Car Profiles

Secrets of the original Volkswagen Beetle

January 25, 2013

The original air-cooled VW Beetle lasted an incredible 58 years in production, during which time it was fundamentally unchanged. It’s a record that will likely never be approached, let alone broken. Although nearly everyone of a certain age has at least one Beetle story or fond memory, there are a few things still not generally known about the beloved car. Here are five of our favorites:
 

The original classic Beetle didn’t leave production until 2003: Although it was last sold in the U.S ...
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The New Morgan Three-Wheeler: You can’t send the kid up in a crate like that!

November 12, 2012

Oh yeah? Just try to stop him – and hold on to your flying hat
It’s a fighter … no, it’s a biplane … no, it’s a three-wheeler!
It’s also hilarious: peer past the aero-style instruments over the high cockpit sides and it’s as much as you can do not to thumb the ‘fire’ button on the joystick (er, actually it’s the flap-covered starter button central on the dash, but your imagination runs away with you) before zapping off in search of more victims ...
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MGB and Me: My sister, the MGB

November 20, 2012

As long as I can remember, my father’s 1980 MGB — which he bought two weeks after I was born — has been part of my life. He even tells me that at less than two weeks old I was his first passenger the day he drove home from the downstate dealership where he bought it. He’d had to sell his first MG years earlier when he broke his leg and couldn’t get into the car. When he heard that MGs were being discontinued he knew he had to have one of the last ones ...
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Secrets of the Corvette

May 31, 2012

The Corvette, America’s favorite sports car, has been in production since 1953. Which would have given plenty of time, you’d think, to air its secrets, but there are still a few things that aren’t common knowledge about this American icon.
GM Almost Killed it:
The 1953 model year was really just a dress rehearsal, but when production began in earnest for 1954, there were more cars than buyers, who weren’t impressed with the lack of roll-up windows and modest performance ...
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The Packard from Hershey : How sweet it is

September 20, 2012

Bordering on three American States - New York, Vermont and Maine - Quebec has a long-standing love affair with the antique automobile that seems to only have deepened with time. So it’s no surprise that the province has the largest vintage car club in Canada, the VAQ (Voitures anciennes du Québec), established in 1974, which organizes countless events throughout the sunny season and offers its members an elegant 48-page monthly magazine that has never skipped a beat in the past 38 years ...
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