Classic

As we enter September, where under normal circumstances, it’s back to school time, the summer comes to a close with Labor Day, fall colors are on the horizon, snowbirds start packing for Florida or the Southwest, and many are considering winter projects on their special-interest cars. This is why the […]

The Concours of Elegance, also known as the British Royal Concours, is scheduled for September 4-6 at Hampton Court Palace, where the featured vehicles include a one-off Bugatti Type 57 Atalante by Gangloff and what is believed to be the only surviving Jaguar XK150 by Bertone.

“The first Goodwood Ghost was a response to a whole new generation of clients, both in age and attitude,” said Torsten Müller-Ötvös, chief executive of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. “These men and women asked us for a slightly smaller, less ostentatious means to own a Rolls-Royce.”

Back in the days of three-cornered hats and powdered wigs came the earliest-known self-propelled vehicle, a bizarre steam-powered contraption first demonstrated in France and called the Cugnot. 

RM Auctions opens its 2020 Auburn Fall auction for live bidding from September 3-5, the 50th year that the Labor Day tradition has taken place at its Indiana birthplace.  About 500 collector cars and 400 lots of automobilia will be offered during the three-day sale.

Clint Vahsholtz not only had to wait until his 29th “Climb to the Clouds” attempt, but even then, the start of the 2020 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb was delayed, first a few months by the coronavirus pandemic, and then on race day because of ice on the route. 

On my desk and beneath an old-style, 3-prong, chromed wheel spinner that I use as a paper weight, is a stack of work-related materials — collector-car auction results, printouts of interviews, hand-written to-do lists, Post-It notes, and Monroney spec and pricing sheets on cars I’ve recently test driven. 

This may seem strange coming from someone who has made his living for the past 30-plus years writing about cars, but while working on Our Favorite Roads series, I realized that what makes the trip isn’t the car you’re driving but the roads you’re traveling.

During 2020, Volkswagen is celebrating the 65th anniversary of the Karmann Ghia, the sports car version of the practical Beetle.  Beloved more for its beauty than its performance, which was notably unspectacular, the Ghia was built for 19 model years by VW in coupe and convertible versions.