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1950s Archive
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Vintage HRM Performance Test: 1958 Packard Hawk – “Truly A Tough Competitor”
Posted on January 11, 2024 | 19 CommentsExactly 588 1958 Packard Hawks were ever built, and one of them ended up in the capable hands of Ray Brock, Hot Rod magazine’s Technical Editor. Back in the fifties, […] -
Vintage Road & Track Road Test: 1952 Porsche 356 1500 – “This Is The Car Of Tomorrow”
Posted on September 20, 2023 | 29 CommentsPorsche’s iconic 356 was first built in 1948, with much of its engine, transmission and most of its running gear sourced from the VW Beetle. But with its tuned engine, […] -
1957 Imperial Crown Southhampton — Maybe the Best Summertime Illustration Ever
Posted on July 15, 2023 | 75 CommentsI’m going to keep this short. Sparse like the illustration that this whole post is about. -
Vintage Motor Life Road Test: 1955 Cadillac Fleetwood 60 – The Fastest And All-Round Best Car Of Its Time
Posted on June 11, 2023 | 29 CommentsThere were some very compelling reasons why Cadillac was creaming Lincoln and the Chrysler Imperial in the 1950s, and no they weren’t just its styling and fins. Aside from that […] -
Vintage Speed Age Track Test: 1956 Studebaker Golden Hawk, Chrysler 300-B, Corvette and Thunderbird – Comparing “America’s ’56 Sports Cars”
Posted on April 27, 2023 | 18 CommentsIn a recent post here with a 1956 Studebaker Golden Hawk, CC’s Jim Cavanaugh left a comment about a 1956 Speed Age comparison where the Golden Hawk was faster than […] -
Vintage R&T Road Test: 1959 Fuel Injected Corvette – “All The Speed You Need And Then Some”
Posted on March 12, 2023 | 16 CommentsThe fuel injected Corvette was top dog in its day, an unparalleled combination of performance, tractability, handling and…looks, although some might well say that the gaudy 1958 restyle was hardly […] -
Vintage R&T Road Test: 1956 Chevrolet 210 205 HP – “The Hot One Is Even Hotter”
Posted on February 9, 2023 | 23 CommentsI know a lot of folks are burnt out on tri-five Chevys, having been overexposed to them. But since I avoid car shows and am a bit obsessed with what […] -
Vintage R&T Road Test: 1959 Rambler American – Dorkiness Is Only Skin Deep
Posted on January 19, 2023 | 34 CommentsThis review forced me to change my long-held feeling about the pudgy little 1958-1961 Rambler American, a revival of the original 1950 Rambler. Whereas I have always had a soft […] -
Vintage R&T Road Test: 1959 Studebaker Lark Six – Slower Than The 1939 Champion
Posted on January 18, 2023 | 54 CommentsI normally wouldn’t have used that title, but the writer of this Road and Track piece (John Bond himself, possibly) had fond memories of the 1939 Champion, which shared certain […] -
Vintage R&T Road Test: 1956 Corvette, Powerglide And Stick Shift – Fast And Faster
Posted on January 17, 2023 | 25 CommentsSince we’ve been on the subject of Powerglide here lately, comparing how it performed against manuals and other automatics, here’s something on the other end of the spectrum from six […] -
Vintage R&T and The Motor Road Tests: 1954 Volkswagen – Already 16 Years Old And Just Getting Going
Posted on November 18, 2022 | 28 CommentsAs you all know, I have a very deep affection for the Volkswagen. One of the many things that interest me is how it was seen and evaluated at various […] -
Vintage R&T Road Test: 1955 Mercedes 300SL Gullwing – How Does It Measure Up To 1968 Standards?
Posted on September 24, 2022 | 18 CommentsR&T decided to test a Gullwing 300SL in 1968 to see how it compared to contemporary cars. It had been the leading edge sports car of its time, but time […] -
Vintage R&T Feature: 1955 Chevrolet Six – Keeping A 12 year Old Chevy With 180k Miles Going
Posted on April 21, 2022 | 23 CommentsWe know that cars aged more rapidly in the good old days, but that’s not to say folks didn’t keep them going. This entertaining but factual article covers the author’s […] -
R&T 25th Anniversary Review: 1947 and 1972 Fords – “It Has Nothing That Could Be Described As ‘Handling'”
Posted on November 4, 2020 | 37 CommentsSomewhat surprisingly, Road & Track’s very first road test was not of an MG, but of a rather prosaic 1947 Ford. So it seemed fitting that in their 25th anniversary […] -
Vintage Review: Tom McCahill Drives the 1953 Volkswagen – Through Deep Snow
Posted on August 23, 2020 | 30 CommentsA while back, we posted Tom McCahill’s review of the 1956 Volkswagen. By then, his love for it was already in full bloom. But that started earlier, with this review […]