Welcome to the land of the open road! A cool breeze tussles your hair as verdant hillsides rush on by. The mountain pass ahead is lit by a resplendent scarlet sky. And yet, with the approach of each hairpin turn, your tires stay firmly planted on the ground. Total confidence, total control. With a vintage sports car, every mile means another smile.
Having recently been able to look at (and sit in!) a friend’s red 1967 MGB roadster in Fort Collins, I wondered about how Goldie, the pale primrose yellow 1969 British roadster I enjoyed for 12 years, was faring. Happily, Steve (the MG’s new owner) just sent me an update.
As it turns out, the vintage sports car is hibernating during Montreal’s long winter. It also appears that she is in need of a bit of work to be roadworthy again, which is in contrast to last August when Steve reported she was running great. Her oil pressure relief valve may be sticking and the brake master cylinder is leaking now. Fortunately, Steve has a whole school bus of spare parts and the time and energy to tackle these issues. Continue reading »
Today is January 5th, or the day after the expiration date of General Motors’ offer to dealers of $7,000 for every new Pontiac or Saturn that is moved to rental-vehicle or service-vehicle fleets. What does this mean? It signifies that now there should be no more Pontiacs or Saturns for sale that aren’t classified as “used” — even if the dealers end up reselling undriven vehicles from those fleets — as the dealers would technically be the first owners.
In other words, Pontiac and Saturn are essentially dead. Kaput. Gone. No más. Continue reading »
It’s always great to hear from old friends who were an important part of my life — even the gal who now speaks in tongues or the psycho chick whom I’m not exactly sure why I dated in the first place. Hence, I was thrilled to hear about Goldie today for the first time in two years. It’s not like she can compose a thoughtfully typed out e-mail or post a status update on Facebook. She’s a British roadster, you see. Continue reading »
“Well, I sold the Alfa today,” I told Tori after she asked me what was new.
Yes, it’s true. This was something of a foregone conclusion the moment I purchased the Audi TT Roadster in January, but I waited to list the car on Craigslist until the summer — a better time to sell a convertible. And as I watched Elaina, the ‘91 Foglio Green Alfa Romeo Spider Veloce, drive away from my house one last time, I reflected upon my time with her over the last six years. That’s how long she’s graced the garages of my homes or — for a few transitional months in 2005 — was my home. Continue reading »
There is one weekend each year when downtown Fort Collins turns into a virtual movie set for American Graffiti
— the second Saturday of June when the Old Town Car Show takes place. Notwithstanding the economic recession and recent Seattle-like weather, hundreds of glimmering cars and trucks from decades past stood proud with chrome and lacquer seemingly a foot deep, eager to be admired and, in one or two cases where permissible, touched. Continue reading »
In 1999, General Motors invited me to test drive a bunch of their vehicles on makeshift courses at a Great America parking lot. While spinning the wheels of a C5 Chevrolet Corvette and even the atrociously styled Pontiac Trans Am convertible gave me some smiles, there was another sporty-looking oddity that left me in bewilderment and disgust. I disliked it so much that I didn’t even bother to take a photo of the vehicle and promptly forgot about the experience until nine years later.
That is, until I saw an article about how much a recent example sold for: $465,000! Continue reading »
 like I had to here in 2002.&title=Another Goldie Update "Working on old British roadsters is a labor of love, something Goldie's new owner relishes. I hope he will not have to completely remove the engine (to solve an oil pressure problem) like I had to here in 2002.")
&title=Goodbye U.S. Manufacturers "The Pontiac Solstice Coupe was the last new sports car design by Pontiac before the company’s death. (Photo: Pontiac)")
. When Steve, her current owner, sends me an updated photo, I will replace this one with it.&title=Goldie Update "My last drive with my little MGB (Nov. 1, 2007). When Steve, her current owner, sends me an updated photo, I will replace this one with it.")
 Chevy Nova. This one was customized quite a bit.&title=Old Town Car Show, CO "A first generation (early 60s) Chevy Nova. This one was customized quite a bit.")
&title=I Drove a $465,000 Car "When I drove the EV1 in 1999, I thought it looked and drove terribly. No matter; in 10 years an example similar to this one appreciated in value by roughly 1,000%! (Photo: getmsm.com)")