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Steve McQueen's Grandkids Assume the Mantle of Family Legacy - Matt Stone Cars
Click on any image to see it full screen The incomparable Steve McQueen, deeply honored by his grandchildren as they become 3rd gen to lead the family’s philanthropic support of the boys school that shaped him. Chase and Madison McQueen will oversee support of critically-important resource for at-risk youth which had previously been championed by […]
DRIVEN: 2025 Mazda CX-5 2.5 S Carbon Edition - Matt Stone Cars
I was working at a major North American car magazine, as an editorial staff member when the first CX-5 was introduced a decade ago. I was impressed with the size, design, and general packaging, of this handsome, mid-sized two-row. I recommended this model to several friends, a couple […]
The Paddock to Debut as New Highlight of Monterey Car Week - Matt Stone Cars
“Multi-Marque Event Offers Inclusive Platform for Automotive Enthusiasts” Click on any image to see it full screen in high-res Monterey, California (04/22/25) – The Paddock is set to make its inaugural appearance on Friday, August 15, 2025, at Bayonet Black Horse, on the Monterey Peninsula. Amidst the bustling schedule of Monterey Car Week, […]
Rock Star Car Guy - Luca Cordero de Montezemolo - Matt Stone Cars
I’ve come to know many automotive executives in my more than 30 years in Automotive Media; CEOs, Chairmen, Designers, Beancounters, dealers, car company founders and owners, plus others. Many impress, and some disappoint. One that impressed me mightily, and still does, is Luca de Montezemolo, now retired Chairman of […]
Coming Soon: ISKY, the Documentary Film - Matt Stone Cars
It was my privilege to have worked with hot rodder and aftermarket speed parts legend Ed “Isky” Iskenderian to create and publish his autobiography. This now 103-year-old is affectionately nicknamed The CamFather, as most of his business and success came with the design, development, and production of high performance and racing engine camshafts and valvetrain […]
$50 MILLION WORTH OF EXOTICS EXPECTED TO FILL MOTHERS® EXOTIC CAR PADDOCK AT ACURA GRAND PRIX OF LONG BEACH - Matt Stone Cars
Kinda looks like a don’t miss stop if you’re attending the LBGP — MS LONG BEACH, Calif. (Wednesday, March 26, 2025) — The Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach is celebrating “50 Years at Full Speed” as it roars into action on Sunday, April 13. This year, the Exotic Car Paddock presented by Mothers® High Performance Car Care will take […]
Newest TESLA model: The CyberLemon? - Matt Stone Cars
Click on any photo to see it full screen in high res. Some folks love the Cyber Truck’s reason for being; some like me, don’t understand it at all. Many think its edgy, macho, visionary, and otherwise fabulous, the rest of us think its Mal-conceived and out-of-this-world ugly. That said, and that aside, there […]
CONCORSO ITALIANO ANNOUNCES 40 TH ANNIVERSARY EVENT SCHEDULE - Matt Stone Cars
“Automotive Collectors and Enthusiasts From Around the Globe to Reunite and Celebrate” Monterey, California (March 06, 2025) – Concorso Italiano has announced its 40th anniversary car event will take place Saturday, August 16, 2025, at Bayonet Black Horse, on California’s scenic Monterey Peninsula. Held during the famed Monterey Car Week, the celebration of Italian cars and […]
JOIN THE CONCORSO ITALIANO 40TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION THIS AUGUST IN MONTEREY - Matt Stone Cars
JOIN THE CONCORSO ITALIANO 40TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION THIS AUGUST IN MONTEREY We are excited to invite you to the Concorso Italiano 40th Anniversary celebration, hosted by Bayonet Black Horse. Join us on the picturesque Monterey Peninsula in Seaside, California, on Saturday, August 16, 2025, as we celebrate Italian cars, culture, and style during Monterey Car Week. Over the […]
DRIVEN; 2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5 N AWD - Matt Stone Cars
EVs as hyper performance cars. Yeah. Right. Well, disbelievers, you can zip it right now, because I can’t name or recall another new current street legal car legitimately available in America that offers this sort of performance for the money. Sure, there are McLarens, Porsches, Ferraris, and all other manner of other hot dogs, but […]
New Years Day Drive Treat: Lotus Cortina, Datsun 510 and Lotus Elan - Matt Stone Cars
Click on any photo to see it in full screen in high resolution Every New Years Day, Linda and I and some friends take a drive along Malibu’s famous, Pacific Coast Highway (1) to get out-and-around, give our cars some exercise, and go out lunch. Our favorite place has for years been the […]
Where Greatness Was Born - Mario Andretti's ancestral home - Matt Stone Cars
If you know anything about me at all, it’s that I’m damn proud to count the incomparable Mario Andretti as my racing hero, and more importantly, my friend. He was born February 28, 1940 in what was then Montona, Italy, now due to post WWII redistricting of many national boundaries, called Motovun, Croatia. Motovun is […]
DRIVEN: 2024 Lexus UX250h Premium - Matt Stone Cars
I was on staff at Motor Trend when Lexus brought out the first RX300 and we all knew that it would change the SUV landscape, by crystalizing the definition of what we came to call the luxury Crossover SUV. That first RX was smartly sized, had just enough “soft-roading” capability to handle the commute to […]
Gathering At The Oaks 2024 - Still Something for Everyone, and Yet Better Every Year - Matt Stone Cars
I’m proud to say I’ve been involved with this show since its barest beginnings just five years ago, and a small yet mighty volunteer Committee continues to innovate and improve this highly worthwhile Automotive Experience, as they call it. Things that helped this year were no local Southern Oregon wildfires as was the case a […]
My New DeLorean book is alive, and released for order and purchase - Matt Stone Cars
The magic release date was just 48 hours ago, my DeLorean The Rise, Fall, and Second Acts of The DeLorean Motor Company is now available in hardback. I’m very pleased and proud of it, and I believe and hope it’s a story you’ll enjoy — the story you thought you know, but maybe didn’t […]
DRIVEN: 2024 Toyota Prius XLE HEV (Hybrid Electric Vehicle) - Matt Stone Cars
Click on any image to see full screen in high res Throughout the Prius’ years on the market, its seldom, or more likely, never won an award for its looks. Some were strange, a few simply ugly. Guess what; while you may or may not have been looking, the Prius got handsome in […]
Wither Lincoln? - Matt Stone Cars
The Mk II was so unique and special that it spawned its own Continental Division of the Ford Motor Company Lincoln used to make great cars. Unfortunately, that statement is now longer completely nor technically true — because Ford’s Lincoln brand doesn’t make cars anymore. It has a full, and worthwhile, fleet of only […]
COMING SOON - MY NEW DELOREAN BOOK - Matt Stone Cars
I’m excited to tell you about my next and newest project — the first new (in some years) and up to date book about the story you thought you knew. DeLorean, the man, the car, the company, the trial, the fall, the big movie, and today. There have been several books about DeLorean published […]
DRIVEN: 2024 Hyundai Kona Limited AWD - Matt Stone Cars
Please click on any photo to see it full screen in high resolution The compact Hyundai Kona came to market as a 2018 model, in a variety of trim levels with a few powertrain choices. It practically defined the term “Cute-Ute.” And it was. Yet also a little small, not particularly powerful, nor roomy. Yet […]
THE VAN - Matt Stone Cars
During one’s lifetime, we all own at least one vehicle with “personality.” Mine was a 1962 Ford Econoline van. It was the barest and most stripped version produced, with a 200 cubic-inch straight-six motor, 3-speed manual trans, two front seats, and the minimum number of windows. You know, white bread loaf. No radio, no […]
DRIVEN: 2023 Genesis Electrified GV70 AWD Prestige - Matt Stone Cars
Premium EVs are here. And you’d have to look a long way to find a nicer one than this decidedly upmarket two-row Genesis. Unlike some EVs there are few choices in terms of motors, drive wheels, and extended range batteries: The EGV70 comes one way, and that’s pretty much loaded. My tester did include a […]
Virtual ProjectCarsNCoffee - Matt Stone Cars
We’ve all done it. Eyeballed a car/truck/bike/boat/plane looking a bit down on its luck if not outright abandoned, that immediately sparked our restorational imaginational. If I got my hands on that thing, I’d make it bitchin. I guess it’s all an extension of the barnfind phenom. Sometime these things are conveniently all in one place […]
DRIVEN: 2023 Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Hyundai Ioniq 6 - Matt Stone Cars
Hyundai has quickly become one of the industry’s most major forces in the development and production of EVs. Two of its slicker offerings are the Ioniq 6 sedan and the Ioniq 5 four-door hatch (or demi SUV). Both are based on much the same technical and engineering platforms, offering similar performance, specifications, features and pricing […]
REVS INSTITUTE ANNOUNCES PREMIERE OF PONY PEDIGREE EXHIBITION AND EXCLUSIVE LOAN OF RARE FORD GT40S - Matt Stone Cars
Like Ford GTs? So do I – perhaps my Favorite Cars in the World, which is why I thought you might enjoy this news….MS “Museum Visitors to Experience Trio of Automotive Marvels Assembled for First Time” Ford Motor Company Media Archive, Petersen Automotive Museum, and REVS institute photos December 21, 2023 – Naples, Florida – […]
THE LAST LAP - One of the stranger accidents ever at the Indy 500 - Matt Stone Cars
I love motorsports history, especially that of the Indy 500, Formula 1, and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Click on any image to see it full size in high res Since the first Indianapolis 500, held in 1911, won by Ray Harroun in a Marmon, 73 people have died at The Speedway in connection […]
DRIVEN: 2023 Ford Maverick Lariat Tremor AWD - Matt Stone Cars
Since its introduction a couple years back, the compact 4-door only Ford Maverick pickup has been hot property. They’ve been tough to get and often sell for a premium over the window sticker MSRP. There were all sorts of supply chain issues for certain components, and the recent UAW strike hasn’t helped matters much lately […]
Moon Equipped Documentary is a wrap, coming to theaters and social media ASAP - Matt Stone Cars
The late great Dean Moon was a character and three-quarters. Truly one of the early high priests of hot rodding, besides being a dragstrip and Bonneville racer, Moon was a sharp-eyed photographer, and major producer of hot rod and racing parts. His famous “Moon Eyes” logo is ubiquitous in car culture, and people put this […]
FORD HOUSE - An Absolute Must-Visit Gem in Grosse Pointe, Michigan - Matt Stone Cars
Clara and Henry Ford had but one child, he being Edsel Bryant Ford, born November 6, 1893 in Grosse Pointe Shores, Michigan. Ford the younger became a highly influential member of the Ford family dynasty, and also in the history of the worldwide transportation company that bears his […]
DRIVEN: 2023 Hyundai Elantra HEV Limited - Matt Stone Cars
I can’t tell you how many so-called experts proclaimed that as soon as pure EVs became more practical and prevalent in the marketplace, the conventional, non-plug-in regenerative hybrid (HEV) would be instantly and forever dead. Ain’t happened. The vehicle architecture popularized by the original Toyota Prius and Honda […]
When near Detroit, eat at Ford's Garage - Matt Stone Cars
Click on any image to see it full screen in hi res Detroit, Dearborn, Pontiac, Lansing, and Flynt are just some of Michigan’s many car company towns. In Dearborn — definitely Ford country — you’d be a Mo-Ron if you don’t avail yourself to the outstanding Q, […]
DRIVEN: 2023 Toyota Corolla SE AWD Sedan - Matt Stone Cars
(Click on any image to see it full screen in high res) Toyota introduced its (and nearly everyone else’s) foray into the hybrid car world with the original Prius, and for some years, the only way you could get Toyota’s innovative regenerative hybrid powertrain system was installed in a Prius. As model years rolled along, […]
Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance - and the winners are... - Matt Stone Cars
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. (August 20, 2023) — A prewar Mercedes-Benz roadster that was first owned by the Shah of Afghanistan—one of just three similar cars surviving in the world today—was awarded the top prize at the 2023 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. This year, 216 cars from 18 countries and 30 states pulled onto the competition […]
Cool Cars Are Where You Find Them - Matt Stone Cars
Click on a photo to see it full screen in hi res As you’ve likely heard me say before, its true: cool cars are where you find them, often right under your nose. Check out this crazy trio of vintage Oldsmobiles (remember that brand? Opposite of what the TV commercial jingle said, These Are […]
The Point of Driving It Home - Is the Point - Matt Stone Cars
You can click on any photo to see it full size and in high res. The joys of benchracing aside, I generally dislike “Me and My Car” stories. You know, when someone – friend, clubmate, or journalist – prattles on and on about some car they have or had and why its better than […]
Fabulous Fiorano - Ferrari's Private F1 Test Track - Matt Stone Cars
To Tread Upon Hallowed Ground Lapping The Ferrari Factory’s Test Track [Doubleclick on any image to see it full screen in high res] Some places are sacred; Mount Everest, the Wailing Wall, the Taj Mahal, or the Coliseum in Rome. Places that move you, for their historic significance, transcendental beauty, cosmic geography, or some combination […]
DRIVEN: 2023 Hyundai G80 Electrified AWD - Matt Stone Cars
Doubleclick on any image to see it full screen in high res Other than Ford GTs, and this or that Ferrari or Porsche, I get more questions about EVs than just about any other vehicle right now, so as you’ve likely noticed from recent posts, I’m working my way through as many of them as […]
Steve McQueen Car & Motorcycle Show at Boys Republic This Coming Weekend (June 2/3/4) - Matt Stone Cars
[double click on any image to see it full screen] One of my very favorite automotive happening is, (sorry) happening this coming weekend. The Friends of Steve McQueen Car and Motorcycle Show is a great show with something(s) for everyone, recognizing and honoring an iconic guy and his films, and in charity benefit of a […]
37TH FABULOUS FORDS FOREVER SHOW MAKES MOST OF NEW HOME AT IRWINDALE SPEEDWAY - Matt Stone Cars
37TH FABULOUS FORDS FOREVER SHOW MAKES MOST OF NEW HOME AT IRWINDALE SPEEDWAY IRWINDALE, Calif. – Having finally found what appears to be a sustainable long-term home, the truly world-famous Fabulous Fords Forever (FFF) show is charging handily through its fourth successful decade. The basic tenets of the event don’t significantly change much, but they without […]
DRIVEN: 2023 Hyundai Elantra Limited - Matt Stone Cars
When the fourth gen Hyundai Elantra came online in 2006, it played as a strong competitor to the Ford Focus, and several other compact coupes and sedans; in terms of value, standard equipment, and content levels, I felt it bettered the popular Ford in several key areas. [BTW – You can click on any image […]
Proof that You Can't Fix Stupid - Matt Stone Cars
[CLICK ON ANY PHOTO TO SEE IT FULL SCREEN IN HI RES] There’s a famous Latin expression, used primarily by the legal community, that goes Res Ipsa Loquitur, which pretty much means “The Thing Speaks for Itself” somewhat filling the need for the classic definition of “hard evidence.” I was attending the Porsche 356 Club’s […]