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 [...]

Pontiac’s decision to build a small, inexpensive, mid engined sports car was not revolutionary, Fiat and Lancia had already marketed similar cars. But two things about the Fiero were unusual, it was commissioned as much as an economical commuting car as a sportster, and the vehicle was constructed in a radically new way. Under the [...]

The original Fire Bird had appeared in 1967, based on Chevrolet Camaro’s ‘F’ body, but interest in the car didn’t really begin to pick up the restyled 1970 versions were introduced. There were muscular looking cars, with fat arches curvy hips and huge implied machismo in their stance. Only one variant had the power to [...]

The muscle car was a very basic idea. Put your biggest, most powerful engine in one of your lightest bodies. Like most strokes of genius, it was breathtaking in its simplicity. The Pontiac GTO of 1964 created the genre and when sales took off rival American marques could only fall into line behind it. Initially [...]

The 205, which was launched in 1983, became the definite small Euro hatchback over a 15 year production run that saw over 5 million examples sold. It is widely held that Peugeot management avoided the tricky business of replacing the 205 by simply avoiding the issue. Instead, it launched the tiny 106 City car in [...]

When the 205 was launched in 1983, it caught everyone’s attention as the very model of a modern supermini. It was compact, but decently roomy inside, and had a good sized boot. Sensible in practical areas, the 205 was also exceptionally pretty. Over the car’s lengthy production run, more than 14 years, as the new [...]

Family load carriers didn’t come more practical or spacious than Peugeot’s big 504 Estate. It came in two versions, a five seater with a fold down rear seats and the seven seat Family Estate with an extra row of seats which came at the expense of a much smaller luggage area. Both had a longer [...]

After some fine coupe launches in the lower reaches of the market (the GT Manta0, Opel decided to go right upmarket with the Monza. Based on the Senator executive saloon, the Monza was a large car, spacious enough for four adults and benefiting from a huge boot, which was hidden away under a massive tailgate. [...]