A new documentary by Ben Bertucci (streaming now!) explores Naito Auto, a meticulous multi-generational Japanese classic auto restoration garage with a decidedly analog vibe.
A World-Class Museum, in Allentown, PA(!?!)
On the site of a former drive-in theater in Allentown, PA, Nicola Bulgari–scion of the Italian luxury goods empire his grandfather founded in 1884–has funded a museum dedicated to restoring hundreds of under-loved mid-market American cars from the 1920s-1950s. I explore the site, and Nicola’s reasoning, in my latest for the New York Times “Styles” section.
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Making Garbage Day Less Trashy
Urban planners, the refuse industry, and cities across the country are reimagining how we manage and dispose of our waste, leveraging artificial intelligence, robotics, and electric power to tackle a growing garbage crisis fueled by cheap products and throwaway culture.
Check out the online version of my latest story for the Wall Street Journal‘s “Future of Everything” section, or just subscribe to the paper already, you chintzy bltch.
“It Looks Like An Alien”
The $3.5 million Lamborghini Fenomeno “looks like an alien,” according to Mitja Borkert, the brand’s design director. And some of its features are “not making you a better driver and not helping you drive faster,” he says. They’re “just looking cool.”
Best of Show 2025
When asked what drew them to the car, Anderson says, “It’s just a beautiful piece of furniture.”
The Phantom Menace
Rolls-Royce has been producing Phantoms for 100 years, making its pinnacle model the longest-running nameplate in automotive history. Discover what makes each era of Phantom so opulent and oppressive.
Questionable Adventures in Automotive Co-Branding
In their quest to be omnipresent in their customers’ minds and lives, and/or to trade their august respect for flashy young social media hits, automakers have collaborated with all manner of other brands–human or otherwise. The effects are often thrillingly imprudent or inscrutible.
Why Are French Cars So Weird?
Credit the fin de siecle Parisian avant garde, French aeronautical pioneering, Andre Citroen’s gambling problem, national geography and demography, and the petri dish of a relatively closed vehicular economy. But be happy it all exists.
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Bentley’s First All-Electric Car is Bonkers
Bentley just unveiled an all-electric concept, the EXP 15, and its outré appearance falls along the subjective spectrum between “bold” and “the designers have contracted brain worms.”
Departing GM Design Chief: “SUVs are Blah”
“Do I love SUVs? Not really. As a designer, an SUV is a marketing accommodation.”