Car Shows

1938 Peugeot 402 Darl’Mat Legere Special Sport Roadster at the Concours of America

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Peugeot 402 Darl'Mat Legere Special Sport Roadster 2

I was totally blown away by this magnificent 1938 Peugeot Darl/Mat at the Concours of America this year. A two-tone yellow paint scheme is always sure to turn some heads, but combined with such nice lines, it took me a while to pick my jaw up off the grass.

The Peugeot Darl’Mat was a sports and racing car of the era. It even saw a class victory at Le Mans in 1938. Underneath its gorgeous bodywork from Marcel Pourtout, this particular car is a Peugeot 402 Darl’Mat Legere…  the lightest model with the biggest engine.

The 402 Darl’Mat was powered by Peugeot’s 2 Liter overhead valve 4 cylinder engine, which was mated to a 4-speed  preselector gearbox. This was all cutting edge tech for racing back in the era, with similar designs found in other notable French racers, such as Delahayes.

As with many 1930’s French cars, this Peugoet’s visual beauty drew me in. In addition to its striking color combo, it has some stunning detail work all around.

With just over 100 Peugeot Darl’Mats built, this car is quite a rare sight, especially when you account for the coachwork.

This surely won my own personal Best In Show award at the Concours Of America this year. Enjoy the gallery!

-Nick Walker

Continue reading 1938 Peugeot 402 Darl’Mat Legere Special Sport Roadster at the Concours of America →

Cars We've Seen

Citroen Acadiane spotted in Malvern, PA

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Citroen Acadiane Front//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js

As Nick and I were about to leave the Radnor Hunt Concours last month, I happened upon this old Citroen van and shot a few pictures of it. Not knowing what it was, I thought it was an old Mehari or 2-CV. Turns out, I’m wrong. This is a Citroen Acadiane panel van, and it’s about the size of a mail truck. They made over 200,000 of these, but I doubt many survive–it’s old and French, and like old Citroens, it probably does well at rotting in a field. Luckily, this one looked quite nice. Enjoy the photos. Continue reading Citroen Acadiane spotted in Malvern, PA →

Cars We've Driven, Everyday Normal Cars, SUVs and Crossovers

Jeep Renegade Limited Review: The Italians Have Made A Jeep You’ll Love!

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Jeep Renegade Limited Review 1

When you think of Jeep, you think of the iconic Jeep Wrangler. Drawing its heritage all the way back to the army jeeps of World War II, the Wrangler has become the staple off-road vehicle of choice for many.

Many people just love the Wrangler’s unique style, though, without much interest in actually using its vast off-road capabilities. These buyers spell big opportunity for Jeep.

You see, while the Wrangler is quite “cool”, it’s strict off-road focus gives it some pretty serious drawbacks when it comes to everyday on-road driving. Anyone wanting to drive a Wrangler for its style points will have to be willing to sacrifice on fuel economy, practicality, handling, comfort, and security (with open models). Kind of a tough sell.

The big solution for Jeep was to create an all-new model that would take the Wrangler’s DNA and distill it into a more useable package for normal on-road use.

The new Jeep Renegade is that solution. Where the Wrangler is an off-roader first and daily car second, the Renegade is daily car first and an off-roader second.

Jeep Renegade Limited Review 7 Jeep Renegade Limited Review 20

Renegades are selling well, and I do think Jeep may have a home run on their hands here. Honestly, there are more buyers out there who just want a Jeep for the unique style of the brand, rather than to actually go rock crawling in the desert.

My girlfriend, Gab, is a perfect example. She’s all about the Jeep image, and she loves the car’s features, but she’s not all about getting it muddy or traversing the Mojave desert in her spare time.

Gab got this black 2015 Jeep Renegade Limited a little over a month ago, and she’s been letting me drive her around in it. I feel I’ve gotten to know the car pretty well at this point, and now it’s time to share my take on it with you, my dear readers.

So put your boots on and lets get to it! Continue reading Jeep Renegade Limited Review: The Italians Have Made A Jeep You’ll Love! →

Car Shows

Porsche Cayman GT4s at Radnor Hunt

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Radnor Hunt Porsche Cayman GT4 Yellow

There were not one, but two brand new Porsche Cayman GT4s at Radnor Hunt this year. I checked out the inside of the yellow display model, and it just felt perfect – the shifter, the driving position, I even liked the stiff clutch pedal for a car like this. I look forward to the day I may get to actually drive one because I’ve heard it is sublime.

Now if only Porsche would give it the shorter final drive ratio that everyone says it needs, then it’d be just about perfect!

-Nick Walker

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Car Shows

1956 Chevrolet Bel Air Convertible at Lead East

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Chevrolet Bel Air Convertible Lead East 1

What a color combo on this immaculate ’56 Chevy!

Mint green and black two tone is not something you see everyday, and how spectacular it looked on this car. There were other Chevys of the era in attendance at Lead East this year, but this thing stood out for me among the crowd. I was literally drooling over this thing for like 40 minutes (my girlfriend will be happy to confirm).

I always love cars in off-beat and unique colors, but this Bel Air Convertible was also in pristine condition, which helped it draw me in. This is proof that a car does not need to be totally custom to shine at a show like Lead East. With the right options, a factory car can be quite stunning on its own.

Enjoy the gallery of this ‘beaut!

Continue reading 1956 Chevrolet Bel Air Convertible at Lead East →

Cars We've Seen

2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat spotted in Plymouth, MI

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Dodge Challenger Hellcat Front//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js

After Nick, Shane, and I finished attending and covering the Concours of America at St. John’s, we drove into Plymouth because Nick wanted coffee and the other two of us were dehydrated. We parked up and walked to a local Starbucks, and came across this brand-new red Hellcat sitting on the side of the street. Nick noticed it was an automatic, and immediately began his usual rant about how no one should buy one of these with the slushbox.

Best part? The owner and his son were having a bite to eat just next to the car. Luckily, the owner was happy to debate Nick and offered his reasons for buying the Hellcat with an automatic transmission–such as ease of driving it in traffic every day. While the owner and Nick didn’t see eye-to-eye, I really don’t mind that it’s an automatic. Since I see so few of these where I live and this is only the second Hellcat I’ve gotten up close to, I’m just glad people are buying them–so much, in fact, that demand is thankfully outstripping supply. More photos after the jump. Continue reading 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat spotted in Plymouth, MI →

CARS 101, Opinions

Don’t Let The Dieselgate Recall Ruin Your VW TDI Experience

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Volkswagen TDI Dieselgate

Volkswagen TDIs are incredible vehicles, despite much of the public sentiment right now, propagated by the whole Dieselgate debacle. 

Disagree? Then try achieving over 50 MPG while cruising at 90mph in any other car… a Pruis will barely even go that fast, let alone be efficient there.

Many Volkswagen TDI owners are very worried about the Dieselgate recall ruining their car’s performance, fuel mileage, and resale value — more so than the possibility of their car killing a few extra birds.

This article is for the informed diesel buyers, and probably not the those who bought their cars based on some vast “green” marketing fantasy. Everyone who knows diesel, knows it’s not the cleanest option, but they also know that its durabiltiy and efficiency makes up for that.

So if you’re starting to feel angry about the bird comment, then I suggest you stop reading here because the rest of this article will only piss you off even more.

For the rest of you, I want to discuss the best course of action for TDI owners who want to keep their diesels running solid after the recall is implemented. And yes, that means running a bit dirty to retain the outstanding performance and fuel economy, which are likely the main reasons you purchased a TDI. I will also discuss my take on what will most likely happen with the value of TDIs in the coming years (utilizing my degree in economics!).

Continue reading Don’t Let The Dieselgate Recall Ruin Your VW TDI Experience →

Car Shows, SHOWCASE

1966 Shelby GT-350 at the Concours of America at St. Johns

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1966 Shelby GT350 Front//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js

When Carroll Shelby got his hands on the Ford Mustang for the very first time, amazing things happened, and history would be changed for good. From 1965 on, once the first GT-350 screamed to life and burned rubber off the assembly line, “Shelby” was associated with the phrase “fast Mustang”. Although little changed in his second year of selling the GT350, demand stayed white-hot. This slick Raven Black fastback is just a small sample of what these cars were capable of–and of those who bought them. Continue reading 1966 Shelby GT-350 at the Concours of America at St. Johns →

Car Shows

Minty Green Porsche 356 at Radnor Hunt

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Radnor Hunt Porsche 356 Green

We caught this lovely mint green Porsche 356 in the special car park at this year’s Radnor Hunt Concours d’Elegance.

I always love seeing cars in offbeat colors, and the 356 wears this shade of green quite well.

Enjoy!

-Nick

Car Games

How Would You Have It? 2016 Porsche 911 Carrera S (It’s Turbo Time!)

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2016 Porsche 911 Carrera S Miami Blue

So the new Porsche 911 Carrera models now come with turbochargers, but Porsche also used the occasion to debut this incredible new color, Miami Blue (so ’80s!).

I wanted to see how the change had affected the real, out-the-door prices, so I figured it’d be good for a price game.

Continue reading How Would You Have It? 2016 Porsche 911 Carrera S (It’s Turbo Time!) →

Auto Idolatry

Motor Trend Takes Us Around In The Range Rover Sport SVR

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This is one of the more entertaining review videos I’ve seen, especially when they race the Range Rover Sport SVR against an Alfa Romeo 4C at the track.

The SVR is quite a machine, there’s no denying that!

-Nick