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Best of
, European Specials
, Great Drives
, Rare Europeans
by Philip Powell on November 20, 2009
Our friend and contributor Nigel Matthews has just experienced every man's fantasy (and some women, too, I suspect). Here's his story.
What could a guy who has been at the wheel of just about eve...
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Fun Events
, Great Drives
by Philip Powell on October 21, 2009
Impressed as I am with the major international concours, auctions, and classic car rallyes that populate equally glamorous locations I sometimes forget that wherever old cars are driven there are smal...
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British Cars
, Great Drives
, Triumph
by Philip Powell on October 8, 2009
Thanks to a blog in the latest Hemmings newsletter I've become aware that Englishman John Macartney has successfully driven a restored Triumph Stag across North America. The Stag left Florida on J...
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Alfa Romeo
, Concours
, Great Drives
by Philip Powell on August 14, 2009
For me the highlight of Monterey's Classic Car Week is the Pebble Beach tour d'elegance, where concours entrants are invited to drive their precious vehicles on a 50-mile route that includes a...
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As We See Things
, Great Drives
, Muscle Cars
by Philip Powell on July 15, 2009
Who could resist that invitation from the seductive lady seated on the hood? Certainly not me if I owned a muscle car! The spectacular Muscle Car 1000 is being organised by Russo and Steele, perhaps b...
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As We See Things
, Bentley
, British Cars
, Great Drives
by Philip Powell on June 29, 2009
Some classic car owners are content to leave their charges in museums or humidity-controlled garages. Others believe the cars should be driven and even exposed to the same hazards they faced when new....
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Bentley
, Concours
, Famous Drivers
, Great Drives
, Racers
by Philip Powell on June 15, 2009
The cars at Pebble Beach are always spectacular but the 59th Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance will present something truly special. On August 16th it promises to "showcase the most impressive...
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Alfa Romeo
, Cadillac
, Classic Rentals
, Ferrari
, Great Drives
by Philip Powell on March 25, 2009
Of all the places where I'd dreamt of someday driving, the one that fascinated me most was the Riviera. It had everything that appealed to my imagination: Winding mountain roads, spectacular scene...
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As We See Things
, Great Drives
by Philip Powell on February 4, 2009
I'll admit to having frightened a few friends and acquaintances while driving over winding mountain roads with blind corners and terrifying drops into the valleys below. Not that I ever put them a...
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Great Drives
by Philip Powell on October 27, 2008
So you think classic car runs only take place in your backyard, so to speak? Argentina's equivalent of the revived Mille Miglia, the 1000 Millas Sport Argentina, has been running for 20 years. Cla...
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Antique Autos
, Fun Events
, Great Drives
by Philip Powell on September 22, 2008
Of all the sights to be seen in the old car hobby, perhaps nothing is more remarkable than the annual London to Brighton Veteran Car Run. The world's longest-running motoring event, it attracts en...
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Great Drives
, Test Drives
by Philip Powell on September 19, 2008
Swedish cars, I'm sure you'll agree, are different. And not only from other makes although unique characteristics are less achievable in today's interconnected, globalised world. Still, yo...
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Great Drives
by Philip Powell on April 4, 2008
You're planning a trip to the Champagne region of France in late summer and wondering what to do? Consider yourself fortunate because there is, indeed, a very special classic car event on Septembe...
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Great Drives
, Italian Cars
, Rally/Retro-Rally
, Rare Europeans
by Philip Powell on March 24, 2008
One-hundred years ago six cars and crews set out on an adventure that was billed as "The World's Greatest Race." At a time when cars were so primitive the public had little faith, manufa...
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Great Drives
, Rally/Retro-Rally
by Philip Powell on January 3, 2008
100 years ago some 250,000 people jammed into New York's Times Square to cheer on the contestants in what was then, and still is, regarded as "the toughest race in motoring history". The...
Read more of The Greatest Motor Race in the World Lives Again in 2008
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Ferrari
, Fun Events
, Great Drives
, Rally/Retro-Rally
by Philip Powell on December 10, 2007
Be honest. If this photo doesn't set your adrenalin to racing, you're not a carguy or cargirl, you're not challenged by twist and turns, the ocean doesn't move you, and you can't s...
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Canadian Cars
, Great Drives
by Philip Powell on November 15, 2007
Perhaps it's the romantic in me but I've always been attracted to articles headed "Great Drives." The first that I can recall appeared in Autosport magazine back in the 80's; an ...
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Great Drives
, Vintage Racing
by Philip Powell on October 13, 2007
Automobile historian Leo Levine has a brief, but captivating, article in this month's issue of the digital auto magazine Winding Road. In it he reminisces about practising and racing on the fabled...
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Great Drives
by Philip Powell on August 26, 2007
It's not often that you'll see an Aston-Martin looking this dirty but it was all for a good cause. Two Brits, Richard Meredith and Phil Colley, had just completed a 10,000-mile trip over some ...
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Great Drives
by Philip Powell on August 9, 2007
In the years BT (before television) the Sunday Drive was a popular form of weekend recreation, enjoyed by families, couples, and guys and girls traveling in segregated groups of two to a half-dozen. O...
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Great Drives
by Philip Powell on August 5, 2007
Everyone has their favorite winding road, whether it be in a dream vacation or close to home base. While working in Toronto my favorite roads existed on BC's Vancouver Island, many so delectable t...
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Great Drives
by Philip Powell on June 9, 2007
It was 98 years ago this very day that 22-year-old Alice Huyler Ramsay set out to become the first woman driver to cross the United States. Ms. Ramsay was at the wheel of a bright red 1909 Maxwell DA,...
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Great Drives
by Philip Powell on May 5, 2007
I'm privileged to live in one of the most beautiful areas of North America, a grand place of mountains, ocean, valleys, lakes and spectacular scenery. The province of British Columbia is also home...
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Fun Events
, Great Drives
, Rally/Retro-Rally
by Philip Powell on December 1, 2006
Why is this couple smiling? Because they're driving their classic Cobra in The Jewel that is Jordan, an exclusive (meaning, for folks with money to spare) rallye through the ancient country of Jordan....
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Great Drives
by Philip Powell on October 12, 2006
Folks of a certain age will recall that peculiarly North American ritual known as "the Sunday Drive." Yes, there was a time when we'd get off the couch on a Sunday morning and head for the country wit...
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Great Drives
by Philip Powell on August 17, 2006
I'm an unabashed lover of small cars. And small women, too. (Well, not that small!) The first and only time I saw an Amilcar was in a parade preceding the Sebring, Florida, 12-hour race in 1963. It wa...
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Great Drives
by Philip Powell on August 17, 2006
As much as possible, the organisers of the Tour d'Elegance at Pebble Beach try to group the entrants by make. Thus I had the privilege of watching eleven rare Ferraris of the 1950's and 1960's drive p...
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Great Drives
by Philip Powell on August 17, 2006
California's Highway 1 is without question one of the world's finest driving roads. Wandering among the high hills, valleys and sand dunes south from Carmel, if offers spectacular views of cliffs and ...
