car museums and collections are getting auctioned off as they go out of business

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/

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GI Joe movie motorcycle, Firefly's

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Somewhere at Comic Con was Batman's motorcycle from the Tumbler

I don't know where it was...

but found the blog that finds and photographs really well, all the movie and tv show props at Comic Con http://www.originalprop.com/blog/2012/07/16/san-diego-comic-con-2012-orignal-tv-movie-props-costumes-and-vehicles-on-display/

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the new rover on mars, has tires that spell out "JPL" in morse code as they roll along.

photos from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curiosity_rover but info from David L... thanks!

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This looks good, and funny, and wow... that Lincoln look cool with a hood scoop!

check it out at http://www.openroadfilms.com/coming-soon/hit-and-run/

Just watched it, here's my review:

great to see that a Rom Com can have realistic relationship analysis and a couple great car chases

It would get a 5 of 5 stars if they had found a way to surpass the inevitable car chase on dirt being wrecked by the dust of the camera truck. 

Great casting, Kristen Bell (Veronica Mars fame) and Dax Shepard (astronaut in Zathura) and Tom Arnold and Bradley Cooper (A Team and Hangover) were well cast. Tom played a role less witty and clever than that from True lies, but he is so enjoyable to see in a comedy where he isn't the lead. Dax wrote and starred in this, and nailed it. Well written relationship advice and romantic moments, and great car chases. Beau Bridges was a surprise, and his role was short but a new take on a dad role, tough but understanding. 

Instead of the normal movie scenes that you can predict the endings, the punchlines, and the story ending, this was a fresh breeze through the movie plex. Thank you Dax and cast!

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the Olympics mini Mini... 1.09 billion dollars of sponsorship gets some things past the "No Advertisement" rule

this is just the most obvious advertising/publicity gimmic that I've heard of... BMW mini's getting all the free press in the world (I'm guilty too aren't I) because they were brilliant enough to get these small 10 HP electric remote controlled Mini's to be on camera in every discus, javelin, and hammer toss event (So I heard, I don't watch the Olympics)

The International Olympic Committee has had a rule for a long time about no advertising or publicity by sponsors. Yeah, I bet they have a rule against performance enhancing drugs too... but since these R/C cars are on the field, I doubt that the IOC can pass a test that they followed that rule about advertising

"IAAF validates several different transporters. Yes, it happens to be the official partner of the London Games but there is no commercial delivery," he told a news conference.

(wow, this guy tells lies easily, he is relying on the "No visible Logo" technicality, like the shape, look, design, front, side, and back of the mini isn't instantly recognizeable and therrefore giving BMW Mini publicity, in violation of the rule)

 "There is no link between the sponsorship and the coverage of the physical fact that these are mini Minis on the field of play," Lumme said.

 The IOC's rule on advertising states that no form of advertising or other publicity shall be allowed in and above the stadia, venues and other competition areas which are considered as part of the Olympic sites."

"The Mini is an incredibly known globally, British icon. Again Rule 50 compliant. No logos," he said.

 The London Games have received some $1.09 billion from sponsors wishing to be associated with the 2012 Olympics.

Information from http://bottomline.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/08/07/13166816-micro-minis-crash-olympics-despite-advertising-rules?lite


MINI’s owner BMW is, of course, a major sponsor of the 2012 Olympic Games and the cars are as much of a marketing tool as anything else, but a rather clever one in classic British fashion. The company is showcasing many of its zero emissions cars in conjunction with the event  http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2012/08/06/mini-mini-electric-cars-enter-london-olympics/


In the past, motorized boxes have been used to tote javelins, discuses, shots and hammers from the field back to their throwers, cutting down on time (and volunteer exhaustion). BMW was among the handful of brands that managed to get an exclusive marketing deal in the Olympic Park, and in the heart of one of the most significant sites of the London Games as well. The opportunity gave birth to the Olympic “Mini Minis.” http://london2012.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/05/mini-minis-help-keep-field-events-on-track/

The Mini MINI R/C cars will be used at both the Olympic and Paralympic games, and they join a fleet of 160 full-size  BMW series E Active models and 40 MIni E hatchbacks as part of BMW's own all-electric Olympic team.  http://www.autoblog.com/2012/08/02/olympics-to-use-mini-cooper-r-c-cars-for-javelin-discus-retriev/

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2nd most brilliant article I've read in months, another from Dep - O Magazine... "When, what and how much was your first car? Why that car? How much did it cost to insure?" by Gerald Hughes

Excepted from http://www.dep-o.co.uk/features/do-you-remember-the-first-time/

"Our fondly remembered first cars were notable for a couple of things – even at the time, they were old, decrepit and most importantly, cheap.

Ten year old cars then were not like ten year old cars now. I would quite happily jump behind the wheel of a 1996 Mondeo tomorrow and drive the length and breadth of the country. In the mid Eighties, you wouldn’t jump into any decade old motor for fear of falling through the rust compromised floor, and any trip was only to be tackled when fully equipped with a tool kit, gallon cans of oil and water, and plenty of second-hand spares chucked in the boot. And on the back seat.

Back in the days of dodgy mullets, snow wash denim and George Michael being straight, we both found ourselves driving cars that are now regarded as proper ‘classics’, but then, they were old bangers that no-one wanted. Both of us had a budget of about £300, and we both ended up getting the cars (I paid about £120 for my 1973 FIAT 850D at auction, his auntie gave him a MkI Escort Estate of similar vintage) and insuring them for the money we’d saved. Sounds incredibly cheap, but we were both broke and canny. But to put it in context, my brother had paid £300 the year before for a very tidy, MoT’d MkI Escort two-door. Read it and weep.

Fast forward to the future. The modern equivalents of our first cars are in a different league – they handle and brake better, rust tends to be cosmetic, and even the most basic will be loaded with driver comforts, security devices and safety aids. Alright, plastic bumpers tend not to wear the years too well and they will no doubt go a lot faster. But Gaffer tape and a little restraint are wonderful things. It’s also interesting to note, that because of the way society has changed and our expectations have altered, the cars now are almost as cheap – pick up the local rag or spend ten minutes on eBay, and I reckon £500 will get you a very usable car.

So we get to the heart of my dilemma. I’m 17. I have £1000. I buy my £500 car (Ka, 106, Cinquecento, Nova/Corsa, Micra…). What are my chances of getting it insured with the remainder of my budget…? Ridiculous? OK, double the budget and try again. We’re not even getting close. And my question – why and when did the world change so much that first time or younger drivers have to find these frankly ridiculous sums to insure their cars?"

I want to put emphasis on the fact that the insurance for these better quality and safer cars is quadruple the cost for dodgy old rust buckets with no airbags, no power steering, no power anti lock brakes, no crumple zones, no safety bumpers... why is that? Just my thought, not part of the article I found.

Read the rest, and check out the comments too http://www.dep-o.co.uk/features/do-you-remember-the-first-time/

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