Archive for December, 2017
2001 Mercury Grand Marquis LSE
by Don Sikora
Note: The following story was excerpted from the August 2017 issue of Collectible Automobile magazine.
Mercury, and the Grand Marquis, left the automotive scene in January 2011. That final Grand Marquis was a direct evolution of the 1979 Marquis built on the “Panther” platform that was Ford Motor Company’s response to General Motors’s downsized 1977 large cars. Consider for a moment that Panther’s run of 33 model years remarkably covered nearly half the history of Mercury itself. Over time exterior styling evolved but this body-on-frame Merc’s basic specifications remained amazingly consistent.
2017 Dodge Viper
by Don Sikora II
Note: The following story was excerpted from the June 2017 issue of Collectible Automobile magazine.
When the production version of the original Dodge Viper RT/10 was introduced for the 1992 model year, it really was like nothing else. Sure, Carroll Shelby’s legendary Sixties-era Ford-powered Cobras provided inspiration, but Viper’s in-your-face, all-American design and 400-hp V-10 engine captured the public’s imagination.
First Spin: 2018 Chevrolet Tahoe RST
2018 Chevrolet Tahoe RST
Chevrolet’s extra-large SUVs can get a bit more attitude for 2018 with the addition of the RST Edition package. Available on both Tahoes and Suburbans, the RST (for “Rally Sport Truck”) appearance package brings a body-color grille surround and door handles in place of chrome, as well as blacked-out mirror caps, grille, window-trim, badging, and roof rails. The finishing touch is a set of exclusive 22-inch wheels on Bridgestone tires.
by Don Sikora II
Note: The following story was excerpted from the June 2017 issue of Collectible Automobile magazine.
The Renault 5 went on sale in France in 1972, but the car wasn’t available in America until 1976. The front-drive subcompact was 141.5 inches long and rode an average wheelbase of 95.2 inches. Yes, average wheelbase. The independent rear suspension used transversely mounted torsion bars, and for simplicity they were mounted one in front of the other. This resulted in the wheelbase on the left side of the car being 1.2 inches longer than on the right. Curb weight was 1819 pounds no matter what side the scale was on.
2018 Jeep Wrangler
The long-awaited redesigned Jeep Wrangler will be hitting the streets (and not-streets) soon; it’s slated to start arriving dealerships in January. You can read our full First Spin test-drive report here, but there were so many cool details and factoids about the new Wrangler “JL” that we couldn’t fit them all into our original review. Check ‘em out:
Aussie Madness! 12 Classic Ute Ads
1976 Ford Falcon
An important automotive anniversary passed with little fanfare recently. At least, it passed with little fanfare here in the United States.
2017 Volvo V90 Cross Country in Osmium Grey Metallic (a $595 option)
2017 Volvo V90 Cross Country T6 AWD
Class: Premium Midsize Car
Miles driven: 952
Fuel used: 39.7 gallons
First Spin: 2018 Nissan Leaf
2018 Nissan Leaf
As the first mass-market electric car to be sold by a major manufacturer, the original Nissan Leaf was a landmark vehicle. And it only gets better with its 2018 redesign.
1996 Volkswagen Golf Harlequin
Special-edition, limited-run vehicles have long been a part of most automakers’ bag of sales-boosting tricks. Producing a limited number of specially trimmed examples of a given vehicle—unique paint, wheels, interior and exterior trim, and maybe some stripes or special emblems—is a relatively easy, cost-effective way to drum up a little excitement over a given model line without incurring the significant expenses of a serious styling update or mechanical refresh. The special-edition model is a time-honored practice that has been going on in one form or another since the Fifties.
1960 Edsel
By now we all know the Edsel story. It’s a brutal tale having to do with market timing, a recession, and a bunch of bad luck. If you’d like to read more about the Edsel end days, click here.
