Showing posts with label news. Show all posts
Showing posts with label news. Show all posts

Thursday, April 18, 2013

John Surtees, only person to win both the 2 wheel world championship and the 4 wheel world championship.
He won 7 motorcycle World Championships, and one Formula One World Championship in 1964,

it might have made headlines, however, John Campbell in the same year (the magazine says) set both land and water land speed records that year, and John Surtees accomplishments did not get the recognition due him.

Aston Martin was incorporated a 100 years ago, and this year the largest gathering of racing Astons will happen at Brands Hatch on July 6-7th

The Mac's IT Special was powered by a 2 cycle Rotax engine at all 4 wheels independantly

Aynton Senna won the 1988, 90, and 91 F1 World Championships, won 41 Gran Prix events, and made pole position 65 times, a record that stood for a decade until Michael Shumacher broke it.... and it all started with a 1 hp go kart his dad made him. With a lawn mower engine

Ettore Bugatti was so driven to win the 1925 Gran Prix, near Paris, at Montlhery, that he upgraded the type 35 to type 39's, made them full road spec, even having ballast to compensate for the lack of a passengers weight. Mid race refueling was not allowed, so they were fitted with oversize fuel tanks. Bugatti was so proud of them, he had a preview of the cars for the public the day before the race, at Strasbourg's Place Kleber

England now has more lions per square mile than Kenya

Lord Montagu inherited Beaulieu, a stately home according to Vintage Racecar magazine, but not a lot of money, so he made the estate the home to the National Motor Museum

An auction ring is when collectible companies attend auctions, and bid up the items to set the auction sales prices as high as they'd like to have the perceived value of their stock become. So if auctions seem to be setting prices, it's because the major media doesn't get numbers from private sales, they only get the prices that cars sell for at auctions, and thus, report the value of a make and model as having risen from the economic lows of 2008, 2009, to high numbers more in keeping with the trend toward investment grade rare items. Auction Ring. New idea to me, so beware.

Auction prices on the topic, here are some trends: American Muscle cars down 32 percent from the 2007 highs (no more million dollar superbirds, hemis, etc) Ferrari's are up 59 percent over the last 3 years, British cars are up 12%, postwar German cars are up 43 percent since 2006

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

image from http://www.libertyfoundation.org/index.html
story with details is at http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/mar/19/B-17-bomber-on-display-in-El-Cajon/

March 23-24San Diego, CA
Gillespie Field Airport (KSEE)
Main Terminal
1960 Joe-Crosson Drive
El Cajon, CA 92020

view map
Call 918-340-0243 to
schedule your flight.

B-17 available.
LINE
March 30Long Beach, CA
Daugherty Field Airport (KLGB)
Signature Flight Support FBO
3333 East Spring Street
Long Beach, CA 90806

view map
Call 918-340-0243 to
schedule your flight.

B-17 available.
LINE
April 6-7Burbank, CA
Bob Hope Burbank Airport (KBUR)
Atlantic Aviation FBO
10750 Sherman Way
Burbank, CA 91505

view map
Call 918-340-0243 to
schedule your flight.

B-17 available.
LINE
April 13Bakersfield, CA
Bakersfield Meadows Airport (KBFL)
Epic Jet Center FBO
1105 Douglas Street
Bakersfield, CA 93308

view map
Call 918-340-0243 to
schedule your flight.

B-17 available.
LINE
April 14Fresno, CA
Fresno-Yosemite International Airport (KFAT)
Corporate Aircraft FBO
4885 East Shields
Fresno, CA 93726

view map
Call 918-340-0243 to
schedule your flight.

B-17 available.

Thursday, March 14, 2013

 To kick off the 2013 Advance Auto Parts Monster Jam World Finals, on Thursday, March 21st a collection of past Monster Jam World Finals champions will participate in an autograph session in front of Planet Hollywood, followed by a procession down the world famous Las Vegas Strip.

Festivities begin at 5:00 p.m. with the Monster Jam trucks on display and drivers signing autographs.

 At 7:00 p.m. the Monster Jam trucks will travel Northbound on the Las Vegas Strip, turn at the intersection of Las Vegas Blvd. and Flamingo, and return to Planet Hollywood. This is a once in a life time Advance Auto Parts Monster Jam World Finals moment you won't want to miss

Monday, November 12, 2012

http://www.hagerty.com/classic-car-articles-resources/Features/News/All-Articles/2012/10/19/Margaret-Dunning-94-years-behind-the-wheel-and-counting?utm_source=ExactTarget&utm_medium=email&utm_term=&utm_content=&utm_campaign=Hagerty%20Weekly%20News%2011-12-2012 for the story

Briefly, she's been driving since age 8, and she's had her 1930 Packard since 1949.

A lot of people talked to her at the event, and some famous ones... Leno, Henry Ford III and Edsel Ford II, and that must have been a big thrill for all of them. Her neighbor was Henry Ford... way way back when.

Sunday, November 4, 2012

Sunday, October 14, 2012







to be invited the cars had to have already been winners of another Concours, or be exceptional examples of their make and period. 17 cars came from the "colonies" across the Atlantic.

Gallery from http://www.concoursofelegance.co.uk/page.cfm/Action=PhotoGallery/galID=4/galAction=openGal/setID=1/t=m/goSection=1_56 and taken by Tim Scott of http://www.fluidimages.co.uk/portfolio/index.php

Sunday, October 7, 2012

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/california-politics/2012/10/california-dmv-vintage-license-plates.html

For an extra $50, California car enthusiasts will soon be able to order vintage license plates, including the black plates with yellow lettering issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles in the 1960s, thanks to action taken by Gov. Jerry Brown.

 Among the hundreds of bills signed by the governor last week, AB 1658 is aimed at Californians who restore and drive vintage automobiles, as well as residents who are just nostalgic for the good old days.

 Other plates to be offered after Jan. 1 include those used in the 1950s, with a yellow background and black lettering, and those issued in the 1980s, with a blue background and yellow lettering.

 The DMV will only produce one of the designs once 7,500 applications have been received for that design statewide.

Sunday, September 9, 2012

Hertz gets green lit to acquire Dollar and Thrifty car rental companies, which will build it to the 2nd largest car renting company with 720,000 cars, and 20% of the market

Enterprise is the worlds largest, with 1.2 million cars, 40% of the market

Enterprise also owns Alamo and National Car rental.

So if you are looking to research who has the best rates, it might follow that the Hertz companies are less expensive than the Enterprise companies.

The other big rental car company is the Avis group, with %18.5 of the market

Hertz has been in business since 1918, and Enterprise since 1957 has only been run by the original boss, and turned it over to his son.

info via http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2012/sep/09/hertz-deal-no-roadblock-to-enterprise-analysts/


Wednesday, September 5, 2012


A dented silver Ferrari, a dead Thai policeman whose body was dragged for 200 meters under its wheels, a family driver ready to take the fall for the wealthy 27-year-old heir to the world-famous Red Bull energy drink empire.

The grandson of the creator of the Red Bull energy drink has been arrested for allegedly hitting a police officer with his Ferrari and then dragging his body down a Bangkok street, police said Monday. Police took Vorayuth Yoovidhya, 27, in for questioning in the officer's death after tracing oil streaks for several blocks to his family's gated estate in a wealthy neighborhood of the Thai capital.
In the Thai case, the police officer, who was on his motorcycle, was hit by the Ferrari and his bike was dragged by the car 90 meters (295 feet) after his body hit the windshield and fell on the road, before the alleged driver sped away to his residence not far from the scene, police Lt. Col. Viradol Thubthimdee, who is responsible for the case
The victim, Sgt. Maj. Wichean Glanprasert, was 47.

Vorayuth admitted he drove the charcoal gray sports car but said the police officer's motorcycle abruptly cut in front of his vehicle, said police lead investigator.

Bangkok's top police official, Lt. Gen. C Toopgrajank, said he took over the investigation after a lower-ranking policeman initially tried to cover up the crime by turning in a bogus suspect.

Comronwit led a team of officers to search the compound of late Red Bull founder C Yoovidhya, who was one of Thailand's wealthiest men before he passed away this year. Police confiscated a Ferrari with a badly damaged front bumper and broken windshield

The Yoovidhya family was ranked the fourth richest in Thailand this year by Forbes magazine, with a net worth of $5.4 billion. The Red Bull creator C Yoovidhya died in  March, leaving his heirs a wide range of businesses, including the globally popular energy drink, hospitals and real estate.

The family also co-owns the sole authorized importer of Ferrari cars in Thailand.

Similarly, underage driver Orachorn Thephasadin na Ayudhya, was given a suspended two-year prison sentence on Friday for causing the deaths of nine people in 2010 when the car she was driving collided with a passenger van.

That case caused outrage on social media over how a young girl with an aristocratic family name managed to escape jail and emerged with only a seven-year driving ban.

info and photo from http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/04/us-thailand-justice-idUSBRE8830EM20120904 and http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-57506807-504083/red-bull-founders-grandson-arrested-for-allegedly-killing-thai-officer-in-ferrari-hit-and-run/  and  http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390443819404577632872864023962.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Monday, August 13, 2012

photo from AP http://www.hotsr.com/news/2012/07/08/texas-man-recovers-stolen-car-after-42-y-445592.php
Bob Russell never gave up hope that his stolen 1967 Austin-Healey would be found one day.

 He was a graduate student at Temple University in 1970 when he parked the English roadster at an apartment complex after a date with his future wife.

 When he went to the lot the next morning, the car was gone. Because he was a cash-strapped student, it was a double whammy: He had liability coverage, but no theft insurance.

 For more than four decades, Russell searched for the cream-colored convertible. This year, against all odds, he found it. And with the help of the Philadelphia Police Department, he has his Austin-Healey back.

 Russell was scouring eBay, the Internet sales website, when he spotted his hot car listed for auction by a Los Angeles auto dealer.

The listed VIN matched his beloved Austin. Russell, now living near Dallas, still possessed the title and set of keys.

The rest of the story at http://articles.philly.com/2012-07-12/news/32633503_1_austin-healey-hot-car-new-theft
The Rhineland Palatinate state government had asked the Commission to pump €13 million into the firm as part of a rescue package which would also seee the firm would defer payment on a €330 million loan from a state-owned bank.

 But European competition authorities refused to approve the plan and the firm which owns the track will now go into administration. Administrators will then soon be responsible for all contracts, whether this be with Bernie Ecclestone for the Formula 1 races or with concert organiser Marek Lieberberg for the Rock am Ring festival.

 European authorities are already in the midst of checking whether more than €500 million has been funnelled into the racetrack and leisure complex in contravention of competition rules.

 The Rhein Zeitung said that tax payers should expect to pay heartily for the situation, as the entire complex is said to be only worth €126 million – according to a study compiled by Ernst & Young for the state.

 The figures show the firm is €413 million in debt, including €330 million borrowed from the state-owned bank and €83 million to share-holders, the paper said. The state could end up sitting on debts of around €287 million.
http://www.thelocal.de/sport/20120718-43811.html

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Vehicles from at least a dozen major private and museum collections have come on the market in the past few years. Cars from the Crawford Auto Aviation Collection at the Western Reserve Historical Society in Cleveland, and the Pate Museum of Transportation in Cresson, Tex., have turned up in sales run by the Canadian company RM Auctions. In March much of the contents of the Central Texas Museum of Automotive History, in the hamlet of Rosanky, was auctioned.

 On Thursday, Artcurial held a sale of cars from Prince Albert II’s collection, with 1930s roadsters and 1940s Dodge Army trucks, in Monaco. On Saturday in Plymouth, Mich., RM Auctions will hold a sale of 15 cars that the gun-manufacturing magnate William Ruger Jr. kept in a New Hampshire mill, including Rolls-Royce Phantoms from the 1920s and ’30s.

 An online auction through Witherell’s closes on Tuesday, with about 60 horse-drawn buggies and wagons that the California winemaker John Traina, who died last year, parked alongside a driveway. On Aug. 16 Bonhams in Carmel, Calif., will offer 30 motorcycles that hung from the ceiling of the San Francisco restaurant Eddie Rickenbacker’s. In Pebble Beach, Calif., Gooding has an Aug. 18 and 19 sale with a dozen cars from the Pettit family’s Museum of Motoring Memories in Natural Bridge, Va.

excerpted from a New York Times article http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/27/arts/design/classic-vehicle-auctions-and-a-lucie-rie-biography.html?_r=1  I learned of on the newsletter from the Vintage Racing League http://www.thevrl.com/

Tuesday, March 20, 2012


Police arrived at the scene of a party that was reported by local residents which point the Amish teenagers attempted to flee the scene, smashing one buggy into the patrol car.

The crash occurred in Chautauqua County, New York on Sunday night at 7:15pm in the rural town of Sherman.

Deputies say the teens were parked along a country road and were drinking inside of several Amish buggies when they arrived on the scene.

While attempting to flee the scene of the party one of the Amish buggy’s quickly switched lanes and smashed into the police car, causing the buggy to flip onto its side while at the same time causing minor injury to one of the passengers.

While not the fastest vehicles on the road police officers say the accident allowed several other amish buggies to flee the scene of the crime.

found on http://www.inquisitr.com/204116/drunk-amish-teens-crash-buggy-into-police-car/ via the DSC on Jack 100.7 http://www.sandiegojack.com/category/192804/dsc
Slevin was awarded $22 million in damages by a federal jury for his ordeal, which involved being confined to a small cell with no natural light for 23 hours a day.

Meanwhile, his relatives were trying to find out: where's Stephen?

for most of his 22-month detainment, was that he was in "deplorable" conditions of his solitary "pod," court documents state, except for a 14-day period in May 2007, when he was sent to New Mexico Behavioral Health Institute in Las Vegas, N.M., for a psychiatric review. He had lost a third of his body weight by that point, documents say, and had bed sores and a fungal infection on his skin.

It wouldn't be until months later that Slevin's sister, whose name and location [attorney Matt] Coyte did not give, found out what her brother was going through: Forced to pull out his own tooth because he was denied access to a dentist, he told reporters on Tuesday. Toenails curling around his foot because they were so long. Basically forgotten about in his dark cell for more than 22 months.

“There was no doctor looking after him. There was a nurse, the nurse practitioner.”
But the so-called nurse practitioner only had a bachelor’s degree in psychology and no actual medical qualifications, KOB reported.

Dona Ana County officials were tight-lipped about the case, refusing to answer questions about whether any jail employees were reprimanded or fired over Slevin's treatment.

So, I won't be driving through that county... ever.


News excerpts from http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/26/10243856-letters-from-solitary-confinement-reveal-dwi-mans-despair but you'll find the same info everywhere around the internet... this is appalling. Nothing about being a citizen with constitutional rights was ever applied to this man until his lawyer got the County of Dona Ana of New Mexico sued.

And if you think this is just an isolated incident, and that this Dona Ana County doesn't have problems?

(Mayor Elect) Daniel Salinas, of Sunland Park, was arrested overnight Monday on bribery and conspiracy charges alleging he gave acting Police Chief Luis Monarez his job in exchange for persuading Monarez’s sister not to run against a Salinas ally for City Council, according to Dona Ana County Assistant District Attorney

Salinas had already posted $50,000 cash following his arrest in late February on extortion and other charges related to accusations that he and the city manager tried to force an opponent out of the mayor’s race with a secretly recorded video of him getting a lap dance.

Side note, from the DSC show on 100.7 Jack FM news, the opponent mentioned above was running for Mayor, and while giving a job interview and accompanied by his election campaign manager, the interviewee started up music and stripped off her top. Bingo, caught on film, total set up. Feb 24 podcast #4 of 4 http://www.sandiegojack.com/global/Story.asp?s=12880043

That set off a widespread probe that has resulted in eight arrests of current and former city officials on bribery, extortion, voter fraud and other charges.

From the Washington Post http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/sunland-park-nm-mayor-elect-accused-in-lap-dance-video-arrested-again-for-other-alleged-plot/2012/03/20/gIQA20JfPS_story.html

Why did I post this? We all drive, and occasionally we drive through some scary places. I don't want you to go through there without being warned. Seriously.

Saturday, February 25, 2012

The restoration of a 1965 Ford Mustang convertible for the Antique Automobile Club of American Museum in Hershey has led to plans for a new major at the Pennsylvania College of Technology in Williamsport.
Students at the special mission affiliate of Penn State restored the car for the museum in 2010. Last year, it won a first-place junior award at the club’s America eastern regional meet.

Because of that success, the college plans in the fall to offer a two-year degree in automotive restoration technology, which pleases Michael Barrett, executive director of the museum that will be a major sponsor of the program.
“It will teach a skill that has been lost over the years,” he said.
It is difficult for young people to get into the restoration field, only three other public colleges in the country offer such a course.

It is almost a recession-proof industry to work on high-end classic cars, unlike work in a body shop that often takes only days, restoration can take a year or longer and cost upward of $80,000. There are no computers or replacing a damaged fender with a new one, students will learn how to pound out dents and restore the cars to their original condition.

Williamson expects the first class to have 18 to 20 students. They will have to take collision-repair courses the first year, he said. Only students with at least a B average can opt to take the restoration course the second year.
They also could decide to complete their collision-repair degree and return for a third year for the restoration degree, he said.

Only serious students will be selected for the restoration program because classic car owners are very particular about their vehicles, Williamson said.

from http://www.pennlive.com/east-shore/index.ssf/2012/02/classic_car_restoration_leds_to_plans_for_new_major_at_pennsylvania_college_of_technology.html
via: http://multibriefs.com/briefs/vrl/index.php

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Top 10 Prices Paid for Cars Sold at Auction

1. 1957 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa Prototype, Gooding Pebble Beach, August 2011, $16,390,000
2. 1957 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa, RM Auctions Ferrari, May 2009, $12,402,500
3. 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spyder, RM Auctions Ferrari, May 2008, $10,894,000

The above is a 30 million dollar 1962 250GTO that sold in England http://www.classicandperformancecar.com/news/marketnews/278407/the_20million_250gto.html

4. 1931 Duesenberg Model J Whittell Coupe, Gooding Pebble Beach, August 2011, $10,340,000
5. 1931 Bugatti Royale Type 41, Christie’s London, November 1987, $9,800,000
6. 1937 Mercedes-Benz 540K Special Roadster, RM Auctions Monterey, August 2011, $9,680,000
7. 1962 Ferrari 330 TR/LM, RM Auctions Ferrari, May 2007, $9,281,250
8. 1937 Mercedes-Benz 540K Special Roadster, RM Auctions London, October 2007, $8,252,201
9. 1937 Bugatti Type 57SC Atalante Coupe, Gooding Pebble Beach, August 2008, $7,920,000
10. 1965 Shelby Daytona Cobra Coupe, Mecum Auctions Monterey, August 2009, $7,685,000

The Duesenberg result was also significant in that it became the record for an American car sold at auction, eclipsing the 1965 Shelby Daytona Cobra Coupe that Mecum Auctions sold for $7,685,000 in 2009.

from http://www.sportscardigest.com/top-ten-cars-sold-at-auction-february-2012/ via http://multibriefs.com/briefs/vrl/index.php

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

The Spirit of Competition Award that Dr. Simeone presented to Breedlove featured a model of the Museum’s Cobra Daytona Coupe CSX 2287, the car Breedlove co-drove to 23 international records in 1965, shortly before breaking the 600 MPH barrier in his Sonic I jet-powered car . This was also the barnfind Cobra Daytona http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2011/08/stop-if-youve-heard-this-one-before.html

Wednesday, October 19th, 2011. Breedlove joined drivers Mario Andretti, Janet Guthrie, and John Fitch as an Award recipient.

“Craig Breedlove represents what you can achieve if you have a clear vision and determination,” 


“With only a handful of volunteers and a shoestring budget, he was able to accomplish what many others could not. His achievements captured the country’s imagination and made him a household name.” commented Fred Simeone, executive director of the Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum.

His quest for a speed record captured the imagination of the nation and his technological feat became a symbol of national pride during the Cold War. His achievements made him a household name in the 1960s, and the Beach Boys even wrote a song about him. Shortly before exceeding 600 mph in November, 1965, Breedlove set 23 international speed records – including averaging 150 mph for 12 hours - co-driving the Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe (CSX2287) that is on display at the Simeone Museum.