Everybody’s celebrating “100 years of Mazda” this week (though it did not build any vehicles until 1931) so here’s an actual anniversary Mazda – 1988’s 10th Anniversary RX-7. Mazda’s road to recovery from its slump…
Fiat Brava: Could’ve Been a Contender
A trip to the film archives takes us back today to OldMotors’ very own 1981 Fiat Brava, then just an unloved old car from a largely forgotten make. Better known as the 131, Fiat changed…
Hongqi CA770: China’s Official Limousine
A Chinese car for Chinese New Year – a 1974 Hongqi (pronounced “Hong-Ch’i,” meaning “Red Flag”) CA770. The CA770 replaced the earlier CA72 in the mid-1960s (though it retained much of the older car) and…
Volvo 242 GT: Adding Spice
You never hear about it now, but the mid-to-late 1970s were a really rough time for Volvo, both in Europe and North America. One response to trying to improve things was the short-lived but flamboyant…
Buick Apollo: Stuck in the Middle
You’d think that a “smaller” car launched just before a fuel crisis would be almost a sure fire hit, but not so with the Buick Apollo. It might have been smaller but it wasn’t “small,”…
Mini Down Under: Leyland Mini Clubman Van
Eagle-eyed British Leyland fans will also notice that this is not a Mini Clubman estate – although you can be forgiven for the assumption. In fact, it’s not an estate (er, wagon) at all but…
Flashback: Alfa 1900 Berlina in Ascona
Greetings from 1950s Switzerland! From Ascona, on the north end of Lake Maggiore, to be exact. A pair of Simca Arondes (a Berline and a Grand Large hardtop) face away from us and a Hillman…
Acura Integra Mk1: The Social Climber
It’s fair to say that nobody was quite sure how American customers would react to luxury cars from Japan in January of 1985. In the works since 1981, it was that month that Honda introduced…
Boldly Transatlantic: the “Audax” Hillman Minx
It was the MG TC that ignited American interest in imported cars, and of course, primarily sports cars. But in the export-or-die era, it wasn’t long before family fare arrived. The first two non-sporting imports…
Twilight of the Giants: Buick Roadmaster
After planning for permanently high fuel prices in the early eighties, GM watched as oil prices cratered just as its new front-drive full-sizers were introduced in 1984-85. Following a very strong 1983, Buick sold over…
1972 Datsun 1200: Competition Calls
For most buyers, the Datsun 1200 had but one purpose – economy. The 1200, known elsewhere as the B110 Sunny, was a bottom-feeder addition to the U.S. Datsun lineup for the 1971 model year and…
Are the Stars Out Tonight: Studebaker Starlight
“The first by far with a postwar car!” the ads trumpeted. It was pretty much true, although the cars didn’t actually get into customers’ hands until very late in the year and they housed mostly…