Top Tips For Transporting Your Classic Car
Transporting your classic car to an event or exhibition? Read our top tips on how to preserve your precious vehicle and ensure it arrives at its destination in pristine condition.
Insist on the best
Entrusting your car to a stranger is something few owners do lightly, but when that car is a rare and valuable classic you need to take even more precautions before handing it over. You’ll want to be certain your cherished vehicle will be handled with the same care you lavish on it yourself. Begin by looking for a company that specialises in classic vehicle transport and offers a bespoke service for historic vehicles. Read more
Explore the Beauty of the 541S Jensen British Classic Car
There are some classic cars that make collectors go gaga. There are others that are highly underrated even when the reputation is not deserved. The 541S Jensen is one such overlooked gem. This unusual British model offered topnotch safety features, decent engine features and luxurious appointments, but it was overlooked by buyers when it first rolled off the line and continues to be passed over by collectors.
Sporty, fast, compact and adorable, the 541S Jensen is a two-door grand tourer that was completely hand built in an era when mass production was well under way. Its design is quite similar to Aston Martins, Porches and Jaguars in appearance, but it has a few claims to fame that are all its own. The 541S was the very first British car to boast seatbelts as standard. It also came with a number of other safety features, as well. This model was outfitted with a fire extinguisher, a first-aid kit, Dunlop disc brakes, a Motorola and even a padded windscreen surround. Read more
The Auburn Cord Duesenberg Museum is a Mecca For Classic Car Lovers
Detroit might be the Motor City, but for a time, it did not have much on Auburn, Indiana. Throughout the early 1900s, this little town was a big focus of the American automobile industry. In fact, automobile enthusiasts who want to see a different side of history than Detroit can provide will find a gem when they visit the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Museum.
Dubbed one of the “Top Ten Gearhead Destinations in the United States” by MSNBC in 2007, this museum pays homage to the cars in the Cord, Auburn and Duesenberg lines. The museum has on display more than 120 cars ranging in production date from 1894 to 1999. Housed in the old Auburn Automobile Company national headquarters, the museum has had its doors open since 1974.
While many people are aware of the history of American auto giants out of Detroit, the story of these three lines is lesser known. Auburn was known for its affordable cars. Cord was famed for its innovations. Duesenberg provided the wheels many Hollywood stars tooled around in. Read more
Renting A Classic Car
If you have always wanted to own a classic car, but have not been able to realize the dream as of yet hope is still alive. Why not give the antique automobile of your fantasies a spin on your next vacation? Believe it or not, you can rent a classic instead of standard late model vehicles for trips pertaining to business or pleasure.
Classic car rental companies and web sites dedicated to matching owners of classics with those interested in leasing them for a few days are thriving. From America to Europe and beyond, these businesses are providing people with a chance to make their dreams come true at least for a little while. Read more
Tips For Cleaning Antique Car Interiors
Owning an antique car and lovingly restoring it to its former glory is a dream of many. Keeping that car clean on the inside, however, is task that takes a very gentle touch. The materials used to construct the interior of an older car and the very passing of time combine to make for rather delicate surfaces.
If you want to keep your antique vehicle looking and smelling great, there are a number of tricks of the trade. The first rule is to always use the gentlest approach first. Gentle cleansers without abrasives, for example, are best to start with. Read more
Drive Into The Past Courtesy Of American Vintage Car Museums
The American love affair for the automobile began shortly after Henry Ford rolled out his legendary Model T in 1908. The passion has never died. While this is evident in the number of new makes and models produced each year, the proof is also found in the many classic and vintage car museums found throughout the United States.
Just about every region of the country has its own classic car museum where old models are put on display likes works of art for people to marvel at. The following is just a sampling of the places automobile lovers may want to consider visiting to see legendary machines of the past: Read more
Classic Profile: The Bugatti
Ask a serious car buff what make of vehicle epitomizes the perfect marriage of engineering and artistry and the Bugatti name will no doubt rise to the top. The sleek models created in the early 1900s, in fact, took automotive design to a whole new level, blending beauty and extreme speed in a highly successful and exclusive racing line.
The story of the original Bugatti line is one deeply entwined with world events. The company itself was founded by Ettore Bugatti in 1909. Ettore, the son of renowned artist Carlo Bugatti, was born in Milan in 1881. He began what would become a journey to create one of the most successful race car lines ever by first studying at the Brera Art Academy. By the age of 17, however, the young Bugatti decided that engineering was more to his liking and he joined a firm as an apprentice. Though he broke with family tradition, Ettore did not leave his love of fine designs behind. Read more
Classic Car Rental Services in Las Vegas-Dixie
Classic Car Rental Services in Las Vegas-Dixie
Ah! Las Vegas! The mere pronouncing of these two words conjures up visions of surrealistic happiness that can never fade away. This is the place where dreams escape the confinement of your cerebral hemisphere and turn to reality. This is a place that typically exemplifies glamour, glitz and several degrees of luxury. Surely visiting a place like this is something that everybody dreams of and while in Vegas you need to hire out a classic car that you have been waiting to take a ride in.
The Dixie is definitely a fine choice for a car to be rented while in Vegas. This is one of the most amazing cars that you can hire out while in Las Vegas and is called the “Real Deal”. This particular vehicle makes its mark as a perfect return of the Muscle Car right in the arena of Extreme MotorSports in the unmistaken Las Vegas style. The Dixie started out as a Top of the Line 2008 Charger SRT-8 and is loaded with several fantastic options that are all available directly from the factory. Read more
Mustang Industry: Cash for Clunkers, How will it effect your business?
There is a lot of talk about the new cash for clunkers legislation that aims to take older vehicles off the road. Many aftermarket parts suppliers, independent repair, and body shops have been wondering how this will effect their business. In our industry the Mustang & Classic Ford restoration/performance market, reports suggest that there should be little change and there is even potential for growth. A report by BB&T suggests that most people that will be taking advantage of the program will be lower income drivers, market research shows that this demographic does not spend a significant amount on none-essential automotive products. Since most Mustangs from 1979-2004 still demand a higher resale value on the open market, most drivers will opt to sell vehicles in place of trading them in. Another factor on the number of vehicles that would be scrapped include buyers qualifying for new car financing, with credit already hard to obtain, low income drivers will have a hard time finding an approval for a new car loan. Even if a consumer went from 18 mpg to 30 mpg the savings in fuel would be less than $50 a month. Many people driving 15-20 year old cars are not going purchase $30,000 hybrids, using only the rebate as a down payment a $28,900 Ford Escape Hybrid for five years will cost nearly $575 a month at 7% interest. Here in California most of the Cash Ford Clunkers rebate will be eaten up by newly passed sales tax hikes and higher registration fees that in some parts of the state can add almost 13% to the purchase price of a new car.
If you are still concerned that Cash Ford Clunkers programs could effect your business, there are several ways you can diversify your product offering to appeal to a broader market. Read more
Lost and Found: How to find your "Barn Find"
1958 Berkley Roadster Found in the Southern Claifornia Mountains for $600
Everyone in the car hobby is always looking for that rare”barn find” but if you know how to look they are far more common then you may think. Over the years I have found dozens of ultra rare cars, from a forgotten Boss 302, to classic Austin Healey’s with racing history and everything in between. There are always stories about car hunters, even some T.V. shows have popped up that make it seem like finding an old car is a magical gift. To make the show or story interesting there is always a cloud of mystery to how they find these diamonds in the rough, and they pretend that these cars are so few and far between that it has to be a full time job. Read more
