Jim Koscs

1 week ago | hagerty.com | Jim Koscs

Sitting behind the wheel of his brand-new Plymouth Road Runner outside the Illinois Office of Secretary of State in Chicago in late September 1971, 16-year-old Victor Pineschi counted down the minutes to receiving his driver’s license. He watched as the examiner approached the car, his gaze down, toward his clipboard.

3 weeks ago | hagerty.com | Jim Koscs

Stick-shift drivers under a certain age might be unaware of what could happen in an old manual-transmission car lacking the clutch safety switch that’s been around for a few decades. This ignition interlock prevents the engine from starting unless the driver depresses the clutch pedal. Especially for drivers in the habit of leaving a manual transmission in gear when parked, it’s a vital feature.

1 month ago | hagerty.com | Jim Koscs

As Don Novotny and his wife, Diane, approached their 30th wedding anniversary, they could look back on their share of ups and downs. Just two years before, in 2014, Diane was nearly killed in a car crash, and the couple had gone through a financial rough patch. But 2016 was looking good. Don had been working as a drywall finisher since 1984, and Diane worked in retail at Marshalls. Smoother roads—and retirement—lay ahead. Don already had a project in mind.

2 months ago | hagerty.com | Jim Koscs

At age 11, Don Webb acted on a fantasy many kids that age have: He drove a car. His short, risky trip in a brand new 1960 Corvette nearly took him through the garage wall in his family’s new home near Nashville. The Vette was one of two in the garage, which was serving as a hiding place for Harry Sadler Chevrolet in nearby Goodlettsville, where his dad was general manager. “Back then, dealers would hide cars before the official new model-year reveal day,” Webb remembers.

2 months ago | hagerty.com | Jim Koscs

Who has the right-of-way on a California freeway on-ramp that merges two lanes into one? Apparently, it’s the faster car. Connie Fleischner learned that lesson, or, rather, taught that lesson, one day in 1972. Her youngest of three sons, Hans, was riding with her in the front seat of the family’s nine-passenger 1965 Pontiac Catalina Safari station wagon. Older sons Erik and Craig and daughter Krista occupied the middle row, accompanied by Wolfgang, the family’s 90-pound Doberman pinscher.