Archive for category Car Shows
Diorama Constructed by Michael Paul Smith
Posted by rariccardi in Car Shows, Shops on February 26, 2010
diorama Michael Paul Smith
Look at the photo above very closely. It is NOT real; it is a 1/24 scale diorama constructed by Michael Paul Smith. I am absolutely blown away by the craftsman ship of his work. This is real art and talent. To see a complete slide show of his work click the link below.
This is just some incredible work. Take some time and head over to Michael Paul Smith’s flickr site to take a look. Here is a direct link to a really awesome slide show form some of his photos.
Steve Plunkett Cadillac Auto Salon Fleetwood Country Cruize In
Posted by rariccardi in Car Shows, Celebs, Events on February 26, 2010
Steve Plunkett speaks at the grand open of his 1930’s Cadillac Auto Salon to kick off the 2009 Fleetwood Country Cruize In weekend
Can’t Escape The Batmobile No Matter How I Try… | Pimp My Batmobile!
Posted by rariccardi in Car Shows, Events, Movie Cars, TV Cars on February 26, 2010
The Car Room Magazine launches an all new web site
Posted by rariccardi in Car Shows, Events, Movie Cars, TV Cars on January 22, 2010
Watch The Car Room LIVE! Saturday night, 7:00pm ET on: The Car Room TV
By Jeff Glasson • January 21, 2010
The Car Room TV
Collectors now have an additional online resource for die-cast model information with the launch of the all new Car Room Magazine website. The site’s initial set of features offer information by scale and brand, a photo gallery, die-cast oriented videos and the ability to subscribe to the print version of magazine.
The site has launched with content that can be found in previous issues of the print magazine. Moving forward, collectors can expect to see a great deal of new information that goes beyond the printed page. In addition, a good deal of exciting new functionality is already in the works, and will be rolled out during the first half of the year.
This new site along with some “yet to be announced” surprises are just a part of what is looking to be a banner year for The Car Room Magazine.
An Afternoon at the Petersen Automotive Museum
Posted by rariccardi in Car Shows, Events, Kustoms on January 18, 2010
Mike Garrett over at SpeedHunters.com continues his tour of the Peterson Auto Museum in LA. See the rest of teh great phots he took over at SpeedHunters.
Batmobile attracts crowds at Syracuse Nationals
Posted by rariccardi in Car Shows, Featured, TV Cars on October 30, 2009
by Tom Leo / The Post-Standard
Friday July 17, 2009, 2:51 PM
| 2009 Syracuse Nationals |
Fleetwood Country Cruize In – LeftLaneNews.com
Posted by rariccardi in Car Shows, Events on August 2, 2009
Leftlane News is a leading source for car news, plus a great resource for researching new cars and reading about future models. Read by car shoppers, enthusiasts, autoworkers, executives, and investors, it is updated throughout the day with the very latest auto news, reviews, and interviews — as it happens. No other site brings together the same degree of timeliness, thoroughness and accuracy as Leftlane News.
Custom cars and hot rods showcased this weekend at Thomas Park
Posted by rariccardi in Car Shows, Kustoms on July 24, 2009
7/23/2009
Custom cars and hot rods showcased this weekend at Thomas Park
By GARY DEMUTH
Salina Journal
This weekend, Paul Kruse is looking forward to catching up with some hot rod buddies.
The Gypsum resident is a custom car collector who keeps in touch with other collectors and fans nationwide, mostly through the Internet.
But for the past five summers, he’s been attending a reunion of sorts at Thomas Park in north Salina.
Beginning Friday, nearly 800 hot rods, custom cars and drag racers will invade the park as part of Kustom Kemps of America’s 29th annual Leadsled Spectacular Custom Car Show.
“It’s a way I can find like-minded car collectors like myself,” Kruse said.
The show will be from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday at the park.
On display will be 1950s and ’60s-era racers, chopped and channeled coupes, Ford roadsters, finned Cadillacs, jalopies, leadsleds and show rods from Kansas, New York, Texas, Ohio, Missouri, Arizona, Iowa and California.
Kruse will include two of his own classic cars at the show — a 1975 Chevy and a 1931 Ford.
“I’ve been coming here five years, and it gets bigger every year,” Kruse said.
800 cars? That’s nothing
Eight hundred cars is nothing to event organizer Jerry Titus. He doesn’t see any reason there can’t be 1,000 cars at Thomas Park next year.
“There’s wonderful people running the parks here, and we’re gaining more space here for cars,” said Titus, who lives in Cassville, Mo., home base of the car show.
Titus, 69, is a Wichita native who has been organizing and producing custom car shows since 1958, many of them with legendary custom car show producer Darryl Starbird.
He’s been president of the sponsoring organization, Kustom Kemps of America, since its inception in 1980. Kustom Kemps is a national association of custom car owners and aficionados with more than 15,000 members, Titus said.
Worldwide recognition
The Kustom Kemp Leadsled Spectacular, he said, is recognized as the oldest traditional custom car show in the world.
“Its reputation is such that it attracts people from all over the world,” he said. “People plan their vacations around it.”
Kustom Kemps produces five car shows a year in California, Texas, Maryland, Missouri and Kansas. Titus said the Salina show is probably the best of them all.
“We have a great working relationship with the city of Salina,” he said. “You can’t beat the people here. They’re the nicest people in the world, and they treat the car guys with open arms. That’s why we’ll stay here as long as we can.”
Titus said the car show definitely has a 1950s feel, an inspiration being the classic George Lucas movie “American Graffiti,” which showcased the custom car and hot rod culture of California in the early 1960s. Several of the stars of the 1973 classic have been part of the Kustom Kemp show, including Paul LeMat and Candy Clark.
This year’s special guest will be 1970s television star Joyce DeWitt, who played Janet in the popular sitcom “Three’s Company.” Also featured will be rock ‘n’ roll legend Charlie Gracie, a regular on Dick Clark’s “American Bandstand” in the 1950s who sold 3 million copies of a song called “Butterfly,” a future signature song of crooner Andy Williams, Titus said.
The weekend begins with one of the most popular events of the show — hot rod drag races from 6 p.m. to dusk at the East Crawford Recreational Area. Cost is $5 for a car or truckload.
“The drag races have always been a popular family event,” Kruse said. “There’s really some beautiful cars out there.”
Meet and greet
Custom car fans will have a chance to meet and greet famous customizers, including George Barris, John D’Agostino and Darryl Starbird himself. Also featured will be Bill Hines and Brad Masterson of the Discovery Network program “Monster Garage,” who will chop a car.
Weekend music entertainment includes a “Men in Black” tribute, featuring Johnny Cash and Roy Orbison imitators, Brian & the Rockabilly Trio and disc jockey KOTO (King of the Oldies).
For Titus, producing custom car shows for 50 years has been a dream career.
“I’ve made a career out of what I used to do as a teenager,” he said. “I used to drag Douglas (street) in Wichita. The guy with the coolest car got the best chicks. Luckily for me I married my high school sweetheart.”
nReporter Gary Demuth can be reached at 822-1405 or by e-mail at gdemuth@salina.com.
Batmobile attracts crowds at Syracuse Nationals
Posted by rariccardi in Car Shows, Featured on July 18, 2009
by Tom Leo / The Post-Standard
Friday July 17, 2009, 2:51 PM
| 2009 Syracuse Nationals |
Holy hot rod!
As more than 6,000 customized cars and as many as 80,000 people descend upon the New York State Fairgrounds this weekend for the Syracuse Nationals, the real star of the show is the black and red-trimmed Batmobile, from the mid-1960s television series, starring Adam West as the Caped Crusader.
West, the original Batman, is in town all weekend signing autographs, as is Julie Newmar, one of three actresses who played Catwoman on the show.
But it’s the Batmobile, which featured atomic batteries, turbine engines and an endless supply of crime fighting tools, that’s getting the most looks from a steady stream of motor heads inside the Center of Progress building.
Here’s a little known fact: The Batmobile rarely went faster than 25 mph. The car was difficult to drive, said West, 81. It was heavy and unbalanced, and the brakes often failed. The steering and suspension were unwieldy and awkward.
Gloria Wright / The Post-Standard
“So poor Burt Ward, who played Robin, sitting beside me, was always white knuckled,” West said.
“It’s probably the world’s most famous car, and it’s so beautifully designed for film,” West added, “but when you have to drive in it on a daily basis, it’s hard to push it over 30 mph because then they can’t photograph it the way the want to. They make it look like it’s going faster.”
The crew had to undercrank the camera, which meant they’d shoot less than the standard 24 frames per second, so when the film was projected at normal speed the car would appear to be going much faster than it really was.
And those gadgets?
Well before cell phones, the Batmobile introduced the car phone.
“It was a car ahead of its time,” West said. “We also had the first navigation system and the first system that enabled us to make a 180-degree turn at a high speed.
“They were mostly props,” West said. “But the flame out of the back of the car worked. The parachute actually did come out. I had several bruises on my shins getting in and out of the car, trying to look heroic.”
The Batmobile on display at the Fairgrounds is not one that was used in the TV series. It’s owned by Chris DeFalco of Saratoga and is one of several replicas that were built later on, specifically to be displayed at car shows. The original, created from a car called the Futura, is owned by custom car builder George Barris.
“The fun of it is people still love the Batmobile,” West said. “It was so tricked out in such an absurd way. We wanted the car to look really sleek and nutty and fun.”
That also describes the show itself.
“You’ve got a guy in a cape and tights running around fighting crime 24-7; this is not normal,” West said. “But it worked because the kids loved it and the adults laughed with it. The car was a big part of it.”
If you go …
What: DuPont Hot Hues Syracuse Nationals
When: 8 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Saturday and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday.
Where: Empire Expo Center, State Fairgrounds, 581 State Fair Blvd., Geddes.
Tickets: $17; ages 6 to 12, $8.
Information: Visit tleo@syracuse.com or 470-6013.
Fleetwood Country Cruize-in 2009 Steve Plunkett and Barry Meguir Interview
Posted by rariccardi in Car Shows, Celebs, Events on June 16, 2009
Great Interview With Steve Plunkett And Barry Meguiar At The Fleetwood Country Cruize 2009 with Jim Chapman in command.