There are car and motorcycle manufacturers where the marketers don't care about the past and have an emotional customer loyalty. We noticed this during contacts about Suzuki's centenary. There are manufacturers who cherish their historical heritage. They still supply parts for the vehicles they once made or at least keep the administrative files of 'before' up to date. More
Turbo compressors provide artificial ventilation. Things are surprisingly simple in essence. The exhaust fumes turn a paddle wheel. On the shaft of that fan, on the other side, is a paddle wheel that drives the air inwards to the combustion chamber. Some forty years ago, the owner of a Fiat 850, who mounted a turbo on his pride, noticed that it was a little less simple. That turbo came from a diesel truck. And the 850 cc block just didn't have enough 'breath' to get things going. More
Recently we talked about the certificates that could prove the 'pedigree' of classics. As an example we had a Renault 5 GT Turbo Phase 2. And that kind of roarbakjes is a lot of fun, but meanwhile quite pricey pleasure. More
Globalization is one thing. In the time of our classics, there were people who chose a brand with conviction. Others saw it more broadly and thought it was good if their car - or let it have been a motorcycle - came from France, Germany, England, Italy or Sweden. And then got […] More
Recently we visited a serious engine overhaul company. Contrary to what we thought, the lion's share of the work there did not come from 'our', classical, corner. The owner of the company even said: “Downsizing is no good. I would never buy a car built after 1990. Or it should be a Korean. That […] More
Six cylinders + turbo. Isn't that a bit much? Six-cylinders in the motorcycle world have been status symbols for manufacturers (and most buyers). Only Honda has made serious money with the six-cylinder Goldwings. In fact, a six-cylinder is 'over the top' in all areas. In fact, such a thing – apart from the extra […] More
At first, Saab made unique cars for buyers who drove Saab out of sheer conviction. Then came 'The Management' and 'The Marketeers' in the context of the Seven Plagues. From that moment on, driving became interchangeable until today where 90% of cars resemble interchangeable, convex suppositories. […] More
Do not be fooled by the phenomenon in the images. We almost had the same thing happen to us. When we came face to face with this Porsche 911 Turbo for the first time, we were almost certain that we were dealing with a copy from the 964 generation. So no. This is […] More
Robin Hofstede likes all motorcycles, but Suzukis are often even more fun. He therefore exchanged his Harley for the unique GSX 1100-EFE with 1216 cc and ventilated by a 'drawthrough' Mikuni HSR 45 carburetor with a suction compressor, he therefore exchanged it. That old Suzuki is a very special specimen The machine […] More
Because since 1983, just under 22.000 have been made. That lack of success was mainly due to two things: The hard core MG enthusiasts thought the thing was just a fake MG. A desolate, unimaginative example of BMC badge engineering. And the quality left much to be desired for 1986. But with that […] More
The Tickford Capri Turbo (1983-1986) The Capri Mk III had become bigger and stronger. The power came from the German 2,9 liter V6. But even then there were people who thought 'more' was not enough. (Lotus)Test driver and car journalist John Miles was one of them. He took his idea to […] More
During a recent world trip to Cadzand Bad, which was taken over by Flanders, we passed a closed garage. The owner may have stopped selling, but he still had some nice things up his sleeve. In the window there was – among other things – a very nice Lancia HF Integrale. And then […] More
