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MI Tests the 1950 Studebaker

“One of the best dollar values today,” says Tom McCahill. They’re not the fastest cars on the road but they’re tops in comfort and quality.

THE new, needle-nose Studebaker gives the boys of the Big Three something to shoot at. Back in ’46, with the introduction of the 1947 Studebaker designed by Raymond Loewy, this first real post-war auto stirred up the populace. And now, once again, Loewy has set the pace with the 1950 Studebaker. Read the rest of this entry »

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The Mercedes-Benz 190 SL

Fine workmanship and splendid roadability are the top features of this sports rig, says Uncle Tom.

By Tom McCahill

THE NAME Mercedes-Benz, like Tiffany, Morgan & Company and Diamond Jim Brady is known from pole-to-pole and over the border and into Finland. Mercedes-Benz has had only one rival through the years for the title of Prestige Car Of The World—and that is Rolls-Royce. Actually, from a quality standpoint and longevity, Rolls gets the nod, but from a performance and accomplishment standpoint no one can touch Mercedes.
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MI Tests The Triumph TR-2

“A hairy-chested, flame-spiffing wildcat” is how Tom describes this 104-mph import. By Tom McCahill THE fastest automobile in the world selling for under $2,500 is one way of summing up the TR-2 Triumph sports car. In its price class, the new Triumph is a hairy-chested, flame-spitting wildcat. With this uninhibited rig you can pass a flat-out MG with enough extra speed in hand to give the MG driver double pneumonia in addition to dust in his eye and a slight eardrum concussion.
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McCahill PREVIEWS THE 59 CARS

Beefed-up engines, new suspension systems and dream car styling are the big changes for ’59.

By Tom McCahill

IT’S likely that 1959 will go down in automotive history as the year that automobile manufacturers—hurt by the ’58 sales slump—went all out to whet the appetites of the car-buying public. Beefed-up engines, new suspension systems and dream car styling are just three of the goodies offered with the hope of starting those “low down payments” rolling in once again.

The following is an introduction to the top 1959 cars released as of this date. If they don’t hit you right between the eyes and start you grabbing for your wallet, a lot of Detroit automobile men will be oiling up their squirrel guns and heading for the woods. A guy’s got to eat somehow.
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dream cars you’ll never see

IN the January MI we showed you Tom McCahill’s dream car. And it really caught your fancy. We were swamped with letters, many of which longingly described pet dream cars. So, the editors asked artist Doug Rolfe to draw this set of cartoons to illustrate what might happen if Everyman would fit a car to his own personality.

SPORTSMAN’S MODEL: good on land and sea. It’s equipped with reds, pad’ dies, elephant guns, LaCrosse sticks, fencing masks and cricket bats. Read the rest of this entry »

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McCahill Drives The Austin Healey

Uncle Tom test-drives the most talked-about sports car of the year and finds very few faults to criticize, many virtues to praise.

NOT since the day Neville Chamberlin showed up at 10 Downing Street with his umbrella incorrectly rolled, has a more sensational shocker taken place than that caused by the birth of the new Austin Healey 100. The windscreen and bonnet boys of England’s motordom were outrageously amazed at the reception accorded this upstart at Mr. Herbert Shriner’s Second Annual International Motor Sports Show in New York. At this prime American exhibit, the sales people of some of Britain’s oldest and most traditional concerns never put a mark on an order blank whilst Mr. Donald Healey’s creation was causing a near-riot. In two words, Donald Healey and associates “had It” whilst their fellow Britons “Had it.” Read the rest of this entry »

VESPA

Tom McCahill, famous Automobile Test Driver says: “Here is real fun … this car has a fantastic ride”

When Tom McCahill test drove the 1960 Vespa “400″, he stated that he experienced a thrill unknown in driving for a good many years… that it steered with the alertness of a Grand Prix car.
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The Fuel-Injection CORVETTE

Chevy leads the way with a fuel injection system that may enable this buggy to beat the Grand Prix record of 170 mph, says Tom, By Tom McCahill IN 1920, when a be-mustached gentleman named Gaston Chevrolet won the Indianapolis classic at the astounding speed of 88 mph, he was a hero’s hero and about as swashbuckling a character as you would be apt to meet at a luncheon for the late Jean LaFitte. Later on, Gaston zigged when he should have zagged and they buried him that November. Somehow I can’t help wondering how Gaston would have reacted if he could get a look-see at his namesake as we know it today. Read the rest of this entry »

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The ’59 Chevy

Styling is as wild as you’ve seen . . . just as different as Santa Claus without a beard . . . That rear deck is pure Louis Armstrong—gone, man, gone! What a spot to land a Piper Cub.”

By Tom McCahill

YOU don’t need a Gallup Poll or a complete report from the Electoral College to know that Chevrolet must be considered the American buyer’s Number One Choice. No other manufacturer in the world, for that matter, has pumped out as many cars over the past 20 years as this General Motors division. Read the rest of this entry »

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The NASCAR Story

Strictly stock car racing is the hottest sport around right now. And here’s the lowdown on it.

By Tom McCahill

FROM a spark that a couple of years ago was not much bigger than the glimmer in a bridegroom’s eye, the sport of racing unmodified or strictly factory-condition stock cars has blazed forth into a roaring prairie fire of popularity. Hot rods, midgets, jalopies, modified stocks, sports cars and even the big Indianapolis racers are getting a real run for their money from this newest racing craze. During a comparatively short season from April to November, the un-souped-up stock cars attract no fewer than 5,000,000 cash customers to tracks all over the country, making them the Number One crowd-grabbers in automobile racing today. Read the rest of this entry »

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MI Tests the New Crosley

Tom McCahill, Mi’s auto expert, puts the new Crosley through its automotive paces.

EVER since I started on Mi’s automobile test series in 1946 hundreds of letters have come in asking about the Crosley and other miniature pieces of transportation. So here is the dope on the Crosley. To get it I came to Florida, where they seem to be the most popular—and here I am writing this in Palm Beach. Read the rest of this entry »

Inside Uncle Tom

Which car does Tom McCahill really like best?

What kind of a guy is he personally?

What testing methods does he use? Read the rest of this entry »