Italian Superstars V8 touring car series

This Eye-talian series beats NASCAR, DTM, even Australian V8 Supercars.  Besides BMW M3s, M5s, and Mercs, and Audis, it's got:

• Maserati Quattrportes, 

• Chevrolet Lumina CR8s (=Pontiac G8/Holden Commodore/Vauxhall VXR8), 

• Chrysler 300Cs, 

• Cadillac CTS-Vs,
• Jaguar XFs, 

• and even a Porsche Panamera S!

Play this for the most exciting 8 minutes of your Sunday:

Here is the official roster.

Carspotting (45): 1970s Cadillac Coupe de Ville

I was walking around Oakland Auto Row, waiting for my car to be serviced, when I came across this Coupe de Ville across the street.

I carefully crossed the street, carefully avoiding an over-testosteroned jackass in a cherry red souped up 1967 Camaro with loud exhausts and 20" rims.

Vinyl goodness.

The man in the shop owns the car.  And it's for sale.  $5,000. The interior is in great shape.

1953 Cadillac Ghia versus 1991 Ford Ghia

Cadillac Ghia:

Ford Ghia:

Apparently, in Mexico, the Ford Tempo was called the Ford Topaz and the Mercury Topaz was called the Ford Ghia.  This is an outrage!

Carspotting (44): 1960s Cadillac Sedan de Ville

I don't know how the owner was able to parallel park this beast.

The 85 mph speedometer

Our family's early 80s Oldsmobile Cutlass had a speedometer similar to this Cadillac speedo.

It really didn't make a difference on the Olds, but other, much faster cars had them too.  Like the Mazda RX7.

And this Mercedes 450SL.

So what gives?  Well, in 1979, the U.S. federal government required cars sold here to have 85 mile per hour* speedos and something to alert the driver about the 55 mph national speed limit.  This was during a time when fuel economy and hyper-safety were of paramount concern (to regulators).  Now, I'm personally a big fan and admirer of Joan Claybrook, the then head of NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration), but I think it's clear that this was a bad idea.  Soon, the rule was retracted.  And we're left with these relics.

*85 miles per hour is about 137 kilometers per hour.

Spyker D8 Peking-to-Paris crossover SUV

I'm not a big fan of SUVs but this is boss.  The original prototype envisioned a Volkswagen W12 (hence the original D12 moniker).  Now, it's more likely to have the 6.2 liter V8 from the Cadillac CTS-V.  But with the acquisition of Saab by Spyker, the D8 project is on hold.

2010 Marin Sonoma Concours photos

The second annual Marin Sonoma Concours was well attended (almost a bit too crowded) and had something for everyone.  My only disappointment was that there was only one French car, a Citroen 2CV Charleston.

Bentley Continental R.

Mercedes 450 SLC 5.0.  1 of 1,636.  It came with an aluminum engine, doors, trunk lid, and hood.

Audi ur-Quattro (for sale for $16,000) with Chrysler 300C and Lincoln in the background.  Every 35 to 42 year old male there was gawking at the Audi.

VW Wolfsburg 1.

VW Wolfsburg 2.

VW Wolfsburg 3.

Aston Martin Rapide.  This is the first one I've seen in the flesh.  It just looks like a stretched Aston Martin coupe.  The doors swing out and up at an angle.  Kinda odd.  Still very cool looking though.

Mercedes SLS AMG interior.  This is also the first time I've seen a real life SLS.  It is huge.  Talk about model bloat (vis-a-vis the original Gullwing).

I'm not a huge fan of pre-war American cars, but these hood ornaments are pieces of art by themselves.  This is a Pierce-Arrow.

Packard swan.

Cadillac.

Lincoln.

Another first for me-- a Bizzarrini.  

Corvette engine in the Bizzarrini.

Morgan Super Sports JAP.

Bugatti Type 39A.

Obligatory Bugatti shot.