en | fr | de | it | es | pt | ru
blog.niot.net

Event Alert: December Calendar of Automotive Events

We started our monthly calendar of events last month and learned almost immediately that we will never be able to make it as comprehensive as everyone would like, but that's where you come in. Take a look at the list we've put together for December after the jump, and if you see changes that need to be made or events you'd like to add, leave a comment with event info and a link. Once again we've used two of our favorite resources: the New York Times automotive calendar for national and international stuff, and for local stuff here in Southern California, our buddy Dave Lindsay's SoCalCarCulture pages. Dave's photos from these local events are fantastic.

So check out the December event calendar we put together for you after the jump and start adding to it. And please note the large number of Toys 4 Tots drives being put on by local car clubs. With tough economic times it's important to remember that every child deserves a toy. Happy Holidays everyone!

posted : 11/30/2008 @7:58:58 PM
Autoblog attends the 26th Annual Newport Beach Concours d'Elegance

To celebrate its 26th year as Orange County's most prestigious classic car show, this year's Newport Beach Concours d'Elegance moved from its recent home in Irvine to the St. Regis Monarch Beach Resort in Dana Point. Still not Newport Beach, but much closer to the ocean at least. Benefiting the Mary & Dick Allen Diabetes Center at Hoag Hospital and the Assessment and Treatment Services Center, the event featured Cadillac as its honored marque to commemorate GM's 100th birthday this year. Besides the gorgeous 1931 Cadillac Sport Phaeton V16 Fleetwood poster car, there were at least a dozen other notable Caddys, as well as about 150 other beautiful classic and collector cars. Although a notch below the premier events like Pebble Beach, some of the most beautiful and significant vehicles around show up for this concours. Representatives from The Petersen, The Nethercutt Collection, the William Lyon Estate, the Mercedes Classic Center, the Simon Collection, the Caballeriza Collection, and the Marconi Museum were on display, alongside some superb machinery from local collectors like David Sydorick and Peter Mullin. Altogether there were about 150 cars in 14 classes. Ferraris, Porsches, Jaguars, Aston Martins, Packards, Lincolns, Cadillacs, Delahayes, Mercedes, Rolls-Royces, Duesenbergs, Woodies, race cars and even a horseless carriage or two were visible through the fog around the links.
posted : 10/5/2008 @2:35:19 PM
16th Annual Palos Verdes Concours d'Elegance

The 16th Annual Palos Verdes Concours d'Elegance was held this Sunday at Trump National Golf Club in Palos Verdes, California. Like a half-scale Pebble Beach, the PV Concours offers visitors a golf course setting above the Pacific that produces a beautiful backdrop for viewing some of the greatest classic cars around. This year's event celebrated 100 years of General Motors, as well as Cadillac, and alternative fuel vehicles among its dozens of classes. Highlights included a 100-yr-old electric car, a Ferrari short wheelbase, a Miura Jota, a '69 Trans Am, 427 COPO Camaro, '48 Delahaye, '54 Fiat 8V, and some great Corvairs and Cadillacs. Besides the cars, concours are always fun for celeb spotting, especially around L.A. KNBC's Dave Kunz, Parnelli Jones, Barry Meguiar, Bobbie 'dine Rodda, Paul Moyer, Bruce Meyer and even Deepak Chopra were among those who made it out for the show, which benefits the Palos Verdes Art Center and Palos Verdes Peninsula Rotary Foundation. We assembled a huge gallery of some of the entrants, all labeled so you can identify some of your favorites.
posted : 10/2/2008 @4:19:28 PM
Monterey 2008: Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance

By the time Sunday rolls around during Monterey Week, we're pretty exhausted. Too many cars and so little time. Still, that doesn't stop us from getting to the 18th fairway before the sun comes up to see the cars drive onto the grass. Duesenbergs, Bentleys, Cadillacs, Ferraris, Bugattis, and more come rolling into the show, causing us to scurry back and forth to photograph as many of them as possible. There was so much to look at this year -- the Lamborghinis, Lancias, V16 Cadillacs, 250 GT California Spyders, GM's Motorama, and Leno's tank car -- before we knew it, the Best of Show had been crowned and the day was over. We can't go through all of the class winners and special awards, but if you are interested, you can view them on the Pebble Beach Concours web site. We've put together a comprehensive gallery of high resolution photos for you, many with captions in case you aren't familiar with the cars.
posted : 9/2/2008 @12:38:35 PM
Monterey 2008: Pebble Beach concept car lawn

The Pebble Beach Concours has something for every car enthusiast, even if classic cars aren't your thing. Every year we take the time to tear ourselves away from the fairway and head up to the front of the lodge where the concept car lawn showcases some of the latest show cars. Many of the cars made their debut at the Detroit Auto Show this year including Chrysler's green concepts, the Jeep Renegade, Dodge ZEO, and Chrysler ecoVoyager. GM brought out the Cadillac CTS Coupe and the Buick Invicta, Lexus showed off the LF-A Roadster, and Mercedes-Benz displayed the F700 that debuted in Frankfurt. Other featured cars included the Pininfarina Hyperion, Lamborghini Reventon and Gallardo LP560-4, Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport and Spyker C8 Aileron.
posted : 9/2/2008 @3:13:00 AM
Monterey 2008: Lamborghini featured at Pebble Beach

While Pebble Beach is perhaps best known as a place to honor classic American and European cars, sports cars have always held a special place in the hearts of the Concours committee and judges. With 45 years under its belt, Lamborghini is certainly deserving of a special place on both counts. As a featured marque here at Pebble, Lamborghini was extremely well represented with a selection of exquisite rare examples. Nine vehicles were on display being judged by 40-year test pilot Valentino Balboni among others. The lineup of seldom-seen Lambos included the earliest known Lamborghini 350GT, the earliest known Miura, the earliest Miura SV, the Miura Roadster fresh from a yearlong restoration that swapped its army green paint for the correct blue metalflake, a 350GTS, 350GTZ by Zagato, an early LP400 Countach, and three one-off concepts - the 1990 P140, 1996 Raptor, and the Gallardo Concept S. A truly spectacular selection of models representing the fabled Italian marque.
posted : 9/2/2008 @2:45:29 AM
Monterey 2008: Pebble Beach celebrates California Spyder's 50th

The 250 GT California Spyder is one of Ferrari's most celebrated (and valuable) models, most often remembered by the general public for its starring role in the movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off. This year marked the Spyder's 50th anniversary, and the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance celebrated the occasion by giving the car its very own class. Six variations of the car were produced, all of which were displayed on the 18th fairway including the original prototype and a competition version that raced at both Sebring and Le Mans.
posted : 9/2/2008 @2:40:06 AM
Monterey 2008: Pebble Beach Best of Show goes to the 1938 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Touring Berlinetta

The confetti has fallen, the champagne corks have flown, and the 2008 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance Best of Show award has gone to the gorgeous 1938 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Touring Berlinetta owned by John and Mary Shirley of Medina Washington. While every car here is truly extraordinary, the Best of Show car is always a stunner. This year was no exception. One of possibly five 8C 2900s bodied by Touring, this 8C has the supercharged straight 8 that was good for an amazing 180 hp. Some 30 8Cs were produced by Farina and Touring from 1937-1939, and few are the same or as nice as this particular example. Besides the trinkets and trophy, the Best of Show car also gets a boost in MSRP typically, being able to justifiably call itself the best collector car around.
posted : 9/2/2008 @2:13:29 AM
Cadillac Provoq concept evolves into 2010 SRX

If the vehicle pictured above looks vaguely familiar, it should. We basically saw it last January at CES and the Detroit Auto Show as the Cadillac Provoq concept. Replace the slatted grille with a standard Cadillac unit and the E-Flex fuel cell drivetrain with a conventional gas V6 and you have the new 2010 Cadillac SRX. The new SRX should be on the streets by this time next year replacing the current tall wagon that has only been marginally successful. Going forward, Cadillac has basically taking the first-gen SRX and split it into two vehicles, each of which is more focused on a particular segment. This vehicle that continues to wear the SRX badge will be a chunkier, more SUV-like vehicle, while those looking for a more car-like ride can go for the new CTS Sport Wagon. Cadillac isn't give out a lot of details about its new CUV yet, but that rarely stops us from some speculation. While the current SRX is based on the same Sigma platform used by the CTS and STS, the new one has a different architecture. It is also believed to have a transverse-mounted drive train with the possibility of front or all-wheel-drive. Based on its size, it is thought to be an improved, next generation version of the Theta mid-size CUV platform currently used by the Saturn Vue. The SRX, which has previously been referred to as the BRX, will share this new platform with the upcoming Saab 9-4X CUV. For now GM is only releasing these three images, but the vehicle itself will probably debut early in 2009, perhaps at the Detroit Auto Show.
posted : 8/31/2008 @6:05:14 PM

Monterey 2008: Pebble Beach Tour d'Elegance

Because so many collector car fans refer to the seven days in August as Pebble Week, it should come as no surprise that the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance is still the cornerstone of automotive nirvana here on the Monterey peninsula. The ultra-exclusive Concours staged on the Pebble Beach Golf Links, providing classic car buffs the ultimate venue to see automotive history staked out on the greens. While dozens of supporting events have surfaced to fill the entire week with automotive happenings, Pebble itself has diversified to include a free event for spectators: the Pebble Beach Tour d'Elegance.

The Tour is open to all Concours entries and those that participate earn tie-breaker points in the Concours judging on Sunday. All but the oldest cars drive 50 miles up and down the hills along 17-Mile Drive and PCH from Pebble Beach to Big Sur, before heading back to the Polo Grounds at Pebble. Most of the participants also make a lunch stop in Carmel which clogs the streets for most of the day. Nobody can blame fans for trying to get a glimpse of these great cars for free rather than shelling out the big bucks for the Concours tickets. While the Sunday show offers truly spectacular vistas, getting a chance to see, hear and smell these museum pieces in action is really special too.Just like last year, heavy fog along the route did it's best to obscure our view, but our long lenses and thermal underwear prevailed against the moist air. We've assembled a huge gallery comprised of Ferrari California Spiders, early Lamborghinis, the F1 Safety Car, vintage Lancias, Alfas, early Benzes, Delahayes, Talbots, Jags, BMWs, and many, many more. With the Tour, it's official: the festivities have begun.

posted : 8/31/2008 @6:03:18 PM
< back ( 1 2 3 ) next >
:: new posts
:: popular posts
copyright 2007 (C) - powered by ceastudio