The exotic Italian looks of the VW Karmann Ghia hid annoyingly uncharismatic VW Beetle power, but for some that very deceit has always been part of the cars charm, and the looks of Karmann Ghia are more than enough to make you forgive it almost anything, even its reliance on Beetle power. Designed by Ghia [...]

In the early Volkswagen desperately needed to replace the venerable Beetle. A lot of people especially in the motoring press though that the company might fail to meet the challenge. It didn’t replace the old stalwart with a car that was destined for amazing success. The MK 1 golf was an utterly conventional interpretation of [...]

Although it appeared to be a replacement for the MK 1 Golf based Scirocco coupe, VW was aiming the MK 2 based Carrado at higher targets. They were gunning for the wave of sophisticated Japanese coupes that arrived during the late 1980s, and the entry level Porsches that were proving so popular. The styling was [...]

With the success of the MK1 Golf, VW wasn’t going to stray too far from a winning format with its replacement model. Even, so, there was initial widespread disappointment that the Golf MK 2 wasn’t a bigger step away from the original. However, VW must have been very satisfied when early scepticism was replaced by [...]

The 1948 Wolseley 6/80 became the classic British police car of the 1950s. When it was phased out of service, many of the cars were snapped up by members of the pubic keen to get their hands on one of the cars that the forces of law and macho appeal, it was simply the recognition [...]

Like Skoda, Yugoslavian car maker Yugo decided that the late 1980s should be the point at which it became a Euro competitive manufacturer. It was, until the launch of the Sana, the much derided builder of outdated Fiat derived cars. Skoda went to Bertone for help with developing the Favorit. Yugo went for the bigger [...]

Volvo was founded in 1927 and since the end of WW2 has been at forefront of safety, logging a huge number of innovations that have become industry norms. Volvo also became synonymous with family transport through its distinct estate cars. But as large 4×4 vehicles started to become the family vehicle of choice in the [...]

Probably the most famous Volvo of all the 120 Series, like the PV, had American inspired styling, with the same taught bull-nosed look as the Chrylers did in their mid 1950s period. It also gained a reputation for durability, with an amazing resistance to corrosion because of the high quality steel used in its construction. [...]

Italian coach builder Zagato has a long history of turning out the dramatic, the bizarre and the plain ugly. After the madcap Alfa SZ coupe, many commentators wondered when the tiny Italian design house would go to next. Typically, Zagato managed the unexpected Dutchman Paul Koot, who owned a restoration business, commissioned 75 Lancia Delta [...]

Unloved, and now almost forgotten, the Porsche 914 was a hybrid, conceived to give Porsche a foot hold in the mass market sports car sector, which later achieved with the Boxster. For collaborators Volkswagen worried by poor sales of its mainstay Beetle, it meant some much needed showroom glamour to draw in the customers. Launched [...]