“Drive it ‘til the wheels fall off” isn’t the safest decision. So when does it end?
Back Away from the Wrenches
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Colin Chapman: The Philosopher of Motion (Part 1)
Car designers have a lot of brain synapses firing. Some designers are driven by the pursuit of beauty, while others are motivated by the pursuit of speed. Giorgetto Giugiaro, Marcello Gandini, and Battista Pininfarina, though responsible for cars that raced, were...
The Story of Dagmar Bumpers
If you’ve read my work here on Shop Press, you know I’m a sucker for chrome and mid-century automotive design. This week, I’d like to take a look at one of my favorite examples of that era: “Dagmar bumpers,” the colorfully common slang used to...
An Ode to “Car Talk”
Back in the early aughts, I lived in the Washington, D.C. area for about nine years. Since my parents live in Pennsylvania, this necessitated many three-and-a-half-hour drives (as little as three, if I was lucky) back home for holidays or just a regular visit. At the...
Diesel Engines and Racing
Nearly every conceivable version of the internal combustion engine has made its way to the Indy 500. But it was a 1931 entry of a rather unusual type that made it into the record books as the first to complete the entire 500-mile race without a pit stop. That entry...
The Folded Paper Era and Beyond: Giorgetto Giugiaro’s Iconic Design Journey
Few names in automotive design carry the influence and legacy of Giorgetto Giugiaro. With a career that spans more than six decades, Giugiaro’s designs have touched nearly every corner of the automotive world—from exotic supercars and world-beating rally machines to...