Belated New York Auto Show Wrap-up

Better late than never.  Here is my recap of the New York Auto Show. Why is this review so late? Because nothing newsworthy took place this year in New York!

The event coincided with the 50th birthday of the Mustang (which I already covered) but the debut of the 50th anniversary edition of the new Mustang was somewhat underwhelming. The limited edition Mustang will be available in two colors, white or blue, and has chrome accents, louvered-style rear side glass, and other retro-themed touches......not exactly earth shattering.

Chevrolet debuted the convertible version of the new Corvette Z06. Very nice....but nothing we couldn't have created in Photoshop with a high degree of accuracy. This also held true for the debut of the drop top variant of the BMW M4.

Chrysler showed of a slightly evolved Challenger and a redesigned Charger.  While the notion of a re-skinned Charger seemed exciting when you realized that aesthetically its just a really big Dart the buzz quickly faded. The Charger's new look instantly triggered a hot debate pertaining to the product's direction.

For something that was exciting to see. Alfa Romeo showed off the beatuful 4C as the brand's reintroduction to America. However, the return of Alfa to the US is becoming an exercise in 'I'll believe it when I see it.'  Alfa failed to do it last year (as originally planned/announced)  and the 4C returns in the midst of rumors of Alfa reneging on its Mazda Miata partnership, announcing an all rear-drive strategy, and struggling sales in Europe.

Don't get me wrong, the autoshow did feature debuts that were significant to the industry.  Such as new versions of the Camry, Outback, Sonata and Murano.....but who cares.

As a side note, the Beijing Auto Show took place at the same time as the New York event.  The Beijing show seemed to feature the awesomeness (and weirdness) the New York show was missing. For instance, Audi showed off a neat TT Off-Road Concept and BMW wowed with their BMW Vision Future Luxury concept.

While VW showed off the production version of the MK7 Golf R in New York they premiered the Golf R 400 Concept at the Beijing show, and here’s why it’s awesome: Powered by a 2.0-liter, turbocharged EA888 engine tweaked to produce 395 horsepower, it can reach 62 mph in 3.9 seconds and a top speed of 174 mph. Here’s why it’s double awesome: It’s going to be built!

Caffeine and Carburetors

Yesterday was the first Caffeine & Carburetors event of 2014.   Caffeine & Carburetors is a gathering of automotive enthusiasts that meets in New Canaan, Connecticut about six times a year.  The home base for the event is  Zumbach’s Gourmet Coffee. Doug Zumbach began hosting these gatherings in 1995. These Sundays start around 8 am to gather and enjoy a cup of coffee followed by a leisurely drive through the countryside.

This event is definitely gaining popularity. Between the buzz leading up to the event and being blessed with a sunny, crisp Spring day after a long cold winter over 700 cars turned out for a great automotive exhibition.  The town of New Canaan also did a great job to embrace and support the event.

So what makes Caffeine & Carburetors so special (compared to other shows and cruise nights)?  First of all the focus is enjoying the cars (i.e. driving). There are no sponsorships or awards. Furthermore, while C&C does have an an emphasis on foreign sports cars, everything in the automotive world is represented.   So you will come across everything from a Model A or 1920's Rolls Royce to the latest Ferrari or Lamborghini.

The remaining events for 2014 are scheduled for :

• May 4
• June 15
• September 7
• October 5
• November 2

Here are just a few photos I took from the event:

Dyson Porsche IMSA 962 (The first customer Porsche 962, chassis number 962-101)

New England Auto Museum

Today I had the pleasure of attending an informational meeting about the New England Auto Museum.  The New England Auto Museum is a non-profit organization that has been created with the goal of  opening a first class facility that preserves, interprets and exhibits automobiles and automotive artifacts in Southern New England.

During the meeting the directors of the organization outlined their goals and plans.  They emphasized their ambition to go beyond a collection of cars on display.  The organization was very proud of its focus plan to bring students and auto enthusiasts together to celebrate the automobile, and educate guests regarding the significant role of the automobile in New England and in the wider world from a historical, technological, social and cultural aspect.

The  organization has a presence on Facebook so please 'Like' the page to stay informed with what's going on with the progress of the organization. The organization also has a rudimentary website (http://neautomuseum.org) now but will be relaunching with a more comprehensive site within a few weeks.  The current site has information about donating to the 501(c)(3) charity.

In addition to being extremely informative, the the meeting itself was a lot of fun.  The room was full of avid auto enthusiasts and collectors. Bob Sharp (of Bob Sharp Datsun/Nissan and Paul Newman fame) attended and spoke briefly.  The venue for the meeting was Dragone Classic Motorcars  in Westport, Connecticut which was full of fantastic cars and memorabilia.  So I spent my day talking cars with avid collectors while sitting next to a  1907 Fiat Targa Florio racer.....does it get any better than that?

Regardless, I'll most likely featuring more information about the museum's activities and events in the near future. For now, here are some pics I snapped while walking around Dragone's showroom:

Shiny Fast & Loud Photos on Flickr

Shiny Fast & Loud, a set on Flickr.

Here is my new photo set started on Flickr. This set should grow dramatically...especially if it ever stops snowing!