ADESA's Caruso Reflects on Prized Classic Car, Importance of Web

Follow the link to see the video. From AutoRemarketing: ADESA's Caruso Reflects on Prized Classic Car, Importance of Web While also sharing the story about his reunion with a long-lost classic-car favorite, ADESA president and chief executive officer Tom Caruso offered his take during a recent video interview on how the Web has impacted the auction business.

In the video — which was recently posted to ADESA’s Overdrive blog — Caruso talks with Motor Trend Radio host Alan Taylor about their experiences in the car business and mutual love for classic cars, as well as the changes brought by the Internet.

“It has really taken down the barriers,” Caruso said of the Web. “On our LiveBlock system … we’ll have vehicles from all over the country.”

He added: “It’s not uncommon to have dealers from New York buying vehicles at our sale in Las Vegas … it has been great for us, and it has been great for the industry.

“It’s growing. Each week we see the numbers growing with the Internet presence,” Caruso continued.

The ADESA leader also shed a bit of light on a special 1968 Chrysler 300 that he and his father owned in the early 1980s. Caruso said he eventually sold the car to make a home purchase, but he was able to find and purchase it three years ago. And the three-year restoration of the car is now complete.

Classic car showcase: 1927 LaSalle

From Herald CA: Classic car showcase: 1927 LaSalle
By the mid-1920s automotive engineering was well enough advanced that cars were pretty reliable. Motorists were ready for more comfort, performance and style. Even the conservative Henry Ford recognized rather belatedly that the days of his sturdy but spartan Model T were numbered. He discontinued it in 1927 and began design on its replacement, the more glamorous Model A.

At General Motors its brilliant president, Alfred P. Sloan, Jr., was gradually evolving the idea of the annual model change. Encouraged by time-payment car loans which had arrived in the late teens and were now established, motorists were becoming accustomed to trading in their old cars for new ones. Sloan wanted to hurry the process along by making motorists dissatisfied with their current cars a little sooner.

What better way to entice them to trade up than to offer new styling. It complemented his annual model change perfectly. Even though engineering may be only marginally improved, at least give a fresh new look. This led to the formalization of automobile styling.

While all of this was developing in Sloan's mind, a young man named Harley Earl was out in Hollywood, California, working for local Cadillac distributor Don Lee. Earl had a natural styling touch and Lee had him busily engaged in lengthening, lowering and rounding off the square corners of stock cars on commissions from movie stars and other wealthy buyers wanting something more distinctive than the boxy designs of the day.

On a business trip to the west coast Cadillac general manager Lawrence Fisher discovered Earl's work while visiting Lee’s establishment. Fisher wasn’t very happy with Cadillac’s appearance, which he regarded as dumpy, and was very impressed with Earl's handiwork. Upon his return east, he enthusiastically reported to president Sloan what young Earl was doing out in California.

The timing was propitious because it fitted perfectly with Sloan's annual model change philosophy. He decided to give Earl a try, and in 1926 invited him to Detroit on a contract to help style the new 1927 LaSalle, a new Cadillac "companion car" being developed by Cadillac to offer buyers some Cadillac prestige without the Cadillac price. It would also fill in the price gap between Buick and regular Cadillacs.

The new LaSalle “junior Cadillac” was introduced in March, 1927 and Earl's styling made it an immediate sensation. Using all of his imaginative Hollywood techniques he had created a body with gently rounded curves, deeply drawn fenders and beautifully harmonized colours. It suddenly made other cars look old fashioned.

To give the appearance of speed Earl had lowered the LaSalle’s silhouette, giving it an over-all impression of elegance never before seen in an American car. Earl had been deeply impressed by European cars, and the fact that he had borrowed heavily from the Spanish Hispano-Suiza’s styling was either not noticed, or was simply ignored.

With his work at GM finished Earl returned to California from his contract assignment. But it wasn’t long before Sloan had sold his board of directors on the importance of styling. Earl was invited back to Detroit on a permanent basis to head up a newly created Art and Colour Section of General Motors reporting directly to Sloan. Styling was now no longer a sideline for the engineers, but was recognized as a significant enough element to be a separate activity.

The LaSalle vaulted Earl into prominence, and under his influence automobile styling advanced rapidly. The Art and Colour Section evolved and expanded to become the Styling Department. In 1940 Earl was made a General Motors vice-president, the first stylist to achieve such elevated status in the auto industry.

Harley Earl would set the styling mode for General Motors automobiles, and consequently the whole American industry, for three decades. And although it was the LaSalle that gave him his start, he will be remembered for the wraparound windshield, jet plane inspiration and most of all, the tailfin craze that reached its zenith in the 1950s. They came about because Earl was so captivated by the twin fuselages of the Lockheed P-38 airplane that he tried vestigial fins, little more than raised rear lights, on the 1948 Cadillac. They took off from there and became an American styling icon for a decade.

The LaSalle would survive through the 1930s as a lower priced companion car to the Cadillac. It had Cadillac quality, and was also powered by a V8 engine except from 1934 to '36 when for cost reasons it received an Oldsmobile straight eight.

By 1940 GM deemed it unnecessary to continue the LaSalle. Buick had moved upscale, and that combined with Cadillac's lower priced models squeezed LaSalle out of the GM family. But although it lasted for only 14 years the LaSalle has secured its place in history as the car that more than any other formalized automotive styling.

New posting schedule

Starting with the week beginning Feb 27, I will be posting in this blog at least twice a week, but sometimes no more than that. However, rest assured that there will be at least 2 posts a week.

"Cruisin' the Coast"

http://www.cruisinthecoast.com/ 16th Annual Cruisin' The Coast will be October 7-14, 2012. Until Cruisin' The Coast 2012 2012 EARLY BIRD REGISTRATION IS OPEN UNTIL AUGUST 15, 2012. From their site: Welcome to America's Largest Block Party. Cruisin' The Coast® began in 1996 as a festival to celebrate antique, classic and hot rod vehicles, nostalgic music and related events. 374 vehicles registered that first year and in 2010 we had 4,854 registered vehicles. Car enthusiasts from over 39 states and Canada drive to the Mississippi Gulf Coast once a year to showcase their rides and to cruise our beautiful 30-mile stretch of beachside highway with designated stops in Bay St. Louis, Biloxi, D'Iberville, Gulfport, and Ocean Springs. Each venue is set up as a mini festival with a stage for live bands, reserved parking for registered cruisers, spectator parking, and vendors for food and event merchandise. Our week long event includes cruise-ins, a VA Hospital Cruise, car auction, swap meet, car corral, and a parade. Spectators are welcome and will find that our cruisers love to talk "old cars." Cruisin' The Coast® has 13 Host Car Clubs providing over 700 volunteers who help with registering vehicles, directing cars at the venues, giving directions, and welcoming our guests. These are just the jobs cruisers see. There are hundreds of behind the scenes and pre-event activities that our volunteers help with all year long. When you see someone in a bright yellow staff shirt - that is a fellow car lover who is donating time to make this a fun event for all. If you get a chance you may want to say thank you to a volunteer during your visit. Cruisin' The Coast® has become the biggest special event in the state of Mississippi. As Cruisin' The Coast® has grown, the honors and awards have followed suit. Cruisin' The Coast® received the Governor's Excellence in Tourism Award as Festival/Event of the Year in the State of Mississippi. Cruisin' The Coast® was also named the recipient of the "Shining Example Award" for Best Festival/Event of the year by the Southeast Tourism Society, one of the "100 Events for the Year" for 2001 and in 2011 by the American Bus Association and was also named a Southern Travel Treasure by AAA's magazine, AAA Southern Traveler. In 2007, the Automotive Restoration Market named Cruisin' The Coast the 2007 Restoration Event of the Year. We want to thank all of our volunteers, sponsors, participating vendors, and you, the car enthusiasts, who have made Cruisin' The Coast® the success story it is.

Mardi Gras, Classic Cars and Power Boat Racing: Unexpected Activities in Biloxi, Mississippi

From Peter Greenberg: Mardi Gras, Classic Cars and Power Boat Racing: Unexpected Activities in Biloxi, Mississippi

They may be shouting, ”laissez les bons temps rouler!” in New Orleans, but the party is also underway on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Peter recently sat down with the locals in Biloxi, Mississippi, to learn about the events that define this Gulf Coast city, from Mardi Gras traditions to cruising classic cars to power boat racing.

Peter Greenberg: Tell me what’s different about Mardi Gras here than you’d find in New Orleans?

Woody Bailey: It’s one of the safest Mardi Gras that there is. Mobile and New Orleans have outstanding Mardi Gras and most people think about New Orleans, but Biloxi has a tremendous event. People don’t know much about it and we need to get that word out there.

PG: What makes it different other than that it’s safer?

WB: It’s the people of the Mississippi Gulf Coast, and the hospitality. The red carpet is always out here for folks on the Mississippi Gulf Coast and for Mardi Gras it’s not an exception.

PG: Are the floats different here?

WB: Floats are somewhat similar.

PG: And you’ve got the king cake.

WB: Oh, we got the king cakes all over the place.

PG: And what happens when you get the baby?

WB: You’re in charge of getting the next king cake.

PG: That’s the problem. So nobody really wants to get that baby cause now you’re buying.

WB: Right. Well it’s still a little fun to hunt for the baby while you’re sifting through the cake.

PG: The thing about Mardi Gras is you’ve got 23 different parades going on.

WB: Yes, yes we do. There are lots of things going on. People can come here for the weekend and stay from Mardi Gras to Fat Tuesday and just have a great time. It’s easy to get around, the crowds are manageable, the parade comes right by the Beau Rivage—what more could you ask?

PG: Let’s go beyond Mardi Gras for a second because when you wanted to talk classic cars, you’ve got something called Cruisin’ the Coast.

WB: We do. We started that event in 1996. Our Sweet 16 is coming up for us in October.

PG: I talk about the Barrett Jackson classic car show in Arizona, but this is different.

WB: This is an event where you get to use your car. A lot of people go to a car event and they sit in a field and they auction them off, but here we cruise the coast. We have a 26-mile beach front area that you cruise up and down and you go to certain events. These cars don’t stay on a trailer, they’re out actively running up and down the coast. We had about 5,484 vehicles registered last year and that was almost our record year.

PG: What does it take to register a car? It’s got to be a really cool car to ride in this thing?

WB: Well, we’re 25 years old or older so that’s the only requirement.

PG: So if it’s running it shows up?

WB: That’s correct and running is important like I say cause we have events for you to do. That’s why it’s so unique.

PG: If the only requirement is to be 25 years or older, you’ve got to tell me what’s the ugliest car that showed up at this event last year?

WB: Some unique cars show up. One year we had this old truck —it was an old rust bucket and this guy’s a crab fisherman—and he won the flame-throwing competition. You never know who’s going to show up.

PG: Excuse me, what is the flame-throwing competition?

WB: Who can shoot out the best flames from their exhaust pipes. Some vehicles are equipped with spark plugs that are ignited when the exhaust gas comes out and they shoot out flames.

PG: So the fire department is involved?

WB: The fire department is there. We did it on grass this past year and we did catch some grass on fire a little bit.We had the fire extinguishers there so there was no problem.

PG: If that’s not your speed then you have boat racing.

WB: Exactly. We have Smokin’ the Lake and Smokin’ the Sound power boat races.

PG: No flames coming out of those, I hope.

WB: Uh, sometimes. We’ve got one boat that has a few flames out of his exhaust sometimes, but for the most part we try to keep the flames away from the boats, that don’t work too well. Fire and water don’t mix very well, but Smokin’ the Sound is an offshore power boat race that’s coming up the weekend of April 26-29, and the Smokin’ the Sound Poker Run. Then we have a poker run. Our barrier islands are very dear to my heart and our poker run showcases those islands. The next weekend is Smokin’ the Lake, which is a drag-boat race.

PG: So, basically, if you like flames and speed and old cars that just show up and start belching…

WB: …We got it

Ferrari F620 GT Slips A Trailer Out, BMW Accidentally Confirms M135i, And Don’t Buy Classic Cars

From Jalopnik: Ferrari F620 GT Slips A Trailer Out, BMW Accidentally Confirms M135i, And Don’t Buy Classic Cars This is the Morning Shift, our one-stop daily roundup of all the auto news that's actually important — all in one place at 9:00 AM. Or, you could spend all day waiting for other sites to parcel it out to you one story at a time. Isn't your time more important?

1st Gear: Grab Your Hat, The Ferrari F620 GT Is Coming
We've all just received this "Save the Date" video from the brand all about the prancing stallion. Yes, on February 29th we'll see the unveiling of the most powerful Ferrari... in the world... ever. It's so powerful it'll require their drivers... to wear a Ferrari hat.

2nd Gear: Peter Mullin, Super Classic Car Collector, Warns Against Classic Car Market
Bloomberg has an interview this morning with Peter Mullin (think Mullin Museum), the 71 year old classic car collector who just bought the 1936 Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic in 2010 for $30 million — making it the most expensive car purchased... in the world... ever. What does he think about the classic car market? Basically, don't put your money in it. "Non-car people shouldn't buy thinking this a good place to park their money," he says. "The odds of choosing the wrong thing or a fake are real high. You should buy a car because you love it. If you've bought something good and they didn't make 30,000 of them, it probably will go up in value. But that's not a good enough reason in itself for the purchase." Word.

3rd Gear: Lamborghini Says Slowing China Economy May Hurt Supercar Demand
But it's not just the collector classic car market that's hurting. Bloomberg reports that Lamborghini, maker of the $387,000 (it'll cost you a cool million bucks in China once you add in import fees, taxes and a lifetime of bribes to Chinese officials) Aventador LP 700-4, has joined Rolls Royce in forecasting that sales of ultra-luxury cars may slow as signs that China's economy is weakening puts off some buyers. "If you look at the economy right now, there may be some uncertainty to make people wait a little," Christian Mastro, Lamborghini's Asia Pacific general manager, said in a phone interview on Feb. 16. "The number of people able to spend this kind of money is limited, it's not unlimited." Dammit! We thought this gravy train of super cars would continue forever! Well, guess the Chinese will have to stop destroying them.

4th Gear: Chrysler Kicks Every Other Car Commercial's Ass In Building Super Bowl Buzz
Chrysler's Super Bowl commercial with Clint Eastwood, titled "It's Halftime in America," received more votes than any other auto ad, but came in second overall in YouTube's Ad Blitz 2012 contest. "'It's Halftime in America' is about a mission, not about a product. It is about the spirit that motivates our embracement of this mission," said Sergio Marchionne, Chrysler chairman and CEO. "The 2-minute video portrayed the essence of Chrysler Group's commitment and how we are working toward the future." No it didn't. I listen to partisan gum-flappers and hack wannabe political writers and they told me it totally portrayed the essence of President Obama's reelection campaign. Oh, it didn't?

5th Gear: BMW F20 M135i And xDrive 135i Confirmed By Accessories Catalog BimmerPost / 1
Addicts have the scoop today that those rumors about an M135i version that have been circulating for months are true — and the confirmation comes from BMW's newly-launched F20 accessories price list. They have screenshots that mention the 135i, the 135i xDrive, and the M135i.

6th Gear: Is The Infiniti Emerg-E Concept Derived From Adrian Newey's Red Bull F1 Tech? Infiniti is launching their Emerg-E advanced-tech mid-engine sportscar concept at next month's Geneva Motor Show. Watch as Leo Parente and his Drive channel ShakeDown program present his conspiracy theory that Red Bull F1 and Adrian Newey have got to be connected to Emerg-E. They just have to be — because Leo said so! Also, Infiniti's got a four-door GT-R sitting at Roswell. We just know the truth is out there. Reverse:

Rover P6 classic car review

From the Telegraph: Rover P6 classic car review
n 1963 Charles de Gaulle vetoed Britain's entry to the EEC. It was also the year that Rover launched its all-new saloon, the P6. You can keep your economic community, Monsieur de Gaulle, we have other things to make us proud.

First marketed as the 2000, the 2.0-litre, four-door saloon was relatively compact yet spacious inside. Innovative suspension and clever glass-topped lights – making all four corners of the car visible to the driver in the dark – helped earn it the inaugural European Car of the Year award in 1974. It had decent, if not exciting, performance and in 1966 a twin-carb option was introduced, giving a welcome boost in performance. But the big change came in April 1968, when a US-sourced 3.5-litre V8 was dropped in. The Rover 3500 was, by the standards of the day, a bit of a beast.

At first drive, the gleaming V8 pictured here felt a bit, well, lazy. I wasn't expecting it to feel quick compared to fast modern cars. But it had a claimed 0-60mph time of less than 10 seconds and I was getting left behind by van drivers. Then I realised the problem: the three-speed auto was changing up far too early, at just under 3,000rpm. This isn't The Sweeney, it seemed to be telling me, keep a lid on it son.

Ignoring the old motor's pleas for leniency by changing gear manually, it showed what it could really do. It surprised many younger cars by powering away with a dignified, unhurried roar. The acceleration at motorway speeds is really impressive. If you want it as a high-speed cruiser, however, the optional full-length sunroof is not a wise move. The wind noise starts at about 30mph and by 70mph you can neither talk nor think.

One interesting feature on the car I drove was the spare wheel on top of the boot lid to free up space for luggage. I also think it looks good, although it has a negative impact on rearward visibility. The rear-view mirror is small, and appears to have been designed specifically to show you the spare wheel in its entirety, and nothing more. The wing mirrors are also tiny, and positioned alongside you such that a strange contortion of the head is needed to see anything.

After a triumphant birth, by the 1970s things were not going so well for the P6. Rover had been nationalised under the fantastically ropey British Leyland, and its cars gained a reputation for lack of quality. My dad inherited a 10-year-old 3500 in the early 1980s and the body had rotted so much that it let in more air from the bottom than it did from the open sunroof.

But now everyone seems to have forgotten the bad side. This amazingly well-preserved 1974 example got a great deal of love from its public: one man approached me in a car park and tried to buy it; cabbies drew alongside to give it the thumb of approval; a wino even broke off from his begging to tell me how beautiful it was. This was far more attention than I expected for a car which is handsome but hardly exotic.

Maybe the reaction is partly out of affection for a once-great British marque that was let down by the British, cast aside by the Germans, and then mothballed by the Chinese. Things have moved on since 1963. We are now members of the EEC, or whatever they choose to call it now, but Rover is no more. And for a lot of misty-eyed men of a certain age, some things were better off as they were.