Latest from Retro Rides Originals
Retro Rides Presents Ford Falcon EA-ED: Why it Makes for a Great First-Time Classic Purchase
Even if you’re not a typical blue-blood Ford fan, early 1990s Falcon make for a great first-time classic, provided you watch out for a few common pitfalls.
Rear View: Honda NSX
Benchmarked against the Ferrari 328 and with development input from the great Ayrton Senna himself, the Honda NSX introduced a feast of firsts, its stunning performance, innovative design and outstanding quality impacting every supercar since.
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Top Tips for Buying a Used Citroen DS (1967-76)
The Citroen DS is one of the most uniquely-styled vehicles to have ever graced our roads, and while prices have spiked in recent years, they now seem to have stabilised.
Top Tips for Buying a Toyota LandCruiser FJ40 (1976-83)
Early LandCruisers are fair dinkum commercial vehicles, with little in the way of creature comforts. However, for those brave and hardy souls prepared to endure such privations, a well-preserved FJ40 has a style and presence that is utterly unique.
Top Tips for Buying a Used Subaru Brumby (1984-94)
Subaru began selling its versatile 4WD Brumby utility on the Australian market in 1977, but it took until 1982 for a more powerful and comfortable second-generation version to arrive.
Top Tips for Buying a Used Datsun 240-260Z (1970-78)
Buying a Datsun 240Z or 260Z for the long-term means staying ahead of returning rust and not skimping on repairs. Those cautions aside, these are a car with inbuilt longevity, that are relatively easy to maintain and very enjoyable to drive.
A Brief History of the Nissan Z
More than half a century ago, a dramatic new car emerged from Japan billed as a “luxuriously appointed high-performance sports car with a Gran Turismo feel”, aimed at establishing itself as a direct rival to the European brands. That car was, of course, the 240Z.
Design: How the new Nissan Z pays homage to its predecessors
In mid-2022, Nissan launched the seventh-generation Z car in Australia, with the new model paying homage to its illustrious past, while celebrating its exciting future.
Rear View: Datsun 1600
How the stub-tailed Datsun 1600 brought a new level of style and mechanical specification within reach of the masses, and kick-started more rally driving careers than perhaps any other vehicle.
Top Tips for Buying a Used Honda Prelude VTI-R (1994-2000)
The third-generation Honda Prelude launched in Australia in 1992 as an unassuming but effective sports coupe. Early Si versions had a 118kW four-cylinder which was deemed ‘adequate’ by people who were buying the Prelude as much for its stylish good looks as its performance. But there was a more performance-oriented element that thought the sweetly-balanced Prelude chassis could deal with more pow…
Rear View: Nissan Skyline 2000 GT-R 1969
Decades before the R32 famously won the 1991 Bathurst 1000, it’s grandaddy the 1969 Nissan Skyline 2000 GT-R stalked the expressways of Japan. Japan has produced some individual and impressive performance cars over the past six decades, machines as varied as the Mazda RX-7, Honda NS-X, Subaru and Mitsubishi turbo AWD rally rockets and more recently, the Nissan R35 GT-R.
Newly Classic: Nissan 200SX (S14)
Nissan’s fifth-generation S14 200SX delivered V8-eating performance in a handsome two-door sports coupe package. In the Australian automotive vernacular, the phrase “hairdresser’s car” is a not-so-subtle sledge usually reserved for attractively styled but somewhat underpowered and dynamically underwhelming sports coupes.
Opinion: Should You Convert Your Classic Cars to EV?
The answer is obvious, isn’t it? OF COURSE BLOODY NOT! The sounds and smells of internal combustion are an integral part of the classic car ownership experience and replacing that with a box of volts should be actionable by law.
