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Vintage R&T Review: 1983 Mazda 626 – Mazda Joins The FWD Club, Very Successfully
Posted on May 21, 2021 | 33 CommentsThe transition from RWD to FWD was one that stymied Detroit in a number of ways. But the Japanese seemed to have had no problem at all, as typified in […] -
Vintage R&T Review: 1983 Toyota Cressida – The Proto-Lexus
Posted on May 13, 2021 | 23 CommentsToyota’s history with upscale cars in the US is fascinating. It really struggled for years to get a proper toe hold in a segment of the market that was booming, […] -
Vintage R&T Review: 1983 BMW 533i (E28) – The Proper Sporting 5 Series Is Back, With Refinements Under Its Too-Familiar Body
Posted on May 10, 2021 | 10 CommentsBMW’s “new” E28 5 Series arrived in the US in 1982 with a bit of a shocker under the hood: a decidedly low-rev, high-efficiency 2.7 L “Eta” six, making a […] -
Vintage R&T Review: 1983 VW Quantum GL5 and Turbo-Diesel – VW Goes Upmarket
Posted on May 5, 2021 | 17 CommentsThe VW Quantum (Passat B2) received two new engines in 1983: the 2.2 L five borrowed directly from Audi, and the brand new (and first) turbo-diesel four. The GL5 model, […] -
Vintage R&T Review: 1983 Toyota Camry – Toyota Joins The FWD Family Fray, And Comes To Dominate It
Posted on May 3, 2021 | 15 CommentsThe first Camry. Who would have thought in 1983 that this would come to dominate the passenger car best seller charts for so many years, only to be finally […] -
Vintage Road & Track Review: 1983 Honda Prelude – “Simply Terrific”
Posted on May 2, 2021 | 19 CommentsI have been woefully negligent in scanning and posting the hundreds of vintage R&T magazines Lee J. has been sending me, and there’s more on the way! It’s going to […] -
Vintage R&T Review: 1983 Dodge Shelby Charger – “Carroll Helps Chrysler Bring Back The Sixties” – Not Quite
Posted on March 11, 2021 | 38 CommentsThings were really starting to pop again in 1983, in terms of domestic performance cars. The Mustang found its mojo again, and the Camaro was starting to wake up too. […] -
Vintage R&T Comparison: Four Luxury GTs – 1969 Corvette, Mercedes 280SL, Porsche 911T and Jaguar XKE
Posted on March 4, 2021 | 35 CommentsI’ve really been neglecting my huge stash of donated Road & Tracks, so let’s fire up the scanner and get back on track. Let’s put the time machine back to […] -
Vintage Review: 1981 Ford Granada, Rover 2600, Vauxhall Viceroy and Volvo 244 Comparison, With Overdrive On Two Of Them
Posted on February 11, 2021 | 33 CommentsThis comparison test from 1981 contains a surprise double. Not only does the Volvo 244GLT have overdrive, but so does the Vauxhall Viceroy. And the other surprise – there was […] -
Vintage Review: 1989 Mazda MPV – The Different Minivan – Or Is It A Crossover?
Posted on January 17, 2021 | 36 CommentsThe Mazda MPV is something of an historical oddity. It was created specifically for the US market, which alone was quite unusual, especially for a second-tier Japanese manufacturer. The MPV […] -
Vintage Reviews: Cadillac Cimarron 1982-1985 – Clippings From The Mediocrity Files
Posted on December 30, 2020 | 96 Comments(first posted 1/21/2020) If yesterday’s Curbside Capsule of a 1988 Cadillac Cimarron whet your appetite for Cadillac’s 1980’s flagship of mediocrity, this should be just the main course to satisfy […] -
Vintage R&T Review: 1982 Pontiac J2000 – Off To A Deadly Slow Start
Posted on December 21, 2020 | 71 CommentsThe hopes were so high. And the expectations even higher. GM was finally going to take the Honda Accord and the other Japanese in its class head-on. “We’re going to […] -
Vintage Motor Life Reviews: 1960 Valiant – “It Will Corner As Well As A Good Gran Turismo” But “Some Defects In Assembly”
Posted on December 18, 2020 | 73 CommentsGiven how fundamentally similar most full-sized American cars were, it’s refreshing to see how relatively different their 1960 compacts came out, given that they all had roughly the same brief. […] -
Vintage Motor Life Review: 1960 Ford Falcon – The Resurrection of the Model A
Posted on December 17, 2020 | 83 CommentsA huge swath of Americans in 1960 had grown up or lived with Henry Ford’s Model T and A. Ford preached the gospel of minimalism, with no excess of size, […] -
Vintage Reviews: 1960 Chevrolet Corvair – Motor Life and Road & Track Test Versions With Powerglide, 3-Speed and 4-Speed Manuals
Posted on December 15, 2020 | 36 CommentsThis week we’ll take a closer look at the new 1960 compacts, starting with the most radically new one, the Corvair. Motor Life tested all three in a comparison that […]