At any car auction, sellers are quick to point out the car’s connection to a celebrity. While some stars are known for their affection to cars for others the connection is loose or weak. It seems every few years Jodie Foster’s VW Bug runs through the auction, but really? Jodie Foster?
Barrett-Jackson
So at this week’s Barrett-Jackson Auction, you wouldn’t be surprised that some cars come out with a connection to stars. Simon Cowell is selling his Bugatti, while Gene Simmons is selling a Ford Truck that was first premiered at the SEMA Show.
Bruce Willis
But this Nomad’s seller shows he has a sense of humor – or a great copywriter. This 55 Chevrolet Nomad was previously owned by actor Bruce Willis. The seller mentions he has a written note from Bruce stating ”the car brought me many years of fun, and happy memories”
1955 Nomad
The car has a Skyline Blue and India Ivory interior, and for some reason the engine was replaced with a 1966 Corvette L79 engine with a three speed automatic. The hero card mentions Bruce’s association to the car seven times.
But the humorous addition? See what the car comes with in this pic!
January in Arizona can only mean one thing! It is classic car auction time. Between all the car auctions being held in January, if you want a specific car this is the place to find it. And if you want to sell your car, this is the spot that will have the most buyers available. Most sites are held in impromptu tents on large pieces of vacant land. In six days, six auction houses will descend on the Valley of the Sun and offer a collective SEVENTEEN days worth of auctions. Surely a busy week for every car aficionado.
Barrett-Jackson
Craig Jackson’s dad was one of the pioneers in the classic car auctions and once again over 1300 cars will be sold over six days, January 14-19,2014. The auction takes advantage of permanent buildings at Westworld in Scottsdale, AZ and will have live coverage on three networks, after SPEED dropped off the cable scene. So the auction can be seen on Fox Sports1, Fox Business and National Geographic channels. Remember when the TV turns on, the prices go up! The funny cars and trailers from Don Prudhome and Tom McEwen recently popularized by the movie “$nake and Mongoose” will be for sale.
Haulers on movie set for Snake and Mongoo$e
Most of the cars are sold with no reserve, except for a select few offered for sale on Saturday during prime time
Russo and Steele
This auction run be Drew Alcazar starts up on January 16th and runs through Sunday the 19th in North Scottsdale. Russo and Steele was the site of a horrendous storm where plenty of classics were damaged by uprooted tents a few years back, but Drew has persevered and offers a great event.
Gooding and Company
This British sounding group based in Santa Monica, CA will be having two days of sales on the 17th and 18th of January at the Scottsdale Fashion Center shopping mall. Last year they hit the fences with the highest selling car, a 1958 Ferrari California Spyder, which sold for $8,250,000.
Bonham’s
This auction is a one day affair on Wednesday January 16th at the Westin Kierland resort in Scottsdale. It is interesting that they want to have their slots over with before the heavy weekend of car sales.
Silver Auction
Mitch Silver runs a low-key, unpretentious auction on the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation and they are known for good cars at fair prices. They will be set up for Friday-Saturday the 17th and 18th as well, and expect 400 cars.
RM Auction
This site sneaks in for a quick two day sale on the 16th and 17th, again avoiding the hectic frenzy of a Saturday auction, while being held in the venerable Biltmore Resort in central Phoenix.
Automobilia Scottsdale
First time entrant offering strictly automobilia from various dealers will be held for two days January 16-17 at the Fort McDowell Radisson Resort, the same site as the Silver Auction. This is similar to the automobilia scene at Monterrey in August. It’ll be interesting how this fares as most car auctions have some car themed pieces to sell before the cars run through.
Follow along on this site or on our twitter feed for daily updates
Bumble Bee -the Star of the Transformer Movie Anthology
The Bumble Bee is one of the main characters in the Transformer Movie Series and is a bright yellow Camaro. Chevrolet certainly enjoys the publicity that is garnered by the Bumble Bee and Hollywood studios are known for accepting cash or product for a movie “placement”.
SEMA 2013
At the recent SEMA show, the three “stars” of the upcoming Transformers 4 movie directed by Michael Bay were showcased by Chevrolet at a standalone display. Present were a new sleek Corvette Stringray, an urban looking Sonic and the yellow Bumble Bee Camaro. They were highlighting the upcoming Transformers 4 release next summer.
The same three cars were present at Chevrolet’s Media Event. But after Monday’s event some sharp eyed spectators noted a slight change in the “shoes” the Bumble Bee was wearing. It turns out the Hollywood magic must have worn out and the painted on Goodyear logo and Eagle name were removed showing the true brand of these tires – Pirelli.
Bryan Fuller’s 32 Ford Roadster – Double Down Deuce
We’ve always been a fan of the work and craftsmanship that Bryan Fuller demonstrates. Last year at SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association) he dragged out the ultra-long “Thundertaker“. Now this year at SEMA we were once again impressed by his “Double Down Deuce” Ford. And we weren’t the only ones – Hot Rod Magazine did not just one but two entries on the deuce.
Fuller – All Wheel Drive
After all when’s the last time you saw a quick change gear set – in the FRONT end?? Yep this is an all wheel drive beast! This metal roadster is powered by a Ford Boss 429 producing 600 cubic inches and huge horsepower with a GMC Denali transfer case and a clutchless five speed. from G Force.
Slick is Sick
The “Slickest” item might be the Goodyear 28.5—14.50-16 Goodyear Eagle slicks to provide the traction to the asphalt or even the salt flats. This roadster will be at home on the auto cross, with pro tourers or at Bonneville.
While still “a work in progress” this “Double Down Deuce” in bare metal is still awesome. Plus we had the chance to see it again in November at the Jet Hot display at the Goodguy’s Southwest Nationals show in Scottsdale, AZ.
For the past three years, at the end of the SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association) Show on Friday, some of the cars on display drive out of the show onto the surrounding street in front of the Las Vegas Convention Center. It has become known as “The Cruise” and has become very popular, even amongst weary, dog tired show goers.
Origins of The Cruise
In fact, the cruise started years earlier as an unofficial event. After the show closed on Friday afternoon, some cars would drive off to get to their trailers and either get locked up for the night or head back home. So locals and attendees would camp out along the drive ways and watch some of the cars drive away.
You can admire the individual cars and appreciate a static display of cars, but nothing beats seeing them now drive off, under power, lights on and with exhaust bellowing.
Sanctioned Cruise
The Cruise just sanctioned this drive off and became a recognized, official event. Early Friday afternoon, before the show closes at 4 PM, portable bleachers are maneuvered into position along a driveway that had been the point of access for the taxi’s. The stands fill up hours before the cruise starts and the actual driveway gets lined with interested folks as well.
This year SEMA had an emcee and a DJ spinning some tunes. Because it gets dark early in Las Vegas, SEMA even arranges for some portable lights so the cars can be easily seen.
Some cars tossed out sponsor t-shirts or hats to the crowd and Chip Foose came over to say hi and thanked the crowd for attending. SEMA was even selling a limited number of hats, embroidered to commemorate the Cruise
The Cruise and the Stars
Of course, the stars of The Cruise are the cars. Now most of these cars have already been parked outside of the convention center and on display all week long. But nothing takes the place of seeing the cars actually start up and drive off. We saw the WyoTech Ford truck/roadster, that we had previously highlighted, make a pass through the crowd after maneuvering out of the indoor display hall.
I never had seen so many LED’s on some of the 4X4’s and they were all blindingly lit. The cars were often packed with more than just the driver, so their friends could enjoy the experience. And of course many vehicles had more than one camera attached to their car, probably to help make a video for YouTube? There was even a drone flying overhead.
Many media folks were there including our friends from Hot Rod magazine. It was refreshing to see so many gear heads come out to see the cars cruise, and great to see so many owners take their cars on the road! Even the French builder of the 57 Bel Air themed Harley Davidson motorcycle drove out. This is a great way for SEMA to wrap up the week and was one of our highlights.
Enjoy some of our selected shots from the SEMA Cruise. Which is your favorite?
This past weekend, at the Goodguy’s 16th Southwest Nationals car show held in Scottsdale, Arizona attendees had the chance to see all the Goodguy’s Terrific 12 Award winners displayed together in one space.
Goodguy’s
This year the Goodguy’s AutoCrosser of the year was determined after Saturday’s AutoCross Finals Shootout.  All 11 of the other finalists were already on display for Friday and Saturday. Some of the Terrific 12 were seen at earlier Goodguy’s events, other car shows and even at the recent SEMA Show. But this is the one chance each year to see all the cars at one time.
Goodguy’s Award from Snap On
Adding to the uniqueness of the exhibit, will be each winner’s custom toolbox from Snap-on. Each winner receives their large toolbox in Scottsdale, wrapped with pictures of their ride to display alongside their car of the year.
The cars are displayed at the Westworld show grounds on the top level of the asphalt. There the public can go by and see these cars up close. Throughout the show, the owners, builders or their representatives were usually around to answer questions and show off special features.
Goodguy’s had a great show overall with lots of cars and great weather. Subscribe to this blog to learn when we write up our coverage of the show.
We contributed an article and some photos about the recent SEMA Show held in Las Vegas, Nevada to our Canadian friends at www.mystarcollectorcar.comÂ
It’s always nice to share ideas, thoughts and car shows with others. You can check out the article here. The website posts a new article every day and never spams you. So check them out if you want a Northern perspective on car shows! Frankly sometimes, it is hard to realize that they are writing from Canada.
Congratulations to the trade school WyoTech that brought out a 1964 Ford F100 that was given a roadster treatment by a band of their students over an eight month period. Because half of the school day is spend in classes, away from the machines, that really equates to a four-month frame on build.
Student workmanship
The students chopped off the top, making it a roadster. One student made the renderings for the “pickup” and all the students worked on various parts of the car from the body work, to even the final trim and upholstery.
It was on display by WyoTech at the SEMA show being held in Las Vegas this week, from November 5-8, 2013. Nice job by the students and good to see the future of rodding is in good hands. And nice job by the faculty staff doing the training, and inspecting.
Rear end view of Roadster
Front end view
Interior view of upholstery job
Driver’s side view
Hood down view
The truck received continuous stares, admiring glances and positive comments.
This year’s SEMA Awards for the top trending vehicle models in four categories were announced on Tuesday November 5, 2013 at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas. The Ford Mustang was named Hottest Car, the Scion FR-S took the Hottest Sport Compact honors, the Ford F-Series won Hottest Truck and the Jeep Wrangler received the Hottest 4×4-SUV award.
I was pulling for the Chevy Silverado and the Corvette Stingray, so I guess I struck out; there but no complaints with the Scion FR-S and Jeep Wrangler winning.
Dare to be Different
One of the fun parts of SEMA, is the over the top, just because I can, attitude of many of the cars. Enough said
At the world’s largest convention of automotive aftermarket parts and accessories, the SEMA Show –Specialty Equipment Market Association – one of the highlights is the Chevrolet display; and the chance for a sneak preview at the Media Party held on Monday night before SEMA opens.
Besides catching up with various executives and seeing some great cars, Chevrolet brings in a few celebrities to spice up the night. Fortunately these celebrities have straight connections to the cars featured at this press event.
This year NASCAR racers Ricky Carmichael (and AMA racer and X Games champ) and Jeff Gordon were there to delight the crowds. Some of the featured cars were:
Ricky Carmichael’s Chevy All-Activity Sonic concept
The All-Activity Sonic concept was introduced by Carmichael and had a cold air induction, a lowered suspension and enhanced braking.Spark EV Tech Performance concept
Ricky Carmichael’s Sonic
Chevy Spark EV Tech Performance concept
Chevy “powered up†this all-electric tire smoking mini-car, the Spark, with an instant on 400 lb-ft of torque –http://route66pubco.com/wp-admin/post-new.php more than the classic 1969 Camaro SS muscle car with a 350 V-8 – for exhilarating acceleration. It can go from 0 to 60 mph in only 7.5 seconds.
Amped up Chevy Spark
2014 Chevy COPO
It seems that Chevrolet always has a new version of the legendary COPO drag cars for SEMA, and they didn’t disappoint this year with a light blue version. Very well designed and ready for the drag strip as is. This year will feature new front and rear fascia and be limited to the fabled 69 cars.
2014 COPO Camaro
Gran Turismo C7 Corvette Stingray
A flat blue Corvette that will be featured in the latest version of Playstation’s Gran Turismo was promoted. All week at the Chevy display show goers will be able to play an advanced version of the game.
Corvette Stingray from Gran Turismo
Restored 1978 pick up
This truck was a restored beauty and featured a new crate engine package from Chevy. The E ROD 5.3 L package is a plug and play emissions compliant powertrain.
Restored Chevy Pickup with E ROD power
Jeff Gordon’s SS
His SS came with a red satin (flat) finish was an awesome car with subtle power touches. A LS3 engine and a 6 speed automatic transmission were the power plant for the SS.
Red Satin SS from Jeff Gordon
2014 Camaro Z28
The road worthy Z/28 in all black was released at this event. Featuring Brembo brakes, less weight and a LS7 engine helps make this track car a worthy competitor and lives up to its namesake.
Black Z/28
Transformers 4
Three cars from the 2014 Transformer movie were on hand to be admired; a new Bumble Bee Camaro, a Sonic and bright Green Corvette Stingray
Green Transformer StaingrayTransformer 4 Bumble Bee CamaroChevy Sonic from Transformer 4
Good times, good cars, good people. SEMA cranks up in full power mode in a few hour son Tuesday November 5th. More details at Chevy Performance.
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