Classic

BLAST FROM THE PAST: Chevrolet Impala

OVERSTEER ROAD TEST: Chevrolet Impala I wonder just how many times I have seen the Chevrolet Impala in Hip Hop and Rap music videos. They are usually painted in a nice shade of psychedelic purple, or maybe lime green with gold rims, and the compulsory hydraulic suspension, for when these “Playas” want to raise the […]

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Classic

Blast From The Past: Ford Mustang

OVERSTEER ROAD TEST: Ford Mustang The Ford Mustang stands to this day as the fastest selling car of all time. When the car made its debut at the New York World’s Fair on the 17th of April 1964, Ford sold 100,000 in the first three months of production. People like Frank Sinatra and Debbie Reynolds […]

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Classic

Superbird

BEEP BEEP — ZOOM!: This is a very rare bird indeed. It’s a 1970 Plymouth Superbird Roadrunner which followed on from the similar, but not identical, Chrysler Corp bedmate, the 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona. No prizes for guessing that these cars were designed with oval NASCAR events like Daytona in mind, but they were also […]

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Classic

Mitt’s Dad was a car bloke!

OVERSTEER looks at the automotive legacy behind Mitt Romney (Please hold cursor over image for caption) What’s the link between failed Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney and CLASSIC OVERSTEER? Ol’ Mitt’s Dad was George W. Romney, the man who oversaw the ending of Hudson and Nash and the introduction of Rambler as a brand. It’s […]

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Wedge profile with heavily raked windscreen almost makes this a one-box shape — but still unconvincing as a performance car! Seriously though, it’s got four big doors, a reasonable amount of room inside for four adults and an attaché case of luggage. Classic

I’m in Love With my (small) Car

(Please hold cursor over image for the caption) Because I’ve had a lifetime filled with automotive fantasies people are surprised at what cars I have up my driveway these days. There are four of them and the one that gets the most raised eyebrows is the Daihatsu Charade I was zapped at travelling at the […]

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Pukekohe was built in 1962 as a hastily conceived replacement for the Ardmore airfield. It has served the sport well, but now the sport has outgrown the place — even with about $7 million dollars being spent. Back to the halcyon days at Pukey’ with this classic Terry Marshall shot of the start of a saloon car race at the 1966 GP meeting — Australian Pete Geoghegan’s Mustang is on pole with the Fastback Anglias of Paul Fahey and David Simpson alongside. Then comes the Zephyr Corvette of Rod Coppins and Jim Mullins in the ex Kerry Grant A40. This was the fourth GP meeting at the place and it still attracted huge crowds. Classic Motorsport

Pukekohe versus Hampton Downs

OVERSTEER looks at what is becoming increasingly obvious as a crisis time for motor racing in Auckland. (Hold cursor over image for caption) The situation in the Auckland area over motor racing facilities is so farcical you’d not believe it, if it weren’t true. After years of being pronounced dead and the corpse being allowed […]

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The writer tackles the famous Carousel corner in one of his later visits Classic Motorsport

The Green Hell

(Please hold your cursor over the images to see the caption) When it comes to talk of motor racing circuits, the inherent dangers of Pukekohe with its fences, narrow space between track and spectators, power poles and trains, doesn’t hold a candle to what they call, the Green Hell — the Nurburgring. I first drove […]

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Classic

Automotive Ambitions

When I was a teenager and my parents bought the shop next to the boatsheds at Brighton near Dunedin, I was in the midst of my initial car-mad phase. I was quite eclectic in my tastes — British, American or “foreign”, I didn’t mind, although I steered away from the mundane and preferred oddballs, or […]

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One of the rare racing appearance made in 1935 by the Bitmore. Note saddle fuel tanks Classic

Heroic Failures

One at both ends – OVERSTEER looks at the bizarre Alfa Romeo Bimotore (To read photo captions, please hold your cursor over the image) Grand Prix racing in the mid to late thirties was totally dominated by two teams, Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union (a name created specifically for the cars) — both were funded by the […]

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Classic

Blast From The Past: Fiat 124 BC

OVERSTEER ROAD TEST: Fiat 124 BC I will get something off my chest straight away here, I love Italian cars. Yes they will let you down from time to time and parts can be scarce depending on the make or model, but in my mind there are very few car-building nations that can match the […]

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