(Photo: Car and Driver) Ooof, that had to hurt. What you are looking at is the nose of a 1983 Dodge 600ES that went dead-on into a suicidal cow somewhere in Baja California, Mexico while Car and Driver magazine was testing out eight European-style sedans. The goal was to determine which car fit the bill best by driving to the end of Baja California and back. What happened in between the moment that the staffers left the office and the time when the eight cars made it back to the United States, the Dodge with a stuffed nose and no hood (it had been ditched) and a Datsun Maxima that had been drowned in an monsoon flash flood arriving by truck is nothing short of sheer comedy, the kind that involves Federales, roadside food, tourists, and incidents that can best be summed up as, “You have to have been there.” (You can read this article on-line by clicking HERE)
I’ve devoured all sorts of magazine articles ever since I got reading down pat. Seriously, I jumped from those Little Golden Books to copies of Hot Rod and Car and Driver and just about anything else that covered the world of automobiles at a young age. I’d even managed to find libraries that had back catalogs on certain magazines, but I had never read this particular story ever. I’d remember something like having to fish out a loaned test vehicle. Kind of like how I remember 4Wheel and Off-Road’s 4×4 of the Year test in 1994, where they crunched the hell out of a brand-new Dodge Ram before crowning it king that year.
With decades of print mags out there, and me occupying the younger age bracket compared to a lot of you readers, our question is a test of your memory: what is the most memorable magazine article you can remember and why?
“We had driven the eight cars some 1650 miles. We’d killed a cow and sunk the Datsun…”
Any one on BangShift – I’ll e mail you my contact details now Bryan so you can send me a case of Glenlivet single malt in time for Christmas……
I’ve read thousands of car magazine articles and yet none of them stand out. Guess they weren’t that interesting.
Caddyhack! Also Project Cheap Thrills…..hose clamp trans mount.
Car & Driver’s 10 Best Issue(s). The driving stories sent in by readers…
Caddy hack. Hot rod back in 1987.
How that got past the editors desk ill never know.
They took a caddy and just kept cutting parts off to.make it faster. It got in to the mid teens if i remember right. To a 7th grade mullet wearing kid it was the coolest.
X2 my favorite also
Back in the early 80s they had a feature on a 63 Dodge Max Wedge Car in Musclecar Review. It was the first time I ever saw one of those cars in print and it’s still the best written article I’ve ever read.
The part I’ll always remember is when he said “You’re sitting in your car at a red light minding your own business when somebody pulls up beside you in this thing. You think “Who’s this idiot in the red lump with a hole in the muffler?”. Then when the light changes he blows you so far into the weeds you’ll need a compass to find your way back out!!
Still puts a grin on my face and think about it almost every time I’m at a light.
First article I thought of was that Caddy hack! I am glad others thought it was as fun to read as I did!
A few years back, Hot Rod did a bio on Jungle Jim Liberman. I believe it was titled, “Good Night, Celestial One.” It was good enough to reread more than once.
X2. I believe that was by Ro McGonegal.
Mopar Action when they rented a Dodge Neon, put nitrous on it, and proceeded to pound the crap out of it on the strip. I think they went from 16s to low 13s. Used methanol in the wiper reservoir to keep pistons happy, and the horn to activate system. 1990 or 91. Tony DeFeo is about the most hilarious and knowledgeable writer I have ever come across. Loved them kicking ass with the Green Brick at the One Lap Of America events too!
long live King Richard Ehrenberg!!
how about Disc O Tech!? the greatest mopar brake swap document ever printed!!
most any article written by Mr. Mopar Knowitall himself is a GREAT READ! he´s getting a little long in the tooth and steers away from crazy shenanigans like street racing anymore, but still a treat to read the indepth tech articles….. a close second is anything from late 90s David Freiburger, like the 12 second dart with the radiator hoseclamps doubling as a trans support… great articles!
Not auto related,but magazine article \’Chinese takeout\’ David Pingree,Racer X magazine.Test on one of the Chinese dirt bike,you will be in tears!
Two come to mind for me:
“It makes children cry” by David Freiburger Hot Rod Dec 2005 – Dave and Steve Atwell cruise around in a 1964 Super Stock Dodge. Makes me giggle every time I read it
Another was called something like “The year of shame” and it was in Road and Track Magazine in the late 80s. It was a story of how the author would up with a car he hated (early sixties rambler station wagon) and how he did everything type of abuse he could think of to kill it, but it would die.
That Car and Driver story was hilarious – part of the story was one of the writers cleaning the ECM of that maxima in a hotel room sink. I might have to search that one out and read it again
I linked it in the story…enjoy!
Look Honey, I Bought You the Bottom of the Line!
http://automotivemileposts.com/garage/v1n5.html
not auto but Hunter Thompsons “song of the sausage creature ” in cycle world
Best one I can think of right now is David Freiburger’s “the important of risk”. Gives me chills every time I read it. I have the page sitting in my toolbox.
“Lincoln Town Car’s 63-mph reverse top speed” from Car and Driver’s Rental-Car Olympics! Event #5 Jan 2011
https://www.caranddriver.com/comparisons/rental-car-olympics-comparison-test-the-compass-actually-wins-an-event-page-2
And even a pic for “Turns out that 63 mph in reverse in a Lincoln town car is utterly terrifying.” Does anyone know of a all inclusive chart/website that lists all cars reverse top speed?
great one!
A couple come to mind, mostly from good old C&D. It only stands to reason that a car mag that focused on great writing would have the best stories.
I don\’t know which mag carried the tale of the epic Epic, in which a couple of California boys found a wrecked 350 horse Vette, and quickly latched on to the idea that said 327/4spd combo needed to be transpanted into the Vauxhall Epic that they drove to school and the beach. The swap was eased via judicious use of a four-pound sheet metal adjustment wrench.
Said power transplant gave the substantially sub-3000lb Epic epic performance. But, after a few weeks of heavy squirreling, the Epic developed a pretty serious case of dog track, the trunk wouldn\’t close right, and neither would a couple of doors.
Before the summer was out, the epic Epic got shipped off to the boneyard and the 327 went into something more suitable.
One of the first C&D columns I remember was called \”It\’s not a Dodge, it\’s a Polara.\” I don\’t recall the whole gist of the piece, but it was classic Yates.
The Cannonball articles were among the very best, as well.
But, if I had to pick the greatest article ever, it would have to be \”Requiem For a Junkyard Dog\” from the pages of C&D. Great, great piece.
There was a article in Popular Hot Rodding in the 80\’s where Cam Benty and C Van Tune made a Cannonball Run type adventure. I think it was in a Porsche. I don\’t know why it stands out but I wanted to be them for a while…
Car and Driver 750th issue from last month