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Bill France Jr., longtime NASCAR chief, dies

Bill France Jr., who steered NASCAR for 31 years through its strongest growth era, died Monday, according to the Chicago Tribune. He was 74.
France, the second czar in NASCAR's owning dynasty, took over as president from his father, founder "Big Bill" France, in 1972. He was diagnosed with cancer in 1999, but the cancer was in remission when he handed control of NASCAR to his son, Brian Z. France, in 2003.

Posted by   at 4:04 PM to Racing | Permalink | Comments 0

Backseat Driver: Greenwich Concours d'Elegance offers stunning cars in gorgeous setting

Some 250 cars were entered for the Greenwich Concours d'Elegance in Greenwich, Conn., with the European half on display Sunday along with a Christie's auction of about 35 historic cars, including the 1938 Bugatti Type 57C Atalante coupé that sold for $775,000, well above Christie's estimate.

The grounds of Roger Sherman Park on the water south of downtown Greenwich, was covered in rare beauties with entire circles of such high-end marques as Jaguar, Roll-Royce/Bentley, Ferrari and Mercedes-Benz. The Lamborghinis were nestled in with the Ferraris, but unfortunately I did not spy my favorite Lambo, the Muira of the mid-1960s.

The author, looking rather stolid, standing beside a 1,001 horsepower Bugatti Veyron 16.1 at the Greenwich Concours d'Elegance on Sunday. Photo by Darren Beurer.

However, I did get to finally see a Bugatti Veyron 16.1 which looks every bit as powerful, like a coiled fist, as its 1,001 horsepower engine. The car is mechanically totally over the top and the price reflects its limited, high-end market - about $1.5 million give or take $100,000 or so.

My old friend Darren Beurer, who I met for the first time at the Concours and who knows more about cars than I'll ever know, snapped my picture standing beside the Veyron and I snapped his just after we had been smirking about other plebs like ourselves snapping pictures of each other sitting in the driving seat of Bentleys.

Yes, it was that kind of venue where brand-new Bentleys were open and available and the Veyron sat placidly, albeit growling, at the mob that surrounded it. It has to be said that the doors of the Veyron and the gynormous 2007 Rolls-Royce Phantom nearby(suggested retail price: $351,250) were firmly locked.

But these were new cars. What the punters had come to see were the old classics and exotics. George Dragone's 1905 Renault Town Car was a thing of mega beauty, like everything out of Dragone Classic Motorcars in Bridgeport, Conn. One of the oldest entries, the car was indeed a horseless carriage in red with black trim, white tires and brass fixtures including two brass lamps sticking out in front, communication horns from the exposed driver's seat to the enclosed passenger compartment and horns connected to black rubber bulbs.

One of the most astonishing entries - and about the only American vehicle on the field - was a 1955 Lincoln Indianapolis Design Study in brilliant orange. The car was a massive sweep of space-age design with chrome flashes and a bulbous glassy cabin.

In the charm department - Ferraris and Lamborghinis are definitely not charming - was a 1961 slate blue Saab 96 all decaled out for the Rallye Monte-Carlo. Its front lights were protected by grills, a strap crossed over the hood and a somewhat comical spotlight set in the center of its roof.

Also in the charm department, a couple of BMW Isetta bubble cars from 1956 and 1957 respectively. The cars seat two who get in by opening the entire front of the car. Indeed, the front of the car looks somewhat like a fridge door which is not surprising as BMW made the cars under license from Iso, an Italian appliance manufacturer, according to Gregory Homs who owns the green 1956 BMW Isetta 250.

I also loved the bright orange 1976 BMW 2002A which brought back memories of running around the Canary Islands for a few weeks in the early 1970s with a German aquaintence and his French girlfriend while I waited in vain to ship out for the Caribbean on a yacht. (In the end, I took a Spanish tramp steamer back to England for Christmas.)

What else caught my eye? The circle of Jags includes some lovely XK120s whose sensous lines I have talked about in previous blogs. And an area up front devoted to pre-WWII beauties includes a maroon 1937 Bugatti Type 57, a green 1936 Bentley 4-1/4 Derby Special and a black 1912 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost side by side.

Meanwhile, the low-slung Ferraris and Lambos were an aggressive symphony of reds, yellows and blacks, all angles and short curves. By comparison, the circle of Rolls-Royces adn Bentleys looked very staid and the British sports cars - Austin Healeys, Morgans, Triumphs - even an Alpine Sunbeam - looked sweet and sporty. More human scaled, I suppose.

None of this does justice to the scale and quality of the Concours which is also brilliantly organized. The setting is fabulous and even more fabulous is the free parking just across the street - with its own show of parked exotics. By the time I posted this, chairman Burce Wenerstrom had not gotten back to me with the results which he and his wife Genia will publish on their Web site tomorrow (Tuesday).

But a confession of not being able to do justice to the show should whet your appetite to go to next year's show. And remember, the Vanderbilt Concours slated for July 27-29 in Newport. If you love cars, want to see the best and get a dose of automobile history, these shows cannot be beat.

PS I'm going to try to upload some photos later, but being a moron ...

Posted by   at 11:18 AM to Concours d'Elegance | Permalink | Comments 0

Backseat Driver: 1938 Bugatti sells for $852,500

A 1938 Bugatti Type 57C Atalante coupé that had been sitting untrouched in a garage outside New York City for 45 years sold yesterday for $852,500 (including Christie's 10 percent buyer's premium) at a Christie's auction at the Greenwich Concours d'Elegance in Greenwich, Conn.

The price was way over the auction house's estimate of $300,000 to $400,000 but as auctioneer Hugh Edmeades told me afterwards, there is no way to really value a car this rare and in such orginal condition. "They find their own level," he said.

The bidding for the car ended in a bullfight between noted restorer Wayne Carini of F40 Motor Sports in Portland, Conn., who was bidding on behalf of Connecticut contractor Joe Capasso and an unidentified telephone bidder.

As the levels went higher, the two bidders did everything they could to knock the other out. Sometimes they came back immediately with a price, sometimes they mulled and then delivered a steep increase in an attempt to deliver a killing blow. At times the crowd gasped and applauded following long gaps and sudden hits; at other times you could have heard a pin drop. Certainly Edmeades did not need to work the kind of auctioneer's magic he had used earlier to push the bidding higher.

But what am I doing - giving away a fabulous story that will appear in Wednesday's projoCARS section? Be sure to read it as one of the issues I will be addressing is the restoring vs conserving and preserving argument that this sale highlighted. Plus details of some of the other beauties that were sold and some of the flavor of this tony and amusing event.

Posted by   at 10:36 AM to Collecting , Marques , Sales , commentary | Permalink | Comments 0

533,000 Miles and It Runs Like a Top

There is no one secret to getting your car to live to a ripe old odometer reading. Luck could get you there, but it is no surprise that many vehicles that have reached 200,000, 400,000 and even 500,000 miles have received extraordinary care and maintenance, often with the owners doing the routine work themselves, according to the New York Times.

Posted by   at 10:33 AM to On the road | Permalink | Comments 0

TVR’s Long and Winding Road Leads (for Now) to Florida

Like the mythical Monty Python castle built on a swamp, which sank three times only to be rebuilt three times, TVR, one of Britain’s last sports car makers has risen again after several near-death experiences and ownership changes, according to a report in the New York Times.
TVR would fit neatly in the comedic Python world, where cheese shops have no cheese to sell and hyper-litigious businessmen accidentally sue themselves. Consider its recent history: its third owner since 1981 was a 20-something Russian who actually owned the company twice in three years.
The latest owners are two Florida men, Adam Burdette and Jean-Michel Santacreu, who took control in February.

Posted by   at 10:30 AM to Companies | Permalink | Comments 0

Books Worth a Spot on a Car Buff’s Shelf

In any field, there are certain books that are essential. Some are handy references, others provide the perspective of history and still others are simply good reads, according to the New York Times.
Here is the NYT's selection of books that will make a fine foundation for an automotive library. All are widely available either new or used.

Posted by   at 10:27 AM to Collecting | Permalink | Comments 0

Toyota, GM post strong sales months

Toyota's U.S. vehicle sales jumped 14.1% in May to its best monthly level ever and General Motors' sales rose 9.7% as both automakers credited in part the appeal of their more fuel-efficient offerings as gas prices remained high, according to USA Today.For the month, Toyota outsold Ford, which saw sales fall 6.9% as it continued to cut low-profit sales to rental companies. Nissan's sales gained 7.4% and DaimlerChrysler's sales rose 3.9% with help from a 20% jump in its Jeep brand.

Posted by   at 10:24 AM to Companies | Permalink | Comments 0