Las Vegas Imperial Palace auto car collection review

The car collection at Imperial Palace is an institution.  I've been going there since I was a wee boy in the 1980s.  Back then, the highlights of my trips to Vegas involved visiting the collection and being given a $10 roll of quarters to use at the video game arcade at the oh-so-pink Circus Circus.

Most of the cars on display are for sale.  If you visit once a year, I guesstimate the turnover of cars is around 20%.  My biggest complaint involves the display.  This place seriously needs freshening up.  The fluorescent bulbs and ugly 1990s high school classroom blue carpeting have got to go.

Without further ado, here are my favorite cars:

1963 Ford Thunderbird Italien concept car

Engine bay of 1987 Buick GNX ($95,000; 5,480 miles)

Lancia 037 bought new in Guatemala

1 of 2 RHD Ferrari Superfast Series II ($1.8 million) (and look at that atrocious lighting!)

1968 Toyota Corona RT-52 Coupe with 2,274 original miles ($25,500).  I love the diversity of the collection.  So long as the car is cool and interesting, it's in!

Yugo!

1980 Peugeot 505 sedan with less than 8,000 km for $39,500

1954 Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith Vignale Saloon ($450,000)

Ford RS200 traffic jam

1956 Lancia C10 Appia panel van ($65,000)

1954 Alfa Romeo 1900SS Ghia coupe ($325,000)

Jaguar XJ220

Ferrari Daytona and Datsun 280ZX

1961 Aston Martin DB4GT Superleggera

1966 Bizzarini P538 Spyder prototype (red) and 1967 Bizzarini P538 Coupe (white)

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.

Lafayette Motorama 2010 pictures

The first annual Motorama is here.  It leans heavily towards domestic cars and there were quite a few pre-war cars, including an iconic beige Cord.  These are my favorites:

What is this?  It was parked in a long line of American iron.

Isabella coupe.  Still does not ring a bell.

Borgward?!  Say that quickly three times.

It's a Borgward Isabella.  A German car.  I had to Google it while standing in front of it.  I have no idea what the yellow tape is for.

Superleggera.  Is it gonna be a Lamborghini 350GT, or an Aston?

It's a DB6.  That's a Ferrari Daytona next to it.

Outrageous Buick jet plane hood ornament.

Nash Metropolitan.  Now I know there are at least two in the neighborhood.

This is easily the most beautiful car at the show.  It's a Jaguar XK120 FHC (fixed head coupe).

Could it be too shiny?

Jaguar V12 coffee table and bonus vintage (?) F1 tire coffee table

Dave Clark Designs in the UK has this Jaguar V12 coffee table for sale.  I'm not sure if he also created the coffee table that's on the Top Gear set.  But at 899 pounds (plus shipping), it is WAY, WAY, WAY over my budget, even with the favorable exchange rate.

For 255 to 799 pounds, you can get a coffee table made out of an F1 tire.  It's an 18" Goodyear slick.  Can any of you F1 historians tell me what years F1 used these tires?  Thanks.

And by the way, yes, I am still coffee table-less.