56 posts, newest first.
I love big, sturdy pickup trucks. Of course pickups are built in many parts of the world, and serve many global markets. My favorites are what I’ll call, for lack of a better term, American style pickups. Large, capable, sturdy, long lived, powerful. And up until not too many generations ago, only American car companies…
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America’s best car museum reopens after a year on hiatus and a near $100 Million reinvention. photography by me, and courtesy the Petersen Automotive Museum Los Angeles California’s Petersen Automotive Museum had been closed to the public for a little over a year, but not at all out of business. It’s been to the…
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I’ve liked the Nissan Altima ever since, in 2002, Nissan threw away the old Stanza based Altima, and restyled and really grew the car up to the segment. In 2002 came new styling, new underpinnings, finally a V-6 engine option, all in a segment appropriate size package. Nissan has done a good job over time…
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Lamborghini is working hard to become a real grown up car company. That doesn’t mean that it’ll begin producing little econobox cars by the tens of thousands, and I don’t expect the company will lose its sense of humor, whimsy, or slightly radical approach to exotic Italian car manufacture. But Lamborghini is actively remodeling…
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Let me clue you in to the coolest little hot rod collection / museum that you’ve probably never heard of, and I’ll bet you’ve never seen. It’s called Nostalgia Street Rods. It’s all been assembled by The Goldstrom family, husband Art, late wife Shirley, and daughter Sheri. It wasn’t originally planned as a museum, per…
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I’m sorry to be bombing you with so much news about upcoming book signing events, but when we release a new title, that’s what happens. So please come out, say hello, get your book and get it autographed and personalized if you wish. I’ll be at Autobooks-Aerobooks 2900 W. Magnolia Blvd. Burbank, CA 91106 (818)…
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Hope I’ll see you in Danville on Saturday morning. Even if you have no interest in my or any books, I promise you’ll love this museum. Details just below……
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Just a quick reminder that if you live or are going to be near the San Francisco Bay area next weekend, I’d love to meet you at the justifiably famous Black Collection museum in Danville. I’ll be giving a brief talk and slide show entitled Legends, Heroes, and Friends, showing photo froms four of…
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Commentary and photos by Kirk Gerbracht Ultimately, it’s great cars that make a great car show. But sometimes the venue can add a little something extra to create the perfect event. Such was the case with Serpents in the Garden. A little more than a year after the Arboretum celebrated the 50th anniversary of the…
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As you know, a much revised Camaro is on its way for 2016; the car moves from its previous Australian Holden based chassis architecture to another global GM platform which will make it easier to produce and offer more flexibility in terms of options and technology, and I think the new car will be a…
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Every year, my local area merchant’s village in Montrose, California puts on a summer car show. Montrose is often referred to as “Mayberry RFD” due to its clean, homespun personna. The village has become a kind of trendy happening place as of late, a lot of the old stores evolving into newer, trendier boutiques and…
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As an automotive writer, road tester, and studier of the business, I’ve always found cost effective, economical transportation as important a subject as all the fast and dangerous stuff. As much as I love Porsches, Ferraris, AMG Mercedes, and all that fast and flash hardware, cars like that aren’t relevant to a lot of people.
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As I’ve mentioned to you several times, my new Exotic Barn Finds book has just been published, so I pay a lot of attention to these stories and books in this category. When Tom Cotter and I visited a few months back at the Amelia Island Concours, we traded quips like “so, what’s your…
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Thank you for continuing to visit my site. I hope you’ve noticed that we’ve freshened things up here a bit lately. The site functions much as it did before, but has been mildly redesigned in order to be more attractive, a little easier to use, and more tablet and mobile device friendly. You’ll notice…
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If you plan on being in Northern California on Saturday, November 7, 2015, please come visit me at my book signing at the world class Blackhawk Automotive Museum and Collection. I’ll be signing four books that day, McQueen’s Machines, Winning: The Racing Life of Paul Newman, James Garner’s Motoring Life and my newest release,…
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Continuing news from my friends at Shelby American…. New Ford Mustang EcoBoost version of the Shelby GT model available 335HP, sharper handling, robust brakes and Shelby styling to set the car apart The package is available for both automatic and manual transmission versions of the car Specifically designed for the new network of Shelby Mod…
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England’s EVO magazine is in my opinion, one of the world’s best enthusiast car magazines. The writing is generally good, the stories well conceived, they dig up good news and dirt, and the photography and graphics are compelling. Every so often, the editors put out a collection of tests and stories in book or…
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I’m honored to tell you that my latest book, James Garner’s Motoring Life, has earned an International Automotive Media Award silver medal, meaning it placed second in its category. Certainly this honors me personally and professionally, but more important, it recognizes the value of this fabulous subject, in this case the late James Garner as…
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Everyone has their favorite and special car detailing hints and tricks, plus their preferred brand of products. I certainly don’t know it all, but have been shining up cars for more than 40 years, so I can only share what I’ve learned, and others can employ my thoughts or refute them as they wish. The…
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In 2014 the Automobile Driving Museum (ADM) hosted their first ever “Tribute to Gassers” event. With much success and popular demand, the museum is proud to bring back “Tribute to Gassers II – LEGENDS” exhibit and show on Saturday, August 29, 2015. The ADM will be hosting the event to Gasser enthusiasts from all over…
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The big show goes big, and is a wrap for another year As I played with the calendar functions on my phone, then ran the sums, it struck me as amazing that this was my 34th Monterey car Week, and the little service lapel pin they presented me at the judge’s meeting marked my 20th…
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If you’ve never been to the Lion Air Museum in Santa Ana, California (abutting John Wayne Orange County Airport) you simply must put it on your Bucket and To Do Lists. It’s an otherworldly collection of WWII era aircraft, cars, motorcycles, and memorabilia assembled by Major General William Lyon (Retired). After a distinguished military…
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A few entries back, I previewed Auctions America’s upcoming California classic car, motorcycle, and automobila sale, moving to a new location from Burbank to Santa Monica, focussing on less cars and higher quality more engaging offerings than its larger past sales. So here’s AA’s results release and some great photos by Kirk Gerbracht. CULVER CITY,…
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Cool Shelby news from my friends at Gooding & Company Jay Leno to present the Ford Shelby GT350 as it crosses the block on Saturday, August 15 SANTA MONICA, Calif. (August 3, 2015) – Gooding & Company, the official auction house of The Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance®, is thrilled to offer for sale a 2016…
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My friends Evan and Tom put on one of the greatest, most fun, easy to access, lowest impact car shows you’ve never heard of. It appears well on its way to becoming an Annual Thing, taking place each summer at the Franklin Canyon Park in the Hollywood Hills. Its a run what ya brung show,…
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As you know, it isn’t my usual policy to post or reprint press releases (unless its something very newsy) in this space. However, for the news on this fabulous Ferrari show, it’s my guess that what you really want are the results and a bunch of great photos of the cars. So here ya go.
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I grew up during the heyday of what I’ll call the Great American Sedan; big comfy conventional four-door cars with lots of room inside, rear wheel drive, and a big trunk out back. Large displacement, lazy overhead valve V-8s up front that would run forever, and never complain or make a sound doing it. Cars…
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A few vacations back, I spent two weeks in Australia. Mostly in Sydney, but also in the Hunter Valley wine country and the Blue Mountains. Wonderful country, nice people, and the most amazing harbor you’ll ever see. And a bitchin car scene. As you know, when I travel I photograph all the cool…
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I grew up a Lincoln guy, my dad always had them in the 1960s and early 70s, and I’ve owned them too. One of America’s great car company brands, with substance behind the name and big chrome grille. Not always, but usually. Needless to say, it really disappointed me that Ford began to let the…
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I’m embarrassed to have to admit to you that this wonderful little club concours took place last fall, and I just kept overlooking the photos in my “To Post” file. So for that, I apologize. But no matter, I thought you’d still want to see the photos of these great cars. And great photos of…
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By now you’ve seen Chrysler’s “America’s Import” ad campaign for the Chrysler 200 sedan. It’s pretty clever stuff, leaning on big name talent icons such as Eminem and Bob Dylan. And it also plucks our heartstrings for Detroit; America’s long ago designated Motor City. The idea behind the ads is that American companies and workers…
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I’ve spent many hours daydreaming about why car people are so jazzed up over finding a dusty old car abandoned in a barn or garage. Is it an update or automotive incarnation of the buried treasure fantasy? Or a spin on the notion of nostalgia? Or maybe some people automatically think they can prize that…
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It’s hard for me to believe that the Friends of Steve McQueen Car Show has been running for eight years now; I remember the first one, which was little more than a Porsche 356 club gathering, but it raised nearly $10,000 for the Boys Republic Schools; This fine institution, with its primary campus in Chino…
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Kirk Gerbracht photos Carroll Shelby passed away in May of 2013. So every spring, the Carroll Shelby Foundation, Shelby American, and all the other related Shelby companies and entities mark the occasion – but don’t you dare call this fabulous event, hosted at the historic Shelby Los Angeles facility in Gardena, California, a memorial. It’s…
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Auctions America’s most recent California sales have been at a hotel in Burbank. Nothing wrong with that, but now the company has changed to a more exciting and romantic venue and moved its dates up so as not to be so close to all of the Monterey Car Week action. They recently brought a few…
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I’m away this week on two separate octane fueled adventures that I will share with you upon return. So no updates here until after Memorial Day. Enjoy the Indy 500!…
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By know you may have heard that Denise McCluggage passed away last week at 88. I knew her for many years, and pretty well. Among many other things, she was a superlative racing driver, competitive skier, and sports and automotive journalist. I won’t recount her entire bio here, as that’s been done now a dozen…
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When I first saw the Mercedes-Benz CLA45 AMG at an auto show, I knew it was a car I had to drive and evaluate as soon as possible. I immediately liked the CLA’s curvy styling, and was interested that Mercedes had again elected to offer a more value priced “entry level” model to attract younger…
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Some news from my friends at the Automobile Driving Museum that I thought you might enjoy…. (El Segundo, CA) The Automobile Driving Museum (ADM), a non-profit museum that preserves historic automobiles, is proud to present “Woodies in the Park” picnic and car show on Saturday, July 11th, 2015 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The…
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Newman Racing Documentary Opens I’m pleased and proud that my book, The Winning Life of Paul Newman, has been made into a proper documentary film. My big thanks to Adam Carolla and his great team for taking on this job and doing a wonderfully professional job of it. I hope you can go see it…
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Bonds Have More Fun 007 Wannabe Meets a Movie Machine from “Quantum of Solace” “Quantum of Solace” movie stills courtesy Sony/EON Productions “Yes, we do, in fact, have one of the DBSs from the filming of “Quantum” in the States at the moment. Would you be interested in driving it?” The properly British-accented Aston Martin…
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If you still believe that diesel-powered cars are slow, smokey, and noisy, it’s really time to let go of that notion. I’ve recently spent some time and lots of miles at the wheels of two different Volkswagens running modern TDI “Clean Diesel” engines, and I promise you they are anything but slow, smokey or noisy.
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CARMEL, Calif. – April 8, 2015 – The Automotive Fine Arts Society (AFAS) will return to the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance® on Sunday, August 16 with a collection of their best automotive artwork to celebrate their 30th year. Sponsored by The Lincoln Motor Company, the AFAS exhibit will feature the latest creations of the finest…
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photography courtesy Neil Rashba and Kirk Gerbracht Here’s some news from my friends at the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance, at which I’m honored to serve as a judge and also contributing writer to the show’s official program. And extra congrats to my friend David Sydorick on his Zagato bodied Alfa for winning one of the…
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I find the media convergence to be very exciting. Although it can be a bit dizzying to an old school dog like me. For my life and business, Facebook and Twitter don’t really fit to well, which is why I’m not active on these platforms. Of course this website is a must, and I quite…
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Photography by Kirk Gerbracht and Linda J. Stone I figured I better post these photos before they become as old as the cars in this wonderful event. Each December, the Horseless Carriage Club of Southern California hosts one of those “not to be missed” gatherings. They do a multi-stage drive event that gathers at and…
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“Every time I start thinking the world is all bad, I start seeing some people out having a good time on motorcycles and it makes me take another look,” -Steve McQueen Chino Hills, CA – Prepare for your own good time at the 8th Annual Friends of Steve McQueen Car and Motorcycle Show, June 5th…
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The pert, charming redhead in the photo above is my friend Ellen, and yes boys, the gray 911 she’s standing with is hers. Not a boyfriend’s, brother’s or husband’s, but 100% all hers. She’s a serious gearhead girl, a Bondurant trained pilota, and just terribly neat and organized, as is her office, her home, her…
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Some news I thought you might enjoy from my friends at the Automobile Driving Museum… Remembering the Pontiac (El Segundo, CA) The Automobile Driving Museum (ADM), a non-profit automotive museum that preserves and educates of historic automobiles will be hosting a “Remembering the Pontiac” event on Saturday, March 21st, 2015 from 10 a.m. to 2…
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Like most of us hopeless carfools, I love great barnfind cars and stories. So I decided it was time to publish my own compendium of them. My friend Tom Cotter really identified the genre with his successful “…in the Barn” series of books, and publishing vets…
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The “compact truck” segment, as we knew it, is largely dead. It was the segment launched in the late 60s and particularly early 70s with those charming, cheap to buy and easy to live with little trucks like the Ford Courier, Datsun 2000 pickup, Toyota HiLux and who could forget, the Chevy Luv. I liked…
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These results are tabulated by the good folks at Hagerty Collector Car Insurance, and while you may really enjoy people paying tons and tons of money for collector cars, or alternately, you may hate it, the information is always interesting to say the least. So here’s the numbers according to www.hagerty.com I didn’t make it…
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This news from my friends at Shelby American… photos by Kirk Gerbracht LAS VEGAS – Jan. 16, 2015 – Shelby American, a wholly owned subsidiary of Carroll Shelby International Inc. (CSBI:PK), launched the first global Shelby GT muscle car, which is based on the all-new 2015 Ford Mustang GT. One of the most popular cars…
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I wanted to show you photos from and tell you about this great event, which took place in early December, before talking about a holiday toy and fun raiser show seemed too strange in the new year. Motor4Toys is an annual show held in a massive office complex parking lot dedicated to a…
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Jay Leno buys a lot of cars, and has a massive and fabulous collection of them, in the most fabulous block of warehouse garages and shops you’ll ever see. Yet he never sells any off. On rare occasion, he’s been known to donate them to be sold for real and worthy charity causes. And I…
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I’m still in disbelief and shock over the New Year’s Eve passing of Ed Herrmann. I first became aware of Mr. Herrmann’s power and capability as an actor from his portrayal of Franklin D. Roosevelt in the TV miniseries, Eleanor and Franklin and also enjoyed his work on some very cleverly written and well acted Dodge truck…
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