MEADOW BROOK 2015: ST. JOHN’S CONCOURS OF AMERICA!

The Meadow Brook folks in Motown have the formula for success on the show field. Kat Kurkov takes us up front and personal. If you take rare automobiles, add thousands of hours of restoration, then add preshow activities combined with perfect weather in an idyllic setting, the result can only be the 2015 Concours d'Elegance of America held in Plymouth, Michigan. Still referred to as “the new Meadow Brook” where it was held for 32 years, this concours has a history of getting things “just r...
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CALLAWAY CORVETTE: PUFF THE MAGIC DRAGON!

Z06-based Corvette upgrade boasts 32% larger supercharger, triple intercoolers, and consistent power - lap after lap. Callaway Cars today announced power numbers and performance for its flagship model. Equipped with Callaway’s GenThree Supercharger, the Corvette Z06 now produces 757 horsepower at 6,200 rpm and 777 pound-feet of torque at 4,500 rpm. The 0 to 60 mph sprint is now achieved in 2.8 seconds, and a quarter-mile in 10.5 seconds at 131 mph. To reach that power (which is up from 6...
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FORD GT: MOST SIGNIFICANT CONCEPT VEHICLE!

Production version of GT will appear next year, as will race version to celebrate 50th anniversary of legendary Ford GT40 1-2-3 win at Le Mans in 1966. The all-new Ford GT – a technology showcase for top EcoBoost® performance, aerodynamics and lightweight carbon fiber construction – today nabbed the prestigious North American award for 2015 Production Preview Concept of the Year, as well as top honors as Most Significant Concept Vehicle of 2015.
 
 The awards recognize vehicles most l...
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SCHENLEY PARK: PITTSBURGH VINTAGE GRAND PRIX!

Mike Matune joins in the ten-day celebration of ‘everything automotive’ at the PVGP and brings us highlights. Over its 33-year history, the PVGP has raised over $4,000,000 for charities, including the Autism Society of Pittsburgh and the Allegheny Valley School. Returning as presenting sponsor this year was the Greater Pittsburgh Automobile Dealers. But as striking a venue as Schenley Park is, the quality and variety of the vintage racers competing really shines through. Bill Stelcher in ...
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HOT RODS & CUSTOMS: HOT TIME IN OLD TOWN!

The Bent Axels Car Club shut down Old Town Orcutt, CA, drawing car guys, vacationers and BBQ lovers. Jim Palam, our man on the Left Coast, loves nothing  more than great BBQ and cars. The 35th Annual Bent Axles Car Club Show drew crowds hungry for Santa Maria style Tri-Tip BBQ and pre-1972 hot rods, customs and vintage vehicles. This popular, easy-pace show started Friday July 17th with a Strawberry Social and buttoned-up on Sunday the 19th with a Poker Run and Picnic. Proceeds and dona...
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KARTING: HOW TO SAVE AUTO RACING!

Every motorsports enthusiast is painfully aware that racing, in general, is experiencing tough times. Fewer fans are in the stands, and those fans are aging. The question is, what to do about it?  Everyone has an opinion but the basics are pretty straightforward. People who don't care much about automobiles will care even less about watching them compete. Public interest in the automobile is waning, and the reasons are spelled out in my previous article on the topic. Perhaps the mos...
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’15 M-B S65 AMG: KING OF THE ROAD!

Dan Scanlan finds the S65 AMG to be an amazing car – half ultimate flagship and the other half muscle car king. And both halves behave beautifully. Doing a smoky burnout in a luxury flagship that can cocoon its passengers in massaging heated or cooled seats with a sound system that rivals most homes, seemed sacrilegious. Yet a tap of the right alloy pedal and our ‘15 S65 AMG spun its rear rubber and did a classic muscle car doughnut, then launched to 60-mph only 7/10ths-of-a-second slower t...
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2016 AMELIA ISLAND CONCOURS: PEGASO CELEBRATION!

The 21st annual Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance will feature and celebrate the rare and exotic Spanish Pegaso. Pegaso is Spanish for Pegasus, the winged divine stallion usually depicted as pure white on the Pegaso insignia. Pegasus' mythological role was to deliver thunderbolts to Zeus. Appropriate, because that was the thunderous effect the stunning Pegaso Thrill coupe had on the 1953 Turin Auto Show when the Spanish Touring-bodied grand touring coupe made its public debut. "That such an ...
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BUDDY BAKER: THE MEASURE OF A MAN!

NASCAR great Buddy baker has been diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer and signs off his SiriusXM NASCAR radio show for the last time. I don't know Buddy Baker. I met him only once. We were introduced about ten years ago at Lingner Group Television Productions in downtown Indianapolis where I was filming an episode of Autoweek on Speedvision. Baker, a huge man who towered six inches over me, was there working on a NASCAR program. He graciously shook my hand and took the time to speak to ...
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HYDROGEN FUEL CELL ELECTRIC: MIRAI MAGIC!

It’s almost here and, on July 20th, California customers will be able to  request their own Mirai. 

 The Mirai hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle uses no gasoline and emits nothing but water vapor. It’s the only zero emission electric vehicle on the market that tops the 300-mile range milestone (an EPA estimated driving range rating of 312 miles, to be exact) and offers an EPA estimated 67 mpge city/highway/combined.

 In just one week, on July 20, California trailblazers can request...
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