History The Giulia (type 105) was introduced in 1962 as successor to the Giulietta. The initial engine offering was a 1.6l, with a 1.3l added in 1964. Technically, the four-door Giulia was ahead of its competitors. It featured twin-cam engines, disc brakes on all four wheels, a five-speed manual transmission […]
History The Mazda MX-5 (known as Miata in the United States) can be credited with starting the rebirth of the classic small two-seat roadster. By the time of its introduction in 1989, the British roadsters by brands such as MG and Triumph were no longer in production. The Mercedes-Benz R129 […]
History The success of the Neue Klasse saved BMW, but after the production stop of the now outdated BMW 700, BMW lacked an entry-level model. BMW hence developed a slightly smaller two-door version, which was introduced in 1966 as BMW 1600-2. The styling is very similar to the Neue Klasse, […]
BMW CS Coupé (E9) After the success of the Neue Klasse, BMW branched out by adding two more upmarket models, the E3 sedan (which would father the 7 series), and the E9 coupé. Production of the latter started late in 1968, at Karmann, most famous for the VW Beetle based […]
I almost let the 60th anniversary of the Mini pass without writing an article about it. Crisis averted! History The Mini was presented in 1959 as Austin Seven and Morris Mini Minor. It was designed by Alex Issigonis as compact, affordable car, something that could compete with other small cars […]
These are a couple of BMWs with prices that are still falling, so if you want to get one of these, you can consider waiting a bit longer. E39 5 series BMW’s fourth-generation 5 series has not only been called BMW’s best car, but also the best sedan ever. After […]
Unlike some other brands (looking at you, Porsche), most older BMWs are still relatively affordable and haven’t seen crazy price increases in the last years. Notable exceptions are the rare and wanted models: 507, M1, and Z8. Nevertheless, there are a few models were prices have bottomed out or have […]
With the coming of the E39 530i, it’s the first time in more than 10 years that I have owned separate winter and summer sets of tyres and wheels for a car. Not wanting to deal with the hassle of driving to a workshop to have them change the wheels, […]
History The introduction of the 996-model Porsche 911 in 1997 was not universally seen as a good thing. Not only did 911 lovers have to live without an air-cooled engine, but also have to accept the “fried egg” headlights that Porsche carried over from the Boxster as a cost-cutting measure. […]
My E39 530 came with an Xtrons PX5 Android radio installed. While I’m all about originality (and thus got the original head unit, too), I actually enjoy the features that this radio provides: Bluetooth audio streaming, hands-free kit, and a reversing camera. The downsides are that, by default, there’s no […]
The first parts deliveries are in. My local BMW dealer supplied the missing baggage straps and the cracked footrest. Filters and a new fog light were ordered online. Someone devised this fancy contraption for replacing the original screw for the tool kit, even though the parts (screw and thread insert) […]
My compact‘s driver’s seat shows typical signs of wear, as one would expect of a 17 year old car. Luckily, it has leather seats. Textile fabrics will simply rip at some point, requiring complete recovering. Leather is much more robust, and the wear is often a superficial discolouring. I ordered […]
