ceiling of $5K. For the 1989 model year, a two-door, two-wheel-drive example averages at $4900; a four-door example goes up to $5000. Add the 4×4 option and prices for both four-cylinder Jeeps jump to $6600. In fact, the cheapest 4×4 is the 1984–85 base model with a one-barrel carburetor, and it will set you back an average of $5800. Interested in the rarer, turbodiesel four-pot Cherokee? Those go for a far steeper $8200.

1988 Buick Reatta

It is a shame that such a compelling and uniquely styled touring coupe made this list, but the Buick Reatta had a difficult time finding its place in the market. That isn’t likely to be the case for much longer, as only the first year of Reatta production (1988) can be purchased for $4800. This is up 4.3 percent, while 1988 Reattas in #1 condition are up 10 percent to a robust $22,700.

1980–83 Continental Mark VI

Unlike the 1980–89 Lincoln Town Car, which is experiencing a resurgence, the sistership Continental Mark VI can still be purchased for under five grand. The iconic Mark Series was downsized, contemporized, and computerized in the tail end of the Malaise Era, and being early in on that technology hasn’t earned valuations worthy of later Lincolns or earlier Continentals.

The more desirable Mark VI coupe can be had for $4500 in #3 condition, while the more staid sedan rings up for an even more modest $3500. It’s ironic that Continental Mark VIs originally sold for more than their Lincoln Town Car siblings, but the broader appeal and higher production volume of the Townie ensured a comfortable advantage in the classic car market.

1982–88 Cadillac Cimarron

While it takes some serious mental gymnastics to think GM’s J-body would make a car worthy of the Wreath and Crest, the last few years of Cadillac Cimarron production actually made for a decent car. By 1985, GM’s 2.8-liter V-6 had 130 horsepower. A five-speed manual transmission was available, and the front end looked far more like that of a baby ‘Lac and not a tarted-up Cavalier.

Too bad about that, because it wasn’t enough to save the Cimarron. And a mere $2500 in 2024 dollars is needed to buy a #3 condition example, with any powertrain configuration. A shame, because modern motoring could be fun in a 1988 Cimarron with a five-speed and those rad digital gauges, far less so in a 1982 model with its 88 carbureted horses and its less distinctive styling touches.

1982–85 Pontiac Firebird

How can a third-generation F-body go for this cheap? That’s a fair question, as only the older examples without the Trans Am trim level can be had for less than five grand.

You will need exactly $5000 to buy a 1985 Firebird with a 165-horse 5.0-liter V-8 with a four-barrel carburetor, but a 1985 Trans Am is nearly triple the price ($13,800) with the same engine. Considering the long-term appeal of Firebirds in general, the 1985 Firebird V-8 might be one of the best bargains currently on the market.

1984–88 Pontiac Fiero 2M4

The addition of “2M4” to the title is crucial here, as it stands for “two-seat, mid-engine, four-cylinder.” We aren’t talking about the 2.8-liter, six-pot Pontiacs, just the Iron Duke examples that are currently at $4100 in #3 condition. The smaller engines clearly lacked the performance of those in later models, hotter commodities that include the 1988 Fiero V-6 Formula ($7700), and the 1988 Fiero GT ($12,300).

Consider the Iron Duke Fieros as easily approachable fun from the Rad Era, with style that’s hard to beat at any price. And whenever the lack of power becomes impossible to ignore, give V8 Archie a ring to make those pricey V-6 Fieros nothing but a speck in your rearview mirror.

1985–88 Cadillac Sedan DeVille

Much like the aforementioned Cimarron, values for the baby DeVilles do not reflect their regular updates and powertrain improvements. Numerous internal upgrades were done to the worrisome HT4100 V-8 engine in 1986, and the increase in displacement (from 4.1 to 4.5 liters) made the 1988 DeVille a rather fantastic luxury vehicle with wonderfully tidy proportions. But none of this seems to matter, as all 1985–88 Cadillac DeVilles go for an average of $3500 (up nine percent last quarter), no matter the quality of the engine.

And what of the Coupe DeVille from the same time frame? Those two-door Caddies are above our threshold, running a $5400 asking price (up 10.2 percent) in today’s market.

1985–91 Subaru XT

Perhaps we saved the best for last, as the Subaru that tried to be normal is such an eye-catching example of 1980s excess. How exactly has the most aerodynamic car not achieved the return on investment seen by cars like the Mazda RX-7 (FC) and Nissan 300ZX (Z31)?

We may never know, but it likely has something to do with Subaru’s more workaday front-wheel-drive architecture (though AWD was optional) and more limited reach thanks to lower production (around 98,000 units globally, less than 30 percent of FC RX-7 production), and a relatively small dealer network in this era. The end result is that a Subaru XT in the high-spec “GL 10 Turbo” trim level only fetches $4700 in modern times. And that’s a bit of a shame, as the looks alone should push it above the $5000 mark.

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Perhaps that title is on the dramatic side, because the 2004 Lincoln Mark X concept car is unlikely to lose another battle after it already lost the war. It never became a production car, was never subjected to the rigors production entails, so going up for auction at Mecum Glendale is a relative cakewalk in comparison. The buying pool for 20-year-old concept cars is unlikely to pull the plug on this veteran after purchasing it, and surely the concept of double jeopardy also applies to concept cars?

We shall see where the bidding on the Mark X (pronounced Mark Ten) ends, because owning a vehicle with a bevy of unique parts that never made production will always scare people away. But one lucky winner will enjoy a stunning slice of luxury car history—one that’s also the tale of a tragic hero.

I dug deeper into the Mark X’s connection to the troubled, eleventh-generation Ford Thunderbird for a Hagerty Insider story, so I’ll be brief: The Mark X could have been made alongside the Thunderbird and Lincoln LS at the Wixom Assembly Plant, as part of a last-ditch effort to find more buyers and amortize costs associated with Ford’s struggling DEW98 platform. That wasn’t in the cards, however, as the Mark X was birthed right before Ford announced plans to close multiple plants and lay off tens of thousands of workers.

But the Mark X was precisely what the faltering Lincoln brand needed in a halo car. The retractable hardtop and 1963 Continental–inspired egg-crate grille would bring excitement to the brand in the same way the folding-droptop genre was benefitting the likes of Mercedes, Cadillac, Lexus, BMW, and Infiniti during that time.

But this concept car was more than a Thunderbird with a Continental grille. The chrome strip running across the Mark X’s belt line is a nice throwback to yesteryear’s slab-sided Lincolns. Or. as the press release said, “The Mark X concept is designed to demonstrate the potential of the Lincoln brand by stretching its DNA to a sophisticated roadster.”

While it’s clear Lincoln wasn’t going to change the Thunderbird’s hard points at crucial junctures—things like like the cowl, the doors, and its elongated rear deck—the overall look still screamed Lincoln DNA. It’s a shame the Mark X didn’t come to fruition, both for Lincoln’s loyal followers and the brand’s shrinking market share.

The Mark X’s interior was a concept car dream that looked close to production, as sharing bits with the Thunderbird meant you could do a fair amount of implementation behind the scenes and nobody would be the wiser. But the “lime sorbet” leather interior paired with Corian accents was likely never in the cards, the latter being the preferred finish for high-end kitchens, not cars. (This was before everyone demanded granite countertops in their McMansions).

Having lived in a house that had Corian added in a kitchen renovation, let me suggest that it is a bold interior material choice for an automobile. Corian is heavy and not exactly malleable, two poor traits when a production car faces a head-on collision. But the Mark X is just a concept car, and a Ford press release suggested that designers looked for inspiration from “the fashion, furniture and housing industries.” While the Corian accents likely just served as a little PR buzz for interior designers, the unfinished navigation system suggests this concept didn’t get nearly as far as intended. And certainly not as far as the Lincoln Mark VII Comtech from decades past.

So here’s the 2004 Lincoln Mark X interior in modern times, as it waits for its moment at the Mecum auction. The white Corian finishes made way for black, but that’s the most noticeable change over time. The interior presents itself with no wear, aside from one scratch on the plastic near the “Detroit 2004 Mark X” commemorative plate on the rocker panel.

The exterior photos from the Mecum listing show a concept car that still looks stunning, with an impressive stance and shockingly wide rear tires. There are two changes since we last saw the Mark X in 2004. The first is rather pedantic: Only a Lincoln nerd like yours truly knows that hood ornament came from an Essex Continental, so I wonder out loud what happened to the Mark X’s bespoke emblem. The other is more academic: someone took the chrome body side moulding in the fenders and rear quarter panel and made a matching metal strip for the door.

The bling in the middle of the door looks ready for production, and somewhat helps set the Mark X apart from the Thunderbird donor under the skin. And everything else on this concept Lincoln looks fantastic, so I’m curious if anyone can muster up the nerve to operate the folding hardtop after years of possible neglect. Trying to repair it will likely make working on a 1961–67 Continental convertible look easy. Or not, as the Mark X likely used off-the-shelf mechanisms found on other folding hardtops of the era.

Speaking of what’s on the shelf, this was truly a sad era in Lincoln history: The Mark X was canned, letting the Mark LT truck carry the legacy started by Edsel Ford (Lincoln Continental), continued by William Clay Ford (Mark II) and Lee Iacocca (Mark III) on its burly, F-150–derived shoulders.

There’s nothing wrong with a Lincoln truck, at least in theory. It just needs to look as Lincoln-like as the Mark X did on its Thunderbird underpinnings. A different grille and acres of bling certainly worked (and continues to hold its value) but this vehicle could have been a Navigator with a bed. Perhaps that was never in the cards….

Two years later, the Mark X did make an ironic comeback as the 2006 Lincoln MKX crossover. The name was strikingly similar to the Thunderbird-based concept Mark, and there’s no doubt where its grille came from. (Or perhaps a little doubt, as both Xs used the same 1963 Continental template in that regard.)

Both names were also unique, at least technically. The MKX crossover was never called a Mark Ten, though that’s absolutely what it looks like to traditional Lincoln customers who scan the tailgate’s emblems. Be it a Mark truck in 2004 or an “MK” crossover in 2006, the famous Mark Series evolved past its history as a low-slung Lincoln coupe.

While that’s a shame, the opportunity to grab the last Mark Series coupe ever made (so to speak) is at our fingertips. Concept cars are usually just dreams, but this will be someone’s reality. And wouldn’t it be a wondrous reality if it was feasible/legal to do a VIN swap with a tired, depreciated 2004 Thunderbird, then perform a supercharged V-8 powertrain swap from a Jaguar S-Type R? That’s truly how the Lincoln Mark X can live forever as the Mark Series successor it deserved to become.

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Automobiles are more than just transportation. While they may perform daily duties in the manner of an appliance, they do it in a way that enriches our lives. At the same time, the way they change over time reflects the state of technology, the economy, and what customers value. They are a mirror for cultural and societal trends, both lasting and fleeting. Even a winter beater that does little else aside from absorbing abuse can represent a point in time; remember when heaters in said beaters were not even commonplace?

What trends—old or new, tired or fresh—do you notice in the car world? More importantly, are there any that passed us by that you miss? For me, the popularity of Citizens Band radio left us too soon.

I never personally used CB radio, but I was old enough to remember how it percolated into pop culture. My father used it during long road trips: If you had a lot of driving to do, getting on the CB definitely made the time pass for everyone in the car. You didn’t ask, but my Dad’s CB handle was “Holy Cow.” (I found that to be very clever, given my family’s Indian heritage.) A cop on his CB frequency once asked him “Are you a Padre?” He was just an ordinary guy traveling down the interstate, he said.

These days, my father streams music via the Android Auto software built into his Chevy Bolt EUV, browsing selections while the car’s semi-autonomous Super Cruise mode is active. Times have changed!

Dad disagrees with my assertion that CB radios are a lost automotive trend, pointing out that everyone is constantly communicating on the go. A fair point, but I contend that the conversations one had on a CB radio were more like a 2000s-era online chat room than anything else. In a world in which everything is individualized and personalized, this sort of open-access communication feels nostalgic, quaint even.

So tell us, Hagerty Community: What automotive trends do you miss?

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Hagerty Community Member Jeepcj5 writes:

I’ve successfully (at least in my mind) set point gaps and timing in various cars. The reason I say successful is because they seem to run well afterwards. I have a dwell meter that I’ve been told to use, but I just don’t understand it or what it’s even telling me.

How does dwell come into play? Should I not worry about it? If I do need to worry about it, can you explain it in a “Dwell for Dummies” sort of way?

Sajeev answers:

This applies to me, as I am clearly a dummy when it comes to dwell or any other aspect of mechanical ignition systems. I (poorly) define dwell time as the time it takes to make a good spark, but Denso properly defines it as “The period when the ignition system applies an electric current to the ignition coil’s primary winding.”

Dwell time and dwell angle is adjusted on mechanical ignition systems with hand tools, a feeler gauge, and dwell meter. You can’t do much on any vehicle after 1975(?), as electronic ignitions became standard fare. (Vehicles from the 1980s and newer can be tuned with a computer and software, but that’s irrelevant to this discussion.) No matter the ignition system, this concept is important because an ignition curve is crucial to efficient combustion.

Perhaps Jeepcj5′s experience proves that you don’t need to mess with dwell time (i.e. the part of the process that needs a dwell meter) very often, but that’s between an owner and their fuel economy calculations. And the sensitivity of their butt dyno, but now we’re really getting off the rails.

Ignoring dwell time and only using a feeler gauge for your points (i.e. dwell angle) is basically approximating your ignition timing. And since graphics and videos are better at this than my wordsmithing, let’s try a couple of selections from YouTube. Here’s a fun retro video on the concept of dwell angle.

And the video below is a solid example of how to set dwell angle and dwell time, among other bits of knowledge for analog ignition tune ups. I’ve started it at the part relevant to dwell time, but you might want to watch the whole thing. Stick around for the 10:15 mark, as Uncle Tony’s Garage rightly suggests, “It’s not rocket science, right?”

The only issue I have with analog ignition systems is the availability of quality-made points in our modern times. Condensers in the ignition system have the same issue but to a lesser extent, as they are generally more durable. If you can still get good quality points/condensers for your application, adjusting your dwell time can improve your vehicle’s performance over the long term. If you cannot, maybe it’s time to convert to electronic ignition.

So give it to me, Hagerty Community: What did I miss in this discussion of dwell time? I am far from an expert in this matter, and your feedback will only make this article better.

Have a question you’d like answered on Piston Slap? Send your queries to pistonslap@hagerty.com—give us as much detail as possible so we can help! Keep in mind this is a weekly column, so if you need an expedited answer, please tell me in your email.

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You might think you can count on one hand the number of production cars with gullwing doors. Technically you can’t, but it’s true that a few are more famous than others. And when it comes to attention-grabbing looks blended with affordable values, the Bricklin SV-1 is unrivalled. Considering our recent coverage of the Mercedes 300SL, it looks like gullwing doors and radical engineering only become more valuable over time. If that’s the case, the sub-$20K Bricklin sold this week has nowhere to go but up, right?

OK, perhaps mentioning Canada’s Bricklin SV-1 in the same breath as a one of Germany’s 300SL is a bit too apples to oranges. But, as two classic cars and nothing else, they are both limited production sports cars that catch the eye. As for the low-slung Bricklin SV-1, it started with 1970s minimalist wedge style as a foundation, but built upon it to make a safety-oriented vehicle. The frame includes an integrated roll cage, and the recessed bumpers are able to withstand a five-mph impact, without resorting to the bolt-on afterthought battering rams found on many other cars of the era. The chassis is wrapped in a fiberglass body constructed with input from Bruce Meyers, Herb Grasse, and Dick Dean.

But while the Bricklin had distinctive looks up top, its not necessarily all wine and roses underneath the fiberglass. Bricklin, like any underfunded startup, raided someone else’s parts bin, and chose American Motors as the donor of choice. Suspensions were lifted from the AMC Hornet, including its less than sporting solid axle, leaf springs, and drum brakes for the Bricklin’s hind quarters. Early models had AMC’s 360 and a 4-barrel carburetor, but this later model on Bring a Trailer has Ford’s 351 Windsor with a two barrel and a modest 175 horsepower for its nearly 3500lb curb weight. This example also has Ford’s FMX automatic transmission. Only 137 cars reportedly came with a four-speed manual transmission supplied by Borg-Warner.

But to dig too deep into the Bricklin’s engineering realities is to miss the point. Just like how the DeLorean has taken flight over time, the Bricklin SV-1 is much more than the sum of its parts. It’s elevated to a piece of history, back when startup companies couldn’t go “to the moon” with a flashy rendering, and back when safety and performance were being redefined to what we enjoy today.

And this particular 1975 Bricklin SV-1, finished in “safety white,” presented itself very well when it was sold this week on Bring A Trailer for $19,425 (including fees). That’s significantly less than the Hagerty Price Guide’s value of $23,000 for a #3 (good) condition example, making this Bricklin quite a good deal.

In the last three years, values for the 1974-75 Bricklin SV-1 have increased a whopping 20%. That may not be as heroic as what we see today with DeLoreans or the aforementioned Mercedes-Benz 300 SL, but it no doubt shows that gullwing doors from a long-forgotten moment in history can still find appreciation amongst classic car enthusiasts.

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Most car enthusiasts love to belittle the practice of badge-engineering, which is when an automaker creates its “own” vehicle by borrowing an existing template from another brand or sub-brand. Badge-engineered vehicles are some of the lowest of the low-hanging fruits in our automotive world, but they also have a fantastic track record of success. Tesla proved that well-heeled buyers don’t mind if a Model Y SUV looks strikingly similar to a Model 3 sedan. Badge engineering can even be the seed that germinates into a halo for an entire brand.

That’s precisely what happened 25 years ago this year, when Cadillac saw the success of a luxury SUV from its cross-town rival Lincoln and General Motors counterpart GMC, and decided it needed to jump on that bandwagon. Before we get into the iconic SUV that forever changed our perceptions of a Cadillac, let’s see how we got here.

Today, GMC’s Denali models are part of a sub-brand with a clear mission: Differentiate with “first-class appointments.” The strategy clearly works, and its success started with a concept vehicle from 1998 that aimed to capitalize on the blossoming luxury SUV segment. GMC’s first Denali truck didn’t look like a typical ’90s SUV: It was restyled with softer, more organic shapes in its front end, finished off with luxurious Kodiak Bronze paint and gold-plated accents. Inside there was a floor-mounted console with a VCR and two telephones, Bose Acoustimass audio, and a roof-mounted console with a flat-screen television. GMC declared that the resplendent Yukon Denali was much like the gold deposits found around Alaska’s Mount Denali, as “fine amenities express the pinnacle of style and luxury in the SUV segment.”

While many of the concept’s bits were purely auto-show theatrics, the exterior styling and decadent interior (complete with Zebrano wood trim, a material worthy of a Cadillac STS!) did make production. GMC had a winner on its hands: Our own Larry Webster, when he reviewed the original Yukon Denali, learned that “eighty percent of regular Yukons were sold with every available option.” In hindsight, there is no doubt that GMC “needed something for the customers to step up to from the regular Yukon.” Boy howdy, did the strategy ever work: Park one of these bulbous bad boys next to a GMT400 truck at a GM dealer and the GMC might as well be a Cadillac in a rental car lot full of Caprices and Cavaliers.

The ’98 Yukon Denali sounded the clarion call to badge-engineering, and the brand wearing GM’s Wreath and Crest saw the writing on the wall: If Cadillac didn’t move quickly to quench the thirst of its dealers, the entire building connected to this metaphorical wall would be engulfed in a five-alarm fire caused by rogue Navigators and young-blooded Yukons.

The Denali was a great template for starting a sensation, and the 1999 Cadillac Escalade did have a few bits that signaled superiority over its GMC twin. The seats were stitched up and padded out like those of a proper DeVille, and that egg-crate grille gave the Escalade’s rounded contours a little more textural contrast. Even the name—Ess-ka-laid—rolled off your tongue with style. This is the stuff that salespeople eat up, and that Cadillac owners evidently could not resist.

Asking Motorweek to share the disdain of automotive enthusiasts for blatant badge-engineering is a bridge too far, as “only minor changes are necessary to bring [the Yukon] up to Cadillac spec.” But the host of the show isn’t alone in refusing to call out such corner-cutting. At the time, the media gave the Lincoln Navigator, which appeared a year before the Escalade, even more slack because, unlike GM, Ford had no interdepartmental divisions fighting for the same slice of gilded utility pie. (Perhaps Ford is just lucky that Mercury never needed a full-size SUV?)

While the GMT400 bones of the original Escalade lacked the third-row seating enabled by Lincoln’s more modern UN93 underpinnings, Motorweek noted that the Cadillac flaunted a superior ride and quicker acceleration. It may be a far cry from the big-block Caddies of yore, but the 1999 Escalade was a proper brand ambassador for the burgeoning luxury-utility market. Perhaps Motorweek said it best when it ended its review by suggesting the 1999 Escalade was “a new kind of Cadillac for a new customer and a new millennium.”

There’s a good chance that Motorweek’s upbeat statements at the end of a review have never been this telling—or this accurate. The Escalade became the de facto Y2K DeVille for America’s upper crust, ensuring that Cadillac had a leg up on every other luxury automaker lacking a strong R&D budget for trucks and SUVs.

The Escalade became the go-to aspirational product for suburban families, posh taxi and airport livery fleets, and earned acceptance from younger generations in urban zip codes. It broadened the already wide appeal of Cadillac, whose brand name has been mentioned in over 11,000 songs over time, from artists of all backgrounds. Donnelly Baxter, Marketing Manager for the Escalade, likely said it best: “Escalade is an iconic nameplate that resonates across ages, cultures, and geographies. It represents Cadillac as a brand and serves as a point of inspiration, providing a halo effect for our entire luxury lineup.”

So let’s get back to 1999, and to this tall Cadillac that hadn’t quite come into focus. The Escalade was unique enough that customers could justify owning a “Cadillac truck” and enjoy the elevated dealership experience, all while embracing the lifestyle of owning a true flagship in our hierarchical society.

When I toured the assembly plant in Arlington, Texas, back in 2003, I recognized both the engineering shortcuts and the underlying appeal of an Escalade. I scoffed at the big Caddy being assembled next to workaday Suburbans and Tahoes, but I couldn’t resist staring at the Escalade’s unique leather and wood dashboards as it moved alongside its Bowtie brethren on the assembly line. Even in such a busy and hectic environment, the chrome-rimmed clock in the console caught my eye. By the time I reached the end of the assembly line, I had no doubt that the vehicle at the end of the assembly line had the same appeal as any Cadillac. The pill was surprisingly easy to swallow for someone as picky as yours truly, since the success of the Escalade suggested that average SUV buyers had no such hang-ups about the company their trucks might kept on the assembly line.

I was even tempted to visit Sewell Cadillac on my way out of Arlington so I could experience the completed product and complete the tour (as it were). Two decades later, the flaws from my 2003 excursion to the Escalade’s birthplace are far less noticeable, as the big Cadillac SUV is now significantly better/different/upgraded from its Chevrolet and GMC cousins.

With a full 25 years in the rearview, it’s clear the 1999 Cadillac Escalade was only the start of something special. The product only got better from there, earning the right to be held in the same regard as the Cadillac DeVilles and range-topping Fleetwoods before it.

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The post 25 Years Ago, the Cadillac Escalade Changed Our Lives appeared first on Hagerty Media.

There’s little doubt that we asked the Hagerty Community a pretty odd question last week, but we got more than we deserved back from you folks. Sometimes it’s these oddball questions that bring out the most creativity in our community, revealing the diversity in our collective lives.

When we experience something new, there’s a good chance a trinket will come along for the ride. It doesn’t have to be some item from a gift shop at a tourist trap; just about anything can turn into a garage trinket. After all, when you come across something interesting, why not put it in the garage?

Let’s see what you folks came up with!

Unusable car parts

@Dan: My display is a piston and rod from a John Deere two-cylinder that exploded at full throttle. It would have woke someone up on a hot day.

@Bruce: Hmmmm! For many years it was a headlamp busted off an IROC M1 in Monaco. Very aspirational souvenir, but sadly I’ve lost track of it.

Hilariously fake products

@audiobycarmine: How about a jar of Lucas’ Wiring Harness Replacement Smoke? Somebody actually created this.

Odd tools

@’02 Original Owner: More of a tool than a trinket, but for the life of me I’ve not been able to figure it out. This particular thing came with two boxes of tools I inherited from my father-in-law in 1967. He started wrench-twisting in the mid-1920s. It looks exactly like a valve spring compressor (like you’d use on a flathead engine) except it works backwards. Instead of compressing, it stretches.

I’ve shown it to a whole bunch of old-timers (older than I) over the years, and no one has been able to identify it. Still in my toolbox, though, awaiting an epiphany either from myself or someone else.

This is an interesting one! If you have photos, please email them to Sajeev at pistonslap@hagerty.com. —Ed.

License plates

@David: I’m the son of a military brat, so we moved quite a bit. I’m also a car guy, so I started collecting license plates to commemorate the places we lived. I still pick up an interesting one every now and then. I’ve got a bunch up on the wall of my garage.

@DUB6: All of my old (and collected/scrounged) plates were used to patch over knotholes in the siding of my barn. Maybe I should have bought a higher grade of lumber!

@David: License plates, of course, including NW Territories (Polar Bear) and Philippines (Pilipinas). Hey, Hagerty—how about an article on the Jeepneys of the Philippines?

@’02 Original Owner: I too have license plates. Growing up in Florida in the 1950s/60s, those plates used the first number or two to denote the county—all ’67. I spent nearly 30 years gradually accumulating one from each county, plus the outliers (Seminole Indian, National Guard, Consul, etc) to grace my garage wall. I also have a run of Amish buggy plates from Indiana, from all 10 Panamanian provinces, and other plates from foreign countries I’ve visited—all obtained legally, of course.

@Steve: My garage wall has a collection of dealer license-plate frames, mainly from Chevy dealers.

Pennants

@Barry: I had a collection of pennants on one wall (now in a toolbox drawer). I started collecting them when I was a kid traveling Canada and the Northern U.S. and still did it while we traveled with my kids. I tried to buy one from anywhere we stayed, but that got harder to do in the 1980s and onward. I took them down a couple of years ago as they were so dusty and faded. They were complimented with all the license plates from our cars back to 1973. Put them all in a drawer, as could not part with them as I should have.

Audio equipment

@TG: A pair of Electro-Voice DJ speakers from the ’90s that originated from a, well, gentleman’s club. They still smell like strawberries.

@Headturner: The radio. Actually, I use a Google Home speaker now. The right song can make a bad day better and a good day great.

Grab bag

@Clare: An old “Rhodesia AA” badge in chrome and yellow taken off my 1949 Beetle when I sold it 50 years ago in Livingstone. (I think?) Then there’s an old paperboard Chinese Checkers board, a few strange woodworking tools I haven’t used in over 15 years, two matched sets of orange cycle fenders. I also have a ’65 Corvair engine in pieces up on the mezzanine, with a PA/Guitar amp and two 4-foot-high speaker towers.

Hyperv6’s grab bag:

@hyperv6: My garage is a collage of useless things but necessary to make it interesting. I have spent a life of collecting all things automotive. I have boxes of emblems, hood ornaments, license plates, posters signed by race drivers and Smokey Yunick, cases with diecast cars and models I have built. Plates from concours tours, metal auto product signs—some real, some not.

Most of one wall is covered by a 24 x 12 C4 Corvette billboard. Gas pump nozzles. Some race parts like an Austin Dillon NASCAR truck Bass Pro tailgate. Little over half of a Trans Am Jaguar clamshell hood. None of this is a must-have but it makes for walls that make you stand and look at all that is there.

On the floor I have a table built from a complete Top Fuel funny car short-block. The blower case is a broom holder. Porsche seats on each side facing the TV. The zombie headers are arm rests for the chairs upside down. Finally, the most useless item is a tire from the main landing gear of the Space Shuttle.

The ceiling is storage for my son’s old soap box derby cars, hung upside down. We wanted to keep them but needed to keep them out of the way. I also gave a fleet of old and new Goodyear blimp inflatables. We are near the blimp base here and they visit often. I am always on the lookout for something new to add. You never know what pops up at the track, swap meet, or yard sale.

I have had people come in and just stare at the walls. It is where I have been and what I do. It is my scrapbook.

@Al: Had that C4 billboard poster back in the ’80s—it covered a whole hallway wall in my house. Now I walk past a photo of a ’60s Ferrari race garage in the garage. A buddy gave it to me when I told him I could have bought a Ferrari with the house down payment. The two other walls have the usual automobilia including plates, signs, neon clock, grilles, posters, and emblems of cars past and present. My neighbor’s high-school motor head daughter was a little overwhelmed, first time they saw all the stuff! It all tells my story too!

Me, Myself, and I

@Dean: My most useless trinket is myself, when I don’t “get out in the shop and get some work done.”

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The post According To You: The Most Useless but Necessary Garage Trinket appeared first on Hagerty Media.

Jack writes:

How about some guidance on motor oil for us old farts who are still driving flat tappet engines like my ’74 Corvette L82?

Sajeev answers:

Woo-hoo!  This is a pretty easy answer to give, as 1975 was the first year for Corvettes with a catalytic converter. All pre-1975 vehicles will benefit from the added zinc content available in oils designed for diesel engines. Yep, it’s pretty much that easy!

You can buy modern oils and a standalone zinc additive, and there are modern “racing oils” with a loyal following. But the standby stuff for diesel engines is both commonplace and downright affordable, which makes it rather hard to beat. Oh, and they come in synthetic (if you are confident in your gasket’s sealing) or conventional oil (if you are not).

Things are tougher if you have a 1975+ vehicle with flat tappets and a factory-fit catalytic converter. You might not want a high zinc content, as ash buildup can destroy the catalyst. This happens most likely due to engines burning oil, and I assume many a Malaise Era automobile had their cats defeated with a rod/broom for this reason alone. Engines that don’t burn a drop of oil are unlikely to experience this problem in their catalyst, and might be able to get away with modern gasoline engine oils.

So let’s formally ask ourselves this question: What if Jack had a 1975 Corvette with its factory cat? Or one of the many other flat tappet/catalytic converter vehicles still on the road? First off, that’s impressive, and I thank you for saving a piece of Malaise Era history.

Running a modern synthetic oil for gas engines with high mileage additives ensures maximum protection for flat tappets and minimal leaks (as synthetic oils can exacerbate a leaky gasket). You might not have a leak yet, but unless your motor has low miles and gaskets that still seal like new, always opt for the high mileage synthetic oil. This might not be as good as diesel oil for the flat tappets, but it will likely do an adequate job reducing engine friction while ensuring a healthy catalytic converter.

Then again, do you even need synthetic oil? I reckon most of these 1975–85 vehicles are driven infrequently. Maybe just ordinary, not-synthetic oil is good enough. Will you drive it enough to wear out an engine with flat tappets? Your call, but just know you have options.

Have a question you’d like answered on Piston Slap? Send your queries to pistonslap@hagerty.com—give us as much detail as possible so we can help! Keep in mind this is a weekly column, so if you need an expedited answer, please tell me in your email.

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The feedback we received from our last episode of Our Two Cents suggested that giving unvarnished thoughts on Tesla products will light a fire in the comments section. And that was about the more sedate models, not the highly polarizing Tesla Cybertruck. So let’s go there instead, and see what we would do if we were given one of these radical EV pickups. (For free, of course.) Where would be take it, and how long would we keep it?

Carvana Nirvana

I would keep the Cybertruck as long as it takes to write about it for Vellum Venom, then I’d visit CarMax and hope they’ll cut me a check in the time it takes for my Lyft driver to arrive. No, I should go to Carvana instead. I bet they’d pay a lot more, and it would look awesome in their vending machine. – Sajeev Mehta

A free truck is still a truck

I’d make it a daily driver. Am I super excited to be seen in such a polarizing vehicle? Not particularly, but free is free. I intend to use that truck for as long as I can, or at least until I build my own informed opinion about if it’s a truck that has a place in my garage. – Kyle Smith

WhistlinDiesel, make me a video!

I would take it to Whistlindiesel. So I’d keep it for however long it would take to sign it over to him. – Matt Tuccillo

Be the Coolest Dad

I’d drive it and enjoy my kids losing their absolute minds about it. The attention from passersby would be enjoyable, I think. I wouldn’t feel the need to justify it because I didn’t spend money on it. Not buying gas anymore, either? Bonus! Who cares what it looks like if it’s free.q I don’t have to buy gas, my kids love it, and I’ve suddenly become the coolest dad ever. – Ben Woodworth

A free truck is still a truck (Part II)

I am not terribly interested in the Cybertruck. Not from an anti-EV standpoint, but I am not crazy about the expense of adding a charging point to my garage. More importantly, I find it aesthetically revolting. But as Kyle mentioned, a free truck is a free truck.

I’d see if it grew on me after a couple of months. If it didn’t, I’d sell it and buy something else: A Colorado ZR2 or Canyon AT4X would be more my speed, and fit in my small garage better. – Greg Ingold

Definitely Miami

My loves are the unassuming boxier pickup designs of an earlier age. And the best wedges on earth are cheeses. So, I’d keep it around for a week, wrap it in something ridiculous, and road trip it to Miami, selling it to the highest bidder who regrets not getting on the order sheet earlier. – Bryan Gerould

School Art Project

I’d buy a bunch of those wipe-off chalkboard markers, and hold a contest for best livery: maybe keep it for a year, go to a different grade school each week, let the kids go nuts. The winning school gets the truck, too. That’s how I could enjoy the novelty of the thing, get some great laughs, and then go back to driving my Fiesta ST. – Grace Houghton

Enter the Time Space Continuum?

I’d take it into the future 20 years to see what everyone else is driving, only to observe how society has collapsed because our oceans are dead, our fresh water is gone, and crop failure has led to worldwide famine and the deaths of billions of people. A roving horde would be like, “Look! It’s one of the elites!” and then they’d probably eat me. So, in that scenario, I suppose I would have had it for 20 years, even though it would still look showroom new. – Stefan Lombard

The Answer is Always Camo

I’d probably drive it for a while, but my first move would be to paint it camouflage, hoping fewer people would realize I’m driving one of the homeliest vehicles ever built. – Steven Cole Smith

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The intermediate-sized car was a sweet spot for many Americans in the 1960s, as it offered the comfort of a full-size car with superior handling and a more approachable price. But the two-door coupe body offered by this automotive middle ground is where things got spicy—the muscle car genre flourished with modest intermediate car styling and impressive engines once reserved for larger vehicles.

There was more bang for your buck, with names like GTO, Chevelle, and Barracuda promising extra fun over their more sedate intermediate stablemates. While Mercury was in the game early on with their 1964 Comet Cyclone, the intermediate coupe from Ford’s middle child brand never got the recognition it deserved. By 1969, the standalone Mercury Cyclone was a significant step up from a mere Montego intermediate, and was winning stock car races to boot.

The fastback roofline of the 1968-69 Cyclone pairs well with the added flash of racing stripes and Magnum 500 wheels, while the 351 Windsor V-8 and the four-speed manual of this particular 1969 Cyclone backed up the looks. The black paint finish adds an element of understatement, but the options selected by the original owner ensured performance was on par with mid-sized Mercury’s assertive styling.

This Cyclone presents extremely well, even under the hood where a well-curated 351 Windsor wears period-correct engine accessories and a factory air cleaner. Power brakes are shown, and will be appreciated when slowing down a Cyclone ordered with this optional engine making 290 horsepower. (A 302-cid small block and three-speed manual was standard on 1969 Cyclone.)

While not the Cobra Jet or GT model, this Cyclone has the desirable bucket seats and a console to go with the uprated engine and transmission. The factory AM/FM radio and air conditioning round out the comfort and entertainment options, and bits like these ensure a classic muscle car is still enjoyable when open roads and wide open throttle turn into stop lights and traffic jams.

While the Cyclone will never garner the same attention as other muscle cars from the era, there’s something to be said about a more subtle choice and having the right options on any intermediate. The black on gold colors are timeless and just a bit unexpected from a Mercury product. The interior is significantly upgraded from a base model Cyclone, and it presents well from every angle.

While this Cyclone was originally sold in Clifton, NJ, it’s clear the Georgia-based owner cared enough to put a vintage Lincoln-Mercury dealership “booster plate” from its current home in Savannah, GA. That level of attention is not usual, suggesting this mid-sized Merc lived a charmed life with both of its two previous owners. The auction for this 1969 Cyclone ends on February 6, and with any luck, the next owner will give it a home that gives it just as much love.

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We have a lot of internal conversations here at Hagerty Media that influence our work. Sometimes these chats turn into questions like, “Who wants a Lucas Oil demonstrator?” and, “Should we buy them in bulk for everyone?”

Well no, we should (and did!) not buy the gears soaked in oil; that’s an impulse purchase we just don’t need. But it got us thinking about what could be the most useless but necessary trinket for your garage. Here’s my contribution.

Okay, it’s not exactly my contribution, as I pinged my good friend Murilee Martin, the author of our Final Parking Space series, for a fresh photo of the car emblems on his garage. He texted me back this joyful expression of useless but necessary garage trinkets, and for it I am eternally thankful. I have a smaller collection of emblems that lives in a few boxes in my home office, but plastering them on a wall doesn’t jive with my minimalist aspirations. But they have come in handy for work at Hagerty. Yes, really.

Emblems from long-gone vehicles are a wonderful thing to own, be it on a garage wall, in tool box, or within a box as a reference material. It might even be the best trinket you can have in your garage. But it’s unfortunate that these are getting harder to collect, as junkyards now have cars with adhesive-backed vinyl letters, not metal or plastic emblems. So perhaps this is where we will leave it with the Hagerty Community, before we ask the question once more:

What’s the most useless but necessary trinket for your garage?

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Scott writes:

I’m 74, and I have a 1990 Vanagon (with a 2.5 Subie engine) and a ’91 Porsche 964. They both have computers, but not the kind that report my every thought, action, and broadslide to “the authorities.” The idea of buying a newer car terrifies me because, well … “Question Authority.”

I assume that privacy in new cars is totally impossible. But (here’s the question part) is it possible to take a new car and strip Big Brother from it?

Sajeev answers:

Possibly, but I am neither a lawyer nor a computer hacker. While both of those folks are more qualified to answer this question, I shall do my best. And my best means I won’t suggest adding an Eldorado Biarritz-style stainless steel roof atop a modern car, but hey, that’d certainly look cool.

This is a good time to mention that I am one of those younger folks who somewhat doesn’t care about the personal data in my car, phone, and social media channels. (Aside from hacks to circumvent banking laws that empty my savings account, of course.) I see Big Data as part of doing business in our modern capitalistic society, and I love the fact that Google Maps is pretty darn accurate in addressing traffic slowdowns, thanks to everyone’s data contributions.

But there’s always a dark side to Big Data, and what bothers me are rental cars. Plugging your phone into that Chevy Malibu gives someone else a lot of opportunity to scam you and possibly steal your identity. So always dig into the rental car’s settings, tap around for a minute so it can delete or forget your phone. (And maybe delete everyone else’s information too, since you’re a good person like that.)

But for those folks who wholly reject my notions, I totally get it. Let’s discuss options for modern car ownership with privacy concerns.

• Buy a hacked or jailbreaked Tesla: Sure, the warranty will be voided, but their service centers aren’t exactly great anyway. There are seemingly countless hacks, and it seems like the Black Hat hackers (i.e. the supposed bad guys) have figured out a lot about Teslas. Remember that this automotive brand pitches itself as a tech company, catering to a tech-obsessed crowd. So if you’re inclined, read this to learn more.
• Seek third party help: A company called Privacy4Cars caters to concerns for dealerships and individuals. They have an app to use your data make that happen for you. I hesitate to give the hyperlink because I know nothing about them, but perhaps clicking here is indeed a good start on your journey.
• Read the Owner’s Manual: Learn how to restore a vehicle to factory settings and other bits of data collection that will be available in the owner’s manual. The manual won’t stop your car from storing a lot of vehicle-specific information on you, but the data that opens you up to scammers can be deleted.
• Make it the Salesperson’s problem: My time in the car business taught me many truths, and one is that younger salespeople who view this industry as a career are HUNGRY for loyal customers. (No offense to the older sales folks, but they often already have a book of business and don’t need to struggle as much.) Salespeople in general will move heaven and earth to earn happy customers, they have access to service professionals (and their proprietary hardware) in the next building, and they might just find the right balance between data collection and the headaches involved in curtailing it.

I wish I had a better answer, but routing people to places they need to explore is sometimes the best we can do here at Piston Slap. Perhaps someone in the Hagerty Community will comment below with more valuable advice?

Have a question you’d like answered on Piston Slap? Send your queries to pistonslap@hagerty.com—give us as much detail as possible so we can help! Keep in mind this is a weekly column, so if you need an expedited answer, please tell me in your email.

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Owning a vehicle with a supercharged engine and a semi-automatic transmission sounds like the stuff of new-car-showroom fantasies, but there’s one iconic vehicle from the 1930s that put this powertrain in a front-wheel drive platform and wrapped it all in the finest Streamline Moderne sheetmetal. The Cord 810 and 812 were clearly ahead of their time, but suggesting so might not give them enough credit.

That streamlined styling does not explain how a Cord’s lowslung chassis can make the car ride and handle like a newer crossover utility, and that’s indeed the case. Cord’s understated styling never had a peer, though future car designers did an admirable job trying to replicate this magic. It may be from the 1930s, but the Cord 810 and 812 are a vehicle for all ages, all generations.

Then we have this particular Cord 812 up for auction on Hagerty Marketplace, in a fantastic spec with a timeless color palette. Coincidentally, the dark blue color was replicated on a beautiful Ertl diecast of a Cord Sportsman (two seat convertible), which should be considered a mandatory purchase to go with this stunning four-seat Phaeton convertible. This Phaeton is the top-level Cord convertible, and it sold for $2645 in 1937 (roughly $56,000 in 2024 dollars). Roughly 600 convertibles were made, and only 688 Cords were made with the supercharged engine.

To this day the supercharged Cord can run with modern cars on modern motorways, with impressive power and confident handling from that front-wheel-drive  chassis. This performance is essentially unheard of in any other car of the era, and this example is numbers-matching, boasting the same engine it left the factory with. The interior sports freshly reupholstered leather, while the rest of the Cord appears to be an older restoration of high quality. The cosmetic flaws in the paintwork are mostly indicative of age and not neglect.

Details like the engine-turned dashboard trim, wool carpets, and four-speed shifter appear to be in excellent condition. The odometer reads 32,617 but real mileage is unknown. While this example has been stored in a climate controlled building, it is listed in non-running condition, as are all of the well-preserved examples from the John Wilson collection of pre-war antique cars.

The rarity and overall condition of this Cord is truly worthy of a museum, and such a buyer could very well win this car when the auction ends on February 2. Museum centerpiece or street-worthy show car, this Cord is likely to supercharge whatever collection gives it a new home.

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In December of 2023, the Federal Trade Commission created the Combating Auto Retail Scams (CARS) Rule to add “truth and transparency” to the process of buying a new car. The mission was clear: to eliminate “bait and switch” tactics, remove Finance and Insurance (F&I) add-ons that do not necessarily benefit the consumer, and ensure accurate pricing in dealership advertisements.

The new rules were so radical that the FTC created a handy website to help dealerships navigate the changes, complete with this snazzy infographic:

Not so fast, says the National Automobile Dealers Association. The NADA, a trade organization representing nearly 16,500 franchised new-vehicle dealerships in the U.S., is suggesting the CARS isn’t all it is cracked up to be. Via Reuters:

The FTC’s Vehicle Shopping Rule is simply terrible for consumers, adding massive amounts of time, complexity, paperwork and cost to car buying and car shopping for tens of millions of Americans every year.

NADA also says that the FTC has not explained why these changes are needed or how they will benefit customers. On January 5, both NADA and TADA (Texas Automobile Dealers Association) appealed for a review by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi). Three days later, those trade groups filed a stay on the CARS Rule, pending the outcome of the appeal by the court. In a statement, the FTC refutes the accusations:

The (CARS) Rule does not impose substantial costs, if any, on dealers that presently comply with the law, and to the extent there are costs, those are outweighed by the benefits to consumers, to law-abiding dealers, and to fair competition.

Motor 1 reports that car dealerships might also be leery of the CARS Rule because it could levy fines of up to $50,120 per offense. Considering the aggression with which the Cars Rule approaches the issue of “bait and switch,” this concern would have some validity. Vehicles often sell faster than a dealership can update its inventory management system. In my decade in the car business, that issue crept up on a monthly (sometimes weekly) basis: Some vehicles have multiple suitors at the same time, and website visitors can’t call ahead and reserve a vehicle. Online purchasing will change that dynamic, but there are still folks who insist on kicking the tires before getting banks involved. And social media is only making it harder to be a bait and switcher. Employees are encouraged to promote vehicles on their Facebook/Instagram/TikTok channels and, if they get the right feedback from a follower, they can grab the keys.

But the argument that dealerships would be worried about losing a cool 50 grand? That seems unlikely, given how much effort goes into levying the final penalty for dealership shenanigans. One such case took two years from start to finish, and the behavior of the dealerships involved reflected a pattern of willingly circumventing the FTC’s rules. Proving the presence of bait-and-switch tactics will not only be difficult, but it will also be immensely time-consuming for a defendant who must prove the status of every vehicle that winds up on the FTC’s radar. Whether the fine is large or small, nobody wants to be punished for making an honest mistake.

But the CARS Rule is concerned with more than just bait and switch. It also argues that the consumer shouldn’t be pressured (sorry) to buy items like tires pre-filled with nitrogen. (Dealers usually replace the factory valve-stem covers on the tires with green-tipped replacements to show the work has already been performed.) For those who haven’t been suckered into such a situation, nitrogen-filled tires supposedly reduce oxidation and hold pressure longer. But tires usually oxidize/degrade from external forces quickly enough to make the first argument irrelevant, and the second one doesn’t necessarily hold water.

We will keep an eye on how the Court of Appeals handles this one, because CARS Rule could become a whole lot of nada, if the dealer groups have their way.

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Making a product that speaks to a highly specific, laser-focused target audience is both admirable and appealing, even when times demand the most aggressive of changes. The Malaise Era forced us into smaller vehicles with more fuel-efficient engines and lower emissions, but a few manufacturers stumbled in the transition, opening the door for others.

Cadillac was one of those caught between its evolving products and buyers that couldn’t stomach the pivot—the smaller, front-wheel-drive 1985 Cadillac DeVille ensured that the brand no longer spurred the same passion from its fanbase. It wasn’t all Cadillac’s fault, but the obvious platform sharing with other GM sedans and the trouble-prone HT4100 V-8 certainly didn’t help. Enter Lincoln, the fuel-injected 5.0-liter V-8, and the Panther chassis.

Lincoln capitalized on the Town Car’s killer app (as it were) in a series of TV commercials. They were reportedly so effective that valet podiums across the Metro Detroit area would recite the same jokes to owners of downsized General Motors products. This marketing coup allegedly reduced GM to beg Ford to stop running these spots. The Dearborn gang capitulated, as insulting your cross-town neighbor only works so many times at social gatherings and lunches at the country club.

What’s oddly missing in this equation is the 1985 Fleetwood Brougham, as it was still available with rear-wheel drive and traditional luxury car proportions. Perhaps it became associated with the disappointing series of HT-4100, displacement on demand, and diesel engines that soured many on the Cadillac brand. Maybe its overtly traditional touches made the slab-sided, highly computerized Lincoln Town Car look fresh and appealing. Or perhaps Cadillac put all their eggs in their front-wheel drive baskets and didn’t have the wherewithal to backtrack to the Brougham. Whatever the reason, the end result was a success for Lincoln’s four-pointed star, as they reportedly swiped 91,000 Cadillac owners between 1984-88.

But success in the mid-1980s started with an all-new, 1980 Lincoln Continental on Ford’s downsized Panther Chassis. It had the options of fully digital gauges, a keyless entry door pad, multi-function trip computer, integrated garage door opener, and a Town Car trim package. But those gee-whiz luxury trappings were underscored by standard equipment like an electronic audio system, a 5.0-liter small block V-8 with EEC-III throttle body fuel injection, and an overdrive transmission. This is the stuff of mediocrity for the last 25+ years, but the Continental was a revolution by the metrics available in 1980.

Lincoln (and Ford) weren’t nearly as well-funded as GM at the time, so they pushed their Panther platform deep into the 1980s with modest styling updates atop significant electronic innovations. And there was a new name for the premium Panther: Lincoln Town Car. It survived and thrived while Cadillac learned the difference between leading-edge and bleeding-edge technology. But Lincoln also innovated in luxury car promotions, as they asked everyone to “Start thinkin’ Lincoln” around 1983. And they asked the right people in the right places.

Getting rental car companies to promote your flagship for an attainable asking price ensured a would-be Cadillac owner would enjoy a Town Car on vacation instead of a full-size Caprice or LTD. Budget’s asking price of $39.95 in 1983 is still $123.04 in today’s dollars, so it ensured the right folks experienced Panther Love and might just ride those good vibes back to their local Lincoln-Mercury dealership.

It certainly sold my family and many folks walking into the same dealership, as splurging on a new Town Car from Budget in 1984 inspired us to buy a used Lincoln Continental in 1986, the one that turned into Project Valentino. Lincoln’s ongoing promotions using OPM (other people’s money) worked, as Town Car sales skyrocketed, breaking the 100,000 mark in the mid-1980s. Lee Iacocca once said Ford made around $10,000 on each Town Car sold, to the tune of a billion dollars in annual profit. That’s a smashing success for a vehicle on a modest budget, so perhaps the Town Car was so good it “Hertz.”

And it only improved over time, but at the proper pace of a snail. There was a smarter EEC-IV computer in 1984, and it tuned in to a pair of oxygen sensors for improved performance. Aerodynamic success from the Lincoln Mark VII trickled down to the Town Car in 1985, with sleeker bumpers and a slant-back rear fascia being the end result. The new fuel injection setup received eight injectors in 1986, firing sequentially (SEFI) to match the 5.0’s firing order within a long runner intake manifold. A JBL audio system also arrived that year, with a CD player under the dashboard shortly afterwards. Slow and steady wins the race, and it’s clear the 1980-89 Lincoln Town Car was a tortoise in a sea of hares with Cadillac hood ornaments.

Only now is the collector car hobby recognizing the Town Car’s success with the rewards of being an appreciating classic. In the last three years, the median #3 value increased 78 percent, or $3500. It was only five years ago that early Town Cars in #3 condition were valued at a mere $2700. While the 1980-85 Continental/Town Car isn’t terribly different than the later examples, the 1986-89 Town Cars with SEFI induction carry around a 15% premium.

It’s quite logical to see that 42% of quotes sought for Town Cars come from Boomers, yet Millennial interest is a strong 23%. That’s even more than the interest shown by Gen-X (20%), so it’s clear that Lincolns are no longer just for a more elderly crowd. And the Panther-bodied Lincolns may be at the early stages of a trend highlighted by the pre-downsized Continentals: Interest in the 1970-79 Lincoln Continental is nearly equal between Boomers, Gen-X, and Millennials. And 1 in 10 insurance quotes of older Continentals are from Gen-Z, but that level of love has yet to surface for the newer Town Car.

Savvy Panther chassis enthusiasts will note we’ve so far overlooked the 1980 Continental Town Coupe and the 1981 Town Car two door. (Both are the same car with curiously different names.)

Let’s address this omission now: Lincoln sold a paltry 7,177 coupes in 1980, and 4,935 in 1981 before they died an ignominious death. But their rarity adds to the appeal, as coupes in #3 condition are 19% more valuable than sedans of the same year. While the coupes may never appreciate to the heights of the 1961-67 Lincoln Continental convertible, the premium proves their inherent desirability, even when handicapped by an older fuel injection system.

It’s great to see the Lincoln Town Car (and 1980 Continental, of course) regain some of the recognition they garnered back when they were the go-to choice for well-heeled business travelers and vacation goers. With the Town Car, the collector car market once again proves that popular success when new is often rewarded as a classic, even if it takes a bit longer than it does for a specialty sweetheart like a Porsche 911. While the market cap of the remaining Town Cars will never reach the soaring heights of their profit margins when new, the Panther Chassis Lincoln’s renaissance once again makes the sun shine, from the city hall to the county line.

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