On June 30, I flew to California to meet with my brother, Matt. He was kind enough, after a gut-busting BBQ lunch in Hollywood, to take me over to the Petersen Automotive Museum. Here’s some highlights from the floor. Some of the notable cars in the building include a selection of cars that have become legendary in their own right, including a Bugatti EB110, Steven McQueen’s Jaguar XK-SS, and many other unique and gorgeous cars. Enjoy the gallery.
Ferraris produced before the 250 are not something I’m very well-versed in, because for some reason, they aren’t as prevalent as the later models. Yet, here was one, a 212 Inter, in a stunning sea-blue color at the Elegance at Hershey last month. While Nick got busy shooting the Bizzarrini Spyder a few yards behind, I got busy shooting this and took a few steps back to admire its classy styling and stunning condition. I’ve only seen one other 212, during Concours Weekend in 2011 over in Monterey. Suffice it to say, I think I like this one more thanks to its 1950s-esque colors and the backdrop that accompanied the car. Enjoy the photos.
Continue reading The Elegance at Hershey: 1953 Ferrari 212 Inter Coupe Pinin Farina
I’m currently on vacation visiting my brother Matt, who lives in Pasadena and submitted this Cadillac Series 62 for a Spotted article back in January. Nick sent me a tip for this particular car in Beverly Hills, so my other brother and I got out to the swankiest area in LA County. Our efforts were rewarded as Seth and I stepped out to the drop-off zone of the hotel inside the building.
Continue reading Spotted! Pagani Huayra, Beverly Wilshire Hotel, Beverly Hills, CA
The recession had a serious effect on the American automobile market. We all know what happened to the Big Three. However, there are a few small Japanese companies that are definitely worth mentioning because they seem to hang on either by a thread, or by a sizable rope, in the US domestic market. Subaru, Mazda, Suzuki, and Mitsubishi are the four non-major Japanese players in the US market. Well, they were. One of these four announced late on November 5, 2012 that they were pulling their automotive arm from the US market. So, allow me to say…and then there were three. But soon, I think there will be two. Continue reading Why Suzuki is out of the car market in the USA, and why Mitsubishi is next.
Jaguar has quite a storied history with regard to sporting automobiles. The E-Type is still remembered and revered as one of the most beautiful cars ever made (even Enzo Ferrari admitted to this at one point). But, this story isn’t about the E-Type, or the XJ6, or the modern Jags that people lust after. This is about what I see as a potential diamond in the rough–the last generation of the venerable Jaguar XJS, a car that I think is a bit overlooked. Continue reading Secondhand Saint: 1992-1996 Jaguar XJS
On this episode of Drive, Chris Harris shows all of us not only his spectacular driving skills behind the wheel of AMG’s newest monster, the SLS Black Series, but also the lengths that Mercedes-Benz went to lighten up the big supercar to make it more athletic and more fun on the track. Take ten minutes off and watch this video–it’s ten minutes well worth your time.
-Albert S. Davis
The Mercedes R-Class is not the last word in anything. It’s probably a good example of a blue-chip company laying an egg at the worst possible time. Mercedes-Benz is a full-line automaker in most of Europe but in America, it’s better known for luxury cars. Of course, the top brass at M-B didn’t quite know what to expect when the R-Class came out. Made in Alabama and Mexico, it wasn’t a normal Mercedes. But, once AMG saw it, they couldn’t resist doing what they do best: shoehorn a ridiculous engine into it, put it on wide tires and lowered suspension, and sell it like sliced bread. Only this time, sliced bread sold like New Coke. Continue reading Secondhand Saint: Mercedes R63 AMG
Someone who shot this video must be quite the music and car buff. For today, we have a Ferrari Enzo drifting around a bunch of dirt trails, set to the background music of Beethoven’s Symphony No.9, “Ode To Joy”. This is most definitely an ode to joy–it’s a drifting Enzo. I bet a lot of people are cringing at the sight of someone thrashing an Enzo, but this still some spectacular driving and camera work–even if one cameraman drops his camera at the very end. If you’ve got two minutes or three, watch this video–it’s a few minutes well-spent.
-Albert S. Davis
BMW has always held a special place in my list of carmakers. After the end of WWII, they were in tatters, like the other German car companies. But, in the 1960s and 1970s, their commitment to making cars that could make the driver grin endlessly (for a price) gave them a reputation of being a bit of an upper middle class car guy’s hero, in that for the price of a Cadillac or a Mercedes sedan, you could get a car that was capable of brightening your melancholy day with just a squeeze of the gas pedal and a turn of the wheel. But that was nearly 40 years ago, and based on what I’m seeing in the news (and what I’ve driven in the past year or two), I’m skeptical of their old motto. Continue reading BMW: The Ultimate Something Machine?
Mercedes-Benz isn’t all what it seems. While some may mock it for expanding the E-Class range to a coupe and a convertible, and some may question it for offering AWD on the AMG products, no one will see me on that side of the line. In fact, I’m the one doing the slow clap. Mercedes is taking a lesson from its rivals, Audi and BMW, and using the best of what it’s learning. The German luxury market is changing, and Mercedes is keeping up with it in an exemplary way–but the new E63 is proof that they’ve got their ears to the streets and listening to the good word. Continue reading The new Mercedes E63: Just what the doctor ordered.
The name “Mangusta” is one that gets all motorheads giddy. It’s the Italian word for “mongoose”–a perfect animal name for the car that it was bestowed upon. The De Tomaso Mangusta is still ranked highly as one of the best combinations of Italian style and American power, with its stunning, menacing early 1970s Giugaro lines, gull-winged engine bay, and stump-pulling Ford small-block V8 (a few had the 351 V8). Only 401 were ever built from 1967 until 1971, but in the 1990s and early 2000s, someone brought the name back–and the car had some strikingly similar characteristics to its namesake. Continue reading Obscure Auto: Qvale Mangusta
Back in the 1970s, Cadillac and Lincoln were facing an onslaught of luxury imports. Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Jaguar were all moving in on their sales and they needed to adapt to the newbies, which were just as luxurious (if not more) for a decent price, with better economy and reliability. Both brands went to the drawing board, and within two years of each other debuted a new, smaller model which was designed to give an owner the same experience as the bigger cars, but with a nod to better economy and practicality. Continue reading Badge Engineering: How one got it right, and one got it utterly wrong.
Mind Over Motor 