i3 from BMW San Diego spotted

i3

i3 passenger side 2

The i3 is BMW’s answer to the hybrid world.  It is the all electric answer from Germany for sustainable cars.  But seeing these cars in person, might be harder than finding a public accessible plug in spot!

i3 carbon body and carbon footprint

The i3 uses carbon fiber strengthened plastic in the body panels and the use of electricity and their lithium ion battery should lower the carbon footprint of the car that goes 0-60 in seven seconds.  Electric cars are known for their instant on thrust/torque.

i3 BMW passenger side

I3 spotted

Recently while on assignment in San Diego, we spotted TWO i3’s – also on assignment.  They were running around the harbor of San Diego Bay, presumably involved in a commercial spot.  These cars are still pretty rare and mainly hitting the car shows try to prime the pump.  My guess is the video may even end up on the cutting room floor, if that is where they discard digital footage these days.

Photo car

Photo car 2

While you are looking at these shots, take a look at the tricked out photo car –  Porsche.  the flat black paint helps to reduce reflections in the car model and the long extended boom allows for a variety of action shots.

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Central Avenue Cruise

55 ChevyTwice a year, Phoenix, Arizona hosts the Cruise on Central.

60’s Cruise

Back in the day Central Avenue was the main arterial for Phoenix, Arizona.  On Friday and Saturday nights youths would flock the entire length to cruise with their cars.  Of course back then, Central Avenue didn’t go as far!

Gone

Eventually the police and local businessman tired of the antics and “encouraged” drivers to disperse elsewhere.  Strict law enforcement helped this encouragement as cruisers went to Metrocenter Mall and Mesa’s downtown Main Street.

90’s Unsanctioned Cruises

“Somehow” in the 90’s the cruise on Central resurrected as an “unsanctioned” cruise.  Somehow cars just showed up along Central twice a year.  Now a local car show promoter Nancy Perry has taken the cruise under her wing and has organized it with police security, port-a-potties, some vendors and  arrangements with the owners of Park Central Mall, which is mainly office complexes now with lots of empty parking spaces on Saturday afternoon.

Enjoy this video of a few burnouts and watch for full coverage in a later post

You Tube Video

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

 

 

 

Barrett-Jackson Florida Update

Barrett-Jackson wrapped up their three days of car auctions on Sunday with sales exceeding $25 million in sales for over 500 vehicles.  The auction was held in Palm Beach, Florida and crowds were evident throughout the auction.  The prices were right and seven cars linked to charities sold for over $2.25 million dollars.

Detroit Muscle

Among the cars being auctioned off were Chevrolet’s first 2015 Camaro Z/28 for $500,000, a 2013 Mustang from the Hollywood film, Need for Speed went for $300,000 and the first production 2015 Z06 Corvette went for a smooth $1 million dollars!

Three Preview Cars from Barrett-Jackson Did Well

Previously we previewed three classics to keep an eye on and the prices sure were high for these beauties.

DSCN3364

The 57 fuel injected Chevrolet Bel Air Convertible went for $110,000.

DSCN3358

The 1971 Oldsmobile 442 Convertible went for $104,500.

DSCN3359

The silver 1967 Corvette coupe went for $165,000

Not bad for just three cars!

Barrett-Jackson TV Coverage Changes for 2015

Perhaps responding to complaints/concerns of their recent coverage on a variety of Fox stations, Barrett-Jackson announced that starting in 2015 with their Scottsdale auction the television coverage will be on Discovery and the Velocity channel.  That might be a better linkage for the car auction, especially with the heavy emphasis that Velocity gives to cars and restoration shows.  Wonder who the reporters will be?

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Barrett-Jackson Auction in Florida

57 Chevy at Barrett JacksonBarrett-Jackson Auctions comes to Palm Beach, Florida this weekend for car sales on April 11-13, 2014, just before Easter.  They have a variety of cars for sale and provide live coverage from Fox Sports 1 and National Geographic for over twenty hours.

Barrett-Jackson is a great auction house and runs a well organized operation.  Their cars are well presented and the action is brisk.  It is a great show and definitely not one to miss.

Preview

We had the chance to preview some cars at a recent Goodguys event and here are some of our picks.

This 1971 Oldsmobile 442 is a numbers matching convertible.  The OLDS 445 engine links to a manual four speed and comes with factory optioned air conditioning, power steering, power lift top for the convertible and power front disk brakes.  The black paint is flawless and is coming from NASCAR’s Rick Hendrick.

DSCN3358

Corvette

You can’t go wrong buying or selling a Corvette at Barrett-Jackson and this silver beauty looks great.  It too has a four speed, naturally, matched up to a 427 Chevy engine.  It has lots of documentation and awards but the coupe would be a neat drive even without all the restoration efforts.DSCN3359

1957 Chevy Bel Air

Finally, readers know we like 57 Chevy’s here at Route 66 PubCo and this white convertible looks great.  It is one of eight 1957 Chevy Bel Air’s selling this weekend at Barrett-Jackson.  The 283 engine is updated to fuel injection, which is a sure way to bump up the fun and the price of these classics.  It comes with a correct red and silver interior.DSCN3364

Check out the auction and let us know your favorite.

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

 

 

Rod d’Elegance by Goodguys

Goodguys makes it a point to issue various yearly awards at their various shows throughout the year.  One of the first and eagerly awaited is the Goodguys/March Performance Street Rod d’Elegance award that is issued at the Del Mar Nationals.DSCN4715

Del Mar

This was the 14th Nationals at Del Mar and the only time, they will be at Del Mar for this year.  They have had a late Fall show in the past but it couldn’t make their schedule this year.  For the region,  the Goodguys show is a wakeup call for all the cars that have been cocooned for the winter season.  In nearby Escondido, the Cruising Grand car show started on the first Friday in April, which was also the first day of the Goodguys show.

Street Rod d’Elegance

This award is issued to a street rod from 1948 or older and must be entered in the Goodguys indoor show.  For the Del Mar show there are two buildings utilized for indoor displays.  Car owners have to apply to be entered into the indoor displays to have a chance at this award.

Black Bow Tie

The winner of the Goodguys 2014 March Performance Street Rod d’Elegance award was a 1935 Chevy Phaeton owned by Wes and Vivian Rydell.  The 35 Chevy was named “Black Bow Tie” and is rather rare in the first place.  Couldn’t ask for more gracious and unpretentious owners.  They are not strangers to awards either.  They won the Detroit Riddler award back in 2002 for another 35 Chevy.

AMBR Winner

I figured this beauty was bound to be the winner when it was announced that Wes Rydell was bringing it out to the Del Mar show.  It burst onto the car scene at Pomona, CA where it won the AMBR – America’s Most Beautiful Roadster- award.  It also churned up some chatter and angst by some questioning whether it should be considered a “roadster”.  But it easily meets the standard and was deserving of the AMBR and now this award as well.

Troy Trepanier

Hot Rods by Troy worked on this car and spent a fair amount of time making it look just right.  The amount of custom touches is hard to recognize, especially when a stock unit is not close by to compare to.  The grill is angled forward and the windshield leans back.  The body was stretched 2 inches and the wheel base has three more inches.  Just check out the room in the rear seat.35 Chevy Rear Seat

Heidt’s

The rod rides on independent front and rear suspension from Heidt’s.   Mike Curtis, who used to work for Boyd Coddington, outdid himself CNC’ing this set of wheels.

I’m hoping that Wes Rydell will be sharing this awesome ride at other Goodguys shows as they crisscross the country.  It is worth the price of admission alone to check out this fabulous ride!

[jetpack_subscription_forms]

 

 

Count’s Kustoms Boat & 35 Chevy at Barrett Jackson

Kounts Kustoms7Count’s Kustoms painted a Laveycraft speedboat to match a customer’s 35 Chevy Master coupe in season one of History Channel’s Counting Cars.  It isn’t often you see a boat, trailer and classic all painted with the same paint scheme but it was sold at Barrett-Jackson in Scottsdale in January, 2014.Kounts Kustoms1

Package Deal

The trailer, boat and Chevy sold in a package deal.  One bid won all three items.  After all what would a seller do with a boat trailer after he sells the boat?Kounts Kustoms6

 

Count’s Kustoms

Count’s Kustoms is a hot rod shop based in Las Vegas and featured in a reality series on the History Channel.  The show focuses more on the people and their stories than the actual builds.  We had the chance to meet the Count and his shop’s manager Kevin at SEMA and they were genuinely nice, friendly folks.

Guess the customer was tired of the trio and opted to sell the set at Barrett-Jackson and play up the association with the Count and Counting Cars.

 

1935 Chevy Master Coupe

The Chevy coupe had the matching paint scheme of white flames on a baby blue sheet metal.  It had a tube frame and is powered by a Chevy 502 with a Mustang front end and a four link rear suspension.Kounts Kustoms5

The boat had been out of the water for a while and was a display model.  Overall all three pieces sold for $45,100 (with commission).  To my eyes the seller got a nice ride with a boat and trailer to boot.  As long as you liked the paint scheme it was nicely bought for and a bargain, especially given its connection to the Count !Kounts Kustoms3

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.