Curbside Classic Archives
-

American Brands: GM 
American Brands: Ford 
American Brands: Chrysler 
American Brands: AMC, Jeep and All Others 
Automotive Histories and Misc. 
Asian Brands 
UK Brands 
Australian Brands 
European Brands 
Cars Of A Lifetime & Auto-Biography 
Buses 
Trucks, Pickups and Vans 
Design 
Trains, Planes & Ships 
Motorcycles, Trikes, Bicycles 
Engines, Transmissions and other Tech 
Tractors, Lawn Mowers, Off-Road Equipment 
RVs, Motorhomes, Trailers, Campers Privacy
European Brands 1950s Archive
-
Vintage Review: Tom McCahill Wrings Out the 1956 VW – And Explains Why It was Suddenly So Popular
Posted on March 27, 2025 | 65 Comments(first posted 3/28/2019) Although the VW Beetle had been sold in the US since 1949, when exactly two were imported, its sales were modest for the first […] -
Automobile Quarterly Vintage Review: The Porsche Speedster, Part 1.
Posted on October 20, 2024 | 16 Comments(first posted 10/19/2018) The Porsche Speedster of the 1950’s has a mystique and a desirability out of proportion to its actual performance. A 1954 Porsche 1500 […] -
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, […] -
Vintage R&T and The Motor Road Tests: 1954 Volkswagen – Already 16 Years Old And Just Getting Going
Posted on November 18, 2022 | 29 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 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 […] -
1950 Popular Science: “Hitler’s Flivver Now Sold In The U.S.” – From Modest Beginnings…
Posted on August 23, 2020 | 17 CommentsBen Pon, VW’s exclusive distributor for the Netherlands, and father of the VW Bus, tried to sell two 1949 VW’s in New York in 1949. That didn’t work out so […] -
Vintage SCI Review: Jaguar XK 140 MC – The First Shall Be Last
Posted on August 6, 2020 | 12 CommentsHow did I forget the XK 140? Somehow I managed to overlook it, which is not easy to do. It’s literally impossible to overstate the impact of the Jaguar, especially […] -
Vintage Sports Cars Illustrated: All the Sports Cars Available in the US in 1957-1958
Posted on August 2, 2020 | 22 CommentsIt’s time to finish our perusal of the SCI 1958 Directory of Sports Cars. The original was sent to me by CC reader Zipster, and I want to thank him […] -
Vintage SCI Review: 1957 Triumph TR-3 – Disc Braked!
Posted on July 24, 2020 | 14 CommentsLast but not least in our survey of sports cars and American GT cars from 1956-1957 via reviews from Sports Car Illustrated is the Triumph TR-3. The TR series of […] -
Vintage SCI Review: 1956 Porsche Speedster 1600 – “…One of the most significant technical accomplishments of our time”
Posted on July 15, 2020 | 39 CommentsThis review written by Griff Borgeson at Sports Car Illustrated was a treat, as it’s the first vintage review I’ve read about the Porsche Speedster. Like certain other automotive icons, […] -
Vintage SCI Review: 1957 MGA – New Body, Familiar Sensations
Posted on July 10, 2020 | 13 Comments“MG” was synonymous with “sports car” for several decades. It all started with the spidery TC, a 1920’s style roadster that American GIs discovered while stationed in the UK during […] -
Vintage SCI Review: 1957 Morgan Plus Four (TR-3 Engine) – Already Outdated, or The Anti-190SL
Posted on June 29, 2020 | 21 CommentsThe evolution of the sports car has a number of key developmental milestones. But one company decided to ignore them early on, and just stay in the late 1910’s forever, […] -
Vintage SCI Review: 1957 Mercedes 190SL – “A Sense of Security and Perfection”
Posted on June 25, 2020 | 44 CommentsThe Mercedes 190SL is the unfortunate victim of my stupidity. No, actually it’s the other way around; given that I passed on the opportunity to buy one for relative peanuts […] -
Vintage SCI Review: 1957 Austin-Healey 100-6 – The Big Healey Gets a Six
Posted on June 20, 2020 | 4 CommentsAlthough most commonly known as the Austin-Healey 3000, that version of the “Big Healey” (to differentiate it from the Sprite) was the third major variant of the series, built from […]
![Vintage Review: Tom McCahill Wrings Out the 1956 VW – And Explains Why It was Suddenly So Popular (first posted 3/28/2019) Although the VW Beetle had been sold in the US since 1949, when exactly two were imported, its sales were modest for the first […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/VW-1955-review-1.jpg?resize=115%2C115&quality=75&ssl=1)
![Automobile Quarterly Vintage Review: The Porsche Speedster, Part 1. (first posted 10/19/2018) The Porsche Speedster of the 1950’s has a mystique and a desirability out of proportion to its actual performance. A 1954 Porsche 1500 […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/1957_Porsche_356_Speedster_A_rear.jpg?resize=115%2C115&quality=75&ssl=1)
![Vintage Road & Track Road Test: 1952 Porsche 356 1500 – “This Is The Car Of Tomorrow” Porsche’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, […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Porsche-1952-356-Coupe-by-Reutter_0-1024x683-1.jpg?resize=115%2C115&quality=75&ssl=1)
![Vintage R&T and The Motor Road Tests: 1954 Volkswagen – Already 16 Years Old And Just Getting Going As 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 […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/VW-1954-review-1.jpg?resize=115%2C115&quality=75&ssl=1)
![Vintage R&T Road Test: 1955 Mercedes 300SL Gullwing – How Does It Measure Up To 1968 Standards? R&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 […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/300SL-1.jpeg?resize=115%2C115&quality=75&ssl=1)
![Vintage Review: Tom McCahill Drives the 1953 Volkswagen – Through Deep Snow A 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 […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/mcahill_volkswagen_0.jpg?resize=115%2C115&quality=75&ssl=1)
![1950 Popular Science: “Hitler’s Flivver Now Sold In The U.S.” – From Modest Beginnings… Ben Pon, VW’s exclusive distributor for the Netherlands, and father of the VW Bus, tried to sell two 1949 VW’s in New York in 1949. That didn’t work out so […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/VW-1950-1.jpg?resize=115%2C115&quality=75&ssl=1)
![Vintage SCI Review: Jaguar XK 140 MC – The First Shall Be Last How did I forget the XK 140? Somehow I managed to overlook it, which is not easy to do. It’s literally impossible to overstate the impact of the Jaguar, especially […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Jaguar-XK-140-fq.jpg?resize=115%2C115&quality=75&ssl=1)
![Vintage Sports Cars Illustrated: All the Sports Cars Available in the US in 1957-1958 It’s time to finish our perusal of the SCI 1958 Directory of Sports Cars. The original was sent to me by CC reader Zipster, and I want to thank him […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/guide-scans0001.jpg?resize=115%2C115&quality=75&ssl=1)
![Vintage SCI Review: 1957 Triumph TR-3 – Disc Braked! Last but not least in our survey of sports cars and American GT cars from 1956-1957 via reviews from Sports Car Illustrated is the Triumph TR-3. The TR series of […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Triumph-TR-3-red-a.jpg?resize=115%2C115&quality=75&ssl=1)
![Vintage SCI Review: 1956 Porsche Speedster 1600 – “…One of the most significant technical accomplishments of our time” This review written by Griff Borgeson at Sports Car Illustrated was a treat, as it’s the first vintage review I’ve read about the Porsche Speedster. Like certain other automotive icons, […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Porsche-1956-Speedster-rq.jpg?resize=115%2C115&quality=75&ssl=1)
![Vintage SCI Review: 1957 MGA – New Body, Familiar Sensations “MG” was synonymous with “sports car” for several decades. It all started with the spidery TC, a 1920’s style roadster that American GIs discovered while stationed in the UK during […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/MGA-1500-Roadster-red-1.jpg?resize=115%2C115&quality=75&ssl=1)
![Vintage SCI Review: 1957 Morgan Plus Four (TR-3 Engine) – Already Outdated, or The Anti-190SL The evolution of the sports car has a number of key developmental milestones. But one company decided to ignore them early on, and just stay in the late 1910’s forever, […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Morgan-1957-Plus-4-red-white.jpg?resize=115%2C115&quality=75&ssl=1)
![Vintage SCI Review: 1957 Mercedes 190SL – “A Sense of Security and Perfection” The Mercedes 190SL is the unfortunate victim of my stupidity. No, actually it’s the other way around; given that I passed on the opportunity to buy one for relative peanuts […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Mercedes-190SL-M2.jpg?resize=115%2C115&quality=75&ssl=1)
![Vintage SCI Review: 1957 Austin-Healey 100-6 – The Big Healey Gets a Six Although most commonly known as the Austin-Healey 3000, that version of the “Big Healey” (to differentiate it from the Sprite) was the third major variant of the series, built from […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/austin-healey-100-6-1959-fq-.jpg?resize=115%2C115&quality=75&ssl=1)


