Good Friday: What would the Easter Bunny drive?

Timely blog or what? Is there an Easter that goes by without someone asking you what would the Easter Bunny drive? Being in the car business, I actually I get asked this quite a bit (inquiring minds want to know?). Is the rabbit going to go for style or practicality, after all he (she?) has quite a job to do hauling around all those chocolate eggs.

Let's look at a few of the realistic options for our beloved bunny.........

I say the little guy has a nostalgic bent and what else says Easter than an old Cadillac de Ville, pink of course? Loads of room in the trunk for all sizes of those colourful eggs. Or maybe something a little more flamboyant like this '58 Eldorado...........

Or the penultimate fin machine,a '59.........

Rolling thru the neighbourhood in one of these behemoths would certainly make an impression. Who could ever forget a rabbit driven old pink Caddy? This would sure make an impression on me if I were a little fella waiting for my chocolate treats. Actually it would make an even greater impression on me now. The questions........how does he reach the pedals? How did he get his licence? They go on and on........

One does have to be careful though, not to get chocolate stains on those beautiful pink and white leathers......

So maybe one of those vintage rides is not the best choice. And let's say our little rabbit is much more contemporary and even more practical. He (or she) sees the real benefit of a modern suv. Again, there is only one choice and again it must be pink.......

Yep, this Escalade would be the Easter Bunny's best choice (and it must be the long version)  -  style, room and very up to date. My Bunny's ride would be the hit of the Easter season.

What would your Easter Rabbit drive? Happy Easter!

Until next time.......

March 26: Palaces on wheels

Who wouldn't want to live in a home like this? Imagine having your friends over for a tasty beverage in this environment? Or how about something a little more contemporary.......

A spectacular room, just dripping in decor chosen especially by you. Those friends are going to be suitably impressed. What's that you say, your buddies are too busy to come by? Hey, no problem, look at this.......

........just drive your new home over to your friends' places. Yes sir, those glamorous interior pics are taken from the inside of a Marathon or a Prevost custom coach (or to be crass, an RV).

Tired of sitting around your home in the same old location, then order one of these gems and tour the countryside in your specifically designed palace on wheels. Made for those folks who want to leave home, but not actually leave their home (if you get my drift). These beauts can be had for as much or more than you'd pay for a stationary house. How much, you ask? The best ones pass the $2m mark  -  yes, I said $2,000,000+. But then again, if you had one of these palaces, your own home would probably be worth considerably more.

Camping with a linen table cloth  -  way to go folks.

So who buys these road going mansions? Very wealthy retirees who long for the open road, while not wanting to miss a single comfort of home. Also, race car drivers, who are always away on weekends. They have a "chauffeur" who brings their home on wheels to the track, so that when the driver jets in, he and his family can feel at home (assuming their home is by a race track).

Now I'm sure that you can see there is a problem here. You are touring around and want to stay for a few days in one place. Surely, you don't want to tool around in that monstrous coach. Solution(s)........

You just gotta love it........a huge coach pulling something a touch smaller for those jaunts around town  -  a Chevy Tahoe. Remember the days when you would see them towing a smaller car? Not good enough for you and the missus? Then how about this solution......

Did we leave anything behind? Parachutes, maybe?

So if looks like the best thing ever, pick up the phone or get on the internet and call Marathon or Prevost. Tell them you have $ to burn, baby and get designing. And don't forget to come by my home when it's finished. Thank you.

Until next time.......

March 22: 2014 Jaguar XKE???

The iconic 1961 Jaguar XKE - coupe or cabrio - even today is universally recognized as one of the most beautiful car designs ever. I believe one was (or is) in the New York Museum of Modern Art (and not just for storage). Sex on wheels at a time when cars were just getting over their "way over done" period.

Jag has tried many times over the years to replicate this beauty and have put out some gorgeous cars, but they never quite managed to capture "the look". Even those '60's bumpers couldn't take away from that lovely body. How come James Bond didn't drive one?

Over 50 years later, someone has designed a modern homage to the XKE, but it's not Jaguar. An English company is going to build the Lyonheart. Neat play on words, since Sir William Lyon started the Jag brand and lionheart describes an old British king. How well did they do............

Not bad, right down to those beautiful headlight covers. They were used for a time on the original car, until the US authorities banned them, probably because they didn't look like a traditional Chevy headlight (thank goodness).

Notice those wire wheels? When was the last time you saw them on any hot new sportscar? I sure can't remember any, but they certainly give the Lyonheart a certain retro feel. But they look so appropriate, I wonder if any other companies will attempt to bring them back?

Some details.........a production run of 250, between December 2013 and December 2015 for a mere 360-375k pounds (you do the conversion). None expected on this side of the Atlantic  -  1/2 in Europe, the rest in the Middle East and China (of course). Power? A Cosworth built 5.0L V8 putting out 575 HP and 700 ft-lbs of torque (now that is a number!). And of course, who isn't concerned about economizing on gas - Ferrari Hybrid anyone? So check out these stats.......18.4l/100 city and 8.2l/100 highway. For you oldsters, that's 15 and 35 mpg respectively. Does that mean that as long as you stay at top speed, you'll get pretty good mileage? Oh, don't be silly!

Hell of a tribute. Wonder when they'll do one that you and I can afford?

Until next time.........

March 19: Big bucks for small cars

1958 F.M.R. Tg 500 Tiger

How "big" is small? Compared to a smart car or a Scion IQ, these small cars are really small, actually tiny would be a better description. So what is a tiny old car worth these days? Well over a $1/4 mil? Yeah, sure, not likely. Well, you would be surprised.

Recently, Ontario's very own, world renown, collector car auction house (and top notch restorer) RM sold off Bruce Weiner's micro car collection in Georgia. Sounded like a good opportunity to pick up an unusual old car for cheap. Stand out at the local cruise nights with your one of a kind ride. Think again, as these tiny cars went for crazy high coin. The Tiger above sold for $322,000! A record? I'd be willing to bet on it.

Not unusual enough for you?

Then how about this 1951 Reyonnah, which sold for $184,000. Of course, that's very expensive, but you'd definitely stand out and this Reyonnah has a rather unusual feature.

How often do you wish you could take your car inside for the night or even bring it into the family room to show some friends? Happens to me all the time. No problem with this neat feature.........

The body raises and the front wheels tuck into underneath allowing your now skinny little Reyonnah to join any gathering instead of being left out in the cold.

Wish all new cars had this feature?

These two went for real money, but you've got a little less to spend, then how about this neat and very cute, little '60 Biscuter 200-C woody wagon. A bargain at $19,550.

Load up the (small) family and head to the beach. One tiny sandwich for each person, a very small beach ball and let the fun begin. Unfortunately you had to leave the king-sized Coke at home. Speaking of Coke.......

1959 Goggomobil TL-400 Transporter pick-up

Of course, its name cannot be spelled out in chrome on the side of this little trucklet due to lack of space. Oh, by the way, it went for an eye popping $138,000.

But hey, you are not a family man or maybe are newly single again or are having a mid-life crisis, then here is your ride........

Yes sir, this is the 1955 Inter 175A Berline. An cool ride that would fit right in as you cruised the club district looking for your new love (and obviously no threesomes). This went for $161 k, so if you are sitting on your wallet, you may not fit into your Berline.

Too sporty for a practical person like you? Then I present the '64 Peel P50.......the smallest car ever made and it sold for a mere $120,750.

I try to be upbeat in my blog, but I'm sure you are now thoroughly depressed, when you realize that more than likely you couldn't have been a player at the RM auction. But who the heck would have thought that these super small, tiny, micro cars would have hit such astronomical numbers? The reason? Good question, but where else could you pick up a rather rare and very good condition pint sized car? Seems that everyone who thought like that ended up at this auction and so throw in a few bidding wars and this is what you get.......millimetres of fun for huge bucks!

Until next time........

March 15: A boy and a Ford

What's up with this? A plain Jane 1957 Ford Custom sedan? Looks like the start of a blog that only one person would want to read and that's the blogger. But wait, give me a minute, it's story time.........

I grew up in Saint John, New Brunswick, a blue collar, lunch bucket town. As a kid, I was always interested in cars, but SJ was a bit of a barren wasteland for fancy wheels, all we ever seemed to see were plain old workaday sedans. I remember an extra special introductory showing of the new '57 Chev and it was their least expensive model. Another time, a Corvette driving Texan was in town for a few days, so the local dealer talked him into putting his 'Vette in the showroom and they advertised it in the local paper.

Anyway, back to the Ford above. I was visiting my uncle Dyson, who always had company cars. Knowing my interest in cars, even at my ridiculously young age, he took me to his garage and there was a sparkling  new 1957 Ford Custom similar to the car above, but in a boring light green. Boy did this make an impression on me, as it was probably the very first new '57 in town and the first that I had seen (and I went to all the new car showings). So when recently this car was introduced as a plastic model kit (why I don't know), the CMC and I just had to build Uncle Dyson's Ford.......

Accurate down to the boring old light green paint

Even has New Brunswick licence plates

Go figure, that the first car to make an impression on little Barry's very impressionable young mind would be a plain Jane Ford sedan. Maybe that's why my personal cars ever since have been much fancier models? Am I striving to compensate for a lack of great cars in my youth or is there something else at work here?

Not surprisingly, the Car Modeling Cat was not too impressed and longed to get back to building more interesting (to her) models. What does a cat know anyway?

Until next time.......

March 12: Over the top - Ferrari & Lamborghini

Thank goodness for money and imagination.Your $ and someone else's imagination is usually the case, but too bad it wasn't the other way around. So what "over the top" creation has sprung forth from the fertile minds of those Italian supercar designers? What new and outrageous way to spend your money?

Let's look at Ferrari's Enzo successor first..........

The Ferrari LaFerrari - introduced last week at Geneva. I kid you not, that is the rather bizarre name for this beauty. Sounds like something from the dark days of Chrysler's name challenged past. Ok, there is another designation, the Ferrari f150. A homage to a Ford truck? Who knows, but I believe Ford sent Ferrari a letter over this name. Ok, so enough about names, give us the good stuff.........

......ever environmentally friendly, Ferrari has made this a hybrid (Prius watch your back). How about a 163 hp electric motor backed up by (wait for it).........an 800 hp V12? Now that's my idea of a hybrid. You've just spent close to $1m large for your LaFerrari, now you can save some real money. Drive by every other gas station thumbing your nose at those gas prices for premium. Who says you can't be environmentally friendly as you blow by us plebs with a 0-60 time under 3 seconds?

A little too conservatively styled for you? Want to make more of a statement, much, much more of a statement? Considering a lightly used Countach........

.......but even this outrageously styled beast is still too conservative for your liking? What to do, what to do? Well, aren't you fortunate (maybe not, but more about that in a minute), that also at Geneva, Lamborghini unveiled a lovely little concoction.........

.........the Veneno, named after a famous bull which killed a matador in the '40's. Appropriate name.

Great looking? Well, that's debatable. Makes a statement? Yep, it wins that category hands down. Also reaching 0-60 in under 3 seconds, but with only 750 hp (weakling?).

Just finding out about it? Too bad, since it's already sold out. How so? Well, the production run was three. Yes, sir, you read that right, three. And you could order it in one of the three colours of the Italian flag (so why did they show it in grey?). Price? About $4.5 million USD. I often wonder why they couldn't gear up for a few hundred thousand and get the price down to Honda Civic territory? Wouldn't that be good for mankind?

Where do you think those three Veneno's ended up? Don't know, but my guess would in an oil producing country, if you get my drift.

So you have the $ and someone has the imagination and you still might not be able to get your dream ride. Bummer!

Until next time.........

March 8: Rock n' Rolls (Royce)

Whoa! How can this be? This is the teaser that Rolls-Royce sent out prior to the this week's Geneva Auto Show of the new Wraith's profile. Someone must have slipped up, since Rolls-Royce is known for making a big, elegant bruiser of an automobile, like this 2013 Phantom.......

Would you like a mansion in Sudbury or this Phantom? Same price.

......not for making a finely designed coupe with a fastback roof line. But hey, wonders never cease and Rolls' owners, BMW, are definitely not dummies (although I wonder whenever I see a 5 series GT). So what car actually came out from behind the curtain at the Wraith's unveiling? Behold, mere mortals........

The Wraith coupe

No matter which way one looks at this car, it is gorgeous. Yeah, I know that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but if your eyes don't see the beauty here, get them checked. A daring design from a traditionally conservative company. This will be the companion to the cheapie Ghost sedan. Now with Rolls-Royce, "cheapie" is a relative term, since the small (again a relative term) Ghost comes in around $300 large.

A few details, please........competitively priced in the $320-$350k area, but competitive to what exactly? Power? How about a V12 pushing out 624 horsepower and 590 ft-lbs of torque. You'll have to ease up on that throttle quite a bit, it you want your friends to see you motor by.

I don't remember Rolls having as striking a design as this, since the coach builder era of the '20's and '30's (and no, I was not there at the time), when you might see something like this art deco 1935 Phantom........

Now please don't get me wrong, as I'm not saying we should all save up for our very own Wraith. But for those fortunate souls with the necessary coin, your choices just got much better.

Until next time.......

March 5: Japanese oddities

The Toyota Century Royal? Who would have thought that a car like this would come from staid old Toyota? Actually, what am I saying, of course, this is exactly the kind of car that would come from staid old Toyota. The only Japanese V12 ever built. Another variation was this limo........

Yet another was this family(?) sedan.......

As an avid car guy, I like to see what cars are produced around the world, that we never see here and in the case of the Toyota Century, probably would hardly ever see even on their home turf. The internet is a wonderful toy. Just type in a car company and you'll get their home site and one never knows what creations will appear. Try Holden (GM Australia) or Ford Australia. You'll see some very neat cars and in the case of Holden, a couple that have found their way to our shores.

In Japan, Toyota and Nissan have produced very conservative luxo barges in limited numbers for the home market. Up until very recently, they all looked like throw backs to another era. For example the Nissan President..........

Super luxury interior

And if one needs a parade car for those family gatherings, where you just haven't been getting enough respect........

Of course, this is the perfect solution. But most of us are more conservative, so this model would be a touch less ostentatious........

And only available in darkest black. As I mentioned, these old style cars have been the top of the Toyota and Nissan product lines until recently, but times change and now the Toyota Crown Majesta (love the name) looks like this........

Too bad, as those black barges were fun to blog about, but now this Majesta just looks like a Lexus LS variation. Progress? You decide.

Until next time.......

March 1: Chev SS - what's up?

Here it is (finally), the 2014 Chevrolet SS, the new incarnation of the late and lamented Pontiac G8 GT. The Holden super sedan from Australia that made a big impact in North America, but sadly disappeared when GM closed its Pontiac division. There was frequently a rumour that it would come back as a Chev and now it's here, introduced  a couple of weeks ago in Daytona, Florida prior to the big race.

This is one hot ride  -  415 HP, 6.2 liters and about 5 seconds 0-60!

The SS (for Super Sport) name plate has been precious to Chevrolet ever since it was put on this limited production '61 Impala as an option........

Backed up by a 409 cubic inch engine (remember the song?) and built for drag racing, it was an instant hit and a legend was born. In '62 the SS was its own series and could even be had with a 6 cylinder, so there was a little bit of smoke and mirrors involved with the name. But the SS name still garnered respect. So much so, that Chevy included an SS in almost all of their car lines and even put it on a truck at one time.

1965 Impala SS

1968 SS 427

Eventually all good things must pass and the SS name plate was dropped in the early '70's. It reappeared on a Monte Carlo in the '80's and also was put on a pick up truck, the Silverado 454 SS. It finally made it back on a potent full size Impala in 1993.........

Basically a Caprice with the police package consisting of suspension, Corvette motor and bigger wheels/tires. This was a big bruiser, but for its time it was a quick and relatively agile performer. It developed a cult like following and still sells for respectable prices 30 years later.

But now back to the 2014 Chev SS........

What's up? I ask this because there is no plan to sell this car in Canada. Why exactly is that, what is the General thinking (or not thinking)? Sure, it wouldn't be a big seller. It would only come in one model, so how hard would it be for the dealers to stock one more car and one that would draw people into their showrooms? And isn't that the reason they exist? I firmly believe that Chevrolet is making a mistake, but hopefully they'll see the light quickly.

Sold in Canada or not, this new SS is worthy of the name of legend and who'd have thought it would come from the "outback"?

Until next time........