TweetIt sounds like a myth, but it is true: I was brought home from the hospital in my mother's 1955 Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight Starfire convertible. A fact that would otherwise be trivial is an indicator of what my future would hold. Let alone a point of historical reference that denotes a heritage of car ownership. Perhaps …
I’m still picking up from the "cutting room floor" vehicles that did not make the cut back in 2017 for the sake of our ninth anniversary. This is really an exercise that tests my memory, as well as giving a look back at vehicles that have stood the test of time over a decade ago.
Think about the idea of intention and purpose. A designer, an engineer, and an executive – oh, yes, let’s not forget the folks in accounting – are all involved in the process of creating a vehicle. Once everyone signs off on it, they have to campaign for its success. Even the marketing folks have to be on board with selling it to everyone – dealerships, the communications folks, and, ultimately, the consumer.
Mid-engine cars are not a new phenomenon. They’ve been around for decades. It is a simple set of physics and calculus that provides a car with near-perfect balance and center of gravity thanks to the engine mounted towards the middle of the vehicle.
TweetHave you ever looked at a vehicle out on the road – or in a parking lot – and wondered "why would anyone own such a thing?" Sounds judgmental, right? It is…or, not. The big thing about the vehicles we drive is that we choose it for a reason. Maybe it's the interior space. Maybe, …
Tweet All Photos by Randy Stern I grew up at the right time – the Malaise Era, to be exact. The industry was in the midst of change. Some of it was instigated by the oil-producing nations across the ocean. To manage change, the industry had to do something to meet the challenges of emissions …
TweetIn 1975, Cadillac took an important step to reclaim lost sales of their larger, more iconic automobiles. They introduced the Seville. The Seville represented a new kind of Cadillac – trim, small, but had every inch of Cadillac luxury inside and out. A 5.7-liter V8 powered this trim new Cadillac, even in the face of …
Tweet All Photos by Randy Stern Not to brag or anything, but some of us have lived long enough to remember certain vehicles in our lives that have been long forgotten by everyone else. Many vehicles have seen their last days, but their most loyal owners…and some desperate consumers…have kept the flames alive past their …
TweetThe first application of Sir Alec Issigonis' engineering breakthrough – All Photos by Randy Stern, except otherwise noted Remember Sir Alec Issigonis? The innovation he created by switching the orientation of the engine, changing the traditional transmission to a transaxle and sending power to the front wheels was a magnificent idea! The Austin/Morris Mini was …
I had a habit of renting cars in lieu of actual car ownership. They were expensive forms of therapy that enabled me to explore the place I call home. In the first several years of my life in the Twin Cities, General Motors provided a particular car that would be a staple of anything I attempted to do to explore and be social.