Robert Hall

Bummer...no Mini Mini.

That's probably HAARP.

Ahhh..winter driving...whenever possible, I worked from home when the weather was bad in Colorado. Been out of snowy climes for 4 winters now, going to take some adjustment to get used to it again.. I bet all those cars had weak 'all-season' tires, which are useless. Snow tires all the way around is the way to go..

Sonic Boom...I like that... they had some sort of tricked out Sonic at B-J, was matte black w/ neon green graphics and mountain bike on the roof..

Saw a white Prius V tonite...first one I've seen. Hellacool, as they say.

Kind of Dodge's equivalent of the Suburban I suppose...looks much older than '63, looks more like a 1958 design... Edit: turns out they made this style from '54 to '66..basically didn't change the styling after '58 when they went to quad headlights.. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodge_Town_Panel_and_Town_Wagon

From the article, it sounds like the NG is due in 2014-2015..I would assume an MCE would last at least 2 model years or more, so an MCE in 2013, then new models in MY 2015 or 2016...and what about the Traverse?

Ghost in the machine.

One thing I've wondered about the Volt--is it quiet also? I.e. isolated from road noise, wind noise, etc (non-drivetrain noise). I've ridden in Priuses, and they aren't all that quiet..

Sounds like fun..I've got to make it to Hersey or one of the Carlisle events one of these summers..

IIRC, I read that the Prius is no longer elegible for the carpool decals because of sales volume....maybe the Volt can become the new hotness for commuter cars in Cali..

beast

Maybe for this year's SEMA show someone will build a Spark ZL1 with the Camaro ZL1 engine where the back seat would be...

Many Chrysler products had both dual and quad headlight versions in '57..depended on the state they were sold in...(some states allowed quad lights, some didn't, I've read)..they look strange w/o the quad lights, IMO. The Ambulance was interesting...never seen one of that era upclose, the roof and rear pillars looked like it was textured..not a vinyl top, but like their was grained paint over the surface (or the surface was grained).

assistance

Saw the '13 Malibu Eco in person yesterday..first '13 Malibu I've seen. The side profile and front are clean...like the design overall, though I think the taillights are a bit overwrought--they bulge out too much on the sides (esp. noticable on a white car like a saw). Sat in the front, roomy and comfortable, the controls seem well placed and solid. One area of concern, considering this is a family sedan, is the rear seat area seems cramped....with a rear door open, the actual rear door opening seems very small...I can imagine that putting in/taking out a child seat to be awkward or larger adults finding the opening too small...guess that's where the wheelbase shortening went..

Impressive...fairly low...fairly long...was parked next to the '57 DeSoto... some interesting trim detailing.

There were also a pair of '56 DeSotos...a white & gold Adventurer ht and a lavender/mauve Fireflite convertible... and a black / gold '56 convertible and red '55 ht, though I don't remember seeing the last two...

Speaking of the Tucker, I saw another one last year at the Gooding & Company auction..it was blue also, in rough unrestored shape...it was a barn find, long thought lost..

Alas, my photos were all indoors..didn't turn out that great..my phone battery was near-dead. Here's a couple... unrestored '65 Shelby GT350 '60 Pontiac Bonneville convertible '48 Tucker Mercedes-Benz 300SL '57 DeSoto Adventurer convertible '47 Bentley w/ special bodywork '54 DeSoto Adventurer II w/ Ghia body '12 Camaro ZL1

This was one of the 3 '62 Starfires there...beautiful car.. This is the '39 Buick IPC.. The '67 Grand Prix convertible...this was the first time I'd seen one in person..

This was the '28 Buick speedster... The '57 Desoto was one of my favorites..

I think that was the silver ZL1 w/ the column shift..saw it today...there was an orange one also. The '65 Shelby may have been the unrestored one..saw a white one w/ faded blue stripes..

Saw both the ZL1 and '13 GT500 up close today..both incredible machines...

I spent a few hours at Barrett-Jackson today...great cool, cloudy weather. About 1300 cars this year...nice selection. In the main exhibit hall, Ford and Chevy had some large new car displays...incl. lots of 2012 and 2013 Mustangs...the '13 Shelby GT500 and Boss 302 were particularly of interest, along w/ the '12 versions.... interesting styling changes on the '13 Mustangs. Amongst the new Chevys, I got to see the Spark, Sonic, '13 Malibu, and Camaro ZL1 in person for the first time... sat in the new Malibu..pretty nice inside, but the rear seat area and rear door openings seem very tight... As far as the vintage cars being auctioned, beyond the usual dozens of Camaros, Novas, A-bodies, and Corvettes there were plenty of '50s-60s big GMs....in particular, a white '57 Eldorado Brougham, several early '60s Cadillac convertibles, several '59-66 Bonnevilles and Catalinas, a red '67 Grand Prix convertible, a white '62 Starfire ht, dark red '62 Starfire conv. Several '61-62 Bel Airs and Impalas. There was a nice group of '75-78 Eldorados also, incl. a low mileage triple brown '78 Biarittz. There was a very clean lt blue w/ white top '76 2dr Electra Limited. Lots of nice vintage Fords, Mopies, along w/ more '30s-40s Packards and other classic cars this year compared to the last time I went ('08). There was a Tucker, a '54 Desoto Adventurer II Ghia-bodied car, a silver Merc 300SL gullwing.. amongst the really old, there was in interesting 1928 Buick sports roadster (though it looked like it was more from 1918 than 1928). The '39 Buick 4dr convertible Indy Pace Car was gorgeous also. My feet and back are tired from walking... I took a few pics before my phone died..forgot to charge it last night. Lots of pics on the Barrett-Jackson site, though---http://www.barrett-jackson.com/events/scottsdale/