The Mistral is not just a Chiron with the roof targa’d off. It has these cool design features.
A Night At The (Bugatti) Museum
I spent the night at the Bugatti Chateau. Not in the chateau, mind you. In a geodesic plastic glamping tent outfitted with two air conditioners, a bottle of Costco whiskey, and selected accoutrement from the Bugatti Home Collection, including a cashmere blanket and a scented candle. In this way, I was introduced to the Bugatti lifestyle, and if you read this article, you can be too.
Shifting Perspective
Anthony Schmidt has loved cars since he was born. “It’s common for people with autism to have a special interest, and for me, that was always cars.” His new photo books take that affection to an interesting arena, shifting perspectives both literally and figuratively.
Cover of the NYTimes Styles Section
My story on the merger of furniture giants Herman Miller and Knoll, and what it means for the design community and the Modernist legacies of these brands, was on the cover of the Styles section in Sunday’s New York Times. I’m quite proud of this story, particularly, its connection to my alma mater, Cranbrook.
I Indulge In Vintage Racecar Cos-Play
And I drive a multimillion dollar vintage Bugatti.
Click the link. You won’t be disappointed.
The Most 80s Story, Ever
Does smuggling hundreds of thousands of tons of weed from South America to Miami in decommissioned cargo ships in order to fuel a winning professional 1980s racing team sound like a two-part episode of Miami Vice? Well, it could be. But it’s also Randy Lanier’s life, and now it’s a book and you should read about it, and then read it.
I-Pace In Palm Springs
Hiding weed in an electric Jag.
Click on the thumbnail above (and then click again) to read the story. Or just go to Palm Springs and visit any hotel lobby or hotel room to read the story yourself.
Tach-y
In my youth, in the Malaise Era Detroit of the 1970s and 1980s, a tachometer was a rare sight. This was, in part, because nearly everybody in the Motor City still drove American cars back then and domestic cars, even ostensible performance cars like my brother’s 1978 Pontiac Firebird or my friend’s manual-transmission Ford Tempo, didn’t have a tach. I find out why.
Coachbuilding for Fun and Profit
But mostly for profit.
My latest for the Hand Made issue of Road & Track. Click on the thumbnails above to see a crappy scan (and then click again to see an even bigger crappy scan) or just subscribe to the magazine already, you chintzy bitch. It’s really good.
A Story 45 Years in the Making
When I was 8, and obsessed with Duesenbergs, I started an independent research project on E.L. Cord, the man who brought the Duesenberg Motor Company to life. My dad brought me to the public library regularly to peruse old periodicals, and print out microfilm articles, to piece together Cord’s outrageous life..
Now, 45 years later, I’ve finally finished this project, with a story on Cord’s efforts. It was just published in Hagerty’s amazing new magazine Radius, with a layout so gorgeous it’s a shame you can’t all insure over $100 million in cars with them and get a copy for free yourself.
Instead, you’ll have to make do with reading crappy scans. Click on the thumbnails above to enlarge (and click again to enlarge more.)