With a book and a blog underway, I have become more attuned to good writing. Sculpting a lumpy mass of words into linguistic art seems to me to be a feat of magic.

Below is one of the tightest paragraphs I have come across in recent memory. I found it unexpectedly in a review for the Yugo in an article in Time titled, “The 50 Worst Cars of All Time.” This paragraph — where each sentence is a gem — is the work of a true craftsman. Enjoy:

1985 Yugo GV

Malcolm Bricklin, he of the Bricklin SV1, wouldn’t be satisfied until he had forced every American to walk to work. To that end, in 1985, he began importing the Yugo GV, which turned out to be the Mona Lisa of bad cars. Built in Soviet-bloc Yugoslavia, the Yugo had the distinct feeling of something assembled at gunpoint. Interestingly, in a car where “carpet” was listed as a standard feature, the Yugo had a rear-window defroster — reportedly to keep your hands warm while you pushed it. The engines went ka-blooey, the electrical system — such as it was — would sizzle, and things would just fall off. Yugo. Or not.

You can read the full article here:

The 50 Worst Cars of All Time

Dan Neil, the author of the piece, is a Pulitzer Prize winner. I can’t say that I’m surprised.