Emerson Fittipaldi's 1989 Indy 500 winner in 1/43 scale ... As a newspaper reporter I was roaming Gasoline Alley at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and watching bits of the race from inside Turn 1 when Emerson Fittipaldi won the 1989 Indianapolis 500. It was an exciting finish, but one I had to watch and re-watch... Continue Reading →
2020 Lexus NX 300 AWD F Sport
Lexus NX 300 a small ute with style . . . Small SUVs and crossovers are nearly as thick these days as political pundits, so it takes some effort to separate one from the mob of little tall wagons. Lexus tries, with some success, with its NX 300, based on the previous generation Toyota RAV4... Continue Reading →
2020 Hyundai Palisade SEL AWD
Palisade, like Telluride, a first rate family SUV … I declared the Kia Telluride the finest SUV I’d driven in ages and an absolute winner in every way when I drove it last June, but its kissin’ cousin, the Hyundai Palisade is equally as praiseworthy. I know us reviewers are supposed to pick at the... Continue Reading →
Die-cast: Autoart’s Nissan R390 GT1, 1998 Le Mans
Beautiful detail on Nissan's 1998 Le Mans GT racer … Le Mans racers have always been cutting edge, even in the 1920s and ‘30s when the endurance race was new. But for the past 20 years or so many of the top cars have developed into bubble-top racers with carbon fiber chassis, and engines that... Continue Reading →
2020 Volvo S60 T8 E-AWD Inscription
Oh my, Volvo's S60 hybrid delivers blow like Thor's Hammer ... You simply must admire the marketing genius of a car company that dubs its LED headlights as Thor’s Hammer. Volvo wins that honor with several of its latest models. The powerful headlights project a T, hence the Thor nomenclature. The latest hammering of lights... Continue Reading →
Die-cast: Auto World’s 1971 Plymouth GTX
A 1971 Plymouth GTX you can afford ... My neighborhood was packed with Road Runners back in the early 1970s, in no small part because we had one of the top-selling Chrysler-Plymouth dealerships in Indiana a few blocks from my house. The wild fruity colors of the late 1960s and early ‘70s lit up the... Continue Reading →
2019 Lexus RX 350L AWD Luxury
Lexus RX 350L, when you're entitled to more luxury ... There’s no doubt we’re an entitled society from top to bottom. But when one slides behind the steering wheel of a Lexus RX 350L it’s hard not to feel a strong urge of entitlement, and contentment. Granted, I’m lucky to get such a chance, but... Continue Reading →
Die-cast: Autoart Jaguar E-Type Lightweight
Jaguar E-Type "the most beautiful car ever made" … There is nothing like an E-Type Jaguar, for style, pizzazz or sheer high-performance beauty. When it was launched in 1961, the E-Type took the auto world by storm. Old men wished they were young again, young men wished they had the cash to buy one, and... Continue Reading →
Die-cast: IXO’s 2014 Chevy Camaro convertible
Camaro convertible looks fast even in 1/43 scale ... Chevy’s revamped version of the Camaro, launched in 2009, is a beautiful restyling of the classic 1960s muscle machine. Even racier is the convertible version. Now IXO releases its 1/43 scale model of the 2014 Camaro convertible in a stunning dark metallic red with flat black... Continue Reading →
2019 Hyundai Ioniq Plug-in Hybrid Limited
Hyundai hybrid is low cost from the get-go ... Hybrids in general, and plug-in hybrids in particular, are becoming the way to go for families looking for the best fuel economy, or socially conscious buyers wanting to reduce their carbon footprint. Fortunately the hybrid market just keeps expanding while becoming more affordable. For instance, this... Continue Reading →