Detroit: Woodward Warehouse lets classic car enthusiasts cool their wheels

From Detroit Free Press:  Woodward Warehouse lets classic car enthusiasts cool their wheels

It's being called a yacht club for classic car owners.

For $250 a month, members can keep their cars in the new Woodward Warehouse -- a spotless, climate-controlled space in Royal Oak that's one-part private museum, one-part tinkering spot for car geeks, and two-parts 24-7 social hangout.

"We're trying to create the car enthusiast's ultimate environment," owner Joe Polito said Saturday, as he showed open house visitors the members-only car hoists, auto detailing area, kitchen, cigar room, showers, pool table and private dining room. The open house crowd strolled past him clutching glasses of beer and hot dogs.

Tucked into a small office park that's a two-minute drive from Woodward Avenue north of 13 Mile, the building previously housed a commercial heating and cooling firm and numerous other businesses before it fell on hard times and the roof began leaking, said Polito, 61, of Troy, a retired lawyer who said he has been collecting cars since he was 16 years old.

Polito bought the building and put more than $500,000 into the gleaming build-out, replete with neon automotive logos and a sturdy color scheme of white, gray and red. The garage area -- with a speckle-finish resin floor as clean as the clubhouse dinner plates -- has space for about 43 cars.

"It's fantastic," said new member Anthony Garth, 38, of Royal Oak, whose 2003 Vespa motor scooter and 2012 Harley-Davidson Sportster Forty-Eight motorcycle -- a replica of a '48 Harley -- drew admirers. Nearby, Garth parked his 1983 Cadillac Fleetwood, swallowing far more floor space than his bikes.

"If they're just in my garage, there's nobody to talk to," Garth said over the buzz of the crowd.

It was a car scene laden with American iron, including a bright-red 1955 Ford Thunderbird, a 1959 Edsel Corsair convertible in white with turquoise trim, a 1966 Oldsmobile Toronado -- the first year for that landmark front-wheel drive car -- and Polito's own 1963 Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray, from the first year of the Sting Ray body style when the rear window was split. But several Porsche owners said they planned to bring their wheels for storage.

Polito's sidekick Ron Pruette, 60, of Oxford Township, who helped with the build-out of the Woodward Warehouse, quipped: "We're open to any kind of car -- we're nondenominational."

Pruette said he plans to store his 1966 Ford Mustang at the site. But for those who don't have a car to store, there are social memberships for $150 a month.

"It's awesome," said Kathy Ostdiek of Birmingham, as she sipped a glass of wine at the open house.
Her husband, Dave Ostdiek, a retired partner in the Henderson Auto Glass chain, has a 2002 Porsche 911 that might find a new home in the warehouse.

Gesturing to Polito, Dave Ostdiek smiled and said, "We're talking."

 

MD: Classic cars, fire trucks and farmers rule in Darlington's Independence Day Parade

From ExploreHarford.com:  Classic cars, fire trucks and farmers rule in Darlington's Independence Day Parade

Emma Cieri of Forest Hill waves her flag during the Darlington Fourth of July parade Saturday. (Nicole Munchel | Aegis staff, Patuxent Homestead / June 23, 2012)

Fourth of July came early for Darlington Saturday, when the Independence Day Celebration and Parade came rolling down Castleton Road and Main Street in the small northern Harford County town.
The 45-minute parade drew people from not only Harford, but from Cecil and Baltimore counties, too.
Parade lovers lined the streets, sitting in lawn chairs, some on their porches and others standing and waving to everyone who passed by.
Bruce Bruder sat outside of his home on Main Street where he had an excellent view of the bands, floats and fire trucks.

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"I get to see a lot of my neighbors in the parade," Bruder said. The Darlington resident said the big appeal of the event is to "see what people are doing these days."

The best part, however, would come later that night, he said.
"There are great fireworks after this," Bruder commented. "They are nice as anyplace in the county."
Kids on the street loved watching the tractors drive by and went crazy as a few cars tossed candy into the crowd.
Louie Boeshore, who was visiting a friend in the community, was picking sweet treats up from the grass.
Boeshore, who is from Dundalk, said it was his first time at the parade and said the event had "a lot of variety."
The classic cars, he said, were "something I've never seen before."
Old cars were mixed in with new, including one with hydraulics that bounced down Main Street.
That car caught the eye of Lisa Brooks-Hunter, who was watching the parade with her two grandchildren, Keshawn and Kenny Hunter.
"I come every year," the proud grandmother said. Brooks-Hunter, who grew up in Darlington, said because the community is so small everybody seems to know everybody and that was a huge draw.
"It's small. It's family," she said smiling.
Down a few houses sitting outside of her home was Meghin Herchel and her son, along with friend Charlene Pool and her daughter.
"I love the dancing and marching bands," Pool, an Elkton resident, said. Herchel, who said she watches the parade every year, loves the old cars the most.
Fire companies from several counties were represented in the parade, including Harford's own Aberdeen Volunteer Fire Company in a classic fire engine, Joppa-Magnolia, Level and, of course, Darlington.
Carrie McCurry and her husband sat in a golf cart as the fire engines blared their horns and flashed their lights.
"I just love to come out and watch," McCurry, who lives down the road, said.
She added that there seemed to be "more to it this year," with more vehicles and people participating.
While McCurry commented that the parade was "nothing like it used to be," she still never misses the yearly celebration.
And, as promised earlier by Bruce Bruder, a fine fireworks display capped off the evening's festivities.

 

Classic cars drive families together for Father's Day

From Auburn Pub:  Classic cars drive families together for Father's Day

OWASCO| “It's a great day for family and a great day for car lovers,” said Ed Pinckney, club president of the Prison City Ramblers.

A crowd of more than 3,000, spent the day admiring more than 800 cars participating in the annual Father's Day car show. The show is in it's 21st year and for Pinckney, he said, each year gets bigger and better.
 “We started this many years ago mainly for the fathers, and it's really become this great event that people can bring their fathers and their families to,” he said.

Six local Cayuga County charities were chosen by the ramblers, and all of the proceeds from both the registration and the raffle are divided among them. For the last three years, Pinckney said they were able to give $6,500 to the group of six, which rounded out to more than $1,000 per charity.

Kings Ferry Food Pantry was one of the six charities chosen by the event and coordinator Debbie Patrick set up shop to raise awareness for hunger and to encourage support for a local cause.

“This is the first time we've been here and it's a wonderful opportunity for us,” she said. “It's a good day to be out here and we like that we can be visible to the public so that they can learn more about our food pantry.
Families crowded almost every square inch of Emerson Park and many fathers and sons were out together to celebrate the day.

Auburn City Councilor John Camardo and his 7-year-old son Anthony, were out car hopping for the afternoon.

“This is my Father's Day. It's what we do,” John said. “These are the things that you remember and it's what days like this are made of.”

Scott Kilmer and his son Connor Kilmer were an hour into the car show and said they still had a lot of territory to cover. They come every year  with aspirations of one day having their own car in the show.

Four years ago, Scott and Connor picked up a 1971 Volkswagon Karmannghia from North Carolina and together they roughed the raging storms of Hurricane Faye to bring it home to Auburn.

“She has an interesting story and because of that experience, she earned her name, 'Faye,'" Connor said.
They both work on the car that Scott said is a special pastime he shares with his son. “I have four kids but he's the one who's always been most interested in cars and it's great to be able to come out here and see them with him,” Scott said. “Sometimes he knows more about them than I do.”

Car enthusiasts from Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rochester and Canada came out to display their favorite roadsters. The event also featured a car corral, flea market, live music and food.

For Pinckney and his members the day was all about fathers, families and having a good time.

“We don't have a limit to how many cars can come in,” he said. “ We know people love cars and we make it a fun and easy way for them to park and enjoy them.”

 

June 24: Tenth annual Elm Bank Auto Show coming to Wellesley with Delorean, 600 classic cars

From Boston.com: Tenth annual Elm Bank Auto Show coming to Wellesley with Delorean, 600 classic cars


A time-traveling car is headed to Wellesley on Sunday, June 24 2012, along with about 600 classic automobiles for the tenth annual Elm Bank Antique Auto Show.

A replica of the famous DeLorean from ‘Back to the Future’ will be on display, complete with a working Flux Capacitor. Also on display will be a ‘Smokey and the Bandit’ 1978 Trans Am, a M*A*S*H* unit jeep and a ‘General Lee’ from the ‘Dukes of Hazzard.’

In addition to the famous cars, there will be hot rods, pace cars, cars with tail fins, and beautifully-maintained cars from the fifties and sixties.

A Top 50 competition will be held, and special trophies will be given out.

There will be live music, food and drink, and a swap meet where attendees can scope out memorabilia.
The gardens at Elm Bank will also be open. The Massachusetts Horticultural Society’s gardens are in full bloom at the end of June, and car enthusiasts can take a break from the shiny machinery to wander the Bressingham garden or the kid-friendly Weezie’s Garden.

The Auto Show will be held at Elm Bank, the home of the Horticultural Society, at 900 Washington Street on the Natick/Wellesley line. Admission is $5, and children under 12 are free.

The show will run from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, June 24.

It is being sponsored by Corcoran & Havlin Insurance Company and Herb Chambers Toyota, Scion and Hyundai.

Vintage car rally takes road to eco-friendly future

From RT: Vintage car rally takes road to eco-friendly future

A blast from the past and a glimpse into the future, a Moscow vintage car rally has put both old vehicles and carbon-saving compact cars to the severe test.

­A three-day event in honor of Russia’s Day of Ecologists started in Moscow and will end 1,200 kilometres later in Pskov – near the Estonian border.

Put on by the Rally Club of Classic Cars and the Ministry of Ecology, the rally brought together classic cars like a beautiful 1960 corvette and modern eco-friendly cars. The environmental impact and fuel usage of the latter will be compared to the vintage beauties.

Evidently, the muscle cars from years gone by can hardly compete with their younger counterparts when it comes to being green. Still, that has not stopped some classic car owners from giving their retro roadsters an eco-friendly facelift.

"I believe my car will take first place among the retro cars on ecological standards,” Dmitry Oktyabrsky, head of Moscow Retro Car Museum, told RT. “First of all, because it's a small capacity car. The volume of the engine is only 1.1 liters and it has 40 horsepower. We augmented the car so it consumes less petrol but runs faster. And since the distance is quite lengthy, we'll consume less petrol than the other cars."

The journey is certainly a long one. But drivers needn't worry about putting the pedal to the metal to get there quickly, because this rally is not a race. It requires discipline rather than speed.

Participants have a stringent list of directions to follow along the way, including making positive changes to the environment and taking pictures of areas impacted by forest fires along the way.

"Besides our driving, we're planning to plant an alley of trees in the Tver Region – in places of war battles and war-destroyed villages,” Stanislav Solovyov, president of Classic Cars Rally Club, told RT. “In one of them, only one resident survived. We'll plant trees in two different towns."  

And as for who wins the rally, drivers are in no rush to find out, because they are more excited about the journey than the destination.

 

Newtown: Antique Car Show Set for July 15

From Newtown Patch: Antique Car Show Set for July 15'
Classic cars will descend upon historic State Street next month, as the Newtown Business Association hosts its annual car show.

This year’s car show will be held Sunday, July 15 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. It will feature more than 170 classic autos, trucks, corvettes, street rods and sports cars in all makes and models from 1900 to 1986. The rain date for the event is July 22.

According to organizers, the Antique and Classic Auto Show has been a tradition since the mid 1970s, when former Newtown Business Association president Dave Krewson orchestrated the first event.

“Having no nucleus of cars to exhibit, they paid the Trenton Horseless Carriage Club to bring their cars to State Street on a Saturday in June and gave them each a $5 chit for lunch,” according to a press release from the Newtown Business Association.

Auto-related businesses and Newtown Business Association members are invited to sponsor trophies in their favorite categories.  

For more details and to download a registration form, visit www.Newtownba.org. If you have questions, contact Mick Petrucci at mick1973@comcast.net or Bev Dimler at 215-860-8080.

Fox411 QA: Gas Monkey Garage team flips classic cars on Discovery's 'Fast N' Loud'

From Fox News: Fox411 QA: Gas Monkey Garage team flips classic cars on Discovery's 'Fast N' Loud'

Motor mastermind Richard Rawlings once worked in advertising, but always knew that his true passion was cars. Almost a decade ago, he opened Gas Monkey Garage and began scouring the country for cars to flip. After years of building a solid reputation and with his mechanical prodigy Aaron Kaufmann at his side, he became one of the businesses best known names.
Now, his adventures turning diamonds in the rough into sparkling auto treasures will be documented in Discovery Channel?s new show ?Fast N? Loud.? Fox411 caught up with Richard to discuss the show, his adventures with his garage team and why America can?t get enough of classic cars.
Fox411: How did the show come about?
Richard Rawlings: Since I started Gas Monkey Garage, I thought in the back of my mind that there might be a market in television for the world of flipping cars. So I was always asking how I got started and networking. Finally it came together, and now we are going to be on Discovery.
Fox411: You previously ran a printing and advertising company, then sold it to open Gas Monkey Garage. Can you tell us about that process? Did you envision this type of success?
RR: I?ve always been a big dreamer. When I made the decision to own my own shop, I always knew I was going to keep aiming for the top and being the best I could be. But it was a process. I started with building world renowned cars and that got us the attention of developers. But it?s been a  long roll ? eight and a half years, but we knew it would happen. You always have to aim for the top and keep aiming for the top in the things you do. I?ve always been that kind of person.
Fox411: Many people are familiar with flipping houses, but maybe not as much with flipping cars.  How do you find the cars, and is it all that different?
RR: It?s a tricky process. No one person can know everything about cars, but you absolutely have to do your research and have a strong knowledge of cars. You have to know about the market. And equally important, you have to have the guts to take the bet and gamble. There are a lot of guys out there that do this and if you hesitate for a second, you can lose out on a big opportunity.
So you have to make a decision. If you make a good one, great, you can make a great profit. If not, you have to know when to cut your losses and free up your space and your budget quickly. Obviously, you hope for more wins than losses.
Fox411: Where do you find the cars?
RR: My day is filled with trying to find a few cars. We always have at least one big build project at the garage, which is how we make our money.
But my typical day starts at 530 a.m. I comb through websites, typing in dates of cars, looking at everything I haven?t seen before. I do that for a few hours in the morning, then again in afternoon. But as I developed a good reputation, I?ve had a lot of people call me .
There are a lot of people who want to be in the hobby, but they don?t have ability to buy or the skills to revamp it, so in cases like that I will give them a small finder?s fee.
Fox411: What?s the negotiation process like?
RR: There are three different kinds of people who are selling: People need to get off the car, people who know what they have and want a retail price for it, and then people that have something great but they don?t care and don?t want to sell. You have to gauge their mindset and go from there. And another challenge is that with TV and the internet, a lot of ppl think they have something more valuable than it actually is. But I always try to be as fair and honest as possible.
Fox411: What?s the biggest challenge when fixing up one of these cars?
RR: Rust can really hurt the process ? it is just too time consuming to fix. The biggest challenge is finding a car in a timely enough manner to still be able to turn it over and make a profit.
Fox411: Who?s your biggest customer?
RR: It varies. On our big cars, which we build from ground up, there?s often an emotional attachment -- a car their grandpa had, or one that the high school jock had and they couldn?t afford it then but now they can. Every car has a following and so there is always a customer waiting for each car.
Fox411: Can the average person maybe buy one of these class cars and use it as their everyday vehicle?
RR: It takes a bit of mechanical inclination, but absolutely.  But I hope the show helps in the larger scheme of the hobby of restoring cars. We don?t have a 2 million dollar building. It?s a little shop with three guys. I want that guy laying on his couch to see what we do and say, ?hey, I?m gonna go work on that TransAm. ? I want people to see it?s not above their heads.
Fox411: If someone wants to buy their classic dream car, what?s the most important thing to do and where should they look?
RR: They should call me, first of all.  But if you are doing a negotiation on a car and your gut instinct is that it?s something shady, move on. It?s not going to be the only one out there. Don?t get emotional on it and make a bad business decision as a result. I?ve seen a lot of people get hurt doing that. You have to do your research.
We love hearing those calls and helping people out, so they can definitely call us!
Fox411: Why do you think there is such a love for classic cars?
RR: I really believe that America was centralized when the car came along. It allowed Americans to go anywhere and so a car is a symbol of the ultimate freedom. You can just get in your car and go. I think a lot of it is the freedom of being able to go and do, it?s liberating.
?Fast N? Loud? premieres Wednesday night at 10 p.m. on Discovery.

 

Tacoma, WA: America's newest car museum revs up for grand opening

From MSNBC: America's newest car museum revs up for grand opening

Do you always have grease under your fingernails? Do you spend more time in your garage than any other room in your house? Do you have pictures of old cars on your refrigerator? If you consider yourself a grease monkey and car junkie, a shrine to car culture opening its doors on Saturday is for you.

Built on nine acres adjacent to a busy stretch of Interstate 5 in Tacoma, Wash., about 30 miles south of Seattle, LeMay — America’s Car Museum (ACM) has its high beams set on illustrating a century of automotive history and celebrating what museum president and CEO David Madeira calls “America’s love affair with the automobile.”

“This museum is about is that special car — your first car, the car you took to college, the one that broke down, the one you had your first date in or the car you drove to the prom,” said ACM spokesman Scot Keller.

From the outside, the gleaming four-story, 165,000-square-foot building resembles a shiny jet fuselage. Inside, there are galleries and exhibits that together feature about 350 cars, including sports cars, one-of-a-kinds and pristine classics.

The shiny new facility showcases some of the prized possessions amassed by Harold LeMay, who according to the Guinness Book of World Records, amassed the largest private collection of automobiles.

The first and largest exhibit visitors encounter at ACM includes several dozen choice cars from the collection of Harold LeMay, including a 1916 Pierce Arrow Brougham, a 1932 Chevrolet Canopy Express “Huckster” truck (a favorite of early traveling salesmen) and a 1956 Chevrolet Bel Air Convertible.

LeMay, a Tacoma-area businessman, amassed more than 3,000 vehicles. The Guinness Book of World Records declared the LeMay Collection to be the largest private collection in the world. LeMay died in 2000 at the age of 81.

The cars displayed in the LeMay Exhibit will rotate, as will the themed exhibits in the rest of ACM. Those exhibits, assembled by guest curator and automotive expert Ken Gross, currently include a look the Indianapolis 500, Ferrari in America and the 1960s British Invasion — not the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, but MG, Austin-Healy, Triumph, Jaguar and Aston Martin.

There’s also an exhibit featuring Buicks, Cadillacs, a Chrysler, a Hupmobile and several other American-made cars from the collection of jewelry magnate Nicola Bulgari, a celebrity the museum describes as “Italian by birth but American behind the wheel.”

ACM also features an area where collectors can store and supply their own cars, a slot-car track, high-end racing simulators, and a 3.5-acre outdoor show field that will host car shows, live concerts and drive-in movies.

Summer hours for ACM are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. daily through Labor Day. Admission costs are $14 for adults, $12 for seniors, students members of the military, and $8 for kids (5-12).