The Grand Ascent Hillclimb 2012

06/16/2012

On Tuesday 12/11, you'll get to see a classic episode of Chasing Classic Cars where Wayne Carini goes through his plan to market and then sell th Porsche Special Hill Climb Car. He takes it to the Hershey Hill Climb race to put it through its paces and has a darn good time doing it. But that doesn't stop him from taking it to auction.

THough the Hill Climb took place back in June, we were lucky enough to have Kenneth Visser - automobile fan, blogger and photographer extraordinaire on site and reporting back on the action. Take a walk down memory lane below, and don't forget to tune in to Chasing Classic Cars starting on Tuesday 12/11 starting at 9p.

Another fine tradition has been reignited with the second running of the The Grand Ascent Hillclimb held on the grounds of the Hershey Hotel.  This is a VSCCA sanctioned hill climb exhibition and features a wide variety historic racing cars thundering up a five turn three quarters of a mile long course.  A unique opportunity to see, hear and smell vintage race cars slamming gears.  This event was reignited with the start of the Elegance At Hershey.  We'll talk more about the Concours later.  Let's take a look at some of the neat machinery that was attacking the hill.

Wayne Carini was selected as the Honary Grand Marshall of the Grand Ascent.  He brought his smile and his driving skills to the hill.

Wayne Carini of Chasing Classic Cars took the Bill Rutan VW* special with a 356 four cam motor up the hill.  Wayne spoke about the rides up later "I had a blast"  And his sub 57 second times were reflective of his blistering pace. 

 

Dutch Mandel: The Man Behind Autoweek's Vinsetta Garage

03/27/2012

When Dutch Mandel isn’t traveling the globe looking at the world’s rarest cars, he’s busy consuming mystery novels “like popcorn,” fraternizing with Disney Pixar execs and driving his self-described “baby” -- a 1966 Jaguar XKE Roadster.

Mandel is the current editorial director of Autoweek magazine, where he started out as a gopher at age 14 and transcribing stories.  Mandel admits he didn’t have much of a choice when it came to his career in automotive journalism, having grown up watching with his father, Leon Mandel, the former Editor-in-Chief of Autoweek.

“He had an extraordinarily distinguished career as an automotive journalist and I was fascinated by the people that he was bringing home and the places that he would go,” Mandel said.

His career has crossed paths with many renowned figures in the car world, like Grand Prix racer Juan Manuel Fangio, Peter Revson and Carroll Shelby.  Mandel even met his wife through Danny Sullivan at a race in Ohio.  And, he took driving classes with Bob Bondurant’s son Bobby, both of whom remain close friends of Mandel’s to this day.

Mandel is quick to admit how lucky he is and is not shy about sharing his experiences with his many followers on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

This high-energy car enthusiast even caught the attention of Disney Pixar’s CEO, John Lasseter, at the Frankfurt Auto Show.  Lasseter, impressed with Mandel’s automotive knowledge, recruited him to be the automotive consultant for Cars 1 & 2.

Mandel praised the Pixar team’s creativity and said he was “very proud to be a part of something that will have a positive effect on the future for car enthusiasts.”

And what is his most prized accomplishment?  According to Mandel: his family.  This carhead got advice from a VW exec early on about maintaining the proper work-life balance.  And with three boys and a wife at home, Mandel said it was a priority to be around for any sort of school or athletic event.

“SEMA is occasionally, unfortunately, right around Halloween.  That [sometimes] required me to come home from Vegas to go trick-or-treating and then I would fly back,” Mandel laughed over the phone nostalgically.

But it’s no surprise that Mandel feels he “has the best job in the world.”  Prior to his work as an automotive journalist, Mandel wrote for a backpacking magazine and later a scuba diving magazine, but said he was less enamored with the content.

 “I’ve been having all the benefits of a mid-life crisis.  I’ve been around cars and I’ve been around amazing people for my entire life,” says Mandel of his beloved career.

Amazing people?  Yes.  Amazing cars?  Absolutely.  In Mandel’s garage alone, he has a 2011 Mazda 6, a 2007 Cion xB, a 2009 Chevy Malibu, a 2002 Jeep Wrangler, and of course, a 1966 Jaguar XKE Roadster.

Tune in tonight for the season finale of Autoweek's Vinsetta Garage @ 8:30 PM EST/PST!

 

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Dutch Mandel

Don’t Say We Never Take You Anywhere…

03/13/2012

by Eileen Marable

On tonight’s Vinsetta Garage it’s all about hitting the road. Usually we are telling you about the vehicles on the road, but tonight Courtney and Autoweek editor Natalie Neff show you some cool things you’ll find while ON the road.

The Tail of the Dragon 

Did you know the states of North Carolina and Tennessee are home to a world famous driving destination? It’s a two-lane stretch of highway U.S. 129 so legendary that some people make a yearly event of touring it – The Dragon.

Along an 11-mile stretch of the Dragon in Tennessee, the road runs along the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. That means no development and no crazy crossroads or driveways that interrupt the road. That’s a good thing because during this stretch there are something along the lines of 318 curves - just like a dragon's tail. If the local names for these roads are any indication – like Copperhead Corner or Brake and Bust Bend – it makes some great motoring.

The sites are gorgeous as well – overlooking the scenic Smoky Mountains. There are also some popular places to stop like the town of Deal (pop. 6) and the famous Tree of Shame.

Word to the wise though. Despite the wickedly alluring curves that just call out to be cornered – the speed limit was reduced to 30mph in 2005 and is pretty highly patrolled by the law.

The World’s Longest Yard Sale

The 127 Corridor runs 675 miles from Michigan to Alabama. That’s a little more than a Sunday drive, especially when you consider that along the way there are so many yard sales even the organizers don’t know how many participate.

The 127Sale as it’s known is going to celebrate its 25^th anniversary this year. Stretching over four days beginning the first Thursday each August, is part road-cruise, part bargain hunt. Visitors are likely to find everything from mom and pop stalls to professional vendors.

How far you progress along the route depends entirely upon you and your travel companions, though most say they never make it through on their first time out.

So like a yearly trip to “The Tail of the Dragon,” maybe a four-day epic road/shopping trip is in the cards for you.

We’ve showed you some famous road trips… now it’s your turn.  What are your memorable trips?

Vinsetta Garage airs Tuesdays at 8:30p E/P.

 

Undercover Jobs in the Auto Industry

02/14/2012

by Eileen Marable

The automotive industry is big business. When a new car model is released its success can make or break an entire season for the carmaker.  It stands to reason then the teams working on these cars want to keep the details about their new models pretty close to the vest so competitors and consumers don’t get information before the cars are ready.

There are several critical periods for a car where information – and actual parts – can go missing.  It’s a given that security at the automaker and their plant is tight; no one wants leaked plans or parts to leave the factory.  The lid is placed pretty tight on plans and prototype models.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But there are times during the development process where the car leaves the factory and the car could go under the microscope.  These are the auto trials, where engineering teams test the cars in the harshest of real world conditions.  Whether it is in the California deserts where temps soar over 100 or in a snowy northern terrain, the cars are put through their paces on the road.

Enter the automotive spy photographer.  The title sounds a bit harsh doesn’t it?  Their job it to get the coveted first look at the car and break the story with automotive magazines, blogs or industry publications, all of whom crave giving their readers the scoop.

Velocity's Weekly News Round Up: Week of January 31st

02/10/2012

by Eileen Marable

Hi Velocity Fans! We made it through an exciting Mecum Auction in Kissimmee AND the Super Bowl. That's a lot of action in one week. With that in mind we've pulled together just a few light news items and would love to have you weigh in with your thoughts - like what's going to be the new classic?  You tell us!

Most Viral Super Bowl Ads?

We know pretty much everyone had the Super Bowl car commercials on their mind last week.  Which one would make the biggest splash?

According to the website Superbowladsforgeeks.com, the top five most viral commercials were all car commercials. Go figure! Here’s the list:

Transactions Extended Version, with Jerry Seinfeld – Acura NSX

Official 2012 Honda CR-V Game Day Commercial – Matthew’s Day Off

Audi 2012 Game day Commercial – Vampire Party

The Dog Strikes Back: 2012 Volkswagen Game Day Commercial

Chevy Happy Grad| Chevy Super Bowl XLVI Ads| Chevrolet Commercial

What do you think? Were these ads worthy in the scheme of all the ads out there? 

The Hagerty Hot List

According to our friends over at Autoweek, Hagerty’s released their latest Hagerty Hot List last week. What is that? It’s the classic car insurer’s list of the cars they expect to become future classics. These are cars that are under a $100K price tag but are expected to appreciate in value. What made the list? There were 10 cars total, ranging from a $22K Fiat 500 Abarth to the Nissan GT-R Black Edition tipping in at over $95K

2012 Fiat Abarth. Photo by Manufacturer, via Autoweek.com

The guys at Autoweek had a few others they wanted to add to the list – one that stuck out for me was the BMW 1-series M coupe coming in at $47K.

What cars are your picks for classics of the future? C’mon, we know you have opinions so don’t be shy.

And speaking of Autoweek, don’t forget to tune in to next week’s Autoweek’s Vinsetta Garage, Tuesday at 8:30.  Courtney finds that the quickest way to a car guy's heart is through his stomach. This episode is all about what fuels us--food, glorious food! Watch as Courtney and her guest, racing's Scott Pruett, enjoy the food and enjoy the ride.

  

Range Rover Gets Snow Tested

The Range Rover 2013 gets back to its roots with tough terrain in snow testing, although as the gang over at Automotive.com note this luxury SUV is probably more likely to see runs to the grocery store. Here’s hoping at least some of these SUV’s get to see some hard action like it’s ancestors traditionally have – and when it releases in Europe it is likely to with all that snow and ice!

The Phantom Corsair – One Classic Car!

I had to share a photo of the Phatom Corsair, which totally blew me away when I stumbled upon it.  According to Wikipedia, “The Phantom Corsair is a  six-passenger coupé prototype automobile built in 1938. Designer Rust Heinz planned to put the car into limited production. However, Heinz’s death in a car accident in July 1939 ended those plans, leaving the prototype Corsair as the only one ever built.” I love this car and can’t imagine the unspeakable joy it must bring the owner.

Photo courtesy of: The Retronaut

So Velocity fans - do you want to hear more about the Phantom Corsair and other cars that never made it past a prototype?  What would YOU like to talk about? Just let us know!