Hemmings Auto Blog

It’s rather hilarious that many of the crashes in this half-hour compilation of late Fifties jalopy racing home movies occur immediately before a giant sign for a driving school. And, of course, crashes are the only reason to watch racing like this, right? * It’s a few years old now, Read more

When BMW debuted the M1-powered M5 sedan as a concept in 1984, Mercedes-Benz tuner AMG countered the threat by building a hot-rodded version of the E-Class, infused with a tuned V-8 borrowed from the 560 SEC and rated at 355 horsepower. Dubbed “The Hammer,” AMG’s super sedan could also be Read more

What you see above may not be immediately recognizable as any form of transportation, but as Engine Swap Depot pointed out this week, it’s something that would make Ray Russell proud: Sam Turner’s twin-turbocharged diesel two-wheel-drive hydrostatic-drive chopper. The ingenuity throughout this thing is impressive. * This past week marked Read more

2011 Mazda Miata pedals. Photo courtesy of Mazda North America. From the time I was old enough to push a Matchbox car across the rutted concrete retaining wall that held our backyard in check, I knew this: I wanted to learn to drive. By age 16, having mastered tricycles, bicycles, Read more

Surf’s up! Or maybe not, given the snow clinging to the roofs of the cars in this photo of Chicago’s Lake Shore Drive that we came across on ElectroSpark’s Flickrstream. Well, that, and the ominous skies out on the horizon. Looks like these folks were in for another round of Read more

Ford’s 427 didn’t make its way under a production car’s hood until 1963, but the side-oiler here looks right at home in the engine bay of this 1960 Ford Galaxie Sunliner for sale on Hemmings.com, especially with that four-speed (another not-for-1960 piece of equipment) and those wider-than-stock steelies. From the Read more

Burke in 1941 while serving as Secretary-Treasurer of the Western Timing Association. Photo courtesy Geoff Hacker. “The Michael Jordan of Bonneville,” Ryan Cochran, proprietor of The Jalopy Journal called him. Geoff Hacker, Hemmings contributor and historian of Forgotten Fiberglass sports cars, said of him in 2012: “Throughout his life, if Read more

The 2009 BMW Z4 used to create “An Expression of Joy” with artist Robin Rhode (L) and director Jake Scott. Photos courtesy BMW AG. The Petersen Automotive Museum officially reopens to the public on Monday, December 7, and among its new attractions will be the Armand Hammer Foundation Gallery, presented Read more

Vintage Auto and Find-A-Car Bingo cards; image by the author. Road trips, specifically interstate excursions during week-long family vacations, are a somewhat overlooked piece of automotive history. They’ve produced endless tales of roadside attractions and mom and pop eateries – some good, some bad – that can often achieve epic Read more

Pontiac print ad courtesy of ProductionCars.com. As ads go, this print piece for the 1965 Pontiac GTO would be deemed wholly ineffective by modern standards. The car’s make and model is called out in a surprisingly small font, and the only title refers to an undefined “our Thing,” with fine Read more