Author
Richard Read

Imperial Decree: Imperial Statewide Meet in Palm Springs, CA

Richard Read
They’re sexpots with wheels: voluptous styling, plush interiors, and lots of automotive jewelry. They drip with chrome and styling gimmicks: monstrous fins, freestanding headlamp pods, swiveling seats, square steering wheels, and eagles literally woven into the upholstery fabrics and embossed into the leather. It’s like Chrysler Corporation meets Imperator. [...]

Cadillac Seville: The Baby Turns 35

Richard Read
It was 35 years ago this month that the Cadillac Seville made its debut. The smallest Cadillac since the 1920’s also debuted with the highest price tag in the Cadillac line up — the base price of $12,479 was the highest of any American made passenger car. This was a deliberate marketing move by Cadillac, which knew that in order for the car to succeed, it had to break through the “bigger is better” mentality that had permeated the domestic industry up to that point. [...]

Breaking: Naked Men Are Distracting To Rally Car Drivers

Richard Read
Mark Tapper was minding his own business, throttling down a dirt road and working hard to maintain his lead in last week’s Rally New Zealand. Then, out of nowhere, came a man — a half-naked man, giving Tapper a fleeting but powerful glimpse of his full moon. Said Tapper, “A very white bottom that was beside the road put me off for a fraction of a second, then I just ran wide and rolled”. We’ve seen similar accidents caused by women, but this is the first instigated by man-tuchus that we can remember. [...]

Friday Fun Stuff: Retro Rides, Twinks And ‘Stangs, And Jesus Christ Vs. The Monte Carlo

Richard Read
It’s easing on toward Miller Time (now known as Club-Soda-with-Lime Time, because we have to fit into a bathing suit sometime), and so, we’ve begun thinking about weekend pursuits. Here are a few of the items suitable for public conversation: 1. If you’re a bona fide car nut, you really ought to follow Glen H on Flickr. Based in Australia, the guy has a monumental knowledge of cars, and he posts fantastic shots of vintage production models and concepts (e.g. the 1956 Buick Centurion image above). Viewing his photostream is kind of like flipping through old issues of Physique Pictorial, but you could probably get away with it in the dentist’s office.  [...]

Cool Cadillacs And Bad Costumes

Richard Read
Believe it or not, there was a time in America when Audi and BMW were little-known brands, Mercedes-Benz was considered a rare exotic and a big, shiny Cadillac was the car most American’s aspired to own. Don’t believe me? Just look at the reactions of these lucky contestants who appeared on the popular 70s game show Let’s Make a Deal. Thanks to the hard work of the lads at MuscleCarFilms.com, this collage of classic Cadillac clips not only shows off some real beauties, it sheds new light on the art of minimalist set design. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for the male contestants (and host Monty Hall), who are all in need of a Cadillac-sized Queer-Eye makeover. [...]

Friday Food For Thought

Richard Read
Normally, we like to end the week on an upbeat note, but this Friday, we’re fixated on slightly somber stuff — in particular, the BP oil spill/leak in the Gulf of Mexico. It’s just beginning to wash ashore in Louisiana, and it could soak beaches from Texas to Florida before all’s said and done. As a site that revels in rides of all sorts — from hybrid fuel-sippers to gas-guzzling supercars — we know that there’s a dark side to every car. Combustion engines rely on a vibrant petroleum industry, and that industry is the cause of the hurricane-shaped blob drifting toward the Louisiana coastline one month before storm season begins. Battery-electric vehicles are flawed, too: they need power plants, and the majority of those facilities in the U.S. are stoked by coal. [...]