England has seen more than its fair share of crop circles over the years, and the "mysterious" impressions have found their way to Goodwood right in time for its 10th Revival. The crop circles were found in the grass at the West Sussex circuit during final preparations for the Revival, which runs today through Sunday. The Goodwood Revival features vehicles from the 50s and 60s in a retro race, along with period dress and a variety of festivities. Several aircraft from many different decades have flown safely above the Goodwood course in past years, but in 2003 there was a reported UFO siting at the race and the photographs of the sighting were the talk of the Internets after the alleged incident. We're pretty skeptical about the crop circles, so we're guessing the marketing types over at Goodwood wanted to get one more media push in advance of the 10th anniversary of a very cool weekend event. We would like to see the event in person, but short of little green men beaming us over there, we'll have to sit this one out.
Of course your wallet hurts every time you have to fill the car up. Nevertheless, in these trying times we must always remember the words of Fernando Lamas: it is better to look good than to feel good. Cars That Matter has put together a list of classic automobiles that get anywhere from 21 to 48 mpg, which means you can look good while you save money.
The heaviest drinker is the Datsun 240Z, just cracking into the twenties. But plenty of cars hover around the 30 mpg mark, like the Lotus Europa, Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider, and Fiat X1/9. If you want to crack the big four-oh, you've still got choices: BMW Isetta and Honda S800. And the Crosley Hotshot will get you a miserly 48 mpg.
All right, so there are some niggling issues of practicality -- almost all the cars have only two chairs -- unsuitability for winter, plus many of them are mechanical horrors. As such, we must always remember the words of dear old dad: there are no free lunches. But there are choices, and that has to count for something...
Unloved as they are, let's give Chrysler's K Car its due. Thirty years ago, the K represented a sea change in the Pentastar lineup. Not only did the K and its derivatives return Chrysler to the black, the architecture proved versatile enough to underpin basically the entire lineup, from minivans to LeBarons to turbocharged Daytonas. Southern California now has an official K Car club – fitting, as that's likely the only place you could find an early '80s Chrysler without lots of rust. Club membership is open to the entire swath of cars that share this similar architecture, known as the "EEK" models, so you won't get kicked out for showing up in a Caravelle instead of an Aries. Now's the time to hunt one of these cars down if you're looking for a cheap, enjoyable way to get into the hobby. They're available for a song, don't yet command any respect (perhaps they never will), yet the K Car is edging its way toward official classic status regardless of what some traditionalists might argue. The K Cars are nearly classic, they're historic and significant and worth saving. The hobby must live on after all the boomers are buried in their Tri-Fives, and a Reliant would be a great way to show an interested kid the basics.
In California, home of the strictest car emissions regulations in the U.S., cars produced before 1976 do not need to undergo smog testing. California State Senator Dean Florez has proposed legislation that would remove that exemption for cars registered in the San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control District.
What would that mean if it were passed into law? It would mean that as of January 1, 2009, any car registered in a rather large swathe of central California -- from the 1974 Maverick to the 1929 Model A -- would need to pass every current and future smog test. If it didn't, it couldn't be driven.
It is theorized that the move comes because state authorities have missed their air quality goals and are now looking at targeting a tiny fraction of cars. Living in LA, we can't speak for Central California, but most of the pre-1976 vehicles we see here sound and run better than the glut of 80's Toyotas puttering down the streets. What vintage car owners fear is that if the legislation becomes law in the San Joaquin Valley, then it's only a matter of time before it gets adopted everywhere.
