Author: Chris Birt

  • If Renee Richards were a car…

    Sometimes a woman’s gotta do what a woman’s gotta do. Particularly if that woman entered this world as a man. In the late 70s a certain doctor who was a nationally ranked tennis player changed his sex and continued to compete–as a woman. This raised all kinds of issues related to fair play. I am…

  • V6 is for Vendetta

    The Peugeot looks good, and boy, will it back up! As a “Car Guy” ages it becomes important to maintain a certain dose of what Henri Bergsson called “elan vital.” This can be translated to mean a spirit for life. I could find a suitable substitute in English but this would betray my continental bias…

  • Spotting the G

    Got it? Good. Thrust as a concept is covered frequently on the internet. Car guys struggle to define the automotive equivalent—or that sock in the lower back that occurs under hard acceleration. There are many modern day muscle car that deliver this g-force experience. Yet if it’s thrust you seek, it’s not how fast you…

  • Driving Above .300

    Hitting a baseball is one of the most difficult feats in athletics. Engineering a car that is well-engineered at the right price is equally tricky. A lot of things have to come together at the right time and price. That is why getting a car that’s one-third right rarely happens. While rare, the Americans have…

  • Of Guns and G-forces

    But will that thing fit in the trunk? Road Rakes should be, quite literally, driven to fight commonism in all its forms. This includes the commonism of the politically correct (right and left.) I am therefore suggesting a road trip (aka “Freedom Ride”) to fight this menace. Permit me to set some context: Take Sean…

  • The German Secretary

    The trouble with the BMW 330i is that its been on top so long it’s always in danger of losing its mojo. When a car is this popular it runs the risk of appealing to flighty “high fliers” and flight attendants a little too much. At the risk of sounding last century, it is constantly…