Classic

THE GRAND PRIX MERCEDES THAT NEVER WAS

Sometime in the mid-nineties I was part of a small group of mainly Australian hacks who were in Germany for the launch of a new Mercedes-Benz. I forget which one it was — maybe the first “four headlamp” E-Class. Any, apart from cramming info into us about the new car and showering us with gifts, […]

Continue Reading...

Motorsport News

The mess NZ motor racing is in

Of the major series this summer, only the TRS has come up with worthwhile fields and this alone will make the series successful. the way the TRS people have gone about their job is a credit to them. Many of us will be able to remember the time when motor racing in New Zealand was […]

Continue Reading...

News

The End of an Era?

  Subaru are not going to market the WRX or STi versions of the Impreza in several countries, including the UK. They cite falling demand and trouble meeting emissions requirements. Supporters of the cars will be quick to seize on the emissions issues as the Real Reason, but if the demand was there, they’d soon […]

Continue Reading...

Motorsport News

Why Highlands?

WHY HIGHLANDS?: By now, it’s probably pretty well understood that Highlands Motorsport Park near Cromwell is not going to be just another motor racing circuit on the Ruapuna, Levels, Teretonga loop. While there will be motor racing meetings, these will be restricted under the terms of the resource consent and those meetings will not necessarily […]

Continue Reading...

Motorsport News

Who is Tony Quinn?

OVERSTEER profiles the five times Targa NZ winner and the man behind Highlands at Cromwell Who is Tony Quinn? Well, if you Google Tony Quinn you will get a few of them, but the one we want is Tony Quinn, VIP pet foods and that narrows it down to the man we’re after. I knew […]

Continue Reading...

Motorsport

Leo Leonard

The first F5000 car: This post has appeared on the F5000 Facebook page, but we figure it deserves a place here too. In May 1967 George Begg designed and knocked up, in six weeks, a single seater racing car powered by a standard Chev V8 motor with upturned “BRM” style stub exhausts. It was a […]

Continue Reading...

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 […]

Continue Reading...

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 […]

Continue Reading...

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 […]

Continue Reading...