For gearheads – especially those of the two-wheeled species – there may be no place more sacred than London’s Ace Cafe. This legendary coffee shop gave birth to cafe racer culture, the 100-mph “ton-up” club, and the clash between mods and rockers. The Ace opened in 1938 as a refreshment stop for motorists on the […]
What Happened to Car Magazines?
Recently one of my Facebook groups was up in arms over a major announcement from Car and Driver magazine. In case you missed it, they’re changing from a 12-issue annual subscription to just six. But the new format will be larger, with double the pages and on better paper. So 6 = 12 in the […]
Rare ’32 Ford Coupe Set Free From a Virginia Barn
A true barn find is a rarity these days. But not long ago Brant Halterman saw a 1932 Ford 5-window coupe for sale locally and felt like he knew the car. Turns out his father had been friends with the original owner, whose family was selling the car. Only problem was, the car was locked […]
Barn Find ‘57 Chevy Reunited with its Original Owner 50 Years Later
What if you built a car, made it locally famous, and then let it go, only to have it end up back in front of you? You’d want it back, wouldn’t you? That’s the situation Skip Wesley found himself in after his old ’57 Chevy was sold to a new owner. Adam McMullen bought the […]
An Ode to the Humble Station Wagon
In a hobby filled with high-powered muscle cars, precision-handling sports cars, and fantastically styled exotic cars, it might seem strange to heap praise on the lowly station wagon. But hang around car people long enough and you’ll come to appreciate the mighty wagon and the special type of enthusiasts who drive them. To be clear, […]
California Rescinds Ban on Cruising
California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law on October 17th that will end the state’s previous restrictions on cruising when it takes effect on January 1, 2024. The new law specifically eliminates restrictions on lowrider, which were the primary target of the old law, and recognizes both cruising and lowrider as part of California culture. […]
The Rewards of Membership – Why Car Clubs Still Matter
Since the dawn of the motoring age more than a century ago, automotive enthusiasts have formed clubs to bond over their shared interests. The earliest clubs, like the Automobile Club de France formed in 1895, were established primarily as support networks for owners of those first crude and notoriously unreliable horseless carriages. These clubs evolved […]
From Paris With Love – Speedhunters
Fun First You join me in Dover on England’s southeastern shoreline, after just having gone through passport control. It’s 6:30am on Saturday morning, and in standard European road trip fashion my friends and I are each operating on a solid four hours of sleep. I was never supposed to be part of this group adventure, as during […]