Classic Cars
Little Tikes Cozy Coupe: First “Car” for Many Has Roots In Real Car World
The holidays get us thinking about toys, and when car people think about toys, a few things are bound to come up. Hot Wheels and Matchbox, sure—maybe even Micro Machines. But for a younger (and broader) set of kiddos, the Little Tikes Cozy Coupe might have been the first car in their life. Maybe it was in yours. It’s not possible to quantify the impact these early car toys had on budding enthusiast psyches, but we can peek into the origin and evolution of this timeless kick-powered toy. Its iconic shape isn’t merely friendly and aesthetically pleasing—it’s also far more clever than it would first appear. The original Cozy Coupe prototype was the brainchild of Jim Mariol, a designer who had a stint in auto design. There’s a fantastic profile of Mariol by the Universi...
Mazda’s Logo, Like Its Stable of Cars, Has Evolved Over 100 Years
2020 hasn’t been totally terrible—among other things, it marked the 100th anniversary of founding of the Toyo Cork Kogyo Company, which we now know as Mazda. Jujiro Matsuda was an engineer in Osaka, and in 1920 he came home to Hiroshima to open a new company that manufactured cork. His first logo was a red circle with a broken horizontal line, which Matsuda intended to indicate his desire to contribute to the world. See all 22 photos Toyo Kyogo transitioned to manufacture of heavy machinery in 1927, and in 1931 they produced their first vehicle, the Mazda-Go three-wheel truck. The vehicle was named for Ahura Mazda, a Zoroastrian deity whose name literally translates to “god of wisdom,” and whose name had a happy similarity to Matsuda’s own. In 1934, Toyo Kyogo devel...
The Sterling 825: A Pseudo Honda and One of the Worst Cars in History
Some “terrible” cars weren’t actually terrible, and rides like the AMC Gremlin and Ford Mustang II have an undeservedly reputation for being bad. But some terrible cars truly do deserve every ounce of scorn sent their way, including the ill-fated Anglo-Japanese mashup at the center of this piece, the Sterling 825. It was a car that had every opportunity to be great, but turned out to be one of the worst cars ever sold in America. Honda and Rover—an Unlikely Partnership Back in the 1980s, the Austin-Rover Group—refugee from the wreckage of British Leyland—had found some success in its home market by selling rebadged Hondas, first as the Triumph Acclaim and later as the Rover 200. ARG needed a replacement for the aging full-size Rover SD1, and was itching to get back i...
The Weird and Wonderful AMC Rambler Marlin Was a Concept Car Come to Life
The Rambler Marlin remains a rare sight in the world of classic cars, but the car’s utterly unique appearance makes them a welcome visitor to any venue. Naturally, that time we heard the Marlin Auto Club was holding a “Gathering of Marlins” at the American Motors Owners Association (AMO) International Convention in Rockford, Illinois, we had to check it out. An even 10 Marlins—mostly 1966 models for their 50th anniversary—turned out for the Gathering, and a pre-production Rambler Tarpon clone even dropped by the AMO’s big show the second day. We also got a chance to talk to artist Vince Geraci, head of the American Motors Corporation’s design studio in charge of of the AMC Marlin, who gave a brief presentation on the car. See all 7 photos Marlin Preh...
Unique Off-Road SUVs that are Cheap, Cool, and Fun
See all 6 photos ZJ / WJ Jeep Grand Cherokee By far the most popular suggestion sent our way was to take a look at both the ZJ and WJ generations of the Jeep Grand Cherokee. The ZJ represents the first generation of Jeep’s full-size SUV, which embiggened the unibody construction and looks of the popular XJ Cherokee but added numerous creature comforts as well as an available 5.2-liter V-8 engine on top of the slow, but trusty 4.0-liter inline six. It also offered solid axles front and rear, along with several different four-wheel drive systems and, eventually, a larger 5.9-liter V-8 in the last year of its 1993-1998 production run. The WJ was the next step after the ZJ, and delivered essentially the same package matched with revised styling and according to Jeep, only 127 shared comp...
Barn Find! 1969 RS/SS 396 Big-Block Chevy Camaro Found After Almost 40 Years!
Barn finds are something we all dream about discovering, but few of us actually do. Today the term “barn find” refers to any really cool classic car that’s found stuffed away in some dusty corner, old field, or the like, so it doesn’t actually have to be a barn (although that is a pretty cool bonus). See all 19 photos This time around, the find in question is a pretty iconic ride, namely a 1969 Chevrolet Camaro RS/SS big-block 396 (325 hp). This one was built at the Van Nuys, California, plant and originally sold by Bob Coyle Chevrolet in San Jose, California. The great news is this classic Camaro came with a ton of original documents, including the original Protect-o-Plate (a small metal or plastic plaque GM started including with cars in the ’60s to help tra...
Give the Gift of the Ultimate Japanese Project Car: A Barn-Find 1973 Nissan Skyline GT-R
Surprising your significant other with a new car payment on a Lexus this holiday season? Not cool, bud. If you’re going to make rash, irresponsible financial decisions, you gotta think bigger than some lame ES350 in Moonbeam Beige Metallic from a December to Remember—we suggest hopping on this heaping scoop of “rotisserie restoration” and “dealing with trans-Pacific international customs” and scooping up this barn-find 1973 Nissan Skyline GT-R currently for sale in Hokkaido, Japan. The sale was recently reported by The Drive and resurfaced a few months ago on Reddit. Look, I know you were all jazzed up about presenting your guy or gal with an anodyne mid-grade crossover lease complete with the big ol’ red bow, but don’t forget you can buy...
The Lamborghini Jalpa Is a Forgotten Lambo Supercar
Lamborghini Jalpa Essential History Despite the myopia of popular car culture, the Countach wasn’t the only Lamborghini produced in the 1980s. Even with the public’s overwhelming fixation on Lambo’s superstar V-12 wedge, a small number of V-8-powered mid-engine sports cars were sold alongside the bigger, badder, and significantly more expensive Countach. They don’t get nearly as much attention then, either, but compared to the rarer and even lesser-known Urraco and Silhouette, the Lamborghini Jalpa, produced between 1981 and 1988, was the most popular entry-level Lamborghini until the Gallardo’s arrival in the early 2000s. Stylistically, the Bertone-designed Jalpa is very much an evolution of the earlier Silhouette, incorporating the Silhouette’s transve...
The Mercedes-Benz SL73 AMG and Its Huge V-12 Were Peak ’90s Excess
Mercedes-Benz’s V-12 engine isn’t dead yet despite regulatory predation and increasingly power-dense V-8 engines painting a bleak future. As the lights dim on the big 12, it is now built only by AMG’s technicians and is only available stateside in a single non-AMG model, the Mercedes-Maybach S650. Back in the 1990s, though, Benz’s V-12 was the new thing in town, and graced the priciest, most dignified versions of the S-Class sedan and coupe, as well as the SL convertible. See all 10 photos The 6.0-liter V-12—the same size as the current unit but lacking today’s pair of turbochargers and 2o-plus years of technological advancement—announced itself with a long, airplane-style starter whirring noise, a sophisticated exhaust thrum, and a set of bumper-sticker-sized...
Remember Isuzu? Its History Is *Much* Wilder Than You Think
When was the last time you thought about Isuzu? If you live in the U.S.A., it’s probably been quite a while since that Japanese automaker has crossed your mind given the last Isuzu passenger vehicle sold in America got its tags in 2009. Don’t worry, though—Isuzu is doing fine without us, as one of the largest suppliers of commercial diesel engines, trucks, and buses globally. Isuzu also still sells passenger trucks and SUVs in other markets. Even when it was still selling cars here, Isuzu wasn’t exactly the most exciting or evocative automaker—at least, not toward the end of its U.S. presence. While other Japanese manufacturers like Toyota, Honda, Mazda, and Nissan made huge inroads in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, Isuzu didn’t really start to pick up until the 1980s...
The 1993 Isdera Commendatore 112i Is the Mid-Engine V-12 Supercar Time Forgot
Want a mid-engined Mercedes? Tough luck, Richie Rich. Despite decades of building some of the most desirable sports and supercars to ever tear a tire and sublimate a straightaway, the amount of mid-engined cars with Mercedes’ tri-pointed star on the front grille can be counted on one hand. Recently, Mercedes-Benz stirred hearts—and offshore bank accounts—with its allegedly forthcoming Mercedes-AMG One hypercar that’s still stuck in development hell. But if it’s a low-slung Benz supercar you want, you’re stuck with hunting down one of the ultra-low-production CLK GTR homologation specials from 1998-1999, or “settling” for the AMG-sourced V-12 in either the Pagani Zonda or Huayra. Or you could simply be the high-bidder on the one-of-one 1993 Isdera Co...
This 1967 Dodge Coronet R/T Was Rescued from a Rusty Fate
There were no shortage of history-making events in 1971. The Apollo 14 astronauts landed on the moon, the war in Vietnam continued to rage on, Intel released the world’s first microprocessor, and Dirty Harry made his big screen debut. But none of it mattered all that much to Frank Kassel at the time. His attention was focused squarely on one thing: scoring his very first set of wheels, which turned out to be a 1967 Dodge Coronet R/T. “In the summer of ’71 I had just graduated high school,” Frank remembers, “and was working full time as a mechanic in a Cities Service gas station. My goal was to save enough money to buy my first car.” After working at the service station for a few months, Frank met a friend of his boss who happened to be a dealer of used, ...
