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Nearly two decades before airbags became mandatory, General Motors quietly built and sold them, first on government fleet cars, then as a factory option across four full-size luxury nameplates. Here is the surprisingly early and short-lived story of GM’s Air Cushion Restraint System, and why the technology vanished from showrooms for almost twenty years.
Pontiac built the first Firebird in barely six months after General Motors killed its pitch for a genuine two-seat sports car, borrowing GTO taillights and a shared Camaro platform to hit showrooms by February 1967. Four completely different engines, from a mild inline-six to a 400-cubic-inch V8 pulled from the GTO, all wore the same sheet metal, and only 697 of the ultra-rare 1969 Trans Am package were ever built. Read on to find out which engines actually made this car a legend.
Ford spent months teasing the next Shelby GT500 in camouflage and speculation before confirming it for the 2020 model year. Spy shots revealed a wider front track, massive Brembo brakes, and a supercharged version of the GT350’s 5.2-liter V8, while rumors pointed toward horsepower figures that dwarfed the outgoing GT500’s 662. Read on to find out how close the leaked details actually came to the car Ford eventually built.
A two-door, built in Ohio, with a naturally aspirated V6 and a six-speed manual, sold at a mainstream price to ordinary buyers. Written as a specification rather than a badge, that is close to the original 1964 definition of a muscle car, and by 2017 no American manufacturer was selling one. Read on for how strong the argument actually is, and where it falls apart.
A small group of muscle car enthusiasts built Equus Automotive around a simple bet: that a hand-built coupe with a Corvette ZR1 drivetrain and a retro-inspired body could compete with far more established manufacturers. The Bass770 backs that bet with 640 horsepower, carbon-ceramic Brembo brakes, and a six-figure price tag to match. Read on to see what a four-month custom build actually gets you.
Pete Calandra has owned this 1969 Buick Electra 225 convertible for forty-five years, ever since buying it in the middle of a snowstorm. Now restored in gold paint and shown at World of Wheels in Rosemont, Illinois, the car has been preserved to a condition its owner intends to keep far away from winter roads for good. As Buick’s full-size flagship, the Electra 225 was built for comfort and presence rather than speed, and this one carries a rarer credential than horsepower: a single owner for nearly half a century. Watch to hear the story behind one of the longest-held cars on the show floor.
A cracked, sun-baked steering wheel is one of the fastest ways to undercut an otherwise correct restoration, and unlike most classic car parts, there’s no factory reproduction sitting on a shelf waiting to be ordered. Instead there’s a small network of specialists — from a Georgia shop that duplicates factory urethane finishes to a Pennsylvania restorer who’s spent decades perfecting wood-rimmed wheels — each with their own approach to bringing a ruined wheel back to something close to new. Read on to find out which one fits your car.