HARTFORD – There’s a significance to the stairway leading up to the mezzanine lounge at the new Petrolhead Café in the city’s Parkville neighborhood. It displays a black and white checkerboard pattern. Here’s a clue. The stairs are just beyond the racing simulators that are inside the entrance. Figured it …

BRISTOL, CT – The 2024 Spring Egg Stravaganza Car Show might more aptly be called the “No-Show Car Show” as the event certainly laid an egg today. Maybe it was the chilly and overcast weather. Maybe it was the exorbitant entry fee. Maybe it was the lingering salt on the …

WATERTOWN, CT – March marked the 70th anniversary of the arrival of a new 1954 MG TF roadster into Charles McNair’s family. His father was 37 years old when his mother – McNair’s grandmother – gifted it to his father, who kept it until 1981 when he passed away and …

TORRINGTON, CT – It’s not often that a classic car is spotted on the sales lot of new car dealer, much less a mid-engine, two-seat 1974 Porsche 914 sports car. Unexpectedly, Torrington Hyundai has had one out front for the past couple of weeks. I spotted it Friday morning after …

HARWINTON, CT – No doubt about it, I got scammed. Ripped off. Snookered. Taken to the tune of $500. That was the sum subtracted from my checking account soon after I hit “send.” I only have myself to blame for reacting to a come-on in my Facebook feed last month. …

(Editor’s note: This story is from the RIDE-CT archives having appeared in the “Republican-American” newspaper in March 2018. Mark Prause still owns the car.) LAKEVILLE, CT – History didn’t repeat itself. It was in late October 2018 that Mark Prause’s 1965 Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray departed Lime Rock Park in …

When purchasing a car or truck, regardless of whether it’s new, used or classic, the transaction is usually fairly brief. Spot it, make an offer, strike a deal and bring it home. End of story. For Glenn Nielsen of Newtown, however, acquiring his Bolero red 1967 Chevrolet Nova SS was …

WETHERSFIELD, CT – It’s a question of which came first? The classic cars and trucks or the burgeoning number of car shows in Connecticut? The number of registered motor vehicles bearing classic license plates rose 3,356 over the past year. According to data supplied today by the state Department of …

WATERBURY, CT – Jermaine B. Atkinson of Waterbury was 17 years old and attending Kaynor Technical High School when his father, Clarence B. Atkinson, purchased a new 1996 Ford F-350 XLT in December 1995. The pickup was soon nicknamed “Black Beauty” for its exterior looks. “He’s always been a Ford …

TORRINGTON, CT – It was a memorable slogan that suggested exclusivity and owner passion back in the early days of automobiles: “Ask the Man Who Owns One.” It was applied to the Packard brand, which began in 1899 in Warren, Ohio and lasted until 1958. “They were extremely well made …