Auctions, Car show

Barrett-Jackson’s Hot August Nights $14.2 M Sales

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Barrett-Jackson had total sales of over $14 million during their first event at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center from August 8-10, 2013.  This, combined with 40,000 attendees, proves that Craig Jackson made a great choice being at Reno during Hot August Nights.

Gas Monkey Garage’s custom 2013 Chevrolet Camaro COPO 2 Door Coupe sold for $137,500 and probably will show up on a future episode of their show on the Discovery Channel.  You may recall one of their builds was sold at Barrett-Jackson in January, 2013 at Scottsdale, Arizona.

The top 5 sales at the auction were the scheduled last manufactured 2014 Shelby GT500 Convertible for $500,000.  This was a charity sale where Barrett-Jackson waives their fees and the charity, Brain Injury Association of America took in the proceeds.  Continuing the top five sales were a sweet 1963 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible selling for $192,000, a 1950 Jaguar XK 120 2 Door Roadster went for $178,200, another Shelby, this one a 1968 Shelby GT500 E Continuation Fastback, hammered sold for  $165,000 and a classic 1957 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible came in at $148,500.  Remember, all prices listed here include buyer’s commissions.

The winner of the Barrett-Jackson Cup award went to a 1969 Ford Torino owned by famed collector George Poteet and built by the talented Illinois wrench Troy Trepanier of Rad Rides by Troy.  I’ve been a huge fan of Troy’s builds ever since I saw his Sick Fish at SEMA in 2005.  Last year at SEMA there was a Bonneville Salt Flat 34 roadster on display at a vendor booth that was drop dead picture perfect.  Here is Hemming’s take on the winner.

This auction also marked the last coverage from SPEED as the Fox Network transitions to Fox Sports 1.  But Canadian viewers will still have the SPEED channel available under that name.

Barrett-Jackson also partnered with the upcoming movie, Snake & Mongoo$e (that we previously spotlighted) to showcase the legendary Cuda and Duster 1970 Funny Cars raced by famed NHRA racers Don “The Snake” Prudhomme and Tom “The Mongoose” McEwen along with their color matching car carriers. The cars are now slated to journey to the Woodward cruise in Michigan and eventually will be sold at the January 2014 Barrett-Jackson auction in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Next up will be Barrett-Jackson’s 6th Annual Las Vegas auction on September 26-28,2013.  It will be covered on three networks that weekend including Fox Sports 1, Fox Sports 2 and the National Geographic channels.

Some photos courtesy and copyrighted by Barrett-Jackson and Rad Rides by Troy ©

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Car show, Uncategorized

Snake and Mongoo$e coming to theaters limited release

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“Snake and Mongoo$e” a nostalgic drag racing film will open Friday, September 6th in just 25 cities, just after the close of the National Hot Rod Association’s (NHRA) U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis on Labor Day weekend.

The limited 25-city release coincides with where NHRA races yearly.  before that date you might find the movie at special preview night in conjunction with some local charities.

“Snake & Mongoo$e” tells the story of the groundbreaking accomplishments of drivers Don “the Snake” Prudhomme and Tom “the Mongoose” McEwen in the world of drag racing as well as how the two different figures revolutionized entertainment sports marketing when they attracted Mattel’s Hot Wheels Division to sponsor them.

The film stars Jesse Williams, from Grey’s Anatomy, as “the Snake” and Richard Blake as “the Mongoose.”

At last year’s SEMA show, NHRA spotlighted this movie and had Prudhomme and McEwen spin a few tales and show off their restored cars, a 1970 ‘Hemi and a Duster.

Tri-five Chevy parts dealer, Dunchuk, got in the act by having Tom McEwen’s 57 Chevy at their booth as well.

Prudhomme and McEwen raced each other for over 30 years.  So they had plenty of stories to share with the audience.

The film also has some historic, archival footage included to give it a period vibe.  Don Prudhomme continued as a car owner for many years after he stopped racing, and has been able to keep and restore many of his classic rods.  many of these cars were used as background for the movie to help add a touch of authenticity.

 

Snake and Mongoo$e Bumper Sticker
Snake and Mongoo$e Movie Poster
Manufacturer news, Uncategorized

Chevrolet Bowtie Logo Celebrates 100th Anniversary

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View in gold of Chevrolet's Bow Tie emblem
Chevrolet Bow Tie from SEMA 2012 Show

Just in time for the Woodward Cruise outside Detroit, Michigan, the Chevrolet bowtie logo, recognized  globally as the Chevy emblem celebrates its 100th anniversary this year.

In 1913, Chevrolet co-founder William C. Durant introduced the signature Chevy Bow Tie on the 1914 Chevrolet H-2 Royal Mail and the H-4 Baby Grand, centered at the front of both models.

The bowtie has adorned 215 million Chevrolet’s over the last century.

Current version of Chevrolet's bow Tie emblem
Chevy Bow Tie

While the bowtie has been present for 100 years, the details surrounding its origin are still uncertain and a bit of lore surrounds it. One popular story has Durant tearing a piece of wallpaper from  a Parisian hotel that held the now famous design.  Mr. Durant’s widow claimed he saw a similar logo in a  newspaper advertisement while in Hot Springs, Virginia.  In fact a ad for a coal company did sport a similar design as far back as 1911.

Regardless of the inspiration, it is one of the most recognized car manufacturer symbols and one that doesn’t even have a name inscribed or attached to it.  In this global economy, perhaps that’s best?

Chevrolet bow tie emblem
A timeline of the transformation of Chevrolet’s emblem – the Bow Tie

Some images © Chevrole

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Happy 75th Anniversary to Edelbrock !

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edelbrock_logoThis year Edelbrock,LLC is commemorating their 75th year in business.  Quite  a deal for any company and especially great for one that focuses so much of their effort in staying “Made in America.”

Edelbrock, under Vic Sr.’s control, first started by making intake manifolds. The Slingshot was a 180° manifold for a Ford flathead using two Stromberg 97 carburetors. This was the first product to feature the famous “EDELBROCK” name.

After World War II, Vic Sr. could focus again on improving the cars and designed his first aluminum racing heads for flathead Fords. Like the Slingshot, these heads were well received. The business was on the way to becoming more of a performance parts shop.  Their first paper catalog was printed in 1946 with the name “Edelbrock Power and Speed Equipment” across the front cover. This catalog included not only Edelbrock heads and intakes but pistons, steering wheels and crankshafts too.

Edelbrock’s gear was in high demand as racers took to the salt flats surrounding the Los Angeles area.  Vic Edelbrock Sr. left us way too early in 1962, but the company prospered under the guidance of Vic Jr. and others.

In the 1960s and 1970s. Edelbrock brought about the Tunnel Ram, Tarantula and Streetmaster manifolds. These were killer parts and in demand across the country.

For the ’80s and ’90s, Edelbrock Corporation expanded into carburetors, camshaft kits, valve train parts, exhaust systems, engine accessories, fuel system parts, and cylinder heads.

Edelbrock has seven California locations totaling over 500,000 square feet: four in Torrance, California  and three close by in San Jacinto, where the aluminum foundries are located.  In 2008 they built  a new Permanent Mold and Heat Treat facility next to their existing sand cast foundry, which has been called “the most state-of-the-art sand cast foundry west of the Mississippi.”.

They are always a strong presence at the SEMA show in Vegas and can’t wait to see their exhibit this year!

 

All images © Edelbrock, LLC

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Car show, Uncategorized

Justice League Kia Sorento at Comic Con in San Diego

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This past week Kia Motors America revealed at San Diego’s Comic Con the last of eight Justice League-themed vehicles – a  Kia Sorento. The Sorento’s design was created by legendary comic book artist and DC Entertainment Co-Publisher Jim Lee, who finalized the customization of the car before a live audience.  The colorful airbrush artwork and interior customization was done by West Coast Customs.   All eight Justice League inspired Kia vehicles were on display throughout Comic-Con at the Interactive Zone at Petco Park.  Each of the first seven custom cars featured one of the heroes – Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, The Flash, Aquaman and Cyborg while the final car showed all of the Justice League characters.

Four of the Kia’s were originally displayed at the 2012 SEMA –Specialty Equipment Manufacturers Association show in Las Vegas and can be seen here

This last Sorento is being auctioned off now on eBay to benefit DC Entertainment’s charity, the “We Can Be Heroes” campaign.

[Show picture list]

 

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USPS Muscle Cars

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1970-plymouth-hemi-cudaUS Postal Service has a slick set of stamps available for all you diehard muscle car fans.  This is the third set of stamps that feature a set of classic cars.  In 2005 they first had five “sporty cars” including the 53 Corvette, a 54 Kaiser Darin with its sliding door, a 52 Nash Healey convertible, a Studebaker Starliner from 1953 and a black 55 Ford T-Bird.

In 2008 they added again five ”fin and chrome” cars from the 50’s; 1 57 Chrysler 300C, a 57 Lincoln Premiere, a 57 Pontiac Safari (often mistaken for the Chevy Nomad), a 1957 Studebaker Golden Hawk and a 59 Cadillac Eldorado convertible.

Now they released a set of “Muscle” cars as “forever” stamps.  The five are a 1966 Pontiac GTO, the 1967 Shelby GT-500, an orange 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona, the 1970 Plymouth Hemi ’Cuda sporting Lime Light colors and a red 1970 Chevelle SS convertible.

The kick off for the release of the stamps was held in Daytona Beach, Florida and included NASCAR’s Richard Petty and his son Kyle.  The art work was done for this series by Tom Fritz and looks great.  Tom’s portfolio shows that he nails the look of these cars.

The 66 GTO marked the first year it was offered by Pontiac as a standalone model.  Most of you gearheads probably already know that GTO stood for the Italian phrase, Gran Turismo Omologato. 

The 67 Shelby GT-500 drawn with the white LeMans strip was a sharp, if rare, look.

Rare also characterizes the winged Daytona Charger as only 503 were sold, to appease NASCAR rules.  These winged monsters dominated the left turn circuit until outlawed by the bosses at NASCAR.  There are now more clones of the winged cars in existence than ever made by Dodge.

At least the 70 ‘Cuda was slightly more available, but still less than 700 were sold and on the auction circuit; they are now million dollar cars.  The last one offered for sale at Barrett-Jackson went for $ 88,000  2013 Palm Beach Auction

The 70 Chevelle in regular SS trim had one of two available 454 big blocks.  One model also went for $88,000 recently at the Palm Beach Auction for Barrett-Jackson

What a speedy way to grace your envelopes when you send out a letter!  People do send out letters, right?

Illustrations courtesy of USPS © 2013

1966-pontiac-gto
1967-shelby-gt-500
1969-dodge-charger-daytona
1970-chevelle-ss
1970-plymouth-hemi-cuda

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Hug a tree and buy a Corvette Stingray

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I can hear it now, “But honey buying a new Corvette will save us money and help the environment!”

As if anybody needed any more inducements to buy the new 2014 Corvette, the first year for the seventh generation of the iconic American sports car, now you can add great gas mileage!

General Motors recently announced that the 2 seater Stingray, with a powerful 455 horsepower V8 LT1 engine mated with a manual transmission, will have an EPA sticker estimate for gas mileage of 29 miles per gallon on the highway, and 17 miles in the city.  And yet the car will still go 0-60 MPH in under 4 seconds.  All this with a LT1 engine that is delivering 6% more horsepower than the 2013 model.

Now surprisingly Corvettes have been saddled with the misconception that muscle cars are gas hogs.  Even today some current offerings from Detroit are not known as miserly fuel users.  But Corvettes for years have been able to provide their happy owners with some great gas mileage.

General Motors was able to obtain the highway estimate by two tricks; the standard test was in “tour” mode and improved upon by using the “eco” mode – Active Fuel Management.  Under ideal situations, with eco mode the engine turns off fuel to four of the cylinders without significant changes in performance.  I have that same system on a six banger Impala and when it switches off three cylinders, I wouldn’t notice it without the dashboard indicator.

The second trick is the manual transmission involves SEVEN gears.  This allows drivers to get a big right bicep while swapping gears and optimizing performance.

It’ll be interesting to see how the automatic fares under the EPA rules.  The automatic will also use Active Fuel management to conserve fuel.

So now you can have a car with both performance and economy!  Thanks GM

 

 

Car show

Take a classic on a drive on July 12, 2013 – Collector Car Appreciation Day

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Logo CCAD Coillector Car
Collector Car Appreciation Day July 12, 2013

 

Our U.S. Senate passed Senate Resolution 176 (S. Res. 176) at the prodding of the SEMA Action Network (SAN) designating Friday July 12, 2013 as “Collector Car Appreciation Day.”  This is the fourth annual event to help raise awareness of classic collector car owners and industries.

A list of events around the country can be found here.  Besides car shows and cruise ins, many companies are promoting their employees to drive a classic to work.  The folks at SEMA Action Network  are maintaining the event list to commemorate the day and track the number of events..

Even some Canadian provinces joined individual states, cities in  passing similar proclamations and resolutions.  Sounds like a good reason to go out and cruise on the 12th!

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Happy 60th Birthday – Corvette

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Unveiling of the 60th Anniversary Corvette at Barrett-Jackson Auction
Unveiling of the 60th Anniversary Corvette at Barrett-Jackson Auction in Scottsdale, AZ

America’s longest lasting sports car icon, the Corvette, first went into production in Flint, Michigan. on June 30, 1953. Since then, Corvette has become an American icon that continues to offer the arguably best in today’s technology and performance for the price.

Over 1.5 million cars have been produced over the past sixty years.

All 300 of the 1953 models were Polo White with a red interior and listed at $3,498.

Since 1956, the sport scar has only been powered by V8 engines. Corvette was available solely as a convertible for its first 10 years.

Since 1981 Bowling Green, KY has been the birthplace for all Corvettes offering both a factory tour and a Corvette museum on the premises.

Chevy’s Suburban is the only nameplate that has been in production longer in America.

 

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Dean Jeffries – car customizer – rest in peace

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Car customizer, engineer and stunt driver Dean Jeffries died in his sleep recently at the age of 80.

Die hards will recognize both his name and his cars.  Dean might not have had the greatest publicist,  but he was a renaissance man when it came to cars.

Of course his customs done for Hollywood are instantly recognizable.  The Monkeemobile, the Green Hornet and the Beach Boy’s cover car from their Little Deuce Coupe album were all his handiwork.

He started out as a painter- striper and worked with Von Dutch.  He added the script to James Dean’s Porsche Spyder – Little Bastard.  He moved over to George Barris’s shop and honed his metal working skills.  He painted the first Shelby Cobra for Carroll Shelby.

You can lean more at www.deanjeffries.com

 

Rest in Peace

From classics to muscle cars – everything automotive