carbuzzard.com

10/01/2025

Would you say, nah, it's not a REAL Ferrari?

History/driving impressions of the 1975 Ferrari midship 308GT4 V-8 sports car/sports coupe/grand tourer, first published in AutoWeek, republished by John Matra

04/12/2024

Going topless in a BMW in the early '70s meant not taking it all off.

History/driving impressions of the BMW 2002 Cabrio, Bauer's targa-topped Bimmer. Originally published in AutoWeek. Republished by the author.

24/11/2024

Citroen's very French DS-19 was too expensive for most buyers so Citroen decided to make a less expensive (with fewer exotic features) in the ID-19. Here's the story of the DS-19's less celebrated brother.

History/driving impressions of the 1963 Citroen ID-19, the lower content and cost version of the DS-19); republished by the author.

30/10/2024

I knew someone who owned a Renault 5 Le Car. He was an engineer. OK, a civil engineer, but an engineer.
https://rememberroad.com/what/renault/1976-1983-renault-5-le-car/

30/09/2024

This is the sort of things teenage boys dream up. Rick Titus and Chuck Beck had the talent and resources to make this "bitchin' idea" real.

A history/driving impressions of the 1991 Special Editions Sh**un, a Ford Festiva powered by a Ford SHO V-6, first published in 2000; republished by the author.

28/08/2024

With a Ford flathead V-8, do you see the opportunity for a Franco-American hotrod?

History/driving impressions of a 1957 Simca Vidette, a V-8 powered sedan, originally published in AutoWeek, republished by author John Matras

17/08/2024

It's a modified Saab 96, but modified as one might have done it back in the day.

History/driving impressions of a Saab 96 modified with Saab Sport and Rally performance parts; originally published in AutoWeek, republished by the author

10/08/2024

I've been published in a variety publications but the last place I ever expected to see my byline was a college algebra book. But there it is. I had known about this for some time, though no one told me about it when the book was published, only when a math professor told me she had seen my name.

That said, I never got to see it...until I was reminded of it, looked on the internet and found I could get one for five dollars, shipping included. (Old math books don't age like my books have) So it came in the mail today and here it is, page 36, College Algebra, Concepts and Models. by Ron Larson (Penn State), Robert Hostetler (Penn State) and Anne V. Hodgkins (Phoenix College); Houghton Miflin, 2006.

The whole article is longer, and I've republished that in Remember Road. https://rememberroad.com/what/volkswagen/2002-volkswagen-1l-concept-thin-car-travels-far-volkswagens-canoe-skinny-mini-could-do-new-york-to-d-c-on-1-gallon-of-gas/

06/08/2024

What if you stripped down a Buick and went racing with it? Try the Zinn-Buick from 1913. https://rememberroad.com/what/buick/1913-zinn-buick-racer-re-bodied-model-24-roadster-lays-claim-to-longevity/

05/08/2024

I see how much they're asking for a new (not used) copy of my book. Alas, I don't get a share of that though it is flattering to know that a 30-year old book is selling(?) for ten times its original list price.

Mazda Rx-7 (Sports Car Color History) by Matras, John - ISBN 10: 0879389389 - ISBN 13: 9780879389383 - Motorbooks Intl - 1994 - Softcover

10/07/2024

You likely missed out on the De Tomaso Mangusta and it may be out of your reach today, but you might still be able to round up this De Tomaso.

History of the Dodge Omni 024 De Tomaso published in Sport Compact Car in June 1998, republished the author

15/06/2024

Facebook allows advertising ILLEGAL products, items in violation of trademark law, and misrepresenting people with photoshopped images. 
It’s a scam. Don’t participate in it. Don’t give money Facebook scam advertising.

01/06/2024

Even Saab fanatics probably doesn't know this, unless of course they read the article when it was originally published in European Car. Ralph Millet, the first president of Saab's American subsidiary tells about how Saab came to America.

History/driving impressions of the Saab 93B and first Saab USA president's recollections of the beginings of Saab in America.

31/05/2024

The odd tale of an unusual sports car.

History/driving impressions of one-off Asardo sports coupe, originally published in AutoWeek republished by the author.

15/05/2024

A classic classic VW. Everything can and likely will be hotrodded.

History of a hotrodded Volkswagen-Okrasa Cabriolet from the 1950's, faster and fancier than the average VW Beetle.

02/04/2024

Maserati didn't make road cars until after WWII. This is the first model they sold to the general public. What do you think?

History/driving impressions of the first Maserati road car, the A6/1500,, by award-winning author John Matras, first published in AutoWeek.

08/02/2024

If you think any Ferrari 250 GTO is special, this isn't any Ferrari 250 GTO

History of the Ferrari 250 GTO 4.0-liter whose only Le Mans appearance as a Ferrari team car ended in the pits, via a sandbank.

26/01/2024

One of my favorite articles over the years was my "race report" on the first automobile race in America. Since that was published, there have been a number of articles on the 1895 Chicago Times-Herald race, no doubt some using my article as a source.

Well enough, but some have used sources of dubious merit, or at least sources that aren't as good as they might seem...including an interview of one of the participants fifty years after the event.

Memory, as we oldsters know, can be tricky, and I was able to work with original sources, including books published not may years afterwards. More importantly, I was able to use the original stories from the Chicago Times-Herald written at the time, using the actual newspapers in the Library of Congress. They were taken out of circulation (at my suggestion) after I used them. They were falling apart in my hands. And somewhere I have the slides I took of each page. The LoC presumably has microfiched them.

Anyway, I got to use my history major...

The story of the first automobile race in America, the 1895 Chicago Times-Herald Thanksgiving Day race in snowy Chicago.