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.
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.
And I drive a multimillion dollar vintage Bugatti.
Click the link. You won’t be disappointed.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.)
In the 90s, BMW was on a secret mission to create a four-seat convertible to rival Mercedes. This M5 Convertible was one of their (failed) attempts.
Click on the link, and then click again, to view a crappy scan. Or just buy the magazine on the newsstand, you chintzy bitch.
GM Global Design Head Michael Simcoe didn’t seem to like it when I said the rear of the new CELESTIQ reminded me of the hatch on my 1978 Porsche 928, but he persevered and completed the Zoom interview and actually told me some interesting things.