True Color London, 1927.

All I can think of is how expensive this must have been to shoot.

Via: Jalopnik

Why I'm Not A Rally Driver.

Yeah, I think I'll stick to Autocross...

Out With The Old, In With The... Much Older.

I've been thinking lately of moving on from my trusty (somewhat), old (increasingly) Ford Focus SVT. Something about the $1600.00 clutch job I just endured, and the $300.00 for a key that I paid less than two months previous, and the fact that it eats brake discs at the same rate it runs out of pads...

Don't get me wrong, it's been a great car, and has provided daily transport, and driving fun, deep in the heart of LA, for several years now. That said, it's getting on in years, and mileage, and fun as it is to drive, it's a bit charmless. It's expensive to run as well (as mentioned above), and that keeps it from being as useful as a daily driver as one might assume from its hatchback proportions. It's very sensitive to setup and so every time I hit a pothole, or parallel park (a common occurrence as I have nothing so luxurious as a garage right now), I end up terrified that I'm going to kill an expensive damper, or knock the alignment out.

Ok, so what I need is a reliable daily driver, about which I don't really have to care, and that I can maintain cheaply, to a level where it should last for years... But this isn't Consumer Reports; this is Gearhead's Lament, and that means doing the stupid thing, while using all my knowledge of cars to convince myself and others that it's actually the wise move. In that spirit, I'm looking less at five-year-old Toyota Corollas, and more at something like... this.

I can hear my father hissing in disapproval from over 300 miles away, but he needn't worry too soon because finding a good one (not as good as this one of course) is going to take some work.

It's going to take some change in lifestyle as well. No matter how well I'm able to restore an Alfa Berlina, I don't think it will work for daily transport in the way that say, a Ford Focus should. I'll have to make some adjustments to the number of miles I drive, and look into an increase in bicycling locally. That's kind of the point however, I'm willing to accept that an Alfa has its foibles and limitations because it's a special car in a way that a Focus, even a fast, fine handling Focus just isn't, so I'm willing to make those adjustments. The Berlina is the suggestion of a friend of mine who, it must be said, has Alfas on the brain. It would however, almost certainly be a more practical choice than the other suggestion I've gotten since mentioning the idea of trading away the Ford... this one.

The Europa comes with almost all the foibles as the Berlina, then adds its own limitation, space. No, Europas don't have a lot of space, and finding a good one will be just as big (though perhaps not as expensive) an undertaking as the Alfa. All that said, while it won't even challenge an Alfa for practicality, it might just be more dependable once set up. That little Renault engine (not the Alpine motor in the video) is actually pretty bullet-proof as long as it's kept cool, which really just leaves the electrics... well, at least there isn't that much that's electric about the car... right?

All of this is probably just a lot of talk. I do, after all, have a life to look after, and limited funds on which to live it. But the thought of actually buying into a really special car, and not paying much more for it than I've been paying for a modern hatchback is appealing; if I can make it work, you'll read it hear first.

A Weekend In Monterey.

Yup, I finally made it. No, not all the way to Pebble, that will have to wait until next year. I did however make it to the Historic Races at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, which may actually be better. These cars didn't just sit there, the roared around a track, and warmed-up on the paddock within arms reach. There were no ropes around the cars, nothing to keep you from touching them, except perhaps a sense of reverence.

I actually thought to take a camera this time! I forgot, and left it at home, but I thought about it. I remembered to borrow a camera though, and I remembered to use it to take pictures, no easy feat when you're busy plotting to steal a Maserati 4cl. You'll notice that none of the cars are in motion. This is because even when I remember to bring a camera, I am unable to pan with moving cars while jumping up and down with excitment. Here then are some of the pictures I did take.



The first shot is a Maserati 8CL, the second is a Tipo-60 Birdcage, and the third is a car I've wanted to see for a long time, a Denzel. Think of it as an Austrian Porsche and you're not too far off.

Speaking of Porsche, they were the featured marque, and the place was lousy with them. From humble 911s to screaming 904s and roaring 917s. There was a Porsche display with former Le Mans winning cars, and an on-track procession with everything from a pre-A 356 Cabrio, to an 804 F1 car, to the Le Mans winning 1998 GT-1.



That's a 718 F2 car at the bottom, the 804 is the first pic, and the GT-1 (which was awesome to see on the track) in the middle. I have no idea how I manged to avoid taking a picture of a 904 because it was all I could do to keep from tripping over them; they sounded incredible though, possibly the best noise of any car on track.

Picking my favorite car is next to impossible, and I'm not sure where to rank things like seeing Sterling Moss, or The Stig. I've got a short-list assembled here though, and it starts with the Alfa Romeo 33/2.


Next up is an original Rene Bonnet Djet! I've seen Matra Jets before, but never the Bonnet car.

The Maserati 250F never got off the trailer while I was around it, but that didn't stop it being a huge event for me.


But of everything there, the car that has stuck with me these last few days, was a failed GTP car that Mazda fielded in the early 90s. The RX-792P never won a race, in fact it didn't finish very many in its one season career. No, the Mazda will be remembered not for its winning ways, but for losing with more style than any ten other GTP cars ever had. I remember it mostly from a Mazda ad that circulated in magazines when I was young, and I've come across the static display car before. The car at Laguna was not static, it popped and gurgled its way through the paddock, and wailed its way around the track. I didn't expect to see it there that day, I never really expected to see it, but there it was.

It was part of a weekend to which I've been looking forward all year, and one I'm anxious to repeat. Monterey 2010 here I come!

Moretti Sportiva.

Here's a little gem I've been meaning to post for a while. It belongs to an acquaintance of mine, and is an object I covet more than just about anything owned by anyone I know (there's the small matter of a few Duesenbergs and a Mclaren F1 in there...). It was built in the 1970s by the children of Giovanni Moretti and is based on a Fiat 850 Berlina. This particular example is sporting Abarth power. The car is particularly tiny, and though it isn't fast, it's jewel-like in appearance, and would make a great commuter if it weren't for the impossible to replace bodywork and trim. Sorry about the crapulance of the photos, but my phone plus florescent lighting don't make for great pictures. Maybe next time I'll remember my camera. Till then, enjoy.

Innocenti Mini.

This pulled into the parking lot at Autobooks yesterday. Just thought I'd share a few pics. Despite having an updated Bertone body, this is basically a BMC Mini underneath as far as i can discern. Coolest part is the (rather large) hatch. Sorry I couldn't get any pictures of the interior.

Japanese Journalist Braves Toyota TS-010, Comedy Ensues.

Ok, so most of us would cherish the opportunity to ride in Toyota's 3.5 liter Group C challenger, even if it wasn't particularly successful. This hapless reporter though (I have no idea what his name is as all the words are in Japanese.), doesn't seem to know that's what he's going to get, even though he's wearing a racing suit. Thankfully, squeals of stark terror sound the same in any language.

Liberals Don't Like OHVs.

I say that as a liberal, a person who believes laws should be written to protect people and nature, sometimes even at the expense of personal freedom. I sometimes have a hard time reconciling those views with being a gearhead, and things like this video don't make it any easier.

Where to start. Well, the tone is totally alarmist, and ignores the fact that this has been an ongoing battle in this country for generations and one that environmentalists have largely won. Listening to this commentary, you'd think that if something isn't done this week to kill stop all automated recreation in the US, all trees will die. I for one don't think that's going to happen. I may eat my words, but there's precious little evidence that OHVs (Off Highway Vehicles) are going to be a major cause of.. well, anything. Same goes for jet-skies and SUVs, there just aren't that many of them.

What they do have an impact on, is hikers and naturalists. I really don't like it when any of these vehicles show up while I'm in the middle of bird watching, and it's true that improperly used OHVs can chew up a trail like little else. ATVs shouldn't be allowed just anywhere, but at the same time, naturalists tend to think of public land as "theirs" and of their style of use as the only legitimate idea. I not a big fan of OHVs, but I do think there's room for them in this world. Limited room, to be sure, but still room. Some of us tree-hugging liberals are just going to have to learn a little tolerance.

Via: Coyote Crossing

Le Mans, 1998.

I'll go ahead and say it. For nearly ten years, the 24 hours of Le Mans, has been a snooze-fest. Oh, I'm sure that if you're there it's still a great party, and the lower classes have been fun to watch. But for those of us watching from afar, it's been terrible, especially at the top with Audi dominating for the better part of a decade, due largely, I think, to the scrapping of a successor to the car that wins here.

1998 at Le Mans was a great race, it featured some of my favorite cars ever to make an appearance at the Sarthe. The ultimate version of Porsche’s GT1 contender squared off against Mercedes CLK-LM, Nissan’s R390, and Toyota’s amazing, flame-spitting TS020. In many ways this was the swansong of the GT1 era, so it’s fitting that this is really the only win by one of the factory GT1 specials. The list of cool cars goes on with the Long-tail Mclaren F1s, BMW’s F1 powered roadsters. Panoz’ GT1 coupe, tons of Vipers (When are those going to return to Le Mans?), and of course, Ferrari’s 333SP.

One of the first things to become apparent is that Nissan had not kept pace with GT1 development. Regarded the year before as spoiler’s for the GT1 class because of its Group-C derived chassis and engine, the R390 was, by ’98 looking a bit old hat next to the Toyotas and Porsches.


Catch the BMW spinning into frame at Mulsanne about a third of the way in.


Great shot near the end of this clip with one of the Nissan’s showing a lot of the characteristic brake-glow, also a great shot of one of the Toyotas shooting what must be three feet of flame from its exhaust.




That was the last overall win for Porsche at Le Mans. The 1999 Porsche LMP project was scrapped, possibly to pave the way for Audi's R8 prototypes. It would go on to live again as the Carrera GT road car, but lost something by having its racing heritage cut short. 1998 really was a special year at the Sarthe. All this, and not a diesel in sight...

So, Where Did You Get The Inspiration For That Paint Job Sir?

Let's see, tiny car, tiny motor, giant-killing performance in its day...





The world may never know...

It Was Datsun!

Last week, I put up an ad for Triumph's MkII Spitfire featuring 60s female surfing champion Joyce Hoffman. It was a sunny SoCal day, and I was lamenting being inside at work. I also happened to question the demise of advertising like this as it seemed to me to exemplify the fun of Southern California car culture. today, I think I may have found a few answers... One of them is from the land of the rising sun.

On the surface it looks a lot like the Spitfire ad. It has a pretty girl, some water, she looks like she likes the car... But look closer. That isn't a day at the beach, it's a dim, late afternoon in some parking lot in front of a harbor launch ramp! Also, the pretty girl isn't there for any specific reason. Joyce Hoffman was a surfing champion, and a pioneer in women's sports, along with being cute. Look at this woman, she screams central casting. What's going on here? Somehow this ad has taken the elements of the Triumph piece, but missed out on all the sense of fun. Also, what's with all the empty slips? Where are the boats, and why is there a run down outboard in the shot? It's all a little sloppy. This can't be blamed squarely on the Japanese, because this is obviously the work of a U.S. advertising company.

Part of the problem is that Datsun (or their copywriters) are taking the whole thing a little too seriously. To alert us to this, they've replaced the Spitfire's racing stripe with some jargon about Datsun's racing history. This isn't a bad thing per-say, but it belong's in a different ad, selling a different fantasy. The girl in the photo knows little of the Fairlady's record in competition, and cares less. It's hard to blame Datsun for wanting to sell their car on its merits; the Fairlady was a good product, and held together much better than the Spitfire or an MGB. But like the ad in which it starred the Datsun had missed out on some of the charm of the European competitors it was busy overtaking. Something had been gained, and something lost.

California Dreamin...

It's a perfect sportscar day in Southern California. From Doheny, to Leo Carillo, the beaches are crying out to be cruised, the canyons to be raced, the mountains to offer forth their vistas... and here I am, stuck at work.

Seriously though, how hip is this ad!? Where has SoCal sportscar culture gone? When did it stop being fun?

Saturday can't some soon enough, and with it a shiny MkII Spitfire with a red racing stripe. For today Joyce Hoffman, you're my dream girl.

Muholland.

It's on the way back down the course that everything suddenly falls into place. For more than an hour Evan and I have been running up the hill from Cahuenga Pass, looking for the corners listed on a small map on the back of a book. Everything is different up here now, so trying to piece together the specifics of the old Mulholland Racecourse isn't easy. By the time we make it to The High Ground, past Beverly Glenn, we're totally confused. Nothing looks like it should.

We turn around and head back through the intersection. Past the Fire Station that serves as a landmark for the start of the upper course. It's still not working. Are these The Ss? A look at a different map later will reveal that a series called The Identicals comes first. Sideways is lost in a series of sweepers, but before we hit Coldwater, The European Straight looms. Nothing at all remains of The Grandstands, and the Sweeper is a little confusing, but all of a sudden, Carl's comes into focus, we're in the middle of it before we realize what it is; like Carl's Jr. (Carl's, only smaller) it's revealed more through feel than sight. Out of Carl's Jr. and Deadman's is the most obvious thing in the world from this direction, a sheer cliff where the road just disappears, yet coming up, it looked and felt just like so many other corners that comprise this, LA's most hallowed stretch of tarmac. And just like that, we're off the course, heading back down to Laurel Canyon.

We're up hear doing research for a project I may talk about later, if I can get it sorted out. We're looking for a piece of Los Angeles' racing heritage that dates all the way back to John Carradine and Gary Cooper in Duesenbergs. What's happened instead is that I've become disgusted with the conditions up here. Mulholland, once a lonely stretch of asphalt atop the Santa Monica Mountains, has become a series of expensive real estate developments where LA's rich can keep a baleful watch over the lower classes from a safe distance. Of course, keeping rich people happy is what the LAPD and the LA city council do best, so the racing that took place up here for nearly sixty years has totally disappeared. In place of a dirt lot filled with modified cars, Mulholland today sports signs that read "No Parking 9pm to 6am." Speed limits are ridiculously low, and the area is totally over patrolled, and it's getting worse by the year.

This is Los Angeles, shouldn't the Police have something better to do in a city of four million people? What the hell happened to the criminal element in this city? When did they go all candy-ass? Why are there so many spare cops? Simple, the criminals are still here, but busting people for trying to drive at a productive speed on Mulholland makes money, arresting drug dealers and child molesters costs money. The end.

Whilst searching the internet for more information, I found these two videos. One is a day-trip to Mulholland for guys with Ferraris. It's led by Chris Banning, a guy famous for spending his youth on Mulholland and surviving the scene. It's a good little vid, though it's sad to watch a bunch of supercars tool around the racecourse at speeds they can achieve in the parking lot of a 7/11.



The second vid unfortunately features the droning of resident LA-4 meathead Paul Moyer. It's a pure exploitation clip, Paul clearly has had a slow week and so he's decided to investigate a new underground scene THAT AT THIS POINT HAS EXISTED ON MULHOLLAND FOR 50 YEARS! It's kind of hard to watch, but like most of these old reports, the damage is done. Now it's just a snapshot of history, interesting for its look at the Mulholland cars and culture it helped to undo rather than for the nonsense being spewed by an ambitious talking head.



Still, I'm left with a sense of hope. In all probability the transverse ranges will be here a fairly long time, longer than even the city of Los Angeles. One day, when the air is again clear, and the mansions of the rich have fallen into the canyons and burned, and the police have lost their authority along with the government they serve, things will begin again. At some point, people will want to look down from the hills on some new creation, and they'll build a road to get up here. For a while it will all be quiet and peaceful, until some kid, in whatever passes for transportation in that far off day, discovers the joy of motoring quickly on a twisty road; the noise will return. Someday, Mulholland will again be built for those who would drive it.

Ken & Mary's Story.

Today we have an overview of the somewhat famous Ken and Mary ad campaign that ran in Japan for the 1972 Skyline. It's an interesting and, for its time, somewhat innovative series of commercials. There's limited voice over about the car's specifics, and most of the ad is a series of shots of Ken and Mary touring the countryside in their blue 1972 Skyline coupe (it magically morphs into a white sedan in some of the later spots as well as a 2000 GT-S). As such, it's an early example of a "lifestyle" ad, where the product is presented as fitting into a fantasy and becoming an integral part of that life.

Two things kind of irk me. One is that Mary becomes a different, more Japanese woman about half way through the series, the other is that not a single one of the 193 KPGC-110 GT-Rs make an appearance. All in all though it's an enjoyable little watch and the story is actually kind of romantic... it just would have been more romantic with a GT-R. Huh, am I right?

Hitler Expresses My Views On The Nissan GTR.

Adolf my boy, I couldn't agree with you more... you know, on this one little thing. The whole " Final Solution and the Lebensraum, you're on your own with that stuff.

Nine Minutes Of (Someone Else's) Stupid Fun.

There's a legend about Japan, propagated by that movie about oversteering through the Japanese capital in a manner both fast and perhaps furious. The legend states that if you're car can progress at a rate faster than the Japanese mandated 111mph limit for production cars, the police won't bother to chase you while you're speeding. I have no idea if this is true.

What I do know is that this limit is of very little concern to owners of stock versions of Mazda's AZ1 because in stock form its little 660cc, 64bhp 3-cylinder will struggle to propel it anywhere near that speed. What we have here is a little different. It's sort of an open secret that these cars are capable of far more given to proper provocation and that power levels as high as 120bhp are possible. Now, I'm not saying that this car is tuned that high, but it's clearly faster than a stock AZ1.

It's a long video, but it made me laugh when I found it, and I thought I'd share it with you. Not a lot happens, it's just a car going down a Japanese expressway in the early hours of June 6th 1999... and listening to an amusing collection of soft-rock. The two times that the car sits at a light for 30 seconds or so while the driver listens to Hall & Oates' Maneater is either a fascinating glimpse into life in Japan in the late Twentieth Century, or the worst television show ever.

I'm not sure what's going on at the end there, though I think that gauge at the top has logged his top-speed of 192kph. Let's just be glad he turns the stero down before the Bonnie Tyler really kicks in.

My Weekend Full Of Cars, I.

Well, it was a long weekend in many ways, with two rides south for the SVT and a Saturday so full of exotica that it's amazing there's something that stands above and beyond the rest.

The trips south were in fact just miles of motorway plowed under tire. It's not really the kind of driving enjoyment I'm into at the moment given the price of Gasoline. I'd rather spend my petro-dollars running up and down mountain passes and over twisting coastal roads. Still, there is a certain satisfaction to be had from spinning away distance that would take days to cover without a car. The SVT is a great tool for the task as well, transforming into a normal Focus when the need arises. It was good to get out of the city for a while, and I'm grateful to the little Ford for getting us there without fatigue.

It was on Saturday though that the weekend hit its Zenith. The local bookstore in which I work plays host to a great deal of interesting and attractive automoblies on the average Saturday. Last week a woman dropped by in a beautifully restored Bugatti type-46 (if I remember correctly), but we have one customer in particular who always brings something cool, and this week he went above and beyond.

I've been trying to explain to friends who don't know much about cars why I'm so excited to have ridden in a Mclaren F1. It's not a car that many people outside our interest recognise in the way they would a Ferrari, Lamborghini, or an Aston Martin. That's insane as far as I'm concerned because even in that kind of company the Mclaren is simply, a car apart.

After a short, but incredible ride I can offer these insights. One: It's not very big. In fact it's small, and the space inside is packaged so well that nothing is wasted. The seats are too small for my overweight American backside, so I'm dieting, just in case I ever get another chance. Two: It's direct, the steering, brakes, and especially the engine aren't in any way isolated from the driver. I didn't need to touch the controls to know that everything was very mechanical and that the control inputs were acting directly on their mechanisms. The steering for example looks to be very heavy, slightly slow, but very direct and accurate. I never saw the owner have to adjust his inputs for over or under reaction all of which must make the car feel more stable at high speeds. Three: It's very, very fast. I only got one clear run up a street, but when that happened, the car simply leapt down the road for about 300 yards before my brain could catch up. And the BMW V12 didn't seem to go through any acceleration of its own, simply jumping into the meat of the power band and on to the read line. The brakes are about the same, only more brutal. It was a drive I'll never forget, and a very special chance to sample, in even a little way, a car that so few people ever get to see. I'm grateful for the memory.

Later the same day, another regular brought over a car in which he'd been promising a ride for several months. I'm a fan of the Lotus Europa in general, but for me, the purest of the cars have always been the original, Renault engined versions have always had the most appeal. this customer has what, with the exception of the ultra-rare type-$&, must be the holy grail of Europa ownership. It's an early series one car with the three-pod aluminum skinned dash. It's been lowered slightly, and it's painted in an approximation of Lotus type-49, Gold Leaf colors. The ride was longer this time, and really served to put into perspective Lotus' reputation for handling. This car just doesn't need to slow down for anything! Through 90 degree rights and lefts the owner would just keep accelerating, and when the back let go all that was required was a flick of opposite-lock on the very quick steering to being the car back in line. The sense of lightness overwhelmed even the Mclaren's lack of mass; here is a car without the pause brought on by excess. It also doesn't feature an excess of passenger space, or door width so again, I need to get my own width into line if I want to own one. Still, Ive never felt any car handle like this, and now I'm scheming ways to get into one.

At the end of the day I was tired and elated and all I wanted to do was go home ans sleep. But waiting out back was one more treat. My boss is a Citroen fanatic, and though I've driven a 2CV based Mahari, my experience with hydraulic Citroen's is was limited to looking at them. That was about to change, because with one friendly inquiry I was about to drive my Boss' wonderful Citroen SM. This is a real treat for me because though I do get to ride in nice cars with some regularity, I rarely get to drive anything this neat, and the SM brought together two matters that are of interest to me. One is Citroen hydraulics, and the other is Maserati motors. What can I say? It was a hoot, and I don't think I've ever been at the wheel of anything so sophisticated, either mechanically or in temperament. This is a car that does everything a little differently. The shift was smooth and long of throw, the engine was powerful once revved, the steering was so quick-acting as to be a little off-putting, and the suspension is the most supple I've ever experienced. It was a great drive, and I look forward to another chance to explore Citroen's wonderful GT. It's a car in which two people could drive from LA to New York non-stop, switching off, and arrive without too much fatigue; it really is that comfortable.

So, an amazing weekend then, and one I hope to repeat in the future. If I do, I'll tell you all about it here.

I Think It's Time To Remember What A Real Super Car Is.

If it looks like this blog is in danger of becoming about three new cars and their adventures around the Nurburgring, fear not. I really do know more about cars than what’s broken over the net in the last five minutes and to prove it, I’m going to tell you about a car that I’d rather have than any of the super coupes currently setting pulses racing with their ‘ring times. I’ll tell you of a car so exclusive that only ten were ever constructed and so convoluted in its gestation that it involved not a motor company, but a synth-musician as its major backer. Interestingly it’s a car that still claims to be built today, though at $650,000 it’s unlikely that many more will find homes.

I first encountered the Cizeta V16 in an issue of Car and Driver magazine. It was in the middle of an article that told the then current stories of twenty-four super cars. It was an interesting list ranging from the Bugatti EB-110 to the Bentley Nepal (a car that became the Continental Type R) and contained many cars that were clearly going nowhere. There, wedged in between the Mclaren F1, the Jaguar XJ-220 and oddballs like the Yamaha OX99-11 was a beautiful sports car that seemed almost impossibly wide at the rear.

It resembled a Lamborghini Diablo in some of its proportions (as it should seeing as it was based on Marcello Gandini’s initial design proposal for that car), but it was more angular, and eschewed the Diablo’s tunnel-roof for the better visibility of a more conventional, sloping rear window. It also was said to have a V16 engine made from two V8s on a common crankcase. At the time I didn’t know what that meant exactly, but it was at least four more than anything else in the article, which made it “better” to my power figure addicted, pre-teen mind. The article had a guide to pronouncing the names of the cars within, it said, “Che-say-ta Mow-Row-Der.” I was intrigued.

Unfortunately the company that was making the V16T was anything but healthy. I didn’t know that the “Moroder” part of the name stood for euro-synth icon Giorgio Moroder, or that he and the company would soon part ways. The car was beautiful and the V16 engine had a huge cache, but turning that into a production reality was to prove too difficult. There was little more said of the car in that period. It went on sale in 1992 and left quietly soon after. Except for the occasional “What ever happened to?” blurb in a magazine, the Cizeta was no more.

I always regretted that. It seemed like such an interesting car. It was wide and exciting and the V16 put out a then staggering 560bhp (I know, that’s family sedan money these days). It was capable of 205mph, and would get to 60 from rest in about 4.0 seconds. This was great stuff. But first there was a recession, then the Mclaren F1 and then there just weren’t super cars anymore. Now of course there are again, but anywhere the Cizeta was legal to drive it isn’t anymore, and it never was here, which makes it all the more strange that they’re now being made to order in Garden Grove California.

I’ve seen the car in person and I can tell you that it not only covers an amazing amount of ground, but it looks a million dollars doing so. I haven’t had the pleasure of driving it so I can tell you nothing of that experience, but I have heard it run, so I can tell you roughly what it sounds like when God clears his throat. I’ve sat in it as well and I can tell you that while it is small, it’s my favorite automotive cockpit of the moment. It’s not that it feels super-special it’s that it feels right. The dash isn’t a stripped out board with a race-grade data-logger stuck onto it, nor is it an over designed sweep full of fetishistic details and knurled, diamond-cut this or satin-finish that. It’s a simple pod with big gauges, covered in high-grade leather that sits the proper distance from the occupants and displays information that’s needed. The rest of the cabin follows suit.

Is it really worth the near $700K asking price? No, of course it isn’t, no car is. But as super cars go, this one has something that most others don’t anymore, real exclusivity. It wasn’t intended to be that way. I’m sure that in the beginning, Claudio Zampoli, Cizeta’s founder, intended to build a good number of the cars for sale. At this point however, the lack of success in selling may be the car’s biggest selling point.

No, on second thought, nothing will ever replace that engine, and the noise it makes, as the Cizeta’s best feature. I have no idea how it handles, though the suspension (unequal length wishbones with coils and inboard Koni dampers) is clearly inspired by the likes of 80s group C cars. I know even less about what it would be like to own. I only know that the one time I heard it fire up in person, a shiver went down my spine, and I couldn't think of anything else for the rest of the day. To me at least, that's what a super car, is supposed to do.

Child Seat Laws, And Why I Hate Them.

When I was very young and the world was fresh and new, I thought the world didn’t have much of a place for children, if I’d only known then what I know now… Adults are very protective of the existence of children, and most of us think that we are looking out for the development of our kids as well. But I think that in some ways those two ideals are counter intuitive, and the more you try to keep a child safe, the less safe he’ll be when you’re not there. I know, by the way that this is hardly an earth shattering idea. I know that most of us have come to roughly this same conclusion, both as a child, and if we have children of our own, as an adult. What none of us count on is a politician backed by bureaucrats, for it is they who take a perfectly good idea like caring for our children, and turn it into law.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for laws protecting children; but society goes so far these days, both legally, and through the influence of special interest groups, that a child has nowhere to turn but to authority. Things that were Ok in my formative years and child endangerment now, while today’s parents must goggle in wonder at the fact that my parents both lived to produce me, such is the level of apparent incompetence on the parts of their mothers and fathers.

But let’s stay with things I know for sure. One of those things is that Cookie Monster does not exhibit addiction behavior, and if he does, it’s to cookies. He cannot be blamed for the obesity epidemic in the US, and he should not be forced to eat carrots. Carrots suck. I know also that kids should not be made to wear uniforms to school. I understand the authorities concerns over gang and other criminal related attire; I just think they have the responsibility to do their jobs.

My biggest pet peeve though, is the law in California requiring kids to be kept in those ridiculous car seats until they reach, what is it now, eighty pounds? I didn’t weigh eighty pounds until I was ten! If I’d had to ride around in one of those confining, embarrassing, kid carriers for that long I’d have missed out on quite a lot. Keep in mind this is me were talking about. When I was still very little, less than half the age kids have to be to get out of the plastic purgatory these days, I would ride around in the regular, adult sized seat of my parent’s cars. Sometimes in the front! I remember leaning down to play with the gear-lever gaiter on my dad’s Super Beetle, which I thought was the coolest car in the world at the time. It made a ton of noise and it really felt like it was moving quickly when my dad drove it.

The biggest treat though was in my mother’s Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser station wagon. It was blue, and yes, it had the wood-grain paneling down the side. This was not a fast car, and my mom was not a fast driver with me in the car (I’d later learn that she rather likes sports cars, but that’s another story.), but when I rode to nursery school in that car, my mom would let me sit on the bump. The bump, for those of you who don’t know (and that includes just about everyone) was an armrest that divided the front bench seat. When it was folded down there was a gap between the two seat-backs, but there was about an eight inch gain in altitude over sitting on the flat seat. From that height I could see out of the car, see the world go by. That I knew what my home town looked like was predominantly due to that bump.

My parents would put a seatbelt around me, and didn’t drive very fast with me up there. I’m not sure that made it any safer, but I am sure I’m still here, and that there were a million other ways I could have died as a child. I’m sure too that if a parent were to be caught today doing the same thing they’d be written, if not strung, up for it. If that parent happened to be a celebrity then it would take the tabloids years to stop roasting them. I realize that we live in a different world than the one of the 1970s, but is it really so much more dangerous? Do we have to do everything we can to keep kids safe? Because if that’s true we haven’t begun to scratch the surface of what’s necessary.

But I hope we don’t. I know that it’s sad when I child is hurt. I’ve thought so ever since I was a child. But I think it may turn out worse to have a race of people who never develop because the shelter we place around them turns into a prison. There’s just too much out there to miss out on while you’re sitting at home, not moving at all lest you lose the opportunity to do so the next day.

Hey, Remember The 70s?

Remember when gas spiked in price and small cars became all the rage? Remember that they were still rear wheel drive for the most part? Yeah, me either, but it must have been a great time. And yet all I can find from the period are people complaining that the good days were over. No longer could they afford to sell, 500ci high-compression motors in gigantic muscular bodies that rolled, and generally handled like a Jersey with bad knees.

What were they thinking? Who in their right minds complains when there are cars like the Fiat 124 coupe and the Datsun 510/610 available? Who gripes about Mazda RX3s, Opel Mantas, Toyota Celicas, and Corollas, or Ford Capris? Sure, the Mustang and its ilk had gone the way of other dinosaurs, not to return until the mid eighties. Sure, emission controls were making their presence felt like never before. But the small car was king, and it went around corners in a way that the hot cars of the 60s could only dream of.

It's funny, today these malaise era cars are the only things left on the market cheap enough to buy for beer money, but interesting enough to be worth not buying beer. Thirty years on, in another gas crisis these cars make more sense than ever, and have in many cases, built legends to match the muscle cars they replaced. Will we soon see the days of 510s, Mantas, and Rx3s going for incredible money at auctions? Will old Mulholland racers and SCCA sedans be brought out of garages and over restored to be pushed across the block for millions?

The small cars of today go stop and turn better than any 510 ever has. They go faster, are quieter, and in most cases use less gas. They're safer, and less polluting, in short, they're far better cars. But in the same way that the new Mustang will never be the '68 Fastback GT 390, the Altima will never be the 510. It's too heavy, for one, and it's too big as well. Cars always evolve toward an ideal of least intrusion into the life of the average consumer, and viewed in that light the Altima is a good car.

But a classic isn't a car of least resistance; by it's nature, it's a car that gets in your face, so you'll remember it. The 510 is tiny, noisy and involving. The RX3 is pretty, and distinctively powered. By the standards of today, they're underpowered, cramped and under-optioned. They are however fun to drive, as fast as anyone needs to go, and imbued with a personality that modern cars cover over with tons of squish-feel dash plastics, and sat-nav screens. I miss cars like these, and if we're going to have a new fuel crisis, I think we at least owe it to ourselves to build more of them.