Monterey 2008: Pebble Beach Best of Show goes to the 1938 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Touring Berlinetta
Automobile
Filed under: Time Warp, Misc. Auto Shows
Click above for high-res gallery of this year’s Pebble Beach Best of Show
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. While we might fill in a few more galleries and posts to round out our coverage of Monterey 2008, we wanted to get this news to you asap. So click on the pics and enjoy.
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Monterey 2008: Million dollar Ferraris at the RM Auction
AutomobileFiled under: Auction Action, Ferrari
Click above for a high resolution image
The RM sports and classic car auction is one of our favorite events during the Monterey weekend. The laid back atmosphere and incredible selection of cars makes the event a perennial occurrence on our schedule. This year’s event was particularly impressive, especially the selection of classic Ferraris. No less than eight surpassed the million dollar mark (seven actually sold), capped by the $4.51 million dollar sale of a 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB. Others breaking $1 million were a 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4 ($1,925,000), 1961 Ferrari 400 Superamerica Coupe Aerodinamica, and a 1973 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona Spyder ($1,485,000). A beautiful 1956 Ferrari 250 GT TDF Berlinetta had a top bid of $3.9 million but didn’t meet the reserve. Follow the jump for a press release from RM and enjoy the gallery below.
Continue reading Monterey 2008: Million dollar Ferraris at the RM Auction
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Monterey 2008: GM’s Motorama cars at Pebble Beach
AutomobileFiled under: Concept Cars, Time Warp, GM, Misc. Auto Shows, Special/Limited Editions
Click image above for high-res gallery of Motorama Cars from Pebble
Along with the 20+ liter class, the Lancias, Lamborghinis and Ferrari California Spiders, GM’s Motorama cars were among the featured groups at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance this year. For those of a certain age, the Motorama cars were some of the wildest dream cars ever created. GM created a traveling road show of concepts that went from town to town. These vehicles were styled by some of the greatest names in the design biz and have had a lasting impact on many that followed. The cars themselves explored design themes that stretched the imagination and incorporated some of the latest, greatest technology of the day. Some were used for a year or two to show people the possibilities, and then were discarded like yesterday’s newspaper. Others were outright destroyed because they were never designed to be drivable. Thanks to at least one dedicated fan, their remains were salvaged and the cars rebuilt when possible. To help celebrate GM’s 100th anniversary, Pebble gathered them together to show them off once again. Many look spectacular but a couple still need some TLC. Check out the press release after the jump and the full gallery below.
Gallery: GM Motorama Dream Cars at Pebble
Continue reading Monterey 2008: GM’s Motorama cars at Pebble Beach
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Woodward 2008: Details are everything
AutomobileFiled under: Misc. Auto Shows
Click above for high-res gallery of details shots from Woodward Ave.
Sometimes the whole is not greater than the sum of the parts. Sometimes the parts are cool enough to stand on their own. We took a lot of pics - a LOT - yesterday while walking up and down Woodward Ave., though most were of cars driving past us quickly. In that split second we have to snap a pic, there’s no time to savor those special elements that separate great cars from merely good ones. Things like fins, vents, badges, grilles, and gauges are often what we remember most about the cars we see during the Woodward Dream Cruise. Fortunately we found a few parking lots filled with parked cars yesterday and took some time out to inspect them with our DSLRs. Below you’ll find a gallery of our best detail shots from the Woodward Dream Cruise.
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Woodward 2008: Foreign invasion
AutomobileFiled under: Misc. Auto Shows
Click above for high-res gallery of the best foreigners on Woodward Ave.
Traditionally, when people think of cruising, they visualize American muscle cars, hot rods and classics. What they don’t think of is Smart ForTwos, MGs, Austin Healeys, Citroens, Lotuses, Opels and Jaguars. The Dream Cruise, being the all inclusive event that it is, welcomes all comers. Saddle up to the gallery below and check out all the foreign models that mingled with American muscle on Woodward Ave. yesterday.
Gallery: Woodward 2008: Foreign Invasion
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Photo of the Day (08.17.08)
LifestyleFiled under: Ecuador, Photo of the Day
It’s been a long week at work, and I’m spent. Somehow I think this napping sea lion, taken by Flickr user goalielax, would probably agree with me. Goalielax caught this guy snoozing on Isla Española, one of the many islands that make up the Galapagos National Park in Ecuador. Take the rest of this lazy summer Sunday to rest up people, there’s another week ahead of us!
Have any great images you’ve taken during your travels? Why not share them with Gadling? Add them to the Gadling group pool on Flickr and we just might select your shot as our Photo of the Day.
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Troubled American girl and her mother forced to leave China before the Olympics
LifestyleFiled under: China, Singapore, United States, News, Travel Health
The story I read today about an adolescent girl with psychiatric problems being pushed out of China before the Olympics reminded me of details people need to consider before moving to another country to live with their children.
The girl, who is from Ohio, was living in Beijing with her parents. Her mother was a teacher at one of the international schools. After moving to China, the girl began to get into trouble due to some psychological issues. Prior to the Olympics, the Chinese officials put pressure on the family to get the girl out of China.
According to the article in today’s Columbus Dispatch, the Chinese government wanted it to be smooth sailing when the guests arrived so people who were problematic, such as, political dissidents and protesters were removed from the city’s scenery. The girl happens to fit the profile of undesirables.
Now that the girl and her mother are back in Ohio, they are having a hard time getting services to help the girl because they are technically not residents of Ohio anymore. They have overseas residential status, sort of. The health insurance they had in China doesn’t cover them in the U.S.
In the meantime, the father is still working in China in order to make enough money to return back to the U.S. Depending on the contract he has, he may not have the cost of a flight back covered in his contract if he has to leave early. This is conjecture on my part, but plausible.
Remember Michael Fey, another teenage Ohioan who had issues while he was living in Singapore with his mother and step-dad? He was also sent back to the U.S., but not before being arrested, jailed and caned for punishment.
Although living the expat lifestyle overseas can be a wonderful experience, for people who have children with special needs, it can turn into a disaster. The support services are generally not there when it comes to special education and mental health issues. At least they are not typically as available as they are in the United States, and people can be left stranded to try to deal with problems on their own with little to no help.
Schools the students attend can be supportive up to a point, but they are in a position where they need to maintain a good relationship with the country in which they are located. If the boat springs a leak, so to speak, the person causing the leak my be dumped overboard. It’s not personal. It’s business.
If you’re contemplating moving overseas with your family, know what services are available in a country before you ever sign a contract and get on that airplane. This is particularly important if you have a special needs child. The stress of adjusting to this new life can cause issues not anticipated as this Ohio family found out.
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Art car in Texas under fire. Is it art or junk?
LifestyleFiled under: Arts and Culture, Stories, Ecotourism, News
The issue of old cars becoming art is not a new one. A few years back, driving along Route 66 in Amarillo, Texas, I looked out for the 10 Cadillacs half-buried, nose first in a row off the highway. I saw them as funky and fun. The piece was titled Cadillac Ranch.
If you’ve ever driven through this part of Texas, you may understand how anything that breaks up the flat scenery is welcome. At least, that’s my opinion. Some have felt over the years that those cars are nothing but junk–an eyesore. Evidently, they’ve become more junky since I saw them. (see article)
There is another art car issue in Texas. This one is very recent. Another car, this one painted by Austin-based artists as a protest to pollution, is involved in a tug of war between the artists and those who say that a car that won’t run is junk. Those people want the car moved. The car, now a cactus planter, is art, the artists say and they want it to stay where it is on I-35 outside Planet K in San Marcos.
According to this article in the Austin News, a judge is to decide if the car should stay or go. Perhaps, the artists need to come up with a spiffy name and attractive signage similar to what one might see in a world class museum. It worked for Wilbur, the pig in Charlotte’s Web. He was saved from the chopping block by Charlotte’s web- weaving handiwork. “Super Pig” could be translated to “Super Car.” PR can work wonders. Even a weird funky item is enough to draw tourists into an area.
I have looked to see if I can find out the ruling, but came up with nothing.
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Body-skating in the Swiss Alps
LifestyleFiled under: Skiing
This should wake you up on this Sunday morning. Check out this incredible daredevil, who’s just invented a new sport by doning a rolling bodysuit and then skating down a mountain road in the Swiss Alps.
I think it speaks to the craziness of this stunt that it’s managed to upstage the Swiss Alp backdrop, which is stunning eh? Oh, and notice the zooming bikes and vehicular traffic.
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Peter Pan, Cinderella and more are arrested at Disneyland
Lifestyle
Meg wrote a post yesterday that had tips on the best time to visit an amusement park. Depending upon your sense of the absurd, or what strikes you as a bit funny– or oddball, or perhaps pitiful, here’s a different take on when to visit–or not.
You may not want to visit when the costumed characters–those folks whose jobs are to make children smile–look like they are being arrested. Or if you want an unusual scene, perhaps you do.
Arrests are what were happening at Disneyland this past Thursday. Peter Pan, Cinderella, Tinkerbell, Snow White and other storybook friends were handcuffed and put into police vans after they realized that life is not a fairy tale after all and staged a protest.
Even though Walt Disney had an idea of what a Utopian society should look like when he created the Magic Kingdom, the vision has shrunk. It doesn’t include health insurance for everyone any more, or wages that are equal to what other workers who are doing the same job in the region are making, according to this article posted at msnbc.com.
Hotel workers, i.e., bell hops, maids, cooks and dishwashers, are the ones who will be affected by the cuts and are not too pleased. That’s why some of them dressed up as Disney characters and headed for Disneyland’s main gate from the hotels shouting out things like, “Mickey, shame on you.”
While the protest was happening, and the arrests were being made, tourists were witnesses to the scene. I bet there were some interesting stories told to the kids who were taking in the action.
The arrests were made based on misdemeanor charges, and everyone is out of handcuffs once more. Negotiations are still in the works. Hopefully, folks will find happily ever after like this Peter Pan in the photo.
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