Excerpts taken from world famous ‘Hemmings Auto Blog’
1947 Playboy convertible prototype. All images courtesy of David Kaplan. It’s an oft-recounted tale: Demand for new cars in postwar America was at an all-time high. Returning GIs, the baby-boom that followed and Detroit’s reconversion from war effort to automobile production meant that many were buying hurriedly-built warmed-over 1942 models Read more
Have one of these? Porsche is still testing tires for them. Photos courtesy Porsche Classic. Buy a used BMW M6, or a second-hand Mercedes-Benz SL, and finding suitable replacement tires will likely be a roll of the dice. Even finding an acceptable size is no guarantee of performance, since factory Read more
Steve Stachowski’s 788,000-mile 1984 VW Rabbit GTI. Photos by author. It started, as is often the case, with a recommendation. I am always telling owners of nice cars that I shoot that I’m looking for more. Usually I don’t hear back, or their recommendations are in a place that I Read more
For a segment of the population, there’s no such thing as “too prepared” for disasters of either the natural or man-made kind. Stocking up on water and canned goods is never a bad idea, but for those who want the ability to get out of Dodge no matter what, this Read more
Danny Thompson and the Challenger II. Photo courtesy Thompson LSR. The 2014 Bonneville Speed Week, commemorating a century of racing on the salt, was supposed to take place from August 9-15, but torrential rains put much of the salt flats under water and the event was cancelled. One competitor that Read more
1933 Chrysler CL Imperial five-passenger phaeton, the Radnor Hunt Best of Show. Photos courtesy Radnor Hunt Concours d’Elegance. One of the major categories at this month’s Radnor Hunt Concours d’Elegance outside Philadelphia was a salute to classic Chryslers. When the judging at the longtime fox-hunting preserve in Chester County was Read more
Here’s the GTO in all its sitting-in-storage-for-years glory. The front tire was pumped up again right after the photo, as looking at it was driving me nuts. Photos by the author. I have never been a fan of Internet therapy, where a person posts their most personal problems either in Read more
The Mercedes-Benz SL convertible has always featured an appealing blend of luxury and performance, and used prices for 350, 450, 380 and 560 variants have yet to take off. According to the buyer’s guide in the October 2014 issue of Hemmings Sports and Exotic Car, a low price for an Read more
Admittedly, many of the cars we’ve profiled as Driveable Dreams over the years get labeled as such due to the simple fact that their owners take them around town, to the ice cream stand and back, maybe to an out-of-town car show every now and then. Les Gordon’s 1940 Buick Read more
Introduced for the 1961 model year, Pontiac’s Tempest was intended to be the brand’s entry-level compact. Despite these humble origins, the car featured fresh styling (that in our opinion still looks good today), a four-wheel independent suspension and a rear-mounted transaxle to improve front to rear weight distribution (and with Read more