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. 

 

Renaissance Man: Who is Alain de Cadenet?

03/09/2012

Renaissance Man host and International playboy, Alain de Cadenet, was born in 1945 in London. He had a first-class education and many talents, but had difficulty committing to anything. He wanted to become a fashion and concert photographer, but he decided to become a racing driver after his model girlfriend took off with one, and figured that racing drivers got the girls.

Awesome Bubble Cars and the Mini That Took Over

03/01/2012

By Doris Molenaar

Is it just me who always wonders why they don’t remake certain cars anymore? My most recent obsession with cars I think they should remake are the bubble cars of the 50s.

Bubble cars were small economical cars became popular in Europe because of high fuel prices. These microcars had a bubble-like appearance and they are just so cool! (and funny-looking).

Most bubble cars were manufactured in Germany, including by the former German military aircraft manufacturer, Messerschmitt. They made the Messerschmitt Kabinenroller KR 200 you can see in the picture below. 

I mean, look at this. I wondered for a second if I'd be embarrassed to drive this car, but then realized how cool I'd be.