Monday, January 27, 2014

Found in the Wild: The Fastest Ferrari Today


A few of the more astute readers will remember our article on the classy and classic Ferrari 365 GT 2+2. That car had carburetors, (lots of them, actually) lap belts and an airbag-less steering wheel made of real wood. There are plenty of differences between that car and today’s featured 2013 Ferrari F12 Berlinetta but there are two huge similarities: The engine is in the right place (In front of the driver) and it has the correct amount of cylinders for a Ferrari. 

Thursday, January 23, 2014

Found in the Wild: Old World Money, New World Oddity


In 1989, your boss didn't drive this car. But his boss probably did. This 1989 Mercedes 560 SEC was the most expensive Mercedes you could buy in 1989. (Excluding the hot rodded AMG versions) This was the halo car in the very back of the glossy brochure. Bold V8 power, elegant coupe styling and vault-like build quality were hallmarks of these cars. Finally a car for the Wall Street elite for times when a Countach is too much flash.

The ICE Age Begins Again!


Ice racing is absolutely the coolest thing going on in Alberta in January. The single best thing about frigid Canadian winters is that many lakes freeze more than two feet thick; enough to support a car. We've covered two previous Calgary Sports Car Club ICE Cup events here and here. This time we're at the first event of 2014.

Thursday, January 16, 2014

Found in the Wild: The Zenith of Malaise


The muscle car era was defined by excess. Excess power to match outrageous graphics and a complete lack of sufficient brakes and suspension to keep the whole 425 horsepower mess pinned down. The Malaise era which followed the muscle car era was defined by excessive qualities too; though horsepower was not one of them. Welcome to 1979 and the absolute peak of malaisey goodness. Welcome to the Pontiac Parisienne Brougham Landau.

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Found in the Wild: Almost Supernatural

As many of you already know, the weather here in Calgary has been pretty nasty. This winter's arctic temperatures and record snowfall has kept most classics off the street. But not this one. Shining brightly among the hoards of dirty SUV's, this 1966 Chevrolet Caprice is a sight for sore eyes. (And frozen eyelids) And this one's got a big block.

Monday, January 06, 2014

Fantasy Matchup: 1987 Buick GNX vs. 1989 Nissan Skyline GT-R

Turbos! They defined '80's performance cars and reshaped the way people thought about small displacement engines. Arguably kicked off by Porsche with its infamously lethal and creatively named 911 Turbo, turbos went from curiosity to serious horsepower in a very short time. Today we're comparing two very different and highly developed turbocharged cars of the same era, the 1987 Buick Regal GNX and the 1989 Nissan (R32) Skyline GT-R. It's east meets west, pushrods meets camshafts in this ridiculous bench race to determine which late '80's turbo coupe is the meanest.

Friday, January 03, 2014

Fantasy Matchup: 1978 Ferrari 308 GTS vs. 1978 Pontiac Trans Am

1978 was a dark time for the performance automobile in North America. Real performance had given way to flashy stripes and vinyl tops, mandatory emissions equipment was suffocating engines and cars seemed to be getting heavier and more overwrought year by year. It's hard to believe now, in this era where 300 horsepower is common in a mid-price sedan that there was a time when hardly any cars made more than 200 horsepower. The Ferrari 308 and Pontiac Trans Am were two such cars that were plenty different but shared one large similarity. They were two of the best performance cars you could buy in 1978.