The 10 Coolest Wheels
May 22, 2015
By Rob Sass / Originally Published April 28, 2015 / Hagerty Wheels, tires and stance make a huge difference in the appearance of any car. Swap steel wheels for a set of mags or alloys and it’s like looking at a completely different car. In no particular order, here are some of the most iconic post-war wheel ...
Enter Here: Five Entry-Level Cars from Five Decades
May 13, 2015
By Jim Koscs / Originally Published March 25, 2015 / Hagerty If Henry Ford were alive today, he might find the $14,000 Ford Fiesta a bit too luxurious for his tastes. What’s this – brakes on each wheel? Heat? Safety systems? Such extravagances! No, the old man liked to keep things simple in a car “for the ...
Big Blocks On a Budget
April 30, 2015
By Greg Ingold / Originally Published March 13, 2015 / Hagerty The big-block engine is legendary in the muscle car world, and there aren’t many things more awe-inspiring than popping the hood of some classic American iron and marveling at the feat of simply fitting that massive V-8 between the fenders. If that sight doesn’t stimulate the ...
Five cars you should have bought five years ago
April 22, 2015
By Rob Sass / Originally Published March 10, 2015 / Hagerty Like the Dow, the classic car market woke up from its recession-induced hibernation around 2011-12. But five years ago, it was a different story. If you had picked up a few of the following cars then, you’d likely be sitting on a tidier return than your ...
Custom Cars: The History of the Wienermobile
April 14, 2015
If her dad thinks you’re up to no good picking her up in a vintage ’70s “love machine” van, what’s he going to think when you pick her up in a “Wienermobile?” So maybe the Wienermobile isn’t the first thing that pops into your mind when you think of custom cars, but this rolling billboard ...
Barn find Ferrari sells for $16M
March 30, 2015
By Rob Sass / Originally Published February 6, 2015 / Hagerty While the century is just fifteen years old at this point the Bailon collection uncovered in a barn in France has already been dubbed “The Barn Find of the Century” and for once, that might not be hyperbole. I might actually wind up having eighty-five years ...
Ask the Woman Who Owns One: Elaine Larsson and Her 1972 Volkswagen Westfalia Campmobile
March 26, 2015
By Jim Koscs / Originally Published February 5, 2015 / Hagerty If you’ve ever thought of “going off the grid,” don’t think for a minute that cruising the country in a full-on RV with granite countertops, built-in flat screen TVs and WiFi could ever qualify. To do it right, there’s really only one vehicle for the job, ...
Presidential Car Names
March 23, 2015
By Larry Printz / Originally Published February 3, 2015 / Hagerty When it comes to cars, few want to buy a Lincoln, let alone a Washington or Bush You’d think that naming a car for a president might spark name recognition, and thus sales. Yet few cars named for U.S. presidents have proven successful. Consider Washington, a ...
The 1970 Ford Torino Cobra
March 17, 2015
Quick, what was the Motor Trend Car of the Year in 1970? I’ll help you out… it was the Ford Torino. Ford introduced the Torino for the 1968 model year. They wanted to ease the transition from their mid-size Fairlane to the new Torino to such a degree that the first Torino was part of the Fairlane line, ...
Collector Classics: Steam wagon maker turned to automobiles
March 5, 2015
By Nigel Matthews / Originally Published January 29, 2015 / Hagerty Straker originally manufactured steam wagons and buses, but turned to automobiles in 1906 Brazil, Straker & Co. was a highly respected British vehicle manufacturer formed in 1893 by Irish engineer J.P. Brazil and London motor agent Sidney Straker. L.R.L. Squire joined the company in 1904 and ...
5 Sweet Malaise Era Cars
February 26, 2015
By Grant Stoecker / Originally Published January 23, 2015 / Hagerty The Malaise era was the antithesis of the muscle car heyday that existed merely a year before its start in 1973. It was a dark period characterized best by underwhelming engines, EPA restrictions, and questionable styling- the only pleasure found in the fact that you could ...
You think you’ve got marriage problems? Try being an automaker
February 11, 2015
By Larry Printz / Originally Published December 16, 2014 / Hagerty Looking at government statistics, you may wonder why people get married. After all, 48 percent of married couples will divorce before their 20th anniversary, with almost half of those occurring within five years. That may seem gloomy, but it’s far superior to when automobile companies get ...