Archive for the 'Events' Category
November 13th, 2009 by Bill Cawthon
The Walter P. Chrysler Museum in Auburn Hills is putting on its holiday finery for its “Cars, Trees & Traditions” exhibit, Nov. 21-Dec. 30. The fifth annual seasonal exhibit returns with enhanced décor, a vintage pedal car display and new programs.
“Cars, Trees & Traditions” spotlights eight decades of holiday style through 23 nostalgically- and thematically-decked evergreen trees, paired with vehicles from the museum’s collection. Each vignette is wrapped with text, images and advertisements reminiscent of holidays past. Following the exhibition’s narrative from one vignette to the next, guests see how vehicle progression—from horseless carriages to enclosed, more comfortable and better engineered models—helped change the ways in which Americans celebrated the season’s festivities.
New for 2009
Thirty vintage pedal cars dating back to the 1920s, including many Chrysler-inspired models and specialty vehicles, will lend an additional nostalgic touch to this year’s exhibition. The miniature cars and trucks are from the private collections of Greg Gladki of Westland, Mich., and Earl Ickes of Clinton Township, Mich. Among the pedal cars on display:will be a 1925 Hudson, 1937 Airflow Sedan, 1938 Dodge Sedan, 1939 Chrysler Airflow Fire Truck, 1939 Dodge, 1941 Dodge Fire Chief, 1941 Chrysler Sedan, 1968 Plymouth Sport Fury, 1968 Dodge Charger and a Jeep.
Cars, Trees & Traditions opens with Family Fun Day, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 21. Events include informal exhibition tours and visits with Santa in a vintage Dodge truck ( bring your camera), a host of holiday crafts, air brush body art (11 a.m.-1 p.m.). At 11:30 a.m., Lisa Gleeson, of Lisa’s Gift Qrappers in Royal Oak, will present Christmas Traditions Unwrapped, a program presenting the origins of many holiday traditions, including the Christmas tree’s German roots, how St. Nicolas, the Bishop of Myra, became Santa Claus and the custom of exchanging wrapped gifts.
The museum’s gift shop also will feature discounts on a number of collectibles, providing an opportunity for guests to get a jump on their holiday shopping.
Special Family Fun Day admission is $7.50 per person for ages 2 and older, and $28 for a family of four. (Member admission is $6.25 per person and $24 per family of four.)
Holiday Ornament Workshops
For crafty guests, the museum is hosting Holiday Ornament Workshops, 1 p.m.-4 p.m. or 5 p.m.-8 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 8, including a bulb-making session, refreshments and an exhibition tour. Participants will create a keepsake memento from a favorite photo scanned prior to the workshop and slipped into a glass bulb. Participants will adorn the ornaments with a variety of silk flowers, leaves, beads and baubles—all with the help of a pro, Kathy Burm of Bulbs by Blondie. Registration is $21/person, including Museum admission ($19 for members). Visit Featured Events at www.wpchryslermuseum.org or e-mail events@wpchryslermuseum.org for registration and details for submitting photos via e-mail or mail.
Saturday Crafts
Everyone in the family can test their creativity with holiday crafts du jour, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. every Saturday from Thanksgiving through year’s end. Two to three child-friendly crafts will be offered each Saturday with regular museum admission.
“Cars, Trees & Traditions” will be open for self-guided tours from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and noon-5 p.m. Sunday. The museum is closed every Monday, as well as Nov. 25 and 26, and Dec. 24 and 25.
General museum admission, which includes “Cars, Trees & Traditions,” is $8 for adults, $7 for seniors (62 and older) and $4 for juniors (6 – 12). Children 5 years old and younger are free. Admission is $4 per person for groups of 15 or more with advance registration.
For more information—and two-for-one admission coupons—visit the Museum website or call (248) 944-0001. To schedule a group visit, e-mail grouptours@wpchryslermuseum.org or call (248) 944-0450. Two-for-one admission coupons are not valid for Family Fun Day or the Holiday Ornament Workshops.
October 25th, 2009 by Bill Cawthon
Jim Daniels, a dentist from Bristol, Pennsylvania, set a new NRHA class record and clinched the Dutch Classic event at Maple Grove Raceway in Mohnton, Pennsylvania.
In his 1968 Dodge Dart, Daniels beat David Barton of Robesonia, Pennsylvania with a run of 8.284 seconds at 159.53 mph. Ironically, Daniels could have walked the quarter-mile and still been victorious because Barton fouled at the start. Despite that, Daniels was still pleased with his performance, saying, “It was a ‘no-lose’ final, but it is awesome to have won the race and set the record. It was a total team effort all season long and it feels great.”
This is the third time Daniels has claimed a Mopar HEMI Challenge event, His first victory came at the 2008 Dutch Classic.
Daniels also set the NHRA Super Stock/A HEMI class record run in qualifying Thursday, with a pass of 8.331 seconds at 157.96 mph. He was quicker on Sunday, but NHRA rule only allow class records to be set before the first round of eliminations.
The Dutch Classic is the largest all-sportsman event on the east coast. This year there were 467 entries in all classes. The Dutch Classic was the final event in the 2009 Mopar HEMI Challenge Race Series.
October 9th, 2009 by Bill Cawthon
Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne is certain Chrysler can begin showing a profit in 2011, a view that is supported by a Morgan Stanley analyst.
According to the Detroit News, Adam Jonas with Morgan Stanley recently wrote a report indicating he believed the automaker would be showing a profit from operations as soon as 2010, though Chrysler would likely be in the red when it came to the bottom line. Jonas felt Chrysler would return to true profitability by the end of 2011.
This would work well with Marchionne’s goal of being able to offer stock in the company by 2011. This would be a boon, not only for Chrysler, but for the company’s current equity holders, including the United Auto Workers Voluntary Employee Beneficiary Association (VEBA) and the U.S. government.
Marchionne and his staff will present details of Chrysler’s current condition and its five-year plan on November 4. The Fiat CEO says Chrysler is not going through cash as quickly as some have estimated and praised Chrysler employees for their eye on cost controls.
October 3rd, 2009 by Bill Cawthon
From left to right, drivers Ian James and Tom Nastasi in the No. 5 TPN Racing Dodge Challenger, Ken Wilden and Dean Martin in the No. 59 Rehagen Racing/986 Driver Cooling Ford Mustang GT and Jeff Bucknum and David Donohue in the No. 6 Sunoco Camaro pose next to their cars on Friday at Virginia International Raceway. (Photo by Melissa Smith/Melissa K. Smith Photography)
Tomorrow, Sunday, October 4, at noon (Eastern Time) the past will live again as the three legends of the pony car era meet again at Virginia International Raceway. A Dodge Challenger, a Chevrolet Camaro and a Ford Mustang will compete during the four-hour Bosch Engineering Octoberfest, the last race of the season for hte Koni Challaenge.
Challengers, Camaros and Mustangs all compete in the Grand Sport (GS) class, which includes cars tuned to 350-405 horsepower and and having top speeds of 160 mph. All cars in the class come straight from the dealers’ showrooms with minor modifications for safety and performance.
The No. 5 TPN Racing Dodge Challenger will be driven by Tom Nastasi, a former winner at VIR in the GS class, Ian James and Eric Heuschele.
“I think it’s history being made,” Nastasi said. “The last time the Challenger raced in Trans-Am was 1972, so it’s pretty historic. This is American road racing, just like it was done in the ‘60s and ‘70s. Hopefully we can and will revive it.”
The Chevy in the race is a modern interpretation of the No. 6 Sunoco Camaro driven to a road racing championship by racing legends Mark Donohue and Ronnie Bucknum in 1969. Four decades later, Donohue’s son David and Bucknum’s son Jeff will be driving a 2010 Camaro wearing the No. 6 and Sunoco blue-and-yellow colors.
September 29th, 2009 by Bill Cawthon
Mecum Auction will be offering more than 750 vehicles at its upcoming St. Charles Auction, where collectors will have a chance to bid on more than 750 vehicles ranging from rare muscle and vintage cars to hot rods and exotics. The event is scheduled for this weekend, Oct. 1-4, 2009, at Pheasant Run Resort in St. Charles, Illinois.
Among the cars going up for bids is a 1970 Plymouth HEMI Cuda. This car, one of only 284 built that year, is even more special as it is unrestored with an all-matching-numbers drivetrain and just 42,000 miles on the odometer. Another noteworthy heritage car is the 1969 AMC AMX-400 the George Barris custom-built for the TV show “Banacek” starring the late George Peppard. The car is a modified AMX 390 automatic with a 315 HP V8 engine as well as extensive styling modifications.
The St. Charles Auction is open to the general public with tickets available at the door for $10. There is time for attendees to pre-register to bid on the impressive lineup of cars and to be part of a live television audience. Consignment, Bidder, event and accommodation information is available online at www.Mecum.com or by calling (815) 568-8888.
September 14th, 2009 by Bill Cawthon
The S.E.M.A. Show Car, Project N96: Drop Top Revenge will be making an one time only appearance at the Little York Car Show on Sunday September 20th, 2009 in Little York….just off route 81 in the Cortland-Homer area.
This car has been a feature car at Allpar.com.
Also Appearing will be Jeff Moran, the owner of Drop Top Customs, in Florida. Jeff has been featured in programming on television as well as being the go to guy for convertibles by companies such as Jaguar, GM, and Chrysler (who awarded him and his company the Chrysler Design Excellence Award at the S.E.M.A. show in Las Vegas, 2008.) Jeff is flying in from Florida this weekend to attend the show on Sunday, in Little York (just off Rte 81 between Preble and Homer New York) and will be available for interviews, autographs and good conversation regarding this latest show car between the hours of 11 am and 3pm.
Bill OGorman, the project manager and concept design guy will be available as well. Together, they are showing the car for the first time…to the car show crowds here in Central New York. Soon it will be sent back to Florida to make final preparations
for it’s international debut in Las Vegas on Nov 2nd through the 6th at the S.E.M.A.
The Specialty Equipment Market Association is where you find the likes of Chip Foose, Carrol Shelby, Jack Roush, Jesse James, Jay Leno and a host of other car/truck builders and entertainers who enjoy the automotive scene. This 4 day event is not open to the public and the display of this type of car is by invitation only.
The Little York Car Show will be the only show in the North East where the car can be seen. This Show was chosen as both the owner and the project manager live in the Cortland Area.
September 12th, 2009 by Bill Cawthon
This year’s Acorn Tour, sponsored by the Walter P. Chrysler Museum, is scheduled for Sunday, October 4, 2009. The Acorn Tour is open to auto enthusiasts with vehicles manufactured in 1970 or earlier. Any make or model is welcome.
The event kicks off at 8:30 AM at the Walter P. Chrysler Museum. There will be a continental breakfast provided and there will be an opportunity for informal tours. From the museum, participants will embark on a pleasant drive on paved roads with various stops. Brunch will be at the historic Holly Hotel and there will be time for a tour of the members-only Detroit Railroad Club. From there, the tour makes its way to downtown Rochester for an informal reception at the Paint Creek Center for the Arts.
Reservations are $60.00 per person or $110.00 for two. Museum members receive a 10 percent discount. Deadline for reservations is September 30.
For more information, visit the Museum website or call 248-944-0450.
