Author Archive
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.
1958 Ford Del Rio Ranch Wagon
Note: The following story was excerpted from the February 2004 issue of Collectible Automobile magazine
By John Biel
The American station wagon has had many transformations over the years. It went from being seen as a commercial vehicle to being accepted as a passenger-car style. Wood body construction gave way to steel. And though four-door convenience made the most sense for such a vehicle, two-door wagons enjoyed a brief heyday that peaked in the mid Fifties.
The Speed of Sound: Ford v Ferrari
Christian Bale (left) and Matt Damon in Ford v Ferrari, which opens November 15, nationwide.
Film may have been born as a visual medium, but when the first “talkies” hit the silver screen more than 90 years ago, sound quite literally entered the picture. Should you go to see Ford v Ferrari, the new Hollywood movie about the quest to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1966, you’ll be glad it did.
1932 Buick Series 90 Convertible Phaeton
Note: The following story was excerpted from the April 2005 issue of Collectible Automobile magazine
The story of how Buicks came to be manufactured in Canada—including the very one featured on these pages—starts with one man. Robert Samuel “Sam” McLaughlin, born in 1871, eventually entered the well-regarded family carriage business located in Oshawa, Ontario. Then, in the early years of the twentieth century, he got interested in the automobile business.
