Razvan Calin
986 ARTICLES
Personal motto:
Don’t try. Be. Do. Live.
He’s been a field journalist, a TV producer, and a seafarer. Now he writes, finding this to be the closest to keeping wisely quiet.
Getting a degree in PR convinced him that trade job skills are more fun, but if all the schools Răzvan has been through taught him anything, it’s that he’ll never cease learning.
1974 Low-Price Luxury: Dodge Monaco Brougham Drives Again After Sitting for 34 Years
28 May 2024, 08:38 UTC · By: Razvan Calin / In the fall of 1973, several occurrences concurred to demonstrate the chaos theory. In order of appearance, those events would be the launch of the 1974 model-year Monaco from the Dodge division of Chrysler Corporation, the break-out of the Yom Kip...
Original Owner One-of-One 1968 Mustang 428 Cobra Jet Sports Huge Three-Speed Surprise
27 May 2024, 15:27 UTC · By: Razvan Calin / ‘When we came out of the shoot, we were neck dead-even, and when we got to the finish line, I won by 12 inches. Shortly after that, track personnel cornered me and said, “Roger, we would appreciate it if you wouldn’t come back.&rd...
2003 Mustang Convertible Spent Over Half Its Life Abandoned, Gets First Wash in 12 Years
26 May 2024, 21:49 UTC · By: Razvan Calin / The fourth-generation Mustang is the most consistent iteration of the moniker throughout its six-decade history, with sales fluctuations well below those of the other periods. Launched in 1994, the SN95 Ford Mustang soldiered on until 2004, topping...
At 12k Miles, This Former Street-Racing 1969 Charger R/T Is Too Original for Casual Drives
24 May 2024, 21:58 UTC · By: Razvan Calin / ‘I don’t like to drive it that much other than to shows that are close by, but I do drive it just a little bit.’ That’s a strong statement from a car collector the stature of Chris Lehuede from Medford, Oregon, particularly ...
1969 Cadillac DeVille Wagon Is an 89k-Mile Head-Turner With Two Owners Since New
24 May 2024, 14:27 UTC · By: Razvan Calin / Cadillac didn’t rush things at all when it released its first station wagon automobile in the 2000s, over 105 years after the company’s foundation. Sometimes, it’s better to allow matters to grow at their own pace. Cadillac certai...
Hyundai Ioniq 5 N Drags Porsche, Jaguar, Maserati, Lamborghini SUVs – It's a Massacre
24 May 2024, 08:37 UTC · By: Razvan Calin / Hyundai is probably rolling in cash right now, seeing how they generously convince car media outlets to put the Ioniq 5 N EV against whatever is available at the ‘Go!’ end of a quarter-mile straight strip of tarmac. The socket-sucking a...
How Low Can You Go? A 3,000-ft-Deep Mine Is the Best Test Field for the Ineos Grenadier
23 May 2024, 14:50 UTC · By: Razvan Calin / The automobile has gradually become an intrinsic part of our everyday lives, even in the most remote corners of mankind’s adventurous exploration paths. In the past decade, one particular type of vehicle has emerged as the wonder car of the n...
1961 Impala Bubbletop Is No SS, Hides a Nice Surprise in Its Ashtray (and Elsewhere)
22 May 2024, 21:22 UTC · By: Razvan Calin / In 1958, the Chevrolet Bel Air got a new moniker for the top trim level – and a legend was born. The Impala stayed for one year in the shadow of the popular Chevy. In 1959, it cut its family ties and declared independence. The first generatio...
Brake Fluid Instead of Accelerator Cable – What's the Big Idea This Time, Garage 54?
22 May 2024, 10:41 UTC · By: Razvan Calin / Did you check your throttle fluid recently? Is the hydraulic accelerator line sealed properly, or is it leaking here and there? Wait, what? You only have a mechanical linkage between the loud pedal and the go-fast gear under the hood? That’s ...
The Shelby Super Snake Starts at $160,000, and You Can Only Choose Its Color, Really
21 May 2024, 21:23 UTC · By: Razvan Calin / The Mustang is getting a lot of attention these days, as both Hennessey Performance Vehicles and Shelby American are flexing their badass spinoffs from the primordial pony car. The Dark Horse in the stable of the Texas-based tuner has thrown the fi...
This One-of-One 1970 Hemicuda Didn't Sell for $250K, Its V8 Surprise Is Back on the Market
21 May 2024, 12:07 UTC · By: Razvan Calin / Introduced in 1969 as a 1970 model year, the third-generation Plymouth Barracuda brought about two major changes in the history of the nameplate. After six seasons on the market and two fastback generations, the model switched paradigms to counter ...
Hennessey's Dark Horse Pushes the Needle to 7.5k RPM on the Dyno; Guess How Much It Makes?
20 May 2024, 22:29 UTC · By: Razvan Calin / In December 2022, Ford announced the Dark Horse—the Mustang’s most powerful 5.0-liter V8 variant ever, bar its Shelby iterations. On April 17, 2023, Shelby American picked up the gauntlet and announced the Super Snake, an 830+ horsepowe...
1981 Imperial Sat for 20 Years, Drives 950 Miles; Is Mopar's Biggest Flop Worth a Restore?
20 May 2024, 15:38 UTC · By: Razvan Calin / Following a five-year sabbatical, Imperial made a spectacular comeback in 1981 with a personal luxury car that brooded the tech revolution the auto industry was about to experience. However, being at the forefront of development can be a risky ende...
Homemade 1,000-HP Twin-Turbo Scat Pack Drags Demon 170; It's Next Best Thing to Holy Water
19 May 2024, 20:37 UTC · By: Razvan Calin / What does it take to build a ten-second Challenger that can give a Demon 170 a run for its eye? A dad with wrenching habits, a gearheaded son with blood type ‘HEMI Mopar,‘ and some performance turbo parts. The result is a 1,000-wheel-ho...
Rimac Nevera Pulls Four-Tire Burnout on Specially-Prepped Dyno, Doesn't Even Go Flat-Out
19 May 2024, 17:58 UTC · By: Razvan Calin / ‘I don’t think there’s anything you can do to this car that’ll void your warranty. Just do whatever the hell you want.’ Normally, this phrase is never uttered by any salesman of any car brand in any country regarding a...
1959 Pontiac Catalina Is an Original Gem, a Big Surprise on Its V8 Might Trigger Ford Fans
17 May 2024, 20:58 UTC · By: Razvan Calin / Introduced in 1950 as a trim line reserved for hardtops only on the 1950 Chieftain Eight and DeLuxe Eight lines, the Catalina became a separate model as the entry-level full-size Pontiac in 1959. It was a short first generation that lasted two mode...
Lamborghini Countach Drags Ferrari 812, SF90, and Hyundai Ioniq 5 N; Guess Who Won?
17 May 2024, 16:56 UTC · By: Razvan Calin / Three Italian supercars race against each other for a chance to duke it out with a Korean family car that’s so green that it would make envy itself red with shame. And it’s all happening on the other end of the planet because sometimes ...
1,200-HP Mammoth 1200 TRX Drags Stock Corvette Z06 Z07: America Is Great Again, at 130 Mph
16 May 2024, 21:01 UTC · By: Razvan Calin / No sooner than the day they announced the monstrously powerful Mammoth 1200 TRX – with a dynamometer test – that is the final bow of the tuning company’s TRX lineup, Hennessey Performance showed us what the hypertruck could do on ...
Hennessey Mammoth 1200 TRX Hits the Dyno, Will It Be a Ten-Second Quarter Hypertruck?
16 May 2024, 09:37 UTC · By: Razvan Calin / ‘My 1,000-hp-at-the-crank pickup truck simply doesn’t have enough power. Can you do something about it?’ said absolutely no one in their four-stroke sanity ever. But that might happen one day – it’s better to be safe t...
1970 Ford Torino Cobra Has Had One Owner in 54 Years; the 429 CJ V8 Shakes Cool Feature
15 May 2024, 20:55 UTC · By: Razvan Calin / Ford dealt a heavy blow in 1969 when it won the NASCAR title with the help of its formidable fastback Torino racer, the Talladega. The publicity momentum gained on the track was enough to earn the Torino the Car of the Year award in 1970. To rise t...