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.

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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

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

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.

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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

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.

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2011 Greenwich Concours d’Elegance: images and image

One of the greatest Concours events on the east coast, the Greenwich Concours d ‘ Elegance, is split into two days: a domestic day on Saturday and European day on Sunday. I only made it to the show on Sunday since it is some distance from my home and because I find the obscure European cars more interesting. Check out the gallery below where I have attempted to capture the most interesting cars.

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Atlanta British Motorcar Day

Founded 109 years ago, Berry College is a massive campus situated in Northwest Georgia. Laying claim to the largest campus in the world with 26,000 acres of beautiful grounds, Berry College has several gorgeous buildings with plenty of history.  The college is the home of the Vikings, and for one Saturday every year, the British invade the Vikings for a change.

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2011 NYIAS – Janis Joplin, Face-Lifted and MPG-ified

Since I Worked hard all my lifetime, the focus of the show was rightfully on fuel economy – “Eco” and “MPGs” [sic] were the catch phrases and 40 was the magic number. The result of this is a bunch of existing cars offered with more efficient engines. Other than that, it was a bunch of face-lifts, special editions (OMG Chrysler, rly?), and some existing models redone just for the sake of being redone.

I’m counting on you, Lord, please don’t let me down. Going there I was not looking for anything specific, to me this was a vacation day, a day that I get to do something I am passionate about and I was not about to cloud it with schedules and meetings. I carved my own path, got to see some nice cars and meet some great people.

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2010 New England Auto Show

Auto Show Season is underway and while Boston is not on the major auto show circuit such as New York or Los Angeles, it was still fun to attend. There were no major unvailings, no scantily-dressed models, and no concept cars. There was however a ton of cars that anyone can buy, some upcoming models, and a some interesting people. I did not have a chance to see everything at the show, but here are some highlights of what I did get to see. … Continue Reading

2010 SEMA Show

Each year Specialty Equipment Market Association puts on a show in Las Vegas where retailers, manufactures, and media come together to… uhmm… well, no one really know why they do it. The key points are that:

• it’s in Vegas,
• there are hundreds of cars in various stages and tastes of modifications,
• and plenty of scantily dressed women.
• And probably a lot of booze too, so a good time is had by all. … Continue Reading

Ghosts of British Leyland Past in New Jersey

On Saturday September 25th, 2010 the Positive Earth Drivers Club held their annual Brits on the Beach show. They presented over one hundred and twenty classic British cars on Main Ave in Ocean Grove, New Jersey. For the British car lover this was nothing short of vehicular nirvana. … Continue Reading