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Fiat/Ferrari Collaboration: 1966-1972 Fiat Dino
2010-01-16
Fiat introduced its 2-liter Dino at the 1966 Turin Motor Show, a collaboration between the giant Italian automaker and its chic counterpart, Ferrari. Available as either a curvy, open Spider by Pininfarina or a smart-looking 2+2 coupe designed by Bertone, the car evolved into a 2.4-liter model by 1970. Ferrari eventually assumed production, and quality improved over the Dino's run. By 1972, more than 7,600 Fiat Dinos of all stripes had been built, the rarest of them the 2.4 Spider, with just 424 produced. It is these 2.4 Spiders that are the most collectible of the bunch.
Ford’s Errant Arrow: 1956-1957 Continental Mark II
2009-11-28
The Continental Mark II was Ford’s attempt at creating an ultra-luxury flagship that would compete against the world’s best cars. Hand-built in limited numbers, the Mark II was manufactured between 1956 and 1957, and was well received by the public. The car’s high price tag and understated appeal, however, meant it would never sell in volume, and production of the Mark II ended after only two years.
Barely a Ripple - 1965-1967 AMC Marlin
2009-10-28
American Motors Corporation (AMC) arrived on the carmaking scene after Nash and Hudson merged in 1954, and while the new company was never a serious threat to the Big Three, its mid-sized line of the early 1960s offered a smart and more fuel efficient alternative to some of Detroit's big sedans. But as the muscle and pony car era began, and as AMC came under new leadership, all of that was about to change.
Under the direction of stylist Dick Teague, AMC designers went to work on a small two-door fastback with 2+2 seating. Based on the Rambler American and dubbed the Tarpon, it was the car AMC leaders hoped would shed the company's stodgy image. It received a warm response at its limited showings, but by the time the car hit the streets as the Marlin in 1965, the philosophy behind it had changed: Every proportion of the car had grown significantly and seating was now for six.
Geography Lesson
2009-10-03
The other day, two things happened to me that seemed incongruous at first, but upon later reflection seemed to be of a pair. The first was that I happened across a garage sale bargain, INXS’s underrated Listen Like Thieves, for just a buck. This is not the forum for debating the merits of this album versus its successor, Kick, which is beside the point anyway. I bought the CD because I used to listen to INXS in high school and have fond memories of the band. (Kind of sounds like the reason a lot of us buy old cars, too.)
The funny thing is that in playing my “new” CD, I remembered how when I was 16 I thought INXS was the most exotic band in the world. This was based exclusively on their being from Australia, which sounds foolish, but growing up in the Midwest during the pre-Internet era, around the time of Crocodile Dundee, Down Under may as well have been the moon. (I still haven’t been there, so perhaps it is?)
1964-1966 Honda S600
2009-08-02
Honda's roots run deep as a motorcycle manufacturer, and by the mid 1950s, the company was the most successful builder of two-wheeled machines in the world. But Soichiro Honda was a hard man to please, and once he'd reached the two-wheeled pinnacle, he set his sights on a new target—to create the world's most successful car business.
By 1962, he and his team of engineers arrived at the Tokyo Motor Show with Honda's first cars—the tiny 33-hp S360 roadster and the 44-hp S500 roadster. The S500 received a warm welcome and entered production for 1963, followed a year later by the similarly styled but more powerful S600. And it was the 1964 S600 that hit the spot for Honda.