Autoduel on the Apple IIe was my gateway in to a lifetime of joyous experiences involving a number of geeky board games and models. First was Car Wars, followed by Battletech, Warhammer 40K, and so on.
I've always loved Car Wars, but it really feels like the complex physics and movement mechanics in the game can best be simulated via the computer. Have you had any success getting modern video game companies interested in doing a new version?
PS. Had the honor of meeting you at a convention about 10 years ago, it was a real treat, nice to find out that some of your heroes are pretty decent folks in real life.