We were in attendance for the Lime Rock Historic Festival earlier this month. It was actually my first time at Lime Rock, despite having lived in the Northeast US for my entire life. It is a fantastic facility with great views of the track all around. I have loads of photos from the weekend, but here are a few varied shots from around the paddock. More to come. Continue reading 2012 Lime Rock Historic Festival: Some shots from the paddock
This incredible rat rodded Beetle was out for the Woodward Dream Cruise in Michigan. It is an entirely custom built car with the engine actually hanging off the back. I have seen many customized air-cooled Beetles over the years, but nothing quite like this car. One really cool feature is the car’s shift lever, which is actually a titanium hip replacement that has been repurposed for changing gears. I was assured the artificial hip was not a used part, but one of those usually costs around $14,000 when being used for medical purposes. Among the thousands of cool cars in the area during the Cruise, this Beetle was one of the ones that stood out the most to me. This is a very different kind of slammed car for the Volkswagen community. Enjoy the gallery.
I don’t normally like to repost articles without attaching my own opinion on here, but this article just posted on Jalopnik hits the nail on the head I think. I spent my whole summer working on the PR for the Chevy Spark, and the talk was about how to get young people interested in cars. I was a huge fan of the VW Bulli when the concept was released, and I still think it would be quite successful. Give this article a read and see what you think.
-Nick
Klub Vintage is a shop near Hopewell, NJ that is owned by my friend Adam. Those of you who follow the site closely may remember my review of Nick C’s BMW E21 Alpina clone, Adam is Nick’s brother and the E21 was a product of Klub Vintage in its earlier stages. Adam has been building cars and bikes for over 15 years now, and has recently procured a much larger, more prominent space on RT 518 near Hopewell. He has some big plans for things to come in this new location.
Lots of effort is being put into developing the space, so please realize that what you see in these photos is a work in progress, and the finished product will be featured here later on. That said, it did make for a nice setting in which to shoot Adam’s BMW 2002. The car is quite rough around the edges at the moment, and a full restoration is in the works, but honestly there is something about the car, as it sits, that just pushes all the right buttons for me. It has a patina to it that is irresistible, and of course those turquoise wheels help quite a bit. To me it looks like a 2002 rat rod, the likes of which is not often seen and I think it suits the car quite well. I guess I’ll have to see what I think when the car is finished though, before I can truly compare.
Adam has a lot planned for Klub Vintage, far more than just BMWs. He works on all makes of vintage cars and motorcycles, with experience in minor fixes, full rebuilds, engine swaps, modifications, and all sorts of other custom work. I am looking forward to seeing Klub Vintage progress, and I look forward to sharing what they are doing with all of you. Enjoy the pics, this just the beginning.
Visit their website at Klubvintage.com
Continue reading Klub Vintage: Getting rolling
Chris Harris tests the Mercedes CLS 63 Shooting Brake for Drive. He makes a very good point on how this car is a niche within a niche, and how the market is moving that way overall. Enjoy.
-Nick
This is the height of what made a Cadillac a Cadillac. These V16 powered land yachts were the epitome of style and status during Prohibition-Era America. Everyone’s favorite movie stars and gangsters had flashy cars like this, and this Caddy the 452A was the pinnacle of the Cadillac lineup. This specific car features a full sedan convertible design, something far too cool to be allowed today, and looks to have all the bells and whistles available at the time. The owner was very proud of the car and had restored it himself. He told me he had changed the color, and while that won’t help the car win at a Concours, I like the look of this dark blue a whole lot more than the car’s previous black. Even with all the curvy Italian cars just up the hill, this Caddy really caught my eye at the show. When I think of Cadillac, this is what I think of. I just wish the people actually running Cadillac even knew cars like this were once built under the Cadillac nameplate. This truly was “The Standard Of The World” at its time. Continue reading Radnor Hunt CDE: 1931 Cadillac V16 452A All-Weather Phaeton by Fleetwood
The Miura Jota is one of those unicorn cars, one that everyone who knows about it wants, but that none will ever have. The Jota is a legend because it was the most extreme example of Lamborghini’s beloved Miura, the car that really put the marque on the map. The Jota has a particularly interesting story though, because its fame began with its own fiery death in 1972. The Jota had been a side project of famed Lamborghini test driver, Bob Wallace, and it was the news coverage of the car’s destruction that informed people of the project to build a faster, more racy Miura. The original Jota was damaged beyond repair, never to be rebuilt, but it did peak the interest of several Miura owners, and six Miura SVJs were created. These SVJs are probably the most valuable Lamborghinis around at this point, and they carry on the legacy of their doomed predecessor.
The weather in the Northeastern US was incredible this weekend, so I took a nice long cruise in my Miata. This was the first cruise of this sort I have taken in it since I got back from my summer in Michigan a few weeks ago, and in a lot of ways there was some reacquainting that needed to be done. Before I left for the summer I uncovered a few issues with the car that needed, or still need, dealing with. I subsequently found myself second guessing the financial aspects of it all the whole summer, even thinking it may be easier just to part it out. This cruise gave me some much needed quality time with the car, with the perfect weather and on perfect roads I was reminded why I bought the Miata in the first place.
The timing of all this was interesting because Chris Harris had just released a video on the Miata where he second guessed his now infamous stance against the MX5. His conclusion was that the Miata is a great roadster but a mediocre sports car, and one of the most fun ways you can spend a few thousand dollars (or pounds). I have to agree, there are better driver’s cars out there, and it took a few modifications to my car to get it where I wanted it to be dynamically.
The roadster experience though, is second to none, and every time I drive my car I cannot help but thinking the newer, more expensive Miatas could not possibly offer anything more. Sure if you line mine up against the current NC Miata I would lose in a drag race, but neither car is fast by anyone’s standards, and neither car is meant to be.
So what do you really get by spending more than just a few grand on a Miata? Maybe a warranty if it is new enough, but as far as the experience goes you get nothing more for your money. What I’m saying here is that there is really two ways to buy a Miata, brand new, or as cheap as possible. Any other way and you are just wasting money. All of those NB Miatas around $10k are worthless, because a $2800 NA Miata like mine will give you the exact same experience.
I do love my car, and it reminded me why during our cruise on Saturday. A Miata is an experiential machine, and despite my car’s flaws it still puts a huge grin on my face.
-Nick Walker
Yet another fantastic example of what is happening to BMW, as well as an equally good example of how Porsche has maintained their identity despite being faced with the same issues.
-Nick
Car and Driver take the new SRT Viper out for a spin and share their thoughts on Chrysler’s reborn beast.
-Nick
Cadillac hasn’t really been the “Cadillac of cars” since the mid 1960s. Even though their tag line is “The Standard Of The World”, anyone who’s been paying attention knows that they are really going through a renaissance after around 30 years of terrible products. The triumphant V16 cruisers, which made Cadillac’s name, are distant memories of the past, and even the classic finned cars are now over half a century old. The 2013 XTS is Cadillac’s new flagship model, replacing both the STS and DTS in the lineup. There has obviously been lots of talk about Cadillac’s CUE infotainment system because the XTS is the first to feature it, but my purposes going into this drive were focused on one thing: has Cadillac made a world-class luxury car, or is the XTS more of the same?
Continue reading Test Driven: 2013 Cadillac XTS-4 Platinum (6.5/10)
This is the 3rd year in a row we have attended the Radnor Hunt Concours, and it continues to blow us away each time. For me this year was especially interesting because Ferraris and pre-war Cadillacs were being featured. What you see above was the view as we entered the show, a row of Ferraris worth tens of millions of dollars alone. Most of these cars will be getting their own specific features later on so just let this be a nice preview of things to come. Enjoy. Continue reading The 2012 Radnor Hunt Concours d’ Elegance
Mind Over Motor 