Electric Avenue to debut at Detroit show

The North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit has announced the debut of Electric Avenue, a 37,000 square foot feature on the main floor of the 2010 show. The new showcase will spotlight electric vehicles and technology of both traditional automakers and innovative entrepreneurs. The new exhibit has already secured sponsorship by The Dow Chemical Company. 

Allpar meet confirmed for Sunday

The Allpar New Jersey meet has been confirmed for Sunday, October 4, from 10 am to 4 pm. The cost is $8 per carload of people, including parking or showing. There are numerous trophies, with judging under the aegis of the New York/New Jersey Slant Six Club of America. A reasonable amount of food will be provided.

Mecum Auction features rare HEMI Cuda and Banacek AMX

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.

Chrysler at the Frankfurt Auto Show

Henri Kern provided coverage of the Chrysler section of the Frankfurt Auto Show. While Chrysler reps posed for a Maserati publicity photo, Chrysler did not introduce any new vehicles themselves. However, they did have a display – one of the smallest ones.

Present were the Chrysler 300C Touring, Walter P. Chrysler Edition, with LED daytime running lights; the Chrysler Voyager, which Henri said was less successful than its predecessor due to its increased size; the Dodge Caliber, with an improved interior and wheels (with a diesel engine, vital for Europe); and Dodge Journey, which is starting to pick up despite the underpowered Volkswagen diesel. Also present were three Jeeps: the Grand Cherokee, still a success in Europe; the Patriot; and the Jeep Cherokee (Liberty), the “Moparized” show car with leather on the door panels. Three bikes were shown – one for each Chrysler brand.

Chrysler tried to make the décor special, but did not provide enough light to set off the cars, according to Henri. The display seemed more crowded than one would expect, given the company’s sales in Europe.

More photos are in the gallery.

SEMA Project N96 Drop Top Revenge to appear at Little York Car Show

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.

MESSAGE FOR VCA & SRT CLUB MEMBERS…

August 15th marks the 15th Anniversary of the world’s largest one-day automotive event – The Woodward Dream Cruise. Car enthusiasts from throughout the country and around the world will descend on the Motor City for this summertime classic. Dodge will be there too, with displays, MOPAR performance parts, classic models, and lots of new muscle to look at.

As an added bonus, this year gearheads will be able to talk shop live (Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.) with Dodge SRT engineers and marketing personnel. Got a question about your new Challenger or Charger SRT8®? Ask one of our crack car guys. Got a product comment? Let’s talk about it! Want to suggest what the next cool color or product feature should be? Go for it, we’ll listen!

As in previous years, the Dodge display will be parked at Woodward Avenue’s prime location at Thirteen Mile Road in the Northwood Shopping Center parking lot. This longtime meeting place is a favorite of hot-rodders and cruisers. Here car buffs of all ages will get a concentrated dose of Dodge muscle. Here’s just a sample of the lineup that will be at this year’s event:

* Viper SRT10
* Nurburgring Record setting Viper Coupe
* Charger R/T
* Challenger SRT8
* Super Stock Challenger Concept
* Charger SRT8
* Caliber SRT4
* Kasey Khane’s NASCAR #9
* 2010 Dodge Ram 2500
* Ram Crew cab with exclusive RamBox
* Ram TRXtreme
* 1968 HEMI Dart
* And A Lot More!!

So, come hang with your friends at Dodge, talk shop with their performance engineers, and experience the muscle that’s available at your local dealer.

See you August 15 at the 2009 Woodward Dream Cruise!

Chrysler Museum Cruise Night

Marc Rozman has provided photographic coverage of the last Chrysler Museum Cruise Night (click to visit).