If you’re like me, and under 6 feet tall, then the ideal car falls into the category of performance compact sports sedan, coupe or convertible. For New York City driving and with the price for gas these days, the V6 powerplants make the most sense.

So we are going to match up the biturbo Bimmer 335is convertible with the Audi S5 supercharged V6 convertible (both around $60,000). The coupe would be more suited to New York city conditions, but the Audi still has the V8 (auto) in the S5 with no dual clutch trans.

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Rarely do I really dream of owning a supercar the likes of Lamborghini, Maserati or Ferrari, but the new Ferrari California has certainly pricked my sincere interst. Maybe it’s the folding hardtop, maybe it’s 2+ seating, maybe it’s Ferrari’s new 7 speed DSG transmission, maybe it’s the fab website where you can send hours checking out which color, with which leather trim, with which color break callipar and wheels. Or maybe it’s just the fact it’s probably the first Ferrari in many years you could just see yourself driving everyday for city and highway motoring!

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Without a decent image available of the Hornet I was forced to do this illustration in Adobe Illustrator CS5.

There’s no doubt in my mind that life offers up occasions that become unforgettable memories to make truly great stories to tell. This story of the ’72 AMC Hornet is such a story, and true, absolutely to the last detail.

I could say I remember it as if it were yesterday, but that would be a lie for this all happened back in 1975 while I was still in my 20′s. There’s a lot of personal stuff that lead up to my leaving Cairns on that fine Saturday morning with just $13 and a overdue bankcard in my pocket. I planned to hitch hike to Sydney nearly 2000 miles away.

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Yes, finally I have fallen victim to the undeniable fact that the 3 Series BMW is just one of the best cars on the road. For years they have just been too popular, too common, too yuppy. However now in 2010 when we’ve all seen the rising abundance Wall-Street-wana-bees filling the parking lots with their Audi A4s, aging Bimmers might at last find themselves in the garages where they belong, those of discerning motorheads.

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I had a business lease on a Peugeot 305 for a few years, and though I manged to bend some of the stearing bits by man-handling the car, its was a nice package for the price. So when I got behind of the wheel of the new 206 GTI I didn’t expect so much from this little hatch back.

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The first brand new car I ever bought was in 1987, and it was a hum-dinger.

All white with white 16″ x 7.5″ AMG wheels with 195 x 50 Yokohama performance tires stretched over them. 3rd party  electric sun-roof, color matched spoiler and mirrors. Plus I had the big ugly Twin Cam decals removed off the doors.

After driving a somewhat shit-box of a Nissan 1500 hatch for a few years, that conveniently got totalled from behind by a truck, I finally fulfilled my boyhood, boy racer fantacies and went all out on this landmark hot hatch.

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in 1975 I bought a 1969 Fiat 124 Sport Coupe – Smart choice. After my Cannon Ball (Hornet) run from Cairns to Sydney earlier in 1975 I began working again in HiFi sales and finding some financial gains. With my new-found modicum of affluence and a lay-away plan, I managed to afford this somewhat used vehicle. It had about 70,000 miles on it and a little rust, but all in all, not bad nick, though the electrics were a little dodgy.

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When my friend, Harry, went and got himself a new 135i Beama, red leather, nav-sat, sports pack and all, I turned a little green. On first drive I was impressed with all the shove this little monster delivered. It is hard to fault the BMW from the drivers perspective, apart from maybe the glass. Review is less than I’d like, but then again I am spoilt in this regard by my little Pug I owned some years back.

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This year’s Effort was not at all exciting. Once again we headed down to the Javis Center packing our digital cameras and note pads, but there just wasn’t anything of note. That’s unless you wanted to get all excited about the Camero, yeah but that was here in 08, so too for the Corvette ZR1 .

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Every year they put this on in midtown, and I, camera in hand, jump on the one train and head down to 34th to get the cross town transfer to the Javis Center, a huge glass and steel structure that appears to defy gravity.

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