The Allure of Period Colours

by J Kraus

Lord Brett Sinclair’s Bahama Yellow Aston Martin DBS in “The Persuaders!”

Ancient wisdom once held that in the vintage car market, red, white and black were the best colours for resale. However, as Bob Dylan once declared; The times they are a-changin’.

Early Porsche 911 collectors for example often seek out and pay a premium for the colours that made those cars unique to their time period: Signal Orange, Viper Green, Aubergine, Tangerine; even the more esoteric shades of Olive and Golden Green.

Suddenly, It’s 1960!

by J Kraus

Heading for the biergarten in a new Ford Taunus 17M

Fifty years ago, the decade that epitomized Jet Age glamour and Space Age sophistication officially began. Automotive engineers and designers were adamant not to be left behind. They toiled over their drafting boards and clay models to create products that would appeal to motorists craving designs that projected a clear expression of the exciting possibilities of the new fast-paced decade of jet travel, satellite communications and space exploration.

A Possible Future Direction for Saab

by J Kraus

1947 Saab 92. Form following function

Saab could find a ready market today by becoming what German cars used to be. The upscale German cars of today are more like the American cars of yore rather than the German cars of just a few decades ago. Too often overly styled, overweight and overwrought, they are in many ways the polar opposite of the handsome, understated and functional German machinery of days past.

The Progenitors Part 2: Works-Developed Sport Sedans

by J Kraus

1953 Fiat 1100 Tourismo Veloce

Today there are a plethora of warmed-over family sedans available to the driver seeking a sporting, yet practical form of transport: BMW M’s, VW Polo and Golf GTI’s, RenaultSport Renaults, R-Series Volvos and numerous others. Such was not always the case. While there were certainly vehicles which could be construed as sporting sedans such as the Alfa Romeo Giulietta Berlina and the Jaguar Mark I 3.4, and a number of sedans were offered with optional higher-output engines; a definitively and comprehensively upgraded sedan conceived specifically for the sporting driver was not available until 1953.

Ten for Twenty: 10 Automotive Designs that Withstood the Test of Time

J Kraus

VW 1200 and BMC Mini

The test of time may well be the harshest test of all. Styles change and the public’s tastes and requirements change. Yet a cohesive, intelligent and functional design can sometimes overcome these obstacles. I have assembled a list of ten cars that enjoyed a lifespan of twenty years or more. The requirements were fairly simple; a candidate had to be mass-produced and sold as a passenger car for at least two decades by its original manufacturer in basically the same design configuration with no more than superficial changes.

In order of decreasing longevity, here are the survivors:

Raising a Glass of Aquavit to the Future of Saab

by J Kraus

Vintage Saab Marketing Mascot

For those unfamiliar with the above image, it is from a decal that was affixed to the windows of Saabs in the late 1960′s. When a Saab was a Saab.

Cut loose from GM, Saab now faces an uncertain future. It is dismaying to see the possibility of a classic brand being subjected to euthanasia. Unfortunately, Saab has been undergoing a slow death for quite some time. While under GM’s stewardship, we were forced to endue such automotive Frankensteins as the “Saablazer” (the Chevrolet Trail Blazer rebadged as the Saab 9-7X) and the “Saabaru” (the Subaru that masqueraded as the Saab 9-2X).

Most enthusiasts today are too young to remember real Saabs. The most genuine Saabs are the 92, 93 and early 96 models of 1950-1968. These Saabs had three distinguishing characteristics, what corporate marketing denizens might call brand differentiators: aerodynamic body design, front-wheel drive, and a light and efficient two-stroke powerplant. These virtues helped propel Saab to numerous victories in most of the major rallies of the period, piloted by the great Erik Carlsson.