All images Michael Fordham

Dodi came to live in the USA some forty years ago, as a refugee, from Palestine, in the wake of the 1967 Six Day War. "I've always been fascinated by cars, especially classic cars", he tells me, "but I never understood why, in America, car dealers were always seen as shady characters, people you should mistrust."

Starting out selling Japanese cars to the mainstream, it wasn't long until the classic market became the perfect match for his blend of personal passion and effortless showmanship."The thing is about classic cars is that they reach out to the heart," he says. " I have had people come in and trade brand new SUVs for little classic sports cars, because if a car reaches out to the heart, it ultimately reaches out to the soul."

Amongst the many quiet gems in Dodi's collection, are a set of Porsche 912 project platforms that had your correspondent in a lather of possibility. There's a beautiful 1975 Rolls Royce, a smattering of Spitfires and a healthy collection of other bits and pieces any classicist would be intrigued to fetel with.

Good deals, great attitude. Buy a car from Dodi!

The post Dodi’s Auto Sales appeared first on Influx Magazine.

Without wanting to become Volvo bores, it's amazing the amount of cool little Swedes we have stumbled upon since we've been in California. This little beauty appeared to us on a side street in Santa Cruz, just when we were getting to end of our day's work. For those of you who aren't initiates of the strange cult of Volvo-sm - it's a PV544 Sport.

544s were phased in, in the early sixties to replace the 444 (funny that eh?) and you might have seen the very pretty wagon version doing the rounds on the internet in the Duett. While it's not quite as pristine as this one, there is a creaky charm to this coupé version, all subtle nods to the Americana to which it was marketed, rusty, matte-primer eggshell and a body that is almost, but not quite as utilitarian as the Beetle: which provided the design sketch.

We're not positive, but it's our guess that this particular example would be one from the later series that were produced in the early to mid 1960s at the Volvo plant in Nova Scotia - which was the first ever Volvo production facility outside of Sweden. With that cool mid-century looking house (we knocked, but no one was in, we can tell these guys know a thing about style and design.

The post Volvo 544 appeared first on Influx Magazine.

All images Michael Fordham

I must admit, I had never seen, nor heard, of this car until it appeared in our peripheral vision like a continent yesterday. Owner Rick (pictured), proudly announced that he had driven all the way up from Ventura along the spectacularly twisty and totemic Highway 1. "It's no problem at all, he told me, once you get her going, you just point the nose in the right direction and she does the rest."

This particular car, according to Rick, is a 1960 model, and has a 398CI (6.4l) V8. "I'd had it in the garage for a long time not doing a lot at all," he told me, "We had started a family and didn't have much time, so it just sat there. But I thought it was a crime to let her just rot away."

So after an engine overhaul, a new exhaust system and the addition of some attractive new booties Rick had just given this battlecruiser its maiden voyage – to a music festival in nearby Big Sur. He and his young family had, apparently, camped down and used the car as a base. And while it's not exactly a campervan, it's obvious that with that big box like structure (and that lovely flat roof) you could fit a quiver of big old surfboards, a few kids and some bikes etc in there no problem.

"You gotta do it in style", said Rick with a smile and a thumbs up, before we jumped back in our, now diminutive looking, Chevy Astro.

We couldn't agree more.

The post Pontiac Catalina Safari appeared first on Influx Magazine.

The Volvo P1800, in Yellow, in California, just looks right. We stumbled across this gorgeous little British-built Swede in a spot, ironically, called Lands End, just at the Northern end of San Francisco imaginatively titled Ocean Beach.

This Volvo was a tricky little product to get off the ground, with wranglings of design ownership between Karmann, Frua, Ghia and all sorts of folk, it was finally launched at the end of the fifties as a replacement for the abysmal failure that was the plastic bodied 1900.

We don't know the rules here: but we reckon those classic blue and yellow California plates should be compulsory for all cars that roll through this Golden state...

The post Volvo P1800 appeared first on Influx Magazine.

Thing is, though we haven't actually spotted a Bullitt recreation 'Stang since we arrived yesterday: we've seen a ton of Mustangs- and this brown, vinyl roofed confection is the closest thing to the original we've come across on our bike wanders around the city.

Polk Street, one of the locations of the original movie

It's worth reminding ourselves, in a city like San Francisco  that everything remains the same, even if the superstructure changes so much. It's the kind of city that resonates with a million images and ideas. And we've captured a few pics that we thought you might enjoy. Go to Street Spots for more.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The post Steve McQueen’s Bullitt appeared first on Influx Magazine.

We're geting pretty excited about our trip to California.

Yes, for the next couple of weeks we'll be street spotting and blogging on a road trip between San Francisco to San Diego; taking every opportunity to have a look at contemporary California car and bike culture along the way.

Whilst roving around the webs in search of inspiration, we found this rather lovely image of one of the definitive icons of Automotive Americana: the Four on the Floor stick shift.

It might have arisen as just the simplest way to access a gearbox with a front engined, rear wheel drive set up : but stirring that box straight into the axle entails a certain feeling of mechanicity, a clunky, positive surity that's lacking in most modern cars.

And funnily enough this simple way of changing cogs has, as is the way of all things American and mid-century, been transmuted into something of an icon. Lovely example from a Corvette here too.

We can forgive Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys anything. But we can't forgive Mike Love's 'interpretive gestures'.

Stay tuned for Cali-centric updates!

Click here to view the embedded video.

The post Four on the Floor in California appeared first on Influx Magazine.

We stumbled across this little movie recently and were wondering about the motor, of course (is it a Pontiac GTO?) We're not authorities of the art of the Muscle Car, but we enjoy them when they are treated as ridiculously as this one is being treated.

Click here to view the embedded video.

We're not sure, either, whether the film is getting or has had a theatrical release. If you like what you see, you can scour the webs and find out where you can catch the full show. Looks like Reservoir Dogs meets Two Lane Blacktop!

The post Muscle Cars and the Medusa Bellflower appeared first on Influx Magazine.

In profile at its most moderne

The Citroen Ami was born of a classic gap in the market. The DS, while being a stone-cold modernist classic and almost completely synonymous with the French national idea of itself, was expensive, suave and costly to run. The 2CV meanwhile, was the preserve of the provinces and along with Renault's competitor the Quatre, had an image problem - particularly among the metropolitan classes that were enjoying the French version fo the swinging sixties.

uncomfortable off-road

Enter, then, a car in the Ami that attempted to fuse the large car swagger of the DS with the affordability of the 2CV. It failed aesthetically, but financially more than paid its way for the national hero of a car company that was Citroen, perhaps more than any other car, it encapsulates the French nation's assiduous self-confidence when it comes to all things to do with design.

Proletarian- in a stately fashion

Angular and minimally stylish

The post Citroen Ami appeared first on Influx Magazine.

It’s true, both Ducati and Moto Guzzi have been marching to a different drum to the rest of motorcycling for over 40 years. The Bologna crew, however, parlayed their non-conformity from the preserve of the air-cooled pervert into the domain of six-figure-earning dentist. Guzzi meanwhile crawled from their well-respected niche into an obscure and dank crevice where they hunkered down, it seemed from the outside at least, to wither and die. Only recently has a torch been shone into their blinking eyes.

Guzzi are former Grand Prix world champions and awe-inspiring risk-takers. They built a 500cc, V8 grand prix racing motorcycle, after all, with a mould-green dustbin fairing. Guzzi were still making serious sports bikes when they released the 850 Le Mans II in 1978. They were close enough to the cutting edge to have to wear safety goggles. So pleased were their research and development department with the manufacture of this true and enduring icon, they took a well-earned vacation. And forgot to go back.

Illustration: Kate Copeland for Influx_08

A decade or so later the motorcycles built on the banks of Lake Como had become an anomaly. They hung-on though, limpet-like, supported by what must be the most fanatical and unswerving customer base in all of motorcycling.

Meanwhile a revolution had happened in Japan. The Le Mans had grown to 1000cc, but blood-curdling superbikes like the Yamaha FZR1000 now roamed the Earth. Guzzi had turned up to a gunfight with a potato-masher. Even brand new Guzzis looked quaint and this was a time when the world didn’t give a flying fig for heritage.

Eight-valve heads and obscure class wins at Daytona bought the Italians enough credence to be allowed to pitch their vision, but like film directors who’d gone too long without a hit, they were humoured more out of politeness than any serious respect.

Both Ducati and Moto Guzzi used to make all manner of machines: scooters, single-cylinder road bikes and tiddly trail bikes – but then chose to concentrate on one engine configuration. In Guzzi’s case this was the across-the-frame V-twin. Guzzi’s transverse vee has two cylinders, angled at 90-degrees, like a Ducati, but instead of being inline with the wheels, Guzzi rotated their vee so the cylinders are raised like Joshua’s arms to heaven. It's as if a BMW Boxer had decided to surrender.

The first of what is now regarded as Guzzi’s trademark engine configuration appeared in the mid-60s. The mini-renaissance they’re enjoying would lead this observer to believe they’ll stick with this configuration till the last drop of black gold has been wrung out of Mother Earth.

The engine architecture is almost Brutalist in its design. The engine, with its flywheel right behind the front wheel and gearbox leading to a shaft drive , looks like it could haul a 7.5-tonne truck. Its sump meanwhile, is as deep at the Mariana Trench. The current range’s 1200cc motor is a statement in alloy (and a little too much plastic for my liking). And it’s saying, without apology, ‘This is what we make, take it or leave it.’

Until very recently it had been over 30 years since a Guzzi had been anything but an after-thought in any sales arena you’d care to mention. They were still capable of building surprises, like the track-only MGS-01 of 2002, but for the last decade, the burgeoning premium European market was squeezing so hard, Guzzi’s pips squeaked on an hourly basis. Their former fellow fall guys Ducati were kicking sand in their face, and had been joined by a reborn Triumph, Aprilia, KTM, a reconstituted BMW Motorrad and half-a-dozen other Euro-chancers to stop Moto Guzzi getting more than its head much above water. Guzzi is part of the Piaggio group, with Vespa and Aprilia, and while it gives a level of security, it also means they are the group’s heritage and touring wing and are unable to stray into more modern design (a shame for any fans of the Terblanche concepts from a few years back).

But the tide is turning. Stick around long enough and people eventually notice. A few builders around the world had created Guzzi café racers, using old 850s and 1000s, well before alloy tanks and clip-ons came into vogue. Hipsters looking for authenticity eventually scanned through Tumblr feeds long enough to find recurring images of Guzzi specials. Now beanie-wearing creatives all over the globe are calling Guzzi’s entry level V7 Stone (matt black, £6630, 95mph, 50bhp) and gaudier V7 Racer ,‘Rad’. They’re positively stoked if their homeboy buys one. The recently reborn California tourer is receiving high critical praise, too. And I couldn’t be happier for Guzzi. They deserve a resurgence, if only for the obstinacy. It’s a quality to admire in a motorcycle manufacturer.

The post Homage to Moto Guzzi by Gary Inman appeared first on Influx Magazine.

This new model, part of the venerable V7 range is according to most road tests agile and nimble enough to drag a knee, while being cool and comfortable enough to cruise nonchalantly through the streets in any given city on the planet, displaying ones chiseled features perfectly in that open faced lid. The central feature of the V7 Stone, apart from that cool matte paint job, is the new 750cc, 90° V-twin engine, which more than anything else on the bike stays true to the characteristics of the Moto Guzzi tradition. There are these new lightweight, six split spoke alloy wheels too - that hark back to those featured on the 850 le Mans.

And how about that engine? Well, according to Guzzi it has been completely re-engineered, but relies still on the architecture conceived by engineer Lino Tonti in the 70s. The new engineering improves, apparently, general functionality of the motor, providing greater torque and power even at low rpms, and makes the V7 more efficient, with higher fuel economy and reduced emissions. The new tank, reminiscent of the one found on the V7 Sport, brings with it a trick steel construction that is light and voluminous. It can hold 21 litres, which, theoretically, gives you a range of some 300 odd miles, together with reduced consumption, ensures a range of up to 310 miles.

Those alloy wheels allow for a reduction in weight at the front and rear, translating to greater agility. There are cigar shaped silencers trimmed with chrome accents, as are the instrument panel dials. It's available in Matte Black or Pure White. We'll take ours in black, trim off the still unnecessary adornments and feel as if we really did it ourselves.

The post Moto Guzzi: The retro-progressive V7 Stone appeared first on Influx Magazine.