Author Archive
A blog post that ran on The Daily Drive and two articles that appeared in its automotive-history companion publication came in for awards when the fourth-annual Automotive Heritage Awards (AHA) were presented recently.
1941 Dodge WC-18 Ambulance
Note: The following story was excerpted from the August 2012 issue of Collectible Automobile magazine
Of the many things Chrysler Corporation manufactured for American and Allied military services during World War II, perhaps the ones most likely to be still seen today are four-wheel-drive trucks produced by Dodge. They were manufactured in an array of body types for myriad battlefield tasks, and military-vehicle collectors still covet and preserve examples that have survived the ravages of war and time.
2021 BMW M5 Competition in Motegi Red Metallic
We’re old friends now, the BMW M5 and Consumer Guide editors. A week in the 2021 model with the Competition Package was our third turn in one of the current-generation cars, following tests of a 2018 M5 and a 2019 Competition.
2021 Dodge Durango SRT 392 in F8 Green
This post could have just as easily been “480 Cool Things about the 2021 Dodge Durango SRT 392.” That would have counted each of its 475 horsepower and five other cool things of some sort.
2021 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid Limited
As if the Chrysler Pacifica wasn’t good enough with a conventional powertrain, through 2020 it had the distinction of being the only minivan on the market with the availability of gas/electric hybrid power. That bragging point disappears with the arrival of the ’21 Toyota Sienna, but the Pacifica has done a few things that secure its place as a Consumer Guide “Best Buy” in the class.
First Spin: 2021 Toyota Camry
2021 Toyota Camry XLE AWD
Seemingly undaunted by conventional wisdom that says the sedan is dead, Toyota is pressing ahead with a physically freshened and technologically improved Camry for 2021.
1964 Ford Galaxie 500 Four-Door Sedan
Note: The following story was excerpted from the June 2011 issue of Collectible Automobile magazine
By John Biel
When Gary Spracklin answered the classified ad in a hobby publication, he thought he was buying a whistle-clean daily driver. What he wound up with was an unlikely “trailer queen,” a 1964 Ford Galaxie 500 four-door sedan that gets the royal treatment because he decided he wants to keep the odometer reading below 1000.
An account of Studebakers in competition at the Indianapolis 500 earned a Collectible Automobile® magazine author a gold medal and co-“Best-in-Category” honors from the third-annual Automotive Heritage Awards (AHA).
The 2020 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 goes sniffing for challenges on track or strip through a big grille and ducts that cool the engine, transmission, supercharger, and brakes. Shown here is a GT500 set up for drag racing with downforce-enhancing front-splitter wickers and rear-spoiler “Gurney flap” removed. Special tools for these parts are included with the car; so are instructions for optimal front camber settings.
If Ford Mustang and Shelby marketing chief Jim Owens is happy about anything, it’s this: “There is no better time to be a performance-car enthusiast than right now,” he says. No doubt he feels that way because for 2020 his stable of steeds has a new leader, the 760-horsepower Shelby GT500. It is, Owens notes, the fastest street-legal Mustang ever, either in a straight line or lapping a road course.
1950 Dodge B-2-B Panel Truck
Note: The following story was excerpted from the June 2013 issue of Collectible Automobile magazine
By John Biel
For decades after the old-car hobby got rolling in earnest, there was an increasing emphasis on exacting nut-and-bolt restorations, the results sometimes being vintage vehicles that looked better in retirement than the moment they left the assembly line years before. In recent years, though, an appreciation for worn but undisturbed originals has arisen. Even some prestigious car-club meets and concours d’elegance have created “preservation” classes to include these hardy survivors.
