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At the outset of World War II, as American automobile factories were switching from making cars to making tanks, planes, jeeps, and munitions, a few independent car companies remained in production. When the Carter Town Shopper was introduced in 1942, it was marketed mainly to women as a low-cost, two-seater errand runner, a car that could […]

The Monza seen here is one of a handful of survivors, out of an unknown total production numbering fewer than 240. Being such a low-volume car, it is what the British would refer to as a “Bitsa” – it has a bit o’ this, and a bit o’ that…   The beautifully sculptured body over a

The name DKW comes from “Dampf‐Kraft‐Wagen” which translates to “steam powered vehicle.” It carries this name because the first vehicle its Danish designer, J.S. Rasmussen built was a light steam car. Like many other manufacturers, DKW was also famous for motorcycles –in the 1930s they were the world’s largest motorcycle manufacturer. In 1931, DKW diversified

The Dodge Viper was conceived as a futuristic interpretation of a classic American muscle car. During the development stage, it was decided to utilize Lamborghini, then a Chrysler subsidiary, to cast a prototype aluminum V10 engine based on their truck drivetrain and modify it for performance car use. The Viper version of this engine, as

Lotus Cars, founded by the late Colin Chapman, was a racing car manufacturer that also built road cars, such as the Esprit and Elite. Chapman was the engineer, and a group of committed staff made his ideas come to life. Names like Costin and Duckworth (who later joined forces as Cosworth) worked at Lotus during

During the 1970s light, rugged utility cars were very popular with the public in Europe. Vehicles in this category included the Volkswagen Thing, the Citroën Méhari, the Mini Moke, and this model, the Honda Vamos. Manufacturers seemed to have similar ideas for these cars: take an existing model, strip it down to its most basic

The 500 Abarth is a sporty addition to Fiat’s successful reboot of the classic Fiat 500. Building on the successful base model, the Abarth features significant power increases, suspension upgrades, and nicer interior appointments. And, the Abarth name may give it away, but it also has a particularly memorable exhaust system. Appropriate, seeing as Carlo