Cars and Copters 2011

Some places have Cars and Coffee events. Pfft… coffee. Here in the northeast when we do things, we do it BIG!!

No, wait… that’s Texas.

Uhmm, oh yea, we do it sophisticated-ly.

Uhmm, no, that’s the Greenwich folks.

Uhmm, well… yea, we, erra,… we do it…uhmm… WE DO IT WITH SPIRIT!!!

Hell, our damn license plates say that we’re “The Spirit of America“! And, being on the historical forefront of equal rights, everyone is invited. And then we added copters and blimps n’ stuff. And then we send all the proceeds to the Jimmy Fund.

That’s how we roll.

… Continue Reading

2011 Fairfield County Concours d’Elegance Auction Cars

Like every proper Concours event, Fairfield County also had an auction. Unfortunately, I got there late and I missed it. Fortunately, many of these cars were staged outside the tent, and what an interesting bunch of cars it was. I would have loved to see what some of these cars sold for. Check out the gallery which features a Syclone, a Civic wagon (!), Mercedes 600 Pullman, military Jeep, and a Land Rover. Some “Barn Finds” too. … Continue Reading

2011 Fairfield County Concours d’Eleance

While less known than the Greenwich Concours, Fairfield County Concours offers a more intimate look at fine vintage machinery. The cars and their owners are lot more approachable, as opposed to being distantly roped off from visitors, making it a more pleasant experience. Other than that, it’s very similar, even a lot of the same cars.

I photographed what I found to be interesting and different. There were a few cars which, to me, stood out from the rest: … Continue Reading

1991 Frankfurt International Auto Show

The 2012 Frankfurt International Auto show is happening right now. We will cover it tomorrow in The News. Present are all the new 2012 cars, booth babes, and futuristic concepts that will never see the light of day. Today however, we will travel back in time to the 1991 Frankfurt International Auto Show.

Attending auto shows as a kid I would come home with bags full of brochures and posters. The bags were square with a handles that would lock via pins – very handy. The posters would be promptly wallpapered all over my room, replacing the one from the year before. I would study each brochure in detail over the upcoming weeks. I don’t know if that is still happening today; is there really a need for brochures and posters if all of the information is a mouse click away, including posters which have moved from our walls to the computer screens?

Brian Driggs of gearboxmagazine.com, reflects on his attendance of the 1991 Frankfurt Auto Show. He too brought back a ton of stuff from that show and luckily he has managed to hang on to it all these years. Check out the show plan, the ticket stubs, and the brochures. … Continue Reading

Motorsport News for the weekend of September 11, 2011

A new weekly, or bi-weekly, or whenever-we-get-to-it section, bringing you the most important race news from the weekend. Everything you need to know and nothing you shouldn’t care about, plus some opinion. Feedback is always welcome.

This week:

• Some NASCAR race
• Dramatic F1 race with predictable results
• News bits and highlights
• And a few for the road….

… Continue Reading

2011 Concours d’Elegance of America

The end of July in Detroit brings forth a number of rare, old, expensive, and interesting vehicles to The Inn at St. John’s for the Concours d’Elegance of America. Originally held at the on the grounds of Meadow Brook Hall, organizers decided to move the event this year due to the added space it would bring. The move would turned out to be a great decision since the number of vehicles entered increased from 200 to 300.

Most of the vehicles featured at the concours were built before World War II; Cord, Lincoln, Mercedes-Benz, Duesenberg, and Cadillac to name a few. Those vehicles wouldn’t capture my attention because I don’t know much about that time. However, what caught my eyes were vehicles built in the postwar period; a Buick Century Caballero Estate Wagon, Hudson Hornet, Lincoln Continental Mark II, and Dodge Challenger R/T to name a few. … Continue Reading

This is the greatest LeMons racecar EVER!

This week’s Boston Tow Party & Overhead-Cam Bake 24 Hours of Lemons race at Stafford Motor Speedway, in Stafford CT, just off I-84, featured the typical LeMons jalopies, weather changes, and drama, more on which later. There was, however, one car that stood out from the crowd. Among a Fiat 131, a dunked donked (yea, like you knew the difference between “dunked” and “donked”. STFU, please. ) Pontiac, Peugeots, and Alfa racers, there was  – a mid-engined Lancia Montecarlo. … Continue Reading

Three-Wheel Motorcycle Concept

The three-wheel motorcycle concept. Looks cool on video but how would it translate into real life? Now, I don’t ride, and generally don’t know much about motorcycles so I can’t even talk about this inteligently, but I would love to get some feedback, comments, and perhaps questions.

Ford’s new in-car and safety technology

It wasn’t all that long ago that we would look toward the Mercedes-Benz’s S-Class to see the newest in advanced automotive technology, be it drive-train tech, interior appointments, or safety. It seems that Ford is on a path to change that view, and in a pretty big way. For instance, what was once a feature of cars costing multiple-thousands of dollars, self parking systems are now being found on Ford’s third generation Focus, which starts at $16,500.

With its SYNC system, Ford was one of the first to being advanced infotainment technology to affordable cars such as the Fusion. Unfortunately, the current generation of SYNC has been criticized as being too clunky and difficult to operate for new users, to the point where Ford offers new owners instructions on their SYNC systems. To improve this user interface, new voice recognition software is being implemented, among other improvements.

Ford has invited me to the Ford Technology Forum, an event showcasing the improved SYNC system as well as Ford’s future technical goals. The Forum was separated into two entities to allow complete, pardon my pun, focus on each genre separate from the other. The first of the two points was in-car technology, while the second centered on safety of both passive and active nature. … Continue Reading

The full story behind Mazda 787B’s victory at Le Mans

In the list of 16 manufacturers to have won Le Mans since the end of World War II, only one of them hails from the “land of the rising sun”. Mazda is the only Japanese marque to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans overall. Recently, the race winning Mazda 787B was restored and driven in demonstration laps at the 2011 24 Hours of Le Mans. You may have seen the videos, but do you know the whole story behind that historic win? Read on.

Mazda has an incredible racing history, and group C sports car prototypes are just one facet of the Mazda racing diamond. However, as professional racing goes, this facet was their most successful. Having competed in every Le Mans event for nearly twenty years, Mazda stepped up to the top level class in 1990 with the 787. The 1990 race was not very favorable toward Mazda, as two 787s retired having completed just fewer than 150 laps. The third 787 did finish the race, however troubles mired them down in 20^th position, finishing more than 50 laps down to the winning Jaguar. … Continue Reading

British Car Day at Larz Anderson Museum 2011

Another week, another Larz Anderson Museum of Transportation Lawn Event. This week’s theme was British Cars, or British-y if you include the new Mini Cooper and the few models with American iron under their bonnets. Below is a gallery of the dreadful beautiful British machinery, which filled the brisk Brookline air with the scent of burned oil leather.

… Continue Reading

German Car Day at Larz Anderson Museum 2011

It has become an annual Father’s Day tradition for my buddy Steve and I to head over to the Larz Anderson Museum in Brookline, MA for German Car Day. Part of summer-long Lawn Events at Larz Anderson Museum of Transportation, probably the biggest of all events, German Car Day never disappoints. In his brilliance and/or laziness, this year Steve entered his 330i ZHP (more on that car in the future) in the show and while he did now win any awards, his car provided us with a comfortable seating location in the middle of the show.

Click for a ton of pics of some rare and unusual German cars. … Continue Reading

2011 Grand Prix of Canada: other races

Along with the Formula 1 race, there were other races at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. While I did not spend a lot of time at the track I did catch Porsche Cup qualifying and Vintage Formula 1 qualifying. Pictures and videos are below.

… Continue Reading

Southern Worthersee VW and Audi meet 2011

This event is the “Americanized” version of The Worthersee Treffen called Southern Worthersee, or as it has become known, “SoWo”. The Worthersee Treffen is the world’s largest Volkswagen and Audi meet, with thousands of owners driving thousands of miles across Europe to converge on the banks of Lake Worthersee in Klagenfurt, Austria. Southern Worthersee is North America’s largest Volkswagen and Audi meet, with thousands of owners driving thousands of miles across North America to converge on the banks of the Chattahoochee river.   … Continue Reading

2011 Greenwich Concours d’Elegance: The Parking Lot

Twenty minutes, that is how long it took me to find a parking spot at the Greenwich Concours. Driving around the lot I couldn’t help but notice that the parking lot is a car show of its own, but unlike any I have seen before. The cars were as random as one could imagine, which is something that cannot be seen at any “cruise night” or motorsport event. Checkout the second Greenwich Concours gallery, with the cars of the parking lot.

… Continue Reading