During the 1970’s, this car easily set the record for the best-selling sports car of all time with more than 540,000 built.  In 2004, it was even ranked as #2 on the list for best sports cars of the 1970’s.  What is it you ask?  It is the Datsun 240Z.  The Datsun 240Z had many obstacles standing in its way to getting designed and built.  In the late 1950’s, Yutaka Katayama was hired by the Nissan company to help market their cars.  He was the first person to convince Nissan that adding a racing program would be a good way to build the Nissan name, and he was right ..read more

Pontiac Fiero vs. The World Chevy had the Corvette and Pontiac had the Fiero. If you remember the 1980s, then you probably remember these two very different cars. Now, you know that only one of these sport two-seaters still remains available for sale on car lots today. The Pontiac Fiero was a ground-breaking car, but it failed to have the impact that the Corvette had and General Motors just could not get the Fiero to deliver. The Next Corvette? Not Quite While the Corvette remains one of the best sports cars available on the market today, most people are unable to add one to their garage becau ..read more

Photo Courtesy of Mecum Auctions If you want to talk about mega-muscle American style, one car that has to enter the conversation is the legendary Corvette Stingray L88. Though it was available in very limited numbers to the general public, the L88 was a race car through and through, and it was in fact almost on the down low with GM discouraging dealers from ordering it for street drivers. The L88 performance package was only available as an option on 1967 through 1969 Corvettes. The 427 big block engine was at the root of the car’s appeal; General Motors rated it 435 horsepower, but this wa ..read more

When John North Willys bought the Overland Automotive division of the Standard Wheels Company in 1908, he likely would have never expected such confusion over the name of his most popular selling vehicle.  The name Jeep Willys has had its share of misspellings, mispronunciations, and rumors about where the name came from, but that is one of the reasons the Jeep Willys is so interesting. In the late 1930’s, WWII was rapidly spreading into Europe and and the U.S. Military was looking for a new, light-weight, four-wheel drive reconnaissance vehicle.  They put out a bid for a vehicle wit ..read more

A Different Kind of Bird It’s almost Thanksgiving! Even though we have another week to prepare for the festivities, we’re starting now: the turkeys have been ordered, we are dreaming of pumpkin pies, and bread is being torn into little pieces for the perfect stuffing. It’s a day devoted to giving thanks for all we are grateful for as much as it is devoted to the perfectly prepared bird-the turkey, of course! At the same time, though, we’re giving thanks for a different type of bird, the Pontiac Firebird. It all began in 1967, the same time as Chevrolet introduced the Camaro, when Pontiac ..read more

Just because a car looks cool, that does not mean its performance is just as impressive. Others, though, bring the best of both worlds. The Ford Mustang often ranks on the lists of history’s most-popular muscle cars, and certainly the 1970 Ford Mustang is one of those that constantly excites classic and muscle car fans from around the world. This was a car which had probably had many engine options, giving drivers the ability to impress others on the road. Today, this model year is still a favorite at classic car shows and auctions. We’d be quite surprised if that changed anytime soon. After t ..read more

The Shelby GT500 Mustang In the mid to late 1960s, famed race car driver and automotive designer Carroll Shelby created high-performance versions of the legendary Ford Mustang. These cars would be known as the Shelby GT350 and the GT500. The Shelby GT500 Mustang, introduced in 1967, offered the signature muscle car styling of the Mustang with Shelby modifications for increased performance. The 1967 Shelby GT500 featured an unusually large and quite powerful engine for a compact muscle car; a 428-cid monster rated at 355 horsepower due in part to various alterations made by Shelby. A few models ..read more

Cars That Moved Brands Some car names are just too good to stay within one brand. While it is impossible to consider the Mustang ever belonging to a carmaker other than Ford or a Corvette not being a Chevy, there are a few car models that have switched to other makers. Most of the name switches did not take place overnight, but many involved the defunct AMC along with cars in the Mopar lineup. Here are some of the notable switches: Dodge Matador: In 1960, the Dodge Matador was a one-hit wonder for the automaker. The large V8-powered car fit the look of the Space Race lineup with tail lights th ..read more

1967 Chevrolet Nova The 1967 Chevrolet Nova has its roots in the 1962 Chevy II. The original model was called the Chevy II, but the top trim lines and sportier versions got to wear the Nova nameplate. By 1968, the name Chevy II was totally out, and Nova was in. The Nova/Chevy II cars essentially rescued Chevrolet’s entry in the compact car market. Previously, the Corvair held that place in the Chevrolet brand, but it had an odd style and consumers had safety concerns. Part of the second generation, the 1967 Chevrolet Nova was one fine example of the successful Nova brand. The 1966 model was th ..read more

Many people consider the Ford Falcon to be among the most popular muscle cars in American History. Why? The Falcon not only enjoyed huge success upon its release, but it also gave owners and car enthusiasts something to be proud of and to talk about for generations to come. Though this particular model was produced between 1960-1970, the word Falcon was originally used for a 1935 model that Edsel Ford had designed. The name and design didn’t last, and it eventually morphed into the Mercury instead. As demand grew for smaller cars, especially among women, Ford and its competitors introduced com ..read more