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If the collector car market can be used to gauge the state of the economy – we are happy to report that we may be inching toward a recovery.

The 2012 Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale auction sold:

• a 1964 Ford Fairlane500 for $1,000,000 (for charity),
• a 1954 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing for $2,000,000,
• a 1933 Pierce-ArrowSilver Arrow for $2,000,000,
• a 1954 DeSoto Adventurer II concept for $1,300,000,
• a 1947 Bentley Mark VI Franay for $2,500,000,
• a 1930 Isotta Fraschini Tipo Cabrioletfor $1,000,000,
• a 1928 Daimler P.150 Vee Front Royal Limousine for $1,050,000, and
• a 1948 Tucker Torpedo for $2,650,000.

Plus a 10% buyer’s premium (except for the Fairlane sold for charity).

click for more pictures

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The 60th Anniversary Package and 427 Convertible made its first public debut at the Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auction in Scottsdale on Jan 21. #0001 was auctioned for charity with all proceeds benefiting the Drive to End Hunger food relief program.

“The 2013 model year will be historic for Corvette, marking its 60th Anniversary and the final year for the current C6 generation,” said Chris Perry, vice president of Global Marketing and Strategy for Chevrolet. “We couldn’t think of a more fitting way to celebrate these milestones than bringing back one of the most-coveted combinations in the brand’s history – the Corvette convertible and a 427 cubic-inch engine.”

The Corvette 427 Convertible is a mix of Z06 and ZR1 and is the fastest and most-capable convertible in Corvette’s history.
click for GM Press Release

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Each of these vehicles has the potential of reaching seven figures when they cross the Barrett-Jackson auction block.

Lot Number 5004
1930 Duesenberg J
Placed in auction with a reserve

Lot Number 5005
1947 Bentley Mark VI coachworks by Franay
Placed in auction with a reserve

Lot Number 5008
1948 Tucker Torpedo
Placed in auction with a reserve

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After several years of planning, preparing and testing their rally truck, our friends from Darkcyd Racing finally took on Dakar.

The Dakar Rally is a 15 day off-road rally across some of the harshest terrain on the planet.  The following is an account of their 2^nd day on the rally and a set of unfortunate circumstances that lead to Darkcyd Racing being out of the race, for this year.

“That’s Dakar!” I hear this so many times each day that it seems to be the answer to anything. It’s also the question. Much like in the middle east, the locals use “enshallah” as an expression to address most questions.

But here in South America where 465 teams are taking man (and woman) and machine to their limits every day. Historically more than half of those teams that start the race, ever finish. Why? “That’s Dakar.”

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Another North American International Auto Show has passed. A car has set itself on fire on the show stand. An increasingly irrelevant automaker tried to prove that it is still relevant while other’s lived in the white noise press flutter during Detroit’s big day in January.

The true concept cars of NAIAS this year were at a level of mediocrity reserved for the US Lawn Bowling Championship and the Canadian Football League. It was the production ready cars that really shined.

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As you may recall, back in November 2009, an unfortunate incident rocked the automotive interweb when Andy House accidently drove 1 of only 300 ever made Bugatti Veyrons into Galveston Bay and proved once again – just about everything is now captured on video – not matter what.

Andy has claimed that he was casually driving down the road when a low flying pelican swooped in front of him.  Being the nice guy that he is, he opted to tank his $1 million + dollar Veyron in the saltwater of Galveston Bay rather than run the risk of hurting a bird that would be just as happy eating a tar covered fish as it would be leaving a huge white mess on a car.

photo via: Chris Paschenko

Well as it turns out, after Andy’s insurance company closely reviewed a YouTube video (that has been viewed over 3 million times & posted below) shot by a lucky bystander (who will infamously be known as the guy who did not know the difference between a Bugatti Veyron and a “Lambo”), there appears to be no low flying pelican swooping in front of Andy’s Veyron just before it veered to the right and into the water.  This being the case, Andy’s insurance company, Philadelphia Indemnity, has sued Andy for insurance fraud.

It has been reported that Andy borrowed nearly $1 million dollars from a buddy of his to purchase the Veyron, then insured it for $2 million Bucks – not long after that is when he attempted to recreate a scene from Speed Zone while dodging a low flying pelican.

Despite requests from both sides of this tragic event for the case to be thrown out, Judge John R. Froeschner has said this thing is going to trial.

No trial date has been set, but we will keep you posted.

In Andy’s defense: We visited the scene of the crime one day after it occurred and only a couple hundred yards prior to where the tracks lead into the water, there were posted signs warning of low flying pelicans.  Now, did a low flying pelican really cause the incident – we will leave that up to the judicial system.

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Earlier this year, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) did what they do and crash tested a Chevrolet Volt.  One particular test simulated a 20 mile-per-hour, side-impact collision which resulted in the Volt received an impressive five-star crash safety rating.

At the conclusion of the test, the ERV was shunned to the NHTSA bone yard to rot away with the other victims of the crash test.  But that is not where this story ends – after three weeks of sitting, the Volt caught fire.  It is suspected that the crash test punctured the Volt’s lithium-ion battery which somehow resulted in a fire.

According to a GM spokesman, this is the only crash tested Volt to catch fire and further research is being done to determine if this was a fluke or a design flaw.

See also: The Real Math of Owning A Volt

source: Detroit Free Press

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Escort Live. Finally, a Decent Use of The Cloud.

We are fairly certain that the vast majority of our readers would never consider exceeding posted speed suggestions limits.

That being said, a lot of you may be fairly interested in the latest situational awareness aid by Escort – Escort Live.

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Here in Houston, at Autospotters HQ, we pay ten cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) of electricity used. With the Volt fully charged, we were averaging thirty miles on a full charge. According to the Volt’s own computer, it took approximately 10 kWh’s of electricity to go thirty miles. Ten cents equals one kWh, one dollar equals 10 kWh’s, 10 kWh’s got us thirty miles, so one dollar equals thirty miles.

How does that translate into mpg?
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For two days a year around the end of October, just about every auto manufacturer gets together with about 60 of their brand new trucks, SUV’s, CUV’s (crossover utility vehicle) and nearly twice that number of engineers and product specialists at a remote location in Texas.  During those two days, some of Texas’ elite automotive journalists (and us) are invited to the remote location and asked to use, abuse, test and evaluate each of the vehicles.  At the end of the two days, and after the dust has settled, the journalists cast votes and choose which truck, SUV and CUV will take the coveted title of Truck of Texas, SUV of Texas and CUV of Texas.

Unfortunately, the manufacturer’s engineers and product specialist are not there to hand out suitcases full of cash in exchange for votes, they are simply there to answer any questions and educate the voting journalists about their latest vehicles.  The manufacturers all bite their tongues and put on a happy face while this group of journalists drive their newest hardware too quickly and too aggressively around a couple of different off-road courses, through creeks, up rocky ascents and down sandy descents in an attempt to decide which is best.

This year, the 2012 Ford F-150 was named Truck of Texas, the 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee was named SUV of Texas and the 2012 Ford Edge was named the CUV of Texas.  In addition to Truck, SUV and CUV of Texas, the journalists bestow honors for several other categories, most notably:

• Luxury Truck of Texas: 2012 Ford F-150 Platinum EcoBoost
• Luxury SUV of Texas: 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland Summit
• Full-Size Pickup Truck of Texas: 2012 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor
• Heavy-Duty Pickup Truck of Texas: 2012 Ford F-250 King Ranch Super Duty

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