A long time ago, in the seventies, I remember that I’d become fascinated by classic Lancia’s after reading ecstatic reports about them in the car magazines of the day. So I set out to try one for myself. In truth, I couldn’t have managed without having a car-mad father who would fix things that would go wrong, because I was never handy with the spanners.…
Last week, I took 3 very slow trains to Minto to pick up a 2010 Citroen DS3 Sport purchased in Victoria and transported by truck to Sydney. Bought sight unseen for $7000, I picked it up in the pouring rain and drove home hoping it might be the solution to the car problem that has become apparent since moving to the Upper Blue Mountains from Sydney two years ago.…
There’s no question many of us are likely to buy our first electric car, if not now, possibly within the next ten years or so. And, as a pioneering EV vehicle producer, Tesla is probably the most prominent electric car brand in the world currently, just about every other car maker across the globe is playing catch up.…
The recent release of the motion picture about the now legendary battle for sports car racing supremacy in the mid-sixties is very welcome because it’s a multi-layered tale about an epic time in motorsport.
I should say straight away that I enjoyed the film and so did my long-suffering wife, despite my elbow nudges and eye-rolls at the scenes I found laughingly inaccurate.…
In common with most car nuts, I’m always dreaming about the cars I’ve never owned or driven. Amongst my long list of automotive heartbreakers, I’d have to say Abarth ranks high on my personal list of cars I’ve missed out on. My recent report on MotorClassica 2019, where I fell in love with an unfinished Abarth Simca 1300 coupe, reminded me that I’ve had a life-long motoring affair with the marque without actually owning one.…
This Abarth Simca 1300 wasn’t quite finished, as you can see. Even so, I can picture it fully restored quite clearly in my mind’s eye. One of the few cars I could see replacing my ’93 Carrera 2, even if it isn’t anything like as useable.
I’m not a ‘natural’ car lover. Nor do I naturally have ‘good taste’ in cars (I am mortified to say that I once owned a pink VW Convertible – don’t judge me. I was young.)
I also wouldn’t consider myself an expert on cars.…
Julian, my next door neighbour, as luck would have it, is something of a petrolhead. So you can imagine that after we’ve discussed all the more important things in life, our conversations inevitably turn to cars, beginning with a comparative discussion about our respective Ford Mustangs GT’s (mine’s a 2016 model, his a 2018 version).…
When I look at the cars I’ve owned throughout my driving life, I can see there have been two clear motives for choosing them. Firstly, there are cars I’ve lusted after which, first and foremost, have needed to tug at my heartstrings to make it to my garage.…
This is the story of how my father and I had decided to see if we could wrangle our way into the Alfa Romeo Museum while on a visit to Italy.
The previous day we had been given a personal guided tour around the Lamborghini factory, thanks to the Australian importer in Sydney informing the management I was an important customer.…