Car Lust

Dodge Li'l Red Express

As we've said many times in this space, the mid-1970s were a fallow period for automotive performance. Emissions concerns robbed the all-conquering muscle cars of their horsepower; spiraling insurance rates made them too expensive to own; and fuel shortages forced customers to consider lighter, less powerful, more economical cars.

Trucks, however, were another story. Less fettered by governmental regulations than their automotive brothers, many full-size trucks sported bigger, easier-breathing engines that helped make them a performance match for the fastest cars around--at least up to 80-100 mph, where the trucks' brick-like aerodynamics put a stop to the party. For example, the late-1970s Chevy full-size pickup was available with a 454 cubic-inch big-block V-8 that hadn't been as strangled by pollution controls as automotive engines. That certainly didn't help clear the L.A. air, but it did make the pickup as quick as the Corvette and Trans-Am of the era.

Infiniti G35 Coupe

The Infiniti G35 Coupe doesn't really fit in among my other objects of lust. It's not quirky, weird, or abjectly awful. It's not a big, bluff, anti-social muscle car. It's not a hatchback or a wagon. And it's not an overly complex German sports luxury liner. It's not old or unreliable.

No, the Infiniti G35 Coupe is a coupe in the grand European tradition--smooth, subtle, comfortable, and athletic. Fundamentally a Nissan 350Z with vestigial rear seats and a more luxurious interior, the G35 Coupe brings the Z's sonorous and powerful V-6 and sure-footed, agile rear-wheel-drive handling. Cloaking that capable sports-car foundation is subtle, attractive styling.

I love the mechanicals--the Nissan VQ 3.5-liter V-6 is among my favorite engines for its aggressive power delivery and torquey low end, and the G Coupe loses little of the 350Z's handling prowess. But it's the styling that really sets the car apart for me. With its long, swoopy lines, refined detailing, and minimal overhangs, the G Coupe combines class and aggression in one well-executed package. It's modern without being anonymous, and aggressive without being cliche.

Pontiac GTO Judge

Has there ever been a badder, more intimidating, more colorful name for a car than "Judge?" With apologies to Boss Mustangs and Plymouth Road Runners, I think "GTO Judge" is the unquestioned champion in this category.

Pontiac's dead-serious GTO had kick-started the muscle car revolution in 1964. Big, fast cars were around before the GTO--the Chrysler 300 letter-series cars were among the most famous--but the combination of the 389-cubic-inch Pontiac V-8 with the attractive intermediate-size Tempest body proved irresistible. The Ford Mustang sparked the pony car class later that year, and suddenly performance cars were hot. Nearly every carmaker had a muscle car in its lineup--even AMC got into the game with the S/CRambler--but in a sea of Cyclones, Chevelles, and Chargers, the GTO stood out as the first, the most famous, and one of the best-selling.

Nissan Cube

UPDATE: the U.S.-spec 2010 Cube has been unveiled--and it's the mirror image of the Japanese version.  Pictures here.

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Japan seems to be producing a lot of adorably quirky rectangles on wheels these days. Some, like the Honda Element and Scion xB, have become familiar here in the U.S., while others, such as the Suzuki Alto Works, are unknown to these shores.

The most interesting of all is the appropriately-named Nissan Cube. I first learned of the Cube by reading about it in Robert Cumberford's "By Design" column in Automobile magazine. That article focused on the Cube's styling, of course. But while the Cube is interesting for how it looks, that's not the only thing that makes it interesting.

Alfa Romeo BAT 5, BAT 7, and BAT 9

I don't normally combine two cars into one Car Lust, much less three, but the Bertone-designed Alfa Romeo BAT 5, BAT 7, and BAT 9 concept cars are almost impossible to separate. The result of a challenge from Alfa Romeo to the Bertone design studio to develop highly aerodynamic cars without sacrificing Alfa's Italian panache and design heritage, the Berlinetta Aerodinamica Tecnica (BAT) cars offered three different interpretations of the Alfa Romeo of tomorrow.

I'll tackle the aesthetic triumphs of the BAT series below, but first let's make it clear that the aerodynamic experimentation was a big success. The BAT 5 is the shortest and stubbiest of the three, ringing in with a coefficient of drag of .23--slightly better than notoriously slick fuel-sippers like the 1999-2006 Honda Insight (.25) and 2004-2009 Toyota Prius (.26). The BAT 7 is longer and even more extreme, and it sports a sensational .19 cd--as far as I can tell, slicker than any production car made and in line with the most advanced prototypes. The BAT 9 was designed to bring the BAT styling cues into a more conventional shape; while I haven't been able to find its drag numbers, I'm sure they are impressive for the era.

People love angry cars ...

Some people do, at least. My question is this--where in this article is the mention of overblown action movie quotes?

For those who aren't aware, we've been honoring the most over-the-top, ridiculously angry cars we can find (1, 2, 3, 4). I'm a little disappointed because the article uses as its example the current BMW 5-series--which I was planning to feature as our next angry car. Oh, well, the cat's out of the bag.

--Chris H.

1978-79 Honda CBX

Thirty years ago, my father brought home a new baby. This one didn't eat and fill diapers; it drank fuel and breathed fire. This baby could make you leave brown stains in your tighty-whities but still leave you smiling. It was first vehicle I ever fell in love with, and it only had two wheels. 

Growing up, my dad ran a motorcycle shop and spun wrenches as needed, so that probably explains a lot about me.  Most kids went to amusement parks to ride the fast rides. I, on the other hand, hopped on behind my dad and held on for dear life as he fired the rocket I came to know as the Honda CBX 1000. In the late 70's superbike war, it was like showing up to a rock/paper/scissors contest and pulling out the nuke.

The CBX was the first Honda motorcycle with 6 cylinders--a 1047cc, 24-valve, twin-cam air-cooled inline-6 with six carburetors. It conservatively produced 105 horsepower out of the box, and it's not hard to get more power out of this engine. The bike covered the quarter-mile in 11.36 seconds when stock.  The one drawback to the bike was its heavy 680-pound weight, meaning it didn't corner as well as some of its vintage competitors such as the Suzuki GS1100.

1979 Oldsmobile Cutlass Salon

Submitted by Brian Miller

For my graduation from high school, I received a car. Wait, let me back up. Before I graduated from high school, my mother drove a 1979 Oldsmobile Cutlass Salon to her job every day for 10 years. Don't ask where she got it, suffice to say it was not new. The Olds was parked in the back yard during an ill-fated interlude with a Chevrolet Cavalier--an interlude that ended up a complete failure. The Olds had 90,000 miles on it when parked after having served us well--the helm awaited the hands of the new teenage driver, me.

After I turned 16, and the automatic transmission was repaired after disintegrating from two years sitting unused in the backyard, I took over the keys to the Olds. It didn't take long for a leaking oil pan and my own obliviousness to the engine's need for oil to catch up to the Olds. After a long drive out to the remote reaches of the Eielson Air Force Base neighborhoods, the old Olds spun a bearing and we limped home 25 miles. Knock-knock!

Angry Cars--2006-2007 Subaru Impreza

Car: 2006-2007 Subaru Impreza, WRX, and WRX STi

Condition: Angry, slightly cross-eyed

Possible Motivation: You can see in the Impreza's eyes its deep-seated resentment at wearing its fourth different face in five years. And after all that change it gets saddled with an Edsel-like horse collar grille? I'd be angry too.

Defining Overblown High-Testosterone Action Movie Quote:
Subaru Impreza: You're a disease - and I'm the cure.
(from Cobra again)

--Chris H.

Suzuki Alto Works

It has been some time since we last featured a Kei car, so why not go with a definitive example of the breed? Boxy, tall, and tiny, the Alto Works boasts surprising interior space despite its minuscule footprint. Yet, like the most interesting Kei cars, the Alto Works makes its biggest splash with its glitzy high-performance hardware and tempest-in-a-teapot aggressiveness.

Like all Kei cars--not to be confused with the ubiquitous Chrysler K-cars of the 1980s--the Alto Works was limited to its tiny exterior dimensions, a 660cc engine, and a maximum of 64 horsepower. On the surface, perhaps, this doesn't sound like a formula for a particularly interesting performance car--until you work light weight into the formula.