A young boy saw a Corvette spotlighted on the cover of a magazine, immediately fell in love with America’s sportscar and devoted his focus toward owning one – even before he could drive. That love for the automotive icon culminated in his creation of an event that became the largest Corvette show in the world, Corvettes at Carlisle, which will be celebrating its 40th anniversary August 26-28 at the Carlisle (PA) Fairgrounds.

Corvettes at Carlisle has attracted attendees worldwide and has earned praise from Chevrolet, car engineers, race drivers and auto enthusiasts for its diversity, excitement, attention to history and its sheer grandness, even gaining a name-drop on the Jimmy Kimmel Live TV show in December, 2018. The event started as a dream by Chip Miller, and it has been a family affair ever since, from attracting families who shared Miller’s love for Corvette, to his passing the baton to his son, Lance, after Chip Miller passed away in 2004.

Lance Miller shared his father’s history and the evolution of the event. He said his father discovered the Corvette while relaxing. Miller said, “My father was a young child sitting on the curb, and right near him was a Popular Mechanics magazine. The magazine had a Corvette on the cover. He fell in love with the artwork/car right then and there.”

Moving forward, Chip Miller became a dedicated “car guy” and he and his “car guy” friend, Bill Miller (no relation) founded Carlisle Events in 1974, to produce events for “car guys and girls just like them.” The enterprise began with a swap meet and car show called “Post War ’74”, on the Carlisle Fairgrounds. The runaway success of what became known as Fall Carlisle Collector Car Swap Meet & Car Corral led to a similar Spring event in 1977. In short order, they became complete sellouts for vendor and car sale (or “car corral”) spaces.

By 1982, Chip Miller brought his dedication to Corvettes to the mix and started Corvettes at Carlisle as a stand-alone event. According to Lance Miller, “My father’s passion and love for Corvettes wasn’t just about the car, it was truly about the people. He loved his friends and most were involved in the Corvette hobby. When he decided to host Corvettes at Carlisle, his list of friends grew exponentially due to the size of the event. The show started off with just a few rows of Corvettes, with some vendors sprinkled in, and the event quickly became one of the largest Corvette-only events in the world.”

Chip Miller was enthralled by devotees and their interaction with the car. Lance Miller said, “My father enjoyed the people behind the wheel of their Corvettes more than anything. Bringing people together to enjoy what he loved so much wasn’t a job for him; it was something he really wanted to do because it allowed others to experience exactly what he loved so much – friendships. Many friendships were formed over the years because of each of our events, and Bill Miller and my father were all about those friendships and those people.”

According to Lance Miller, Chip Miller’s proudest moment each year was seeing all of his friends come to “his” Corvette party, as it became a true tradition for many. “My father’s goal of bringing like-minded individuals together became more and more of a success as years went on, and this success brought my father sincere joy each year,” said Lance Miller. “Today, Corvettes at Carlisle still generates new friendships each year, thanks largely to my father and Bill Miller, his partner and friend. That exemplifies true Corvette Camaraderie.”

After that first show in 1982, the event grew larger, more diversified and more sophisticated each year. In the beginning, the event focused on a showfield area where Corvettes were on display, a Corvette Corral where Corvettes were for sale, and as was true for all Carlisle Events, a large vendor area -- something that Chip Miller took great pride in, as “the heartbeat of the Carlisle Events organization.”

In the 1980s and ’90s, OEM Corvette parts were tough to come by, but during Corvettes at Carlisle, Chip Miller took great effort to make sure he had all the right vendors at the event. As the event continued to grow in each sector, so did the visitors’ excitement of owning and driving a Corvette. Chevrolet saw the advantages of this Corvette enthusiasts’ Mecca and Chip Miller succeeded in having Team Chevrolet attend Corvettes at Carlisle for the first time. Lance Miller recalled, “I’ll never forget how grateful my father was for having them come to the event. We’re fortunate to continue this tradition today”.

The vendors and parts have changed quite a bit in 40 years of the show. Many of the older cars have been restored -- some restored multiple times -- so original parts aren’t in as high demand as they were back in the day, and many have been remanufactured making them cheaper due to mass production. Lance Miller said, “We’ve seen a transformation of our attendees wanting to enhance and personalize their newer Corvettes. Sometimes they need an exhaust, sometimes it’s paint protection film, sometimes it’s different wheels and sometimes it’s an entire engine makeover.”

It seems apparent that Corvette passion is alive and well, and there is a current push towards Vette-Rods, as enthusiasts are converting older Corvettes with newer technology – brakes, transmission, AC, engine and suspension components. The vendors at Corvettes at Carlisle adapt to the times and trends, and supply what the audience and attendees demand. Lance Miller said, “I’m happy to say if you visit us at Carlisle, you’ll find what you need for your next project – whether you’d like to keep your restoration as close to factory as possible all the way to the Vette-Rod.”

When Chip Miller passed away in 2004 from amyloidosis, Carlisle Events management asked Lance Miller to manage Corvettes at Carlisle. “I accepted the challenge without hesitation,” he said. “In fact, my Mom needed help managing her ownership of the company so it ended up being a dual position. At the time I had my own web design and consulting business, which I sold quickly prior to accepting the job at hand.”

Lance Miller didn’t come in cold; he was involved with each of the company’s events at a very young age, from putting out paper plates on the field with vendor ID numbers, to selling tickets and driving the company tram. “My father was a true mentor for me,” he said, “and he would put me through the paces. I recall mowing the lawn, putting in the vendor ID disks and taking them out, emptying the trashcans, scrubbing the floors in the buildings, and everything my father wanted me to learn. As I got older, I learned quickly why he did what he did. It made me truly appreciate each position at Carlisle Events. I know how hard every team member works, and if it weren’t for my father forcing these jobs on me, I wouldn’t appreciate how hard each person works, nearly as much. To say I’m grateful is an understatement, he did well at his parenting and I’m thankful for it now I can pass that down to my daughter (I bet she’ll love it!).”

When Lance Miller took over the reins of the event, he quickly learned about the Corvette community. “They are amazing,” he said. “Everyone that was involved with helping my father reached out and said they’d handle different themes for the event. They were amazing and I quickly realized our events are ALL about the people – the passion behind the car is driven hard, but the people drive it home for our events. Whenever we have incredible displays there’s always a couple of people that really drive it home – typically one car owner of a specific theme will go out of their way to ensure it’s a great display. This spills over to the general public and makes for a great event.”

Lance Miller reflected, “Corvettes at Carlisle was my father’s baby, it meant the world to him. The event keeps him alive, and after I had taken over, a Corvette community friend mentioned to me at one of our events that he felt that we should conduct an Engine Rev tribute to my father. As feedback is essential to making any event better, we listen and we apply. I did just that… I broadened the scope a bit, and we do an Engine Rev for our loved ones at noon on Saturday each year during Corvettes at Carlisle. I typically have my Mom by my side, I say a few words and then following a moment of silence, everyone on the grounds revs their engines for our loved ones that can no longer join us. Each year I have tears in my eyes and I can feel my father’s presence with my Mom and me in the car. To me, this is something my father would be proud of and it is something I’m proud of.”

Lance Miller has seen the show grow, but the fans remain constant. He said, “The fans are still the same; some have aged, but their love and passion haven’t diminished. We also see that there are a LOT of new Corvette enthusiasts entering the market. We’re seeing a drastic increase in people enjoying their newer Corvettes -- C6-C8 cars -- due to the luxury of driving it compared to the early years. The vendor base is the heartbeat to our organization and I often tell people they can build a Corvette out of the parts that are available within our vendor area. If you’re looking for that hard to find part, you’ll most likely find it at Carlisle. We’re also seeing a spike in our Manufacturers Midway, where many of the exhaust manufactures and others do installs transforming your Corvette right before your eyes. It’s a lot of fun to watch and hear.”

Lance Miller added, “My father would often say… LIFE IS GOOD! For three words, it’s quite powerful. I do my best to live by these words and we do our best to apply this to each event we host. If you’ve never attended one of our events I’d encourage you to come out, in fact I’d love to hear your feedback as we put them on solely for you! Feedback is crucial for us to improve and the only way we can improve is by hearing how we can make it a better experience for you.”

Corvettes at Carlisle at the Carlisle (PA) Fairgrounds, August 26-28, is the largest and most diverse Corvette car show in the world.  The annual Corvettes at Carlisle event features thousands of Corvettes representing all generations of America’s classic sports car. Corvettes at Carlisle spotlights all aspects of the Corvette hobby, including different styles, packages and every generation of production, from year one in 1953 to the modern day C8.  

> Visit www.CarlisleEvents.com for more on the automotive hobby.

Mike Blake, former editor of KIT CAR magazine, joined Carlisle Events as senior automotive journalist in 2004. He's been a "car guy" since the 1960s and has been writing professionally for about 30 years.

 

Car guys love car shows, and when a car guy who stars on a televised car show guests at a live car show (event), it is the best of times in the car show world. Aaron Kaufman, TV host and car builder, is the former lead mechanic at Gas Monkey Garage and co-host of Fast N’ Loud filmed at the Gas Monkey Garage. Kaufman is the owner of Arclight Fabrication in Dallas, TX and he will be a guest celebrity for a meet-and-greet at the Carlisle GM Nationals, June 25 - 26, at the Carlisle (PA) Fairgrounds.

The Texas-based Kaufman, who also starred in a one-season television show entitled Shifting Gears with Aaron Kaufman, is coming to Carlisle, fresh from his newest TV venture, Aaron Needs a Job, in which he toured America while featuring people doing jobs he found interesting and challenging. Of course, most of the jobs on the show relate in some way to the automotive industry, but he isn’t tied into that without the flexibility to investigate other exciting jobs and the people who work them.

More than a mechanic, fabricator, car builder, TV personality and “car guy,” Kaufman is also a competitive racer. In September 2015, Kaufman competed in the Speed Energy Formula Off-Road Stadium Super Trucks series, driving a Toyo Tires-sponsored truck at the Sand Sports Super Show in Costa Mesa, CA. He ran two rounds during the weekend, finishing fifth in both his heat races, followed by tenth- and eighth-place runs in the features. Things didn’t go Kaufman’s way during the event, including one incident in which his truck partially rode on a K-rail. After the race, fellow driver Robby Gordon joked that is was “some of the best, worst driving I have ever seen from the Toyo Tires driver.”

Kaufman got his automotive start working at a garage in Dallas, putting to use his talent for pulling things apart and putting them back together, a skill he recognized in himself as a child. Kaufman’s father was a passionate car guy and Kaufman helped his dad work on multiple projects.

Originally, Kaufman pictured himself becoming a park ranger, but when he found he had a skill and a thirst for disassembling cars and putting them back together with tweaks to make them better than ever, his focus went to all things automotive. As a young man, he ventured into hot rods as a self-taught fabricator, mechanic, and hot-rodder. At his garage, he met Richard Rawlings, the entrepreneur who was also a reality show (Fast N’ Loud) and media personality. Rawlings recognized Kaufman’s skill and hired him as a mechanic, eventually promoting him to lead mechanic at Gas Monkey Garage, both at the garage business and in the Fast N’ Loud TV show based on the enterprise.

As Kaufman became a media personality, he never lost focus of his passion for building, tweaking and creating automotive projects. After 14 years at the Gas Monkey Garage and four years with Fast N’ Loud, Kaufman felt boxed in as to the approach to what vehicles he could work on and how to fix them up, and left the relationship to allow him the flexibility to work on exciting projects of his own choosing.

This will be Kaufman’s first time at the Carlisle GM Nationals and he said he was “anxious to see the cars and meet the enthusiasts.”

The meet-and-greet and autograph sessions with Kaufman are free for Carlisle GM Nationals attendees, once through the gates. Following his Carlisle appearance, Kaufman is expected to compete in the Pikes Peak Hill Club the following day (Sunday). Kaufman will fly to Colorado after his Carlisle appearance and drive in the 99th offering of the “Race to the Clouds” at Pikes Peak in Cascade, Colorado. The peak is nearly three-miles high and Kaufman will be among those drivers to attack the climb. He has driven in the race multiple times, most often in a 1963 Ford Falcon race car he re-built on his show, until he sold it online.

The Carlisle GM Nationals is one of the largest GM featured event in the world, with more than 1000 vehicles on the field spanning more than a century and showcasing the many badges that have been under the General Motors badge (umbrella). The cars on-site will include vintage and classics to late-model automobiles and trucks, including the 6th Generation Camaro.

> Visit www.CarlisleEvents.com for more on the automotive hobby.

Mike Blake, former editor of KIT CAR magazine, joined Carlisle Events as senior automotive journalist in 2004. He's been a "car guy" since the 1960s and has been writing professionally for about 30 years. </I>

The 1970s was a decade filled with self-expression, breaking with tradition, experimentation with fashion, inventive color and style, and a drive to be unique. That determination was apparent in the automotive industry with colorful cars and the evolution of custom vans -- shaggin’ wagons.

While high-impact color muscle cars rolled down America’s highways, perhaps the vehicle that best illustrated America’s go-for-the-good-times lifestyle was the custom van. The muscle-car apartments on wheels were a canvas for creativity that cruised down Van Nuys Blvd. in California, Woodward Avenue in Detroit, and on various strips across all regions of America.

Several auto manufacturers built already “customized” vans to take advantage of the market, and many after-market companies served the movement by fully customizing the blank van canvas to the buyer’s own vision.

These were full-sized vans, as the minivan didn’t really hit the scene until 1984. They were not today’s soccer-mom transporters. They often had beds inside, lots of speakers, shag carpet, and personalized cosmetics and features. While their popularity waned by the end of the decade, the wild ’70s saw a genre in which the wilder was the better, and each unique interior take or creative exterior paintjob was in competition with the next customization to be king of the road.

A tricked out van could include shiny chrome, plush carpeting, extreme sound systems, amped-up horsepower and museum-worthy artwork that was hip, trendy, professional and exclusive to each van. On a single cruise strip you could see vans sporting robust color, flames, stripes, lettering, and images of monsters, dungeons and dragons, skulls, mermaids, princesses, fairies, pirates, space scenes, Western scenes, animals, giant insects, naked or nearly naked objects of desire, airbrushing, brushed-on portraits and so much more. Each van was a unique creation.

The 1970s van culture was a creative moment in time, but it still plays today, and Carlisle Events will pay homage to the era at the Carlisle Truck Nationals August 6 - 8, at the Carlisle (PA) Fairgrounds. The display, called Vanarama IX welcomes vanners and all vans and enthusiasts. As part of the show, Carlisle Events has invited Kurk Collis of customvan.com to head the event, and the show features several of his works of automotive art as well as several from automotive artist Ed Beard Jr., who has 40 years of illustration and custom automotive airbrush work in his portfolio.

Collis builds his own parts and concentrates on interiors. He began by learning every aspect of the van conversion plant he worked for in the 1970s, working his way up to design engineer until forming his own custom van shop -- RV Doctor -- in Baltimore, in the late 1980s, specializing in vans and SUVs. Collis said, “In the 1970s I read car magazine articles showing shag-carpeted vans and the new breed of auto enthusiasts who expressed their individuality and took the delivery van to a new level. It changed my life and I envisioned helping them taking an old bread truck or mechanics truck and personalizing it to give it a personal meaning.”

Exterior art is what you see from the road, and while Collis continues the exterior story inside, Ed Beard Jr. creates it on the outside. Beard did his first airbrush automotive job in 1982 and moved from vans to hot rods, then to Harleys; hand-painting high fantasy, warlords, creatures and monsters, from murals to close-up work. He moved to illustrating books, calendars and novelty products, then returned to van art creation in 2010.

Regarding van exteriors, Beard said, “The art tells a story … I use different techniques for the art at hand, from airbrushing to hand brush work and fine line work. I specialize in lettering and portrait work, and I hand-draw. You can see individual hairs on my portraits and I follow a creative-theme storyline with hidden objects that you have to search out to see.”

Beard believes that the exterior and interior work together. He said, “A successful van customization has a synergy between the exterior and interior. The style and theme on exterior front doors has to be carried on inside. Kurk carries the theme with sound, collectable and fun objects, cloth, stitching, colors and panel lighting, and I add theme painting to complete the package.”

Carlisle got into the act in 2010. Collis said, “I came to the Spring Carlisle Swap Meet to sell inventory and we got a few vans together to show off and sell. Visitors and Carlisle staff saw the excitement and next year we brought – or contacted vanners to bring – 30 vans to Building T. Soon, van campers were allowed in to make Vanarama a van party. This year we will see more than 100 vans attend and display.”

There is no typical design, but common interior themes from Collis include “Two chairs in front that swivel, a bed in back, and such unique themes as Superman, or a railroad narrative, or we did one with a ‘Stairway to Heaven’ song storyline.” Collis’ playbook includes high-shine waxed wood inside, lighting that changes to the music played, lighted logos in wall (in the Superman van), center wheel logos, and what creative additions the conversion suggests to him. “We build a fluid, living thing,” said Collis.

Collis said, today’s crowd is similar to that of 50 years ago. “Today is the same as always,” he said. “It is about what the 60-year-old vanner was driving 40 or 50 years ago and nostalgia that makes older vanners feel young again. Maybe he wants to recapture the van he had or one he saw, but couldn’t have in those days. And it is about the young vanners who want edgy and not mainstream art on wheels, with navi, electronics, Bluetooth, music, lights, fuel injection and high-tech. In the end, it is as it has always been … it is about self-expression.”

Beard said, “Today’s exterior focus is not much different, stressing military, history super heroes, Marvel comic heroes or sports. And it is often personal, My ‘Orange Krate’ creation carries a family’s story in a Bermuda Triangle-pirate theme; ‘Dragonlord’ is a wizards and dragons theme and ‘Shanna Marie’ is a pirate-themed tribute to a family.”

Collis added, “At Vanarama you can see the evolution of it all. What remains the same is the company we keep. The vanner community cares about each other. We stick together as a family … the vanner family.”

Beard and Collis will show off some of their work, along with more than 100 other vanners, at this year’s Carlisle Truck Nationals, which hosts around 2,000 trucks, Jeeps, and SUVs. Attendees can take in some action with a burnout contest, low truck limbo, high truck contest, frame-dragging contest, and more.

Visit www.CarlisleEvents.com for more on the automotive hobby.

Mike Blake, former editor of KIT CAR magazine, joined Carlisle Events as senior automotive journalist in 2004. He's been a "car guy" since the 1960s and has been writing professionally for about 30 years.

 

In 1909, Henry Ford was quoted as saying about the Model T, “Any customer can have a car painted any color that he wants, so long as it is black.” When the quote was delivered, the Model T only came in black because the production line required compromise so that efficiency and improved quality could be achieved.

But for many car enthusiasts then and now, while black can be dynamic, cool colors really speak to and attract crowds of fans. Car color has been a topic of discussion since the beginning of the automobile and while some early cars were unpainted, even what was arguably the first motor vehicle, the 1886 Benz Patent-Motorwagen, was green, with its fully exposed engine finished in bright red. By 1910, cars were offered in red, green, gray, and black, and even the Model T was sold in various colors. 

By the 1920s, cream and tan were added to the color mix and the 1930s and 1940s saw metallic paints added. In the 1950s, two-tone paint jobs along with generous amounts of chrome set the tone. Car colors went bright in many shades of blue, red, green, gold, and turquoise, as well as white and black. One bright example was the Dodge “LaFemme,” a model marketed as a “women’s car” with pink paint, and special umbrella and lipstick holders.

The 1960s ushered in an era of self-expression and cars were in step as many sports cars and coupes featured more exuberant, less conventional shades of colors such as red, green, and blue. In addition, colors such as bright yellow, and violet found their first mainstream automotive applications during this decade. Power-plus muscle cars, such as the Plymouth Barracuda featured nontraditional colors. 

The 1970s saw a greater popularity of “Earth tones,” which included shades of olive green, brown, and tan or cream, and colors were more restrained. Except that in the summer of 1969 and lasting into 1973, Chrysler’s Dodge and Plymouth motor divisions both began offering bright and vibrant paint colors -- known as Mopar High Impact Colors -- on their muscle car models. While competitors tried keeping up with Chrysler’s fresh new look with their own bold blends, their imitations couldn’t compete with Chrysler’s sharp new shades. These eye-popping paint colors had one purpose: attracting young buyers looking to make a statement with their muscle car.

Dodge categorized its paint colors as High-Performance Colors, while Plymouth labeled them High Impact Colors, but through time, both paint groups are often referred to as High Impact Colors. And in today’s world, some displays are called “Kool Colors” and “Old Skool Paint.”

Dodge and Plymouth both used different names for the same colors, however, they shared the same paint codes and isn’t uncommon for a paint color name from one motor division to incorrectly identify another motor division’s color name, as often car enthusiasts refer to the color of a Plymouth ‘Cuda as “Hemi Orange” when technically that was a name Dodge used.

Some of the most vibrant impact colors include:

Plum Crazy
In 1970 and 1971, Dodge labeled its regal purple paint color Plum Crazy while Plymouth used In Violet. It isn’t uncommon to hear car show folk refer to this color as Plum Crazy, regardless if it’s on a Charger or a Road Runner.

Hemi Orange
The Hemi Orange at Dodge or Tor Red at Plymouth was available from 1969 through 1972. Both Dodge and Plymouth eventually came to a consensus by using the term “Hemi Orange” to identify the color. 

Bahama Yellow
From 1969 to 1971, a vibrant yellow was part of the Mopar color palette. Dodge called it Butterscotch while Plymouth named it Bahama Yellow. 

Go Mango
In 1969 and 1970, a stunning EK2 orange paint color was available in two fruit-inspired names: Go-Mango at Dodge and Vitamin C at Plymouth. 

Sublime Green
Dodge’s Sublime Green and Plymouth’s Limelight was a toxic yellow-green color available exclusively in 1970. It was one of the most radical and flamboyant High Impact colors ever offered. 

Pink Panther
One of the most vivid and polarizing Mopar colors ever was the Pink FM3 paint code available in the spring of 1970 and as a special-order option in 1971. At the time, some dealers repainted their cars because they didn’t think Pink would sell. Dodge named it Pink Panther, as a take on Peter Sellers’ 1963 Pink Panther movie. Plymouth opted for Moulin Rouge, referring to the infamous cabaret in Paris, France. 

Other High Impact colors include:
Top Banana in Dodge -- Lemon Twist in Plymouth; Citron Yella in Dodge -- Curious Yellow in Plymouth; Green Go in Dodge -- Sassy Grass Green in Plymouth; Bright Green in Dodge – Rallye Green in Plymouth.

Carlisle Events pays homage to “Old Skool” paint at the 2021 Carlisle Chrysler Nationals July 9 - 11, at the Carlisle (PA) Fairgrounds. Featuring retro colors, flake and original as well as recent paint artistry, the display brings the visitor back in time to psychedelic paintjobs. 

Ed Buczeskie, Carlisle Chrysler Nationals Events Manager said, “Our display reflects the custom style of a bygone era. What’s so cool about it is that some of these cars actually survived with the same paint for 50 +/- years. That allows us to see exactly how they looked back in the day. On the other side of the coin are the modern painters such as Travis Hess, who can replicate that style, but with modern materials and arguably better quality, as the standards are higher now.”

Buczeskie points to a few colors as the extreme kings of the day. “Panther Pink (Dodge) and Moulin Rouge (Plymouth) was possibly the wildest factory color ever. Also, the 1971 ‘Cuda “billboard’ stripe was pretty wild. So, while Chrysler had (and still has) some wild colors, the concept was and is about the personalization from the owners and custom painters.”

The old school (or old “skool”) paint still plays today, and Buczeskie said it is about two things. “One is that it’s very different and people like different – especially now that we’ve all seen every possible factory combination. The other is nostalgia. Most of these cars were lost to time. They were rare enough in the Chrysler world back in the day and even fewer remain today.”

Factory paint is the focus here, but old-school artists such as George Barris did extreme customization then, and this year’s show displays one of today’s artists who employs an old-school vibe – Travis Hess. Buczeskie said, “Travis Hess is one of the best custom painters around today, who creates old-school artistry. And he’s a Mopar guy – as is his dad, Bucky Hess. At least two of the cars in the display were painted by Travis Hess. One is the ’64 Dodge that he owns and the other is the ’71 Charger of John McCabe. Hess’ ‘High Anxiety’ 1964 Dodge 440 Race Hemi hardtop is a stunning NHRA Stock Eliminator car that made its debut in 2016. McCabe’s ’71 Charger is also being replicated as a collectible die-cast for the event by M2 Machines. McCabe is also an amazing custom painter, but he chose Hess for the Charger. Another standout is the ’70 ‘Cuda of Tommy Baker. Baker is not a custom painter by trade, but he did his car himself and it’s AMAZING.”

Buczeskie added, “All the cars on display were standouts then and are standouts now.”

Visit www.CarlisleEvents.com for more on the automotive hobby.

Mike Blake, former editor of KIT CAR magazine, joined Carlisle Events as senior automotive journalist in 2004. He's been a "car guy" since the 1960s and has been writing professionally for about 30 years.

There was a time when “Pony Cars” ruled the automotive marketplace, and for a few years, Ford’s “Pony” became a Clydesdale with greater size, heft and power.

The Ford Mustang revolutionized the auto industry in 1964 when it hit the marketplace. Currently in its 6th Generation, the Lead Pony of all “Pony Cars” is Ford’s fifth-best-selling badge. Lee Iacocca, vice president and general manager of Ford in the early 1960s, sought to build and command America’s need for speed and style among young car driver-owners by developing a sporty youth-market car based on the compact Falcon. Developed in record time on a shoe-string budget, Ford introduced the 1965 Mustang at the World's Fair on April 17, 1964 and it was an instant hit. Ford planned for 100,000 first-year sales, but dealers sold 22,000 on the first day. From the get-go the Ford Mustang initiated a new genre of automobiles, known as “pony cars,” though horsepower assets didn’t quite make the muscle car scene.

Originally developed as a highly styled line of sporty coupes and convertibles derived from existing model lines, Mustang was distinguished by “long hood, short deck” proportions. Its immediate success inspired competition from its sibling badge – Mercury  with its Cougar, as well as from Chevrolet, Pontiac, AMC, Dodge and Chrysler, and impacted design cues from Toyota.

Named for the World War II P-51 Mustang fighter plane, though Ford chief Lee Iacocca took it as a wild horse “Mustang,” other names under consideration were Cougar, Torino, Allegro and Avventura.

Introduced as a 1964 ½ Ford Mustang, the original engine lineup consisted of a 101-hp 170-c.i. straight-six, 4.3-liter V-8, and the original mid-size engine was 260 c.i. (4.3 liters) V8’s 164 horses, and was replaced by the legendary 289-c.i. V-8 (4.7 liters) with 210 hp and up to 271 horsepower. For late 1965, the six was enlarged to 200 c.i. (3.3 liters) and 120hp, and the 260 was replaced by the 289 with a two-barrel carburetor and up to 271 horses. The Mustang galloped into 1966 with only minor changes, and on March 1 of that year, Ford built the millionth Mustang.

In 1967, Mustang grew in length, width, and weight, primarily to allow the installation of a big-block engine. The 390-c.i. (6.4L) V-8 produced 335 hp, displacing the 289 as the top performer. Interior and exterior trim was revised, and a new 302-c.i. (4.9L) V-8 replaced the higher-horsepower 289s. For drag racing, Ford offered a 428-c.i. (7.0L) Cobra Jet V-8 rated at 335 hp and 440 lb-ft of torque.

By 1969, Mustang was even larger -- 3.8-inches longer and half an inch wider, with no change in the 108-inch wheelbase. Ford dropped the 289 and added a new 351-c.i. (5.8L) V-8 with 250 or 290 hp. New models included the Mach 1 and the Boss models. The Boss 302 was built to meet Trans-Am racing production requirements, while the Boss 429 put the 375-hp, 429-c.i. (7.0L) engine into street use as required by NASCAR rules. But Mustang grew less feisty in 1970, with a less-aggressive restyling.

That brings us to 50 years ago and the 1971 Mustangs, in which horses stampeded. In 1971, Mustang grew in size, weight (some models over 3500 lbs. – more than 1000 lbs heavier than in the 1964 launch. A new buttressed rear window gave the sedan a distinctly different profile than earlier Mustangs. Due to stringent emission rules, Muscle Car sales in America dropped, but Mustang went to market with an enlarged V6 to 250 c.i. (4.1L), the 351 and the 429, which was eliminated by 1972. However, from 1971 to 1973, Ford made a Clydesdale out of their once athletic pony car with additions in size and power.

Introduced in September 1970, the 1971 Mustang was green-lighted by Ford's new president, Semon “Bunkie” Knudsen. The revised model grew in size, gaining 3 inches in width in order to accommodate Ford's big block 429 cu in without need for an extensive suspension redesign.  

As before there were three body styles offered: Hardtop (available in base or Grande trim), SportsRoof (available in base or Mach 1 trim), and convertible (no specific trim packages available). Available engines were the Thriftpower I6 250 c.i. (4.1L), the Windsor V8 302 c.i. (4.9L), the Cleveland 351 c.i. V8 (5.8L) and the Cobra Jet and Super Cobra Jet 429 c.i. (7.0L) V8s.

Powerwise, in 1971, the best power figures in the group, the 250 put out 145bhp and 232 lb-ft of torque; the 302 was rated at 210 bhp and 296 lb-ft.; the 351 delivered from 240 bhp and 350 lb-ft. to 330 bhp and 370 lb-ft. depending on code and configuration; and the 429 went as high as 375 bhp and 475 lb-ft.

Among the most notable Big Horse Mustangs were:

1971 Ford Mustang Boss 351 

Packing a high-output version of the 351 Cleveland V8 under its broad, tapered hood, the Ford Mustang Boss 351 was one of Fords last true muscle cars. Only 1,806 were built in 1971, their lone year of production, and they remain among the hottest performers in the world of small-block Fords. They were designed with twin, functional “NACA” hood ducts, Mach 1 honeycomb grille, lower body paint treatment, bodyside stripes and 351 decals.

1971-1973 Ford Mustang Mach 1

The Mach 1 returned to the line-up with a sleek fastback profile, and it was powered by everything from the standard 210-hp 302 two-barrel to the 240-hp 351 Cleveland two-barrel and 285-hp four-barrel engines, to the a 370-hp 429 CJ (Cobra Jet), 429 CJ-R (Ram Air), and a 375-hp 429 SCJ (Super Cobra Jet, when the Drag Pak was ordered). Its exterior featured a honeycomb-pattern grille, closed “NACA-type” hood scoops, honeycomb-pattern rear panel appliqué, pop-open gas cap, and "Mach 1" fender decals.



The 50th birthday of Mustang’s Big-Horse Clydesdales from 1971-1973 will be celebrated and the Ponies will be displayed on the Showfield and in Building T at this year’s Carlisle Ford Nationals on the Carlisle (PA) Fairgrounds, June 4-6. These powerful street beasts were some of the biggest, heaviest and most “styled” Mustangs ever selling around 410,000 over their three years. The Carlisle Ford Nationals features more than 3200 Ford, Lincoln, Mercury and Euro Fords. Ford Cars, Trucks and performance products will be on-site with offerings ranging from installations to special displays. Cars, parts, tools, memorabilia, collectibles and more will be for sale in the world's largest Ford Automotive Flea Market, as well as the latest and greatest products within the Manufacturers Midway.

> Visit www.CarlisleEvents.com for more on the automotive hobby.
Mike Blake, former editor of KIT CAR magazine, joined Carlisle Events as senior automotive journalist in 2004. He's been a "car guy" since the 1960s and has been writing professionally for about 30 years. </I>

Car fans embrace performance, style, tech and many aspects of automobiles that fly under the radar. Among these fans are those who flock to displays of solid lifter cars … and for many of those fans, it is as much about the history and the cars, as the process and tech.

The dry tech answer to what solid lifters are is that they are solid pieces of metal between the cam lobe and pushrod. This type of valvetrain needs gaps between components to allow for thermal expansion. The lifter is the link between the camshaft and the pushrod. Because metal expands when it is heated, the link needs to be adjustable. Relating to lifters, the terms “hydraulic” and “solid” refer to the way the lifter handles this need for adjustment. Hydraulic Lifters, which are the norm today, automatically adjust. They have a spring-loaded plunger inside. As the engine runs, the body of the lifter fills with oil. The spring and oil allow the plunger to move up and down as needed.

Why is it a big deal? Brian Henderson, who began doing automotive restorations 30 years ago, and who is co-owner of Super Car Workshop, is a driving force behind the annual Solid Lifter Showroom, showcased in the Carlisle GM Nationals at Carlisle (PA) Fairgrounds. Henderson said, “Fans want to see the original cars that made horsepower history more than 50 years ago. They want to see the ’60s Camaros, the ’70 Chevelle and the grandpappies of muscle cars. These fans are the nostalgic older guys who had those cars in their heydays and the younger fans who understand the grandness of what made automotive history.”

What was the difference between solid lifter cars and hydraulic lifter cars and how does it tie in the General Motors? Henderson said, “A solid lifter cam rides on a film of oil, lets the rpms rev higher and generates more horsepower – or did, in the old days --  than a hydraulic that adjusts to work in more harmony and generates a lower rpm with less compression and lesser cam profile. Nostalgically, it was all about the horsepower – more with solid lifters – and the Hi-po cars that employed them. Today, hydraulic roller cam setups create less friction but carry spring pressure to provide all the horsepower you can imagine, putting today’s solid lifter programs in the dust. But historically and nostalgically, muscle car enthusiasts were all about solid lifters.”

How that fits into General Motors is that GM was in the forefront of the muscle car and pony car wars with solid lifter-endowed street beasts. Muscle cars were kings of the streets from 1964 through 1974, but the first muscle car might be traced back to the 1949 Oldsmobile Rocket 88 from GM. During the glory muscle years, GM was a solid lifter icon with such horsepower-heroes as the 1964 Pontiac Tempest GTO, followed by Impala SS 409, Pontiac Catalina 421, Olds Jetfire, Olds 442, Olds 455, Chevy Camaros, Pontiac Firebirds and GTOs, Chevy Novas and Chevelles, Buick GSX and Gran Sport, and more. 

Two hp heroes that were smoking then and have gained stature among fans today, are the Yenko Camaros and COPO Camaros.

COPO Camaros -- Central Office Production Order -- were specialty vehicles with low production volumes, initially created by finding a loophole to circumvent limitations GM placed on Chevy’s performance vehicles. The result was a powerful, street-legal machine that exceeded expectations and has become a coveted vehicle among collectors. These were Hi-po models without peer. 

Don Yenko a racer and owner of Yenko Chevrolet in Canonsburg, PA launched the program when he placed a factory order for 201 Camaros as he envisioned they should be built: with more powerful engines. In previous years, he had ordered Camaros and swapped out the engines himself, but in 1969, he began the COPO 9561 program, prompting other dealerships that caught on to the special ordering system to begin the COPO 9560 program. The Yenkos and COPOs will be among the vehicles on display at the Solid Lifter Showroom, in this year’s Carlisle GM Nationals. 

Henderson said, “After restoring cars and seeing how legit cars from the 1960s and ’70s fascinate the public, my partner, Joe Swezey and I approached Carlisle Events about 15 years ago to do a show spotlighting solid lifter cream of crop Chevelles, Novas and Camaros. Carlisle’s Event Manager at the time – Rick Markko – had me do a full pitch and when convinced, he gave me full reign, which included getting lifts to put cars in the air. We stuffed 32 cars in the building and grassroots support took off and gained following every year since.”

What does Henderson look for before reaching out to fill the building with exciting cars? He said, “I want rough, but legit cars. I want a real Yenko, not a clone. If it is rusty and banged up, that’s great. If it is shiny and restored, that’s OK too, as long as the parts are real. If it is legit … there’s room for your car. I am open to what I hear from fans and Carlisle has fans call them about cars they want to see displayed. And if I see an exciting car in a magazine, I seek them out. We reach out to collectors and contacts and we often hear from the public with treasure finds.”

This year’s display will showcase the legendary No. 11 first 4-speed ZL1 COPO Camaro, a 1969 Z28 Yenko Camaro, restored Z28s, rare Impalas, vintage drag cars and many more.

You can see the Solid Lifter Showroom in Building Y at the 2021 GM Nationals, June 25-26, as well as more than 1000 vehicles of all GM badges past and present, from classics to the modern 6th Generation Camaro.

Visit www.CarlisleEvents.com for more on the automotive hobby.
Mike Blake, former editor of KIT CAR magazine, joined Carlisle Events as senior automotive journalist in 2004. He's been a "car guy" since the 1960s and has been writing professionally for about 30 years.

So your in the market for a classic car.  Like any major purchase, doing your homework is imperative, but just in case your buddy with a killer set of tools gives you a hot tip about a cool car sitting on a lot or just waiting to be scooped up on line, here's a short list to help you understand exactly what you'll likely hear.



Barn find = Needs more money thrown at it than it’s worth to us.

Matching numbers = The vin matches the title. Does it match the car?

100% Original and restored = huh?

Great floors = ridiculously applied amount of undercoat.

Investment grade = If you buy it for this price, your grade is “F”.

1 of (insert single digit here) = OK, so there were thousands of these made, but this is the only brown mustard colored, bench seat and radio delete car we have.

Completely documented = Reproduction owner’s manual included.

Stored in a private display for years = someone’s garage.

Less than XXXX miles on the odometer = since it seized up the last time.

Exceptionally original = we threw dirt on it.

Refreshed = power washed engine bay and added new pine tree air freshener.

Completely gone through = We couldn’t find the leak.

Factory correct = Every body panel has been replaced at least once but the paint color looks like something from the era.

The mileage on the clock is believed to be original = Probably not, but that’s what we’re saying.

Meticulously maintained by previous owner = They changed the oil once before listing for sale, never in the five years prior though.

Comes with service history = We found a receipt.

Undoubtedly = we don’t know. Trust us.

Two owner car = None of the previous brokers titled it over the last six years.

Original patina = as opposed to new patina?

Believed original = See “undoubtedly”.

Complete concours restoration last year by a famous restorer. = Don’t ask us who, we have no idea.

Frame off = quite an accomplishment with unibody cars.

Long history = We found more than one receipt.

NO RESERVE = What they meant was reservoir.. The car rolls but won’t stop.

Priced to move = It’s been on our lot for years and still no interest.

Photos (except for the one within the story) and text courtesy of JP Emerson and JPEmerson.com, automotive writer and host of the JP Emerson Show podcast.  That photo...a Google image from a Muppet Movie.     

About the Author:  JP Emerson is an award winning author & journalist whose bylines appeared in many of the most popular automotive magazines in the country. JP covers classic muscle cars and the people who own them with real stories from real owners relating everything from ownership, car shows, music, road trips and what everyone has in common regardless of brand.

On the surface, motorsports appears to be a male-dominated domain, but there have been plenty of women who have made their marks on the scene and behind the scenes, especially within the Ford sphere (or oval) of influence.

Often left unreported, women have been involved in automobile racing from the beginning of racing’s early days -- on the track, in the pits, and behind the scenes. From Detroit to Daytona, and from Indy to Le Mans and Sebring, women have earned their stripes and checkered flags, and the list reads like a motorsports who’s-who regardless of gender. Drivers such as Michele Mouton – World Rally Championship and Le Mans; Vicki Wood -- The first female to ever to drive in NASCAR; Maria Teresa de Filippis – Formula One; Sara Christian – NASCAR; Janet Guthrie – Indy and NASCAR; Sarah Fisher – Indy car driver and team owner; Donna Mae Mims – SCCA; Brittany, Courtney, and Ashley Force – NHRA; and many more.

Among those women who have been pioneers and winners on the track are a slew of Blue Oval drivers who brought thrills and skills to races while driving Fords.

There are many Blue Oval racing women who have earned due respect, but a few of the most memorable and skillful drivers include the following.

Danica Patrick -- Arguably one of the faces of motorsports in the first two decades of this century, Danica Patrick drove Formula Fords and NASCAR Fords, was 2005 Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year and raced in 191 NASCAR races. She was the first female to win an Indy Car series race, first female to win a pole position in both Indy Car and NASCAR series, and one of only 14 racers, male or female to lead a both the Indianapolis 500 and Daytona 500. She got her start with Ford backing in the United Kingdom, racing Formula Fords, and drove Ford Fusions in NASCAR races, including the No. 10  Ford Warriors Pink Fusion NASCAR racecar for Breast Cancer Awareness month, marking Ford’s decades-long commitment to raising awareness and funds in the fight against the disease.

Lyn St. James – The first woman to win the Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the year Award, Lyn St. James raced SCCA TransAm, IMSA GT, CART and Indy Racing League races and won at the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours at Sebring. She is the only woman to win an IMSA GT race driving solo, when she won in 1988 at Watkins Glen, and she became the first woman driver to reach over 200 mph on a racetrack. For the majority of her career she drove a Ford Mustang, and she used a Ford Thunderbird to break a closed course record for women with 227.32 mph. She often raced driving Mercury Capris Ford Cosworths, and Ford Mustangs.

Shirley Muldowney – “The First Lady of Drag Racing” in the NHRA, Shirley “Cha-Cha” Muldowney began street racing in New York as a teen-ager and competed in Top Gas dragsters before switching to Funny Cars. She won the International Hot Rod Association Southern Nationals in 1971, and she was a three-time NHRA Top Fuel Dragster Champion in 1977, 1980 and 1982. Her first nitro car was a Mustang-bodied, Chrysler-powered Funny Car she bought from Connie Kalitta and raced Mustangs and Mustang bodies for most of her career.

Denise McCluggage – A driver who fought for equality in motorsports and automotive journalism as well, Denise McCluggage, wearing her iconic polka-dot helmet won her class at the 12 Hours of Sebring in 1961, driving a Ferrari 250 GT SWB. McCluggage also scored another class win at the Monte Carlo Rally in a Ford Falcon in 1964 with her teammate, English rally driver, Anne Hall. She also helped launch Autoweek magazine and won the Ken W. Purdy Award for excellence in automotive journalism, among other journalism awards.

Hailie Deegan --  One of the new faces of racing is female driving phenom Hailie Deegan, who was signed by Ford Performance for ARCA racing. The 19-year-old Deegan is currently driving Ford F-150s in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, piloting the No. 1 Ford F-150 for David Gilliland Racing. Deegan grew up racing off-road and on dirt, but transitioned to competing on asphalt in 2016 to pursue a career in stock car racing. She began her career in NASCAR in 2018 in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West, and she became the first female driver to win races in the West Series, doing so in 2018 and 2019. To date, Hailie Deegan is the ONLY female ever to compete in the Lucas Oil Off Road Series and in 2016, she was named the circuit's Driver of the Year.

Deegan, will be making an appearance at Carlisle Ford Nationals on Saturday, June 5. You can meet Deegan and get her autograph at the Carlisle Ford Nationals presented by Meguiar's.  As noted, she's at the event on June 5, while the full event itself runs June 4-6 at the Carlisle (PA) Fairgrounds. The Carlisle Ford Nationals is the largest all-Ford show in the world, and features more than 3,200 cars – Ford, Lincoln, Mercury and Euro Fords -- on National Parts Depot Showfield. Deegan is scheduled to appear Saturday, June 5.

> Visit www.CarlisleEvents.com for more on the automotive hobby.

Mike Blake, former editor of KIT CAR magazine, joined Carlisle Events as senior automotive journalist in 2004. He's been a "car guy" since the 1960s and has been writing professionally for about 30 years. </I>

 

The automotive industry lost another icon, and Carlisle Events had to say goodbye to another friend, when Bruce Meyers, father of the modern-day dune buggy, passed away Feb. 19 at his San Diego-area home at the age of 94.


 
Meyers built thousands of dune buggies in his lifetime, and as an artist, designed boats and surfboards. He worked as a commercial artist and a lifeguard, traveled the world surfing and sailing, built a trading post in Tahiti and survived a World War II Japanese kamikaze attack on his Navy aircraft carrier, the USS Bunker Hill. “He had a life that nobody else has ever lived,” his wife, Winnie Meyers said.

Growing up near such popular Southern California surfing spots as Newport, Hermosa and Manhattan beaches, it was wave riding, not cars or sand surfing, that initially captivated Meyers, who liked to refer to himself as an original beach bum. Following his WWII service, Meyers served in the Merchant Marine and attended the Chouinard Art Institute, now part of the California Institute of the Arts. 



His experience designing lightweight boats out of fiberglass drove him to improve early versions of dune buggies. These “water pumpers” were crude and heavy so Meyers took it upon himself to design a lightweight version that would be fun on the beach or in the wilds of Baja. After modifying a VW Kombi bus with wide rims (called “Little Red Riding Bus”), he used his expertise in boat building to design the first fiberglass-bodied dune buggy, the Meyers Manx, created in his garage in 1964.

Meyers borrowed the "Manx" name for the shortened, taller-wheeled, more maneuverable VW Beetle mods and is derived from the comparably stubby Manx cat breed. The tailless cat in the logo, as featured on the hood ornament, is stylized after a passant heraldic lion, its right forepaw brandishing a sword. 

Featured on the April 1967 cover of Car & Driver magazine, the buggy drew national attention, but proved too expensive to be profitable, and only 12 kits of the monocoque Manx were produced. So Meyers went off-road racing, and he and a buddy off-roaded the Ensenada run and their 39-hour run broke the existing record by four hours. 

Buggies became such a hot seller in Southern California that they spawned “The Buggy Boom” of 1969, and while Meyers, over the years, put out some 7,000 buggies, perhaps as many of 250,000 look-alikes may have been created by others. 



During the 1970s, Meyers and his company built the Manx 2, Meyers Tow’d, Manx SR and Resorter/Turista. His company also built two utility buggies for the LA County Life Guard contingent and one for the California Forest Service. 

In 1976, Road and Track Magazine called the dune buggy “a genuine sculpture, a piece of art.” Meyers reflected on the honor saying, “Its form was fun. Big wheels on small cars, no doors.”

In the 1990s, dune buggies enjoyed resurgence and by 2000, Bruce Meyers was back in business with a new series of vehicles, including the Kick Out Manx SS, a direct descendent of the original Manx, the new Manxter, and its sibling the Manxter 2+2.



A frequent guest star at Carlisle Events shows Meyers made his Carlisle debut at the 2008 Carlisle Import-Kit/Replicar Nationals and was such a hit that the Carlisle Team insisted he come back in 2009 and many shows thereafter. He was an annual celebrity guest who also displayed his legendary work nearly every year after.

Some of his most memorable appearances include:

2008 – Carlisle Import-Kit/Replicar Nationals  -- Appearing with his 2006 Meyers Maxter 2+2 Dune Buggy with Manx builder John Denmat. The two conducted the final assembly of the very first Manx Kick Out SS.

2009 – Carlisle Import-Kit/Replicar Nationals -- Showcasing his Meyers Manx fiberglass dune buggy

2010 -- Carlisle Import-Kit/Replicar Nationals -- Present weekend to sign autographs and pose for pictures along with his works

2012 -- Carlisle Import and Kit Nationals -- A meet and greet and part of the show’s “Living Legends” presentation …lines around Building T to get his autograph

2015 – Carlisle Import and Kit Nationals -- After more than fifty years in the business, Meyers appeared as part of his “51 Years and Counting” tour, swapped stories signed autographs, interacted with Manx owners and offered kit and car building advice.

2016 – Carlisle Performance and Style Show -- Presented history, gave autographs and brought a slew of his creations with him.



To celebrate Bruce Meyers’s life, this year’s Carlisle Import Performance Nationals, May 14-15 at the Carlisle (PA) Fairgrounds has teamed up with The Manx Club for a tribute. Meyers’ wife, Winnie Meyers will be in attendance for the weekend and a special display of Manx dune buggies will be displayed in Building T all weekend as well as a banner that guests can sign and which will be presented to Winnie Meyers after the show. There will be a parade of dune buggies around the show on Friday at 4pm, and at 8pm on Friday, there will be a presentation with a video at the Grandstand. A wide variety of dune buggies will be parked around the stage.

> Visit www.CarlisleEvents.com for more on the automotive hobby.

Mike Blake, former editor of KIT CAR magazine, joined Carlisle Events as senior automotive journalist in 2004. He's been a "car guy" since the 1960s and has been writing professionally for about 30 years. </I>

A long-time friend of Carlisle Events, and a beloved icon in the automotive industry has passed away. Norm Kraus, affectionately known industry-wide as “Mr. Norm” and “The High Performance King” died on February 26, 2021 at the age of 87.

Known for his sales and promotion of Dodge muscle cars and his nationally popular club, his legendary status ranged from high-performance Mopars to funny cars, to die-cast cars, to his co-ownership of Grand Spaulding Dodge in Chicago from 1962 through 1977, which became the No.1 Dodge dealership in the world.

His dedication to high-performance Dodges was embodied in his efforts in bringing Dodge vehicles to another level. He got his start and his nickname, in the 1950s, when he and his brother Lenny began specializing in selling used performance cars. They employed the tagline "Call Mr. Norm" in their classified ads, and the name stuck. Soon, Dodge offered the brothers an opportunity to open a new car dealership. Promoting muscle cars and exploiting his nickname, Kraus explained, “’Mr. Norm’ was an image that was built into the dealership. When I walked out at the end of the day, I wasn't ‘Mr. Norm’ anymore; I was Norm Kraus. I learned to be a humble winner on the track and a gracious loser. I'm just glad I didn't have to be gracious too much."

According to Kraus, one of his proudest accomplishments, was when he sought to install a 383ci V8 engine in a compact Dodge Dart body. He was positive that this combo would be a great sell, since a lightweight Dart with a powerful 383ci would be competitively fast. However, Dodge's engineering team turned him down; saying it placing a 383ci V8 in Dart’s engine bay couldn't be done. Undeterred, in 1967, he ordered a new Dart and a crate 383 V8 engine, and after a few days' work, the Dodge Dart Grand Spaulding Special (GSS) was born. Soon, the dealership was offering GSS conversions involving larger 440ci engines. With this focus on performance and ingenuity, Kraus was able to make Grand Spaulding Dodge the largest Dodge dealership by 1972.

Kraus took his car work racing, and after a minor sponsorship one weekend turned into five sales by Wednesday, he was ready to go racing in a big way. Not wanting to compete against his customers, he decided to build a match-race car. He recalled that his first 1964 supercharged car “became one of the first Funny Cars in the country, because when we went out racing, we were running against all the gassers and the rails. There weren't any other Funny Cars to run." A 1965 ex-factory lightweight car allowed them to run well into the eights when the competition was in the nines, putting ‘Mr. Norm’ on the map nationwide.

The Kraus brothers grew their dealership selling trucks, vans and standard cars along with the high-performance models. And when others were turning away the younger crowd, Grand Spaulding courted them. In 1977, Norm sold his share of the dealership, which closed within a couple of years. Still in his forties, he wanted to spend more time with his family, something not possible when on the showroom floor from Monday through Friday and then at the race track all weekend. He later had a furniture business on the site of one of the dealership buildings and then sold used cars again. He followed that up with two decades of marketing products in his name under license and he continued to appear at shows, promote Mopar and keep his hand in funny cars.

Recognized for his efforts, Kraus was inducted into the Mopar Hall of Fame in 1989, and then in 1996, was inducted into the A/FX Funny Car Hall of Fame

A celebrity guest and supporter at many Carlisle All-Chrysler Nationals over the years, some of his more memorable appearances at Carlisle include:

1998 – He was the featured guest celebrity of the event.

1999 – The return of Mr. Norm's Sport Club, after nearly a 30-year hiatus. Launched at the Carlisle All-Chrysler Nationals, the gathering saw support from hundreds of loyal fans from around the United States and Canada. Kraus signed limited-edition lithographs of the legendary Mr. Norm's Grand Spaulding Dodge dealership circa 1970, at the height of the muscle car era. The artwork was created by David Snyder.

2007 – Kraus’ 1968 GSS Hemi Dart was displayed at the event.

2008 -- Mr. Norm’s Dodge Ram Super Truck was displayed with Kraus at the show.

2010 – A dozen of Kraus’ high-performance Dodges were displayed and he was on-hand at the Mr. Norm’s Garage exhibit.

2011 – Kraus oversaw a Sport Club exhibit featuring his 2011 GSS Super Charger, the Mr. Norm’s Ram Red Xpress Truck and two Super Challengers.

2012 – A full display of fully equipped current-day vehicles from Kraus’ stable were shown, with ‘The High Performance King’ on hand to answer questions and sign autographs.

Norm Kraus … Mr. Norm …“The High Performance King – 1934-2021. He is already missed.  He will be remembered at this year’s Carlisle Chrysler Nationals, July 9 – 11 at the Carlisle (PA) Fairgrounds. The largest Mopar event in the world, it features more than 2,800 vehicles from all eras of the Chrysler brand. Classic, muscle cars and high performance new models are all showcased at this Mopar-lover's paradise.

> Visit www.CarlisleEvents.com for more on the automotive hobby.

Mike Blake, former editor of KIT CAR magazine, joined Carlisle Events as senior automotive journalist in 2004. He's been a "car guy" since the 1960s and has been writing professionally for about 30 years. </I>

 

Tip # 1: Purchase or download a color wheel.

Using the color wheel, locate the closest primary color to your car. Directly across will be complementing colors in varying shades. These colors will give your car a much stronger presence in your photo when used as a background. Which color background contrast your car better?

Tip # 2: DE-CLUTTER!


We want to see your car, not the dumpster behind it. Pay attention to the background. Are there trees or mailboxes growing out of your car? It's a great car, but a cactus riding shotgun?

Tip # 3: Don't forget a tripod!

Raise tripod legs so your camera is at, or just above door level for more dramatic shots. Keep height the same and shoot from many angles and distances.

No radical turn here, a slight adjustment makes a big difference!

Tip # 5: It's a great shot, but something's missing...

Don't lose a keeper by cutting off part of your car.

Tip # 6: Ever wonder how to see through glass and avoid harsh glare like below?

Always use a polarizing filter to reduce harsh glare. Don't have one? Buy a pair of cheap polarized sunglasses and shoot through the lens!

Tip # 7: Cars with three wheels.
If you can't see them all, move a foot to either side.

Tip # 8: Know your subject!

Muscle cars were made for the street! Save the grass for the brass! You be the judge.

Tip # 9: Angles grab attention!
Shoot your car at a 5 degree angle and watch it jump off the frame. How do you measure 5 degrees? Angle your camera about the width of you pinky!

Tip # 10: When using a digital camera, always shoot in RAW format if so equipped.

This will allow you to produce higher quality images, as well as correct problem images that would be unrecoverable if shot in the JPEG format.

Photos and text courtesy of JP Emerson and JPEmerson.com, automotive writer and host of the JP Emerson Show podcast.  

About the Author:  JP Emerson is an award winning author & journalist whose bylines appeared in many of the most popular automotive magazines in the country. JP covers classic muscle cars and the people who own them with real stories from real owners relating everything from ownership, car shows, music, road trips and what everyone has in common regardless of brand.

Good things happen when you follow your instincts and follow the signs…especially when the sign is a blue oval with the word “Ford” inside it.

It took only three years for Bill Miller Jr. and Chip Miller (no relation), founders of Carlisle Events, to expand a new genre – car shows celebrating all cars, rather than simply pre-World War II vehicles – from one show to two. The two friends were enthusiasts of all cars from all eras, and brought their joy to thousands of like-minded car fans, beginning with the “Post War '74” swap meet at the Carlisle Fairgrounds. By 1977, the pair jumped on their success and brought the “Spring Carlisle” swap meet to the Fairgrounds.

As their family of vendors and visitors grew with each show, the Millers quickly sold vendor spaces on their 82-acre display site, and in 1995, the pair expanded again, launching the inaugural Carlisle All-Ford Nationals.

The Ford show has become the largest all-Ford show in the world, and it has expanded to accommodate more than 3200 display and for-sale vehicles encompassing Ford, Lincoln, Mercury and Euro Fords. Blue Oval-umbrella cars, trucks, performance parts, tools, memorabilia, collectibles and more are on-hand and for sale in the world's largest Ford Automotive Flea Market, as well as the latest and greatest products on display within the Manufacturers Midway. Carlisle Events Ford Nationals Event Manager Ken Appell proudly affirms, “This is the world’s largest Ford show and swap meet. There is nothing bigger in the Ford world than this show.” 

Bill Miller Jr., Co-Founder and Co-Owner Carlisle Events said that he and his partner, Chip Miller recognized the need for a Ford-focused event. Bill Miller was steered in that direction by his background and contacts. Miller said, “I was a Ford dealer when we started the All-Ford Nationals. My Ford dealership representative was an old-car guy too, so the Ford Show was a natural for me. Not many big Ford shows were around at that time, so it became a hit from the start. Once Ford Motor Co. became involved, they helped us to make it the world’s largest All-Ford event, including not only Ford, but Mercury and Lincoln, too.” 

The Millers also found a fan and supporter in John Clor, Enthusiast Communications Manager / Ford Performance. Clor has been involved since the beginning in helping Ford embrace the show while he has helped grow the Carlisle experience for Ford clubs around the nation. According to Appell, “it is the clubs, the vendors and the Carlisle visitors who are the backbone of this event.”

Clor said there are currently more than 100 clubs active with Carlisle Events. (Here is a link to the list of Carlisle’s recognized clubs.  Carlisle Ford Nationals - Clubs (carlisleevents.com). He has seen the support grow from the beginning. “In 1995, we saw a few 10x10 pop up tents. Each year, we saw bigger and bolder displays, more Ford celebrities, greater Ford brand involvement and increased Ford club activity,” said Clor. He added that due to aging of the original club members, and evolution of legacy clubs, “the club scene has grown younger and less sophisticated, perhaps. We see more Mustangs, and maybe fewer of the older badges, but it is even more of a party or festival, and a venue at which to show off a customized source of pride.”

Recalling that first show, Miller said, “Ford grew to understand what we were about, what we shared and what our concept was. Ford Motor Company is a family-owned business just like we are, and they value their history. So they realized that if you love your old Ford, you will buy their new products too. You certainly would not trailer your old Ford pickup to a show with a Brand-X pickup, now would you?”

As visitors and clubs are the lifeline of the All-Ford Nationals, Miller lauds loyal vendors, who are the life’s blood of the event. Over the past quarter-century of the show, Miller has watched the vendor family grow and remain loyal by displaying annually. He said, “Our vendors who supported us at our big Fall Carlisle events, followed us to our first Spring and Ford events. They were there to support us from the beginning and many continue today.”

Miller continued, “When we started the All-Ford Nationals it quickly became ‘the place’ for enthusiasts to bring their old Ford and show it off. Spring and Fall Carlisle were only cars and parts for sale with no show field, and with the All-Ford Nationals, the show field added a whole new dimension to Carlisle Events. Our visitors came with their cars, and vendors found that they were also looking for parts, while Ford recognized that our visitors loved Ford, old and new, and gained bonding with those who loved all things related to the Blue Oval.”

Over the years, Miller has seen an evolution of the event. “With each yearly Ford Show, Ford Motor Co. involvement has boosted the show to new heights. Each year they work with our staff to make it the biggest and best Ford event in the nation,” he said.

Miller added, “At that first event, three marketing staff members from the Ford Special Vehicle team arrived with a 1995 SVT Mustang Cobra, a Cobra R model and an SVT F-150 Lightning pickup packed with about 1,000 posters and a 10x10 tent. They were the first and only Ford Motor Company representatives in attendance. Now we get full Ford teams, engineers, executives, celebrities, full vehicle line-ups and full support.”

Clor credits added Ford involvement to the additions Carlisle Events makes to broaden the audience. Clor said, “Our club members now bring their families. What used to be a bunch of car guys getting together to talk about and show off their rides, is gaining more and more family attendance. Carlisle has added a women’s oasis, good food, Hot Wheels races for families, raffles, meetings, awards, activities, and it is more than simply a swap meet and a show. The clubs take it in as a family event, and Ford sees this as a means of family bonding with THEIR fans.”

You can see everything Ford at the Carlisle Ford Nationals presented by Meguiar's, held at the Carlisle (PA) Fairgrounds, June 4-6. Historically, more than 3,000 vehicles appear on the National Parts Depot Showfield and this year guests can see a celebration of 1971-’73 Mustangs, a display of comic, TV and movie themed Fords by way of Comic Car-Con, a 50th anniversary of the Pinto showcase, Broncos, trucks and Blue Oval icons across the decades.

> Visit www.CarlisleEvents.com for more on the automotive hobby.

Mike Blake, former editor of KIT CAR magazine, joined Carlisle Events as senior automotive journalist in 2004. He's been a "car guy" since the 1960s and has been writing professionally for about 30 years. </I>

 

Generally speaking, car shows are a difficult place to shoot cars. Foot traffic, harsh lighting, close quarters etc make most anything other than general shots a realistic expectation. That doesn’t mean however that taking a little time to prepare prior to the event (and even when you're there) won’t increase your chances of finding your ride in print, and quite possibly the opportunity for a closer look!

Here are a few tips (and tricks) to help your car stand out.

DO: Clean and detail your car. This should be a given but you’d be surprised how many really great cars get passed by because someone didn’t invest a little elbow grease into cleaning it.

Don’t: Forget the inside of the car. Look, we get it, most cars are driven to the event. Debris, grass, gravel, dust etc are to be expected. Know this and prepare for it. It only takes a few minutes once you’ve arrived.



DO: Speaking of interiors, open your windows! Anyone who is interested in your car will make the interior their second stop when checking it out. Let them see what’s inside!

Don’t: Ignore people who take a closer look.

DO: Raise the hood. This is the eye candy. A clean, well maintained engine compartment is a must. Unless the event is closed hood only, lift’em up!

This is the number one stop when checking out cars on the show field. The chances of someone proceeding to any other part of your ride decrease nearly 70% if your hood is closed.

Don’t: Confront people who may have a different opinion about your car. Bite your tongue if you need to and let them be on their way. Trust me.

Don’t: Giant binders of photos documenting the restoration are great, just not sitting inside the engine compartment.

Don’t: Giant poster board or obnoxious signs leaning on your car.

Do: Consider first impressions: Not every car is a trailer queen, but every car can make a great first impression. What is your car saying?

Don’t: forget to periodically dust off your car during the show. Remember, not everyone was able to see it an hour ago.

DO: Be available. Look, we’re not saying sit by your car all day, but your cars chances of a possible feature improve greatly if we have the opportunity to speak with you.

DO: Check out your surroundings. Is there trash, leaves, debris on the ground around your car? Pick it up.

Secret Do: Discretely pull your car up a foot after other cars around you have parked. Subtle, but effective.



Do: drop the top if you can.



Don’t: Forget to straighten you steering wheel.



Do: Remember that shows are supposed to be fun.

Photos and text courtesy of JP Emerson and JPEmerson.com, automotive writer and host of the JP Emerson Show podcast.  

About the Author:  JP Emerson is an award winning author & journalist whose bylines appeared in many of the most popular automotive magazines in the country. JP covers classic muscle cars and the people who own them with real stories from real owners relating everything from ownership, car shows, music, road trips and what everyone has in common regardless of brand.

Bill Miller Jr. and Chip Miller (no relation) were cars guys and friends, who saw a need for events that catered to like‐minded individuals who hunted for parts and accessories to restore their vehicles. They also recognized that automobile-specific swap meets were rare and were generally sponsored by local car clubs as fundraisers. They saw that existing events were generally small and exclusively attracted local enthusiasts – there was little regional attention. One of the biggest industry deficiencies to the friends was that they had mutual interest in Post-WWII cars – specifically cars of the 1950s – and automotive events of the day were limited to a pre-War car-focus.

As the Millers embraced all cars, they created a genre for all car enthusiasts on September 26, 1974, by renting the Carlisle Fairgrounds, to produce “Post War '74”, an event for enthusiasts of more-recent vehicles. Later known as “The Fall Carlisle Collector Car Swap Meet & Car Corral”, it quickly became so successful that the pair branched out to produce a similar Spring event in 1977. In short order, the Spring events became complete sellouts for vendor and car sale (or “car corral”) spaces, and over the years, the pair bought the 82-acre Carlisle Fairgrounds, upgraded it, and they currently produce 11 specialty events and five collector car auctions in Pennsylvania and Florida, attracting more than a half-million guests.

What has become their most popular show is the Spring Carlisle Collector Car Flea Market & Corral, one of the largest automotive flea markets in the world, and an auto enthusiasts’ cavalcade of all things automotive. With 8,100 spaces of vendors selling a vast array of automotive parts, accessories, cars, collectibles and memorabilia, the event is an annual “must-attend” to its loyal following.

Most often called “Spring Carlisle,” the event has grown to include a Collector Car Auction, (with hundreds of classic cars for sale), Manufacturers Midway (28 vendors), Automotive Flea Market, Car Corral, ARMO (SEMA council that preserves and promotes the automotive hobby) Hot Products Showcase, Antique Automotive Club of America display, Women’s Oasis (filled with goods, arts, crafts and vendors), parts hauling services, hand cart rental, taxi service, scooter rental, games, attractions, food and concessions (more than two-dozen food stands offering a wide variety of delights), T-shirts, souvenirs, a notary, collector car insurance (from American Collectors Insurance), on-line ticketing and apps for auction credentials and purchases, and a sea of auto parts and after-market parts, lubricants and auto care offerings.

Bill Miller, Jr. Co-Founder and Co-Owner of Carlisle Events said that he and his partner, Chip, decided to expand the one-event schedule (Fall Carlisle) to fill the void. He said, “As Chip and I realized winter was such a long time without a car show in the northeast, it just seemed natural that there would be a pent-up demand for something in the spring. With outdoor car activities all summer, fall seemed to be a more diluted time of the year, though traditionally, both Carlisle and Hershey (PA) fall events do well as enthusiasts can gear up and attend both shows.”

Miller said it was a risk to expand. “We gambled with a spring event when we first started in 1977, with no Hershey event to pair with us. It turned out to be an excellent move as Spring Carlisle is now our largest event of the year,” said Miller.

While the event has grown from just over 1000 vendor spaces to 8100 spaces, and draws many times the original number of guests, several things stand out in Miller’s mind regarding the show’s evolution. He said, “Spring Carlisle grew by leaps and bounds every year after 1977. It kept doubling in size until it became a sellout. Spring is such a happy season for people, knowing winter is behind us, and car enthusiasts welcome our show as a renewal and beginning of the car season. We recognized that people needed parts for their collector cars that they worked on during the winter season, and they looked forward to an event where they could find what they needed to continue their projects and talk cars with like-minded car people.”

Miller has watched the vendor family grow and remain loyal by displaying annually. He said, “Our vendors who supported us at our big Fall Carlisle events were there to support us from the beginning and many continue today. They have been the lynchpin to our success, in marriage with our loyal visitors -- many who have been to every Spring show since 1977, and they have expanded their support to include generations of their families.” 

Miller has noticed some tech changes for the good since the inaugural event. He said, “In 1977, there were no walkie-talkies, cell phones or golf carts. We used to have to run from one end of the field to the other and it was really hectic. And of course, we do a lot of registration, sales, customer support and vendor support through the internet now.”

Miller is proud of the show and takes satisfaction in its consistency and growth. He said, “Spring Carlisle is the same great show it was from the beginning, only today’s Spring Carlisle has more vendors, more concessions and food, and more visitors. What really stands out in my mind is that the Manufacturer’s Midway is a central part of the show and was not present in the early days. Additionally, many companies now remanufacture old parts that are no longer available from the original manufacturers to keep our old vehicles on the road. Those manufacturers help keep old-car projects alive and by displaying at Spring Carlisle, are the life’s blood for many of our visitors’ automotive needs.” 

From car parts, to cars-at-auction, to cars for sale on the grounds, to just about everything automotive, the Carlisle Spring Carlisle Collector Car Flea Market & Corral (Spring Carlisle) is a “must-go” April 21-25 at the Carlisle (PA) Fairgrounds. Across the street is the Carlisle Auctions, Spring Carlisle Collector Car Auction from April 22-23.

> Visit www.CarlisleEvents.com for more on the automotive hobby.

Mike Blake, former editor of KIT CAR magazine, joined Carlisle Events as senior automotive journalist in 2004. He's been a "car guy" since the 1960s and has been writing professionally for about 30 years. </I>

 

 

“If I could go back I would…” Who hasn’t thought that a time or two?  “I can remember when...” Yeah, guilty of that one also.



Unfortunately we haven’t perfected time travel just yet, but that doesn’t stop us from being able to actually go back. Over the years there’s been a stable full of daily transportation and others some may call “performance” vehicles on standby. They get you from place to place in a vanilla sort of way with an occasional hint of wild cherry thrown in for variety. But in the back of the garage, off to itself sits another class of vehicle. The keeper.

The very thought of a perfectly good automobile sitting idly by seems to some folks, foolish. Throw in the fact that the car is one of the most sought after original classic muscle cars, and you’ll hear the word sacrilege more often. It seems not using a car as it was intended garners little more than a shrug if we are talking about a brand X econobox, but let one set of prying eyes see “what’s under the cover” and the conversation begins.


“That car was meant to be driven! If I had that car I’d drive the wheels off of it!” I’ve heard them all and frankly, I don’t care. The classic car market doesn’t give a damn about my half decade of memories with the car. “There’s no value” in that I was once told. That’s where you’ve got it all wrong. 

Each day I walk past the car, I live life with it all over again. I still get to feel the cold steel of the same skinny door handle as my thumb pushes inward as the door pops open to greet you. The smell of original vinyl and 50+ year old loop carpet welcome me. A reel wood shift ball with pattern worn from use cradles my right hand while I pull the driver’s door closed with a truly solid sound, completely foreign today, behind me. Nothing about this time machine screams modern. Yet the others seem envious.

Pumping the gas pedal sends wafts of octane laden fumes into the cockpit like an aphrodisiac as the building clatter of a solid lifter engine blends harmoniously with the low guttural growl as the dual exhaust monster awakens. Many of today’s drivers scoff at the sight of this gas swilling, unapologetic dinosaur of another time, choosing instead to measure my carbon footprint from behind their disposable cups of overpriced coffee with a double shot of irony.

At some point in our lives we realize that while we are not old, we are no longer young. That days and weeks do eventually become years and those endless summers do one day in fact, end. Fortunately for us we were lucky enough to live in a time where pictures could be held, not just sent. A time of meeting friends, not friending people, and working delivering newspapers, cutting grass or flipping burgers was viewed as an opportunity and not a job looked down upon.



Coming of age was a driver’s license, not a cell phone. The open road, not the internet, and the cars that transported us there. Much like, actually exactly like the keeper that still occupies a coveted spot in my garage over a half a century later.

“If I could go back”…yeah, I hear it all the time and honestly I wouldn’t change a thing. Mostly because thankfully, I still can.

Photos and text courtesy of JP Emerson and JPEmerson.com, automotive writer and host of the JP Emerson Show podcast.  

About the Author:  JP Emerson is an award winning author & journalist whose bylines appeared in many of the most popular automotive magazines in the country. JP covers classic muscle cars and the people who own them with real stories from real owners relating everything from ownership, car shows, music, road trips and what everyone has in common regardless of brand.

France has been a pioneer and lynchpin of the automotive industry since French military engineer and inventor Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot built the world's first full-size and working self-propelled mechanical land-vehicle, the “Fardier à vapeur” in 1770. It was, effectively, the world's first automobile, though many point to it as more of a wagon than a car.

Steam-powered wagons were sold in France and the United States until the late 1910s, but as steam was replaced a century earlier, by the internal combustion engine, demand declined steadily. The French played a part in that, as in 1807, Francoise Isaac deRivaz invented a hydrogen-powered internal combustion engine with electric ignition and described it in a French patent. In 1808, he fitted it into a primitive working vehicle often referred to as “the world's first internal combustion powered automobile”.

Fifty-two years later, engineer Jean Joseph Étienne Lenoir developed what is considered by many to be the first commercially successful internal combustion engine, and in 1863, the Hippomobile, with a hydrogen-gas-fueled one cylinder, internal combustion engine, made a 3-hour test drive from Paris to Joinville-le-Pont at a top speed of 9 km per hour.  

In 1884, Édouard Delamare-Deboutteville built and drove the first gas oil-powered 4-stroke internal combustion four-wheeled vehicle, but some of the vehicles exploded during use and they never went into production. Within a few years, several manufacturers got into the game including Panhard (now owned by Renault Trucks Defense) and Peugeot. De-Dion-Bouton, Delahaye, Bollee and Renault all got into the market before the turn of the century.

By 1903, France was the top auto manufacturer in the world, producing nearly 49 percent of the world’s total. In the first half of the century, Hotchkiss et Cie, Delage, Bugatti, Hispano-Suiza, Aviona Voisin, Citroen, Talbot-Lago (which later became Simca, which built Fiats), Amilcar, Salmson (later bought by Renault), Matford (which built Fords), and other French auto manufacturers were launched.

From 1950 to the present, French auto manufacturing ceased its leadership position in production and most manufacturers were restructured, absorbed, merged or ended production. However, new players emerged including Facel Vega, Alpine, Matra and Venturi, and several foreign car builders put up manufacturing facilities in France. Of more than 400 auto manufacturers that have been in business in France, historically, today, there are about 20 French car builders remaining, and the top car manufacturers include Renault, Peugeot, Citroën / DS, Alpine and Bugatti.

Along the way, French cars have been exciting and have made history on the world’s tracks and streets. There have been many along the way, and there are some awesome current-model automotive works of art and power on the road today, but paying homage to the past, here are some of the more memorable wheeled-wonders born in France.

Citroën

Often called an umbrella on wheels, the 1948 Citroën 2CV was built as an affordable urban commuter. With innovative engineering and strengthened corrugated bodywork, the vehicle was part of a tax program that taxed owners based on horsepower, so 2CV, at 9 hp, was actually called the "two tax horsepower" since it only had two taxable horses.

The 1955 Citroën DS replaced the Traction Avant at the top of the Citroën line-up in the mid-’50s, and was outfitted with the revolutionary hydraulic suspension Citroën began testing in 1954 on the Traction Avant’s rear axle. It was innovative, architecturally alluring, comfortable and high-tech for its era.

The Citroën GS was an aerodynamic pioneer from 1970-1986, gaining a fastback hatch in 1978. The front-engine, front-drive, four- or five-door, five-passenger family car was technologically advanced, with class-leading comfort, safety and aerodynamics.

Renault

The Renault Megane may have captured the European “hot hatch” movement. Since 1995, the Megane has been comfortable at ralleys and at home. It won the hearts of those who see it as a daily driver and it won British and European racing championships.

The Renault 12 was a mid-size family car praised for its spacious, comfortable interior, styling, performance and low fuel consumption. In 1970, a high-performance Renault 12 Gordini model was introduced, equipped with the all-aluminum 1565 cc block from the R16 TS that was fitted with two double-barrel Weber carburetors and five-speed gearbox. The car achieved a top speed of 115mph.

The Renault 18 was produced between 1978 and 1994, and was intended as a replacement for the Renault 12. The 1981 Renault 18i was available in the US as either a sedan or a station wagon. Power was delivered by an inline overhead-valve four-cylinder displacing 100.5 cubic-inches and offering 81 horsepower. They had a four-speed manual transmission with disc brakes in the front and drums at the rear.

The Renault 5 Turbo was a 160hp rally competitor. Designed with aluminum body panels to save weight, later Turbo 2 Models in the 1980s got steel panels. The Renault 5 Turbo kicked off a hot hatchback revolution and the R5 Turbo inspired the Clio V6 Trophy model.

Alpine

Alpine merged with Renault Sport in 1976, but before that, Alpine put out the A110 as technologically advanced evolution of the A108. With a mid-engine configuration, the rear-wheel-drive A110 was a winner on the track, winning at Monte Carlo and several French ralleys, and was an eye-catcher on the road. Brought back in 2017, today’s version is a 288hp show-stopper.

Bugatti 

Where do you start and end when talking about Bugatti? From its founding in 1909, it gained a rep for design beauty and race championships. Today’s Bugatti – Chiron and Veyron -- feature cutting-edge design, tech and power. But looking to the past, Bugatti earned its cred with many models.

The Bugatti Type 35 was the most successful of the Bugatti racing models, winning more than 1,000 races including 351 races in 1925-26, going on a run in which it averaged 14 race wins a week,  and capturing the Grand Prix World Championship in 1926. The Type 35 set 47 records in those two years and it remains one of the most recognizable racers ever made, thanks to its innovative alloy wheels with inboard brakes. Introduced in 1924, the Bugatti Type 35 was light, reliable, fast and elegant, producing 90hp with the Type 35 and 135hp with the Type 35B.

The Bugatti Type 51 was a track star and a celebrity finder … Jay Leno has one.

The original Type 51 was launched in 1931. Its engine was a 160 hp, twin overhead cam evolution of the supercharged 2.3-liter single overhead cam straight-8 found in the Type 35B. The obvious external differences of a Type 51 include the supercharger blow-off outlet situated lower in the bonnet’s louvered section than in the Type 35; one piece cast wheels instead of bolted-on rims; twin fuel caps are behind the driver and the magneto of the 51 is off-set to the left on the dash.

The Bugatti Type 57CS Atlantic racer was built as a Touring car from 1934 to 1940. It sported a square-bottom horseshoe grille. The sides of the engine compartment were covered with thermostatically controlled shutters. It was a taller car than most for the era and it produced 135hp.

There are so many French works of automotive art that deserve spotlighting, we’ll have to save some for next time. They include, but are not limited to the 1959 Panhard PL 17, 1956 Facel Vega Excellence, 1962 Simca Coupe 1000, 1991 Venturi Coupe 260, 1947 Delahaye 175 and a collection of Peugeots from the 1987 205 GTI Rallye to the 106 Rallye and 406 Coupe, as well as many more from the badges of yesteryear to the supercars of today.

You can see a full display of 1980s-era Renaults and French cars galore, as well as a comprehensive assortment of international vehicles at the Carlisle Import & Performance Nationals at the Carlisle, PA Fairgrounds, May 14-15. The event showcases more than 2300 unique and stunning vehicles from around the world as well as domestics, kit cars, motorcycles, trucks and high-end performance rides. 

> Visit www.CarlisleEvents.com for more on the automotive hobby.

Mike Blake, former editor of KIT CAR magazine, joined Carlisle Events as senior automotive journalist in 2004. He's been a "car guy" since the 1960s and has been writing professionally for about 30 years. </I>

Seldom do we have the opportunity to meet an individual who, upon spending time with them, leaves an indelible impression. Rarer too, is that person who’s path to becoming a household name has just begun. 

If Kat Redner isn’t someone you already associate with fast cars and television, mark this down, it will be.

“I’ve been around cars my whole life” Kat tells us. “The main reason I got into cars was because of my family. My dad has been restoring cars ever since I was born which is cool because my papa had a ‘66 Mustang convertible that my dad and he restored together.”



“I think that is why we are a Mustang family and probably the reason we all have Mustangs” says Kat. “One of my favorite and earliest memories was when I was about seven and my dad and I took a daddy-daughter trip to the Ford Nationals in Carlisle. It was my first ever plane trip and we made a whole vacation out of it.

Dad rented a Mustang and we went to Hershey Park and the Carlisle all Ford Nationals where I got my first Ford Mustang poster” Redner recalls with a giggle. “I put it on my wall as soon as I got home” and like her dad, she was hooked.

Today, Kat saddles up in her ’08 Mustang “which I call My Little Pony” she laughs. “But my dream car has always been a ’67 fastback. I've loved the ‘ 67 fastbacks and had been looking for one at a decent price for the longest time when my mom located one on line.



I was lucky enough to have saved up the money to purchase the car and we flew out on my mother’s birthday and brought home my night mist blue factory “S” code 390 fastback. I absolutely love it” and fittingly, with no shortage of helping family hands to correct some minor issues and tidy up the new addition to her stable, Kat regularly puts “Ellie” through her paces. 

Blazing her own path

Wise beyond her years, Kat acknowledges the future of the automotive hobby depends on new generations sharing experience, telling the stories and driving it forward. Perhaps more than any other, Kat Redner eagerly accepts that challenge. 



“I really like meeting people and speaking with them” Kat tells us. “I’d like to improve my skills working on the cars because I don’t think I’m where I should be in that area, but I am improving. 

I love driving my car and attending events in the area but I believe ultimately, I would love to do something like Cristi Lee does. To have my own television show or work on a show with other talented women.” 

To that end, the multi-platform journalism major and self-proclaimed car nut brings one of the most unique skill sets to her workbench. Whatever preconceived notion perpetuating women in the field is quickly shattered by Kat’s impressive list of accomplishments. 

The already ridiculously talented Redner recently added journalist, video production and television host to her jaw dropping resume, and did we forget to mention, jet car racer? 



That’s right friends, while this rising star appreciates the stance of a classic muscle car and the artistic lines of a sweet exotic, it will take more than talk to earn the respect of a woman who routinely launched herself, a quarter mile at a time, at speeds approaching 300mph!

 “I consider myself super ambitious” she says almost shyly. “I want to do everything which is good and bad sometimes but there are so many things in life I feel like I have to get done right away.”  I know my parents were probably terrified because their little girl had never raced anything before and was now jumping directly into a jet dragster which can reach speeds of 300 miles per hour but they always supported me."

“I'm not going to lie I was terrified when I first started” admits the 23 year old, “I mean who wouldn't be, but I think that nervousness is almost a good thing when you're racing because you're always on the edge, you're always concentrating and you're always focused.”

It’s with that same laser focus Kat has successfully transitioned from behind the wheel to in front of the camera. “I would say my experience in racing would definitely be a strength because I had the opportunity to meet and speak with people all over the country and build relationships.”

Kat adds “I believe women in motorsports are appreciated now more than ever because we have to know and understand every part of the car from top to bottom” which instantly earns Redner credibility and trust. 

“Believe it or not” says Kat, “I was always pretty shy. It wasn’t until the last five years or so that I really saw myself coming out of my shell. If you can find something that you're really passionate about you’ll really start to open up and that's exactly what I did! 

I have a love for cars and I think if you love what you're doing you can speak about it so much better. I’ve had some great mentors and people I look up to encourage me to follow mine and I hope one day I can be that person for the next little girl who has a dream.” 



Currently, this amazing young woman is looking forward to sharing great stories on Discovery’s Destination America channel and reminding the next generation who will undoubtedly look up to her, to “be kind and always believe in yourself.”

Always a winning formula.

Photos and text courtesy of JP Emerson and JPEmerson.com, automotive writer and host of the JP Emerson Show podcast.  

About the Author:  JP Emerson is an award winning author & journalist whose bylines appeared in many of the most popular automotive magazines in the country. JP covers classic muscle cars and the people who own them with real stories from real owners relating everything from ownership, car shows, music, road trips and what everyone has in common regardless of brand.

All vendors, past and present, are treasured Carlisle Events family members; and all have played a huge part in the 47-year history of the event company. They have been part of the foundation of the Carlisle Events story since the beginning.

On September 26, 1974, Bill Miller Jr. and Chip Miller (no relation), founded Carlisle Events for “car guys and girls just like them,” on the rented Carlisle Fairgrounds, when “Post War '74” took place. It was the first car event promoted by the company, and in a year notable for its gas lines and inflation, nearly 600 vendors set up in more than 800 spaces, and 13,000 spectators paid the $1 admission to sample their wares.

Those 600 vendors and 800 spaces gave grown considerably since, and along with loyal attendees, the vendors remain family members, and the lifeline that continues to drive Carlisle Events’ success.

Tim Demark, Carlisle Events Vendor Manager said, “All 3000 vendors in 8200 vendor spaces today, and all vendors historically, as well and all of our customers – past, present and future -- are instrumental in our enduring success and in our tapestry, and have been key here since the beginning.”

As each member of the vendor family is considered essential by Carlisle Events and all have stories that make historical and entertaining reading, each one could be the focus of a fun and enlightening story. However, in the interest of keeping this an article, and not a book, here are a few stories included as an illustration of what drives the original vendors to continue year after year.

Prior to Carlisle Events' emergence, anyone interested in restoring or showing 1950s‐ or 1960s‐era cars had few options. Over the past 47 years, Carlisle Events and the 82-acre Carlisle Fairgrounds have become a Mecca for collector car enthusiasts all over the world. The presenter of 11 automotive events annually, Carlisle Events shows and flea markets in Pennsylvania and Florida attract more than 100,000 visitors each year.

When Carlisle Events began, Bill Miller Jr. and Chip Miller, who became friends through a mutual interest in cars of the 1950s, began attending car shows and swap meets, where like-minded individuals would hunt for parts and accessories to restore their vehicles, and saw a need for more events that focused on more than simply pre-WWII automobiles.

Bill Miller Jr. said, “Back in the day, the Antique Auto Club in America held one big event and there were a number of small local events held. Chip and I went everywhere, talked to vendors and handed out fliers. Back then, anything that wasn’t 35-years-old or older wasn’t considered antique and wasn’t presented. We were in our 20s and liked 20-year-old cars, so we established the market on post-war vehicle shows with ‘Post War ’74.’ But it was the vendors, then and now that allowed us to proceed and grow.”

Miller said that early on, “Old Cars Weekly and Hemmings Motor News were instrumental vendors who supported us and helped build a niche for us and for them. They mingled with vendors to learn from them and to sell subscriptions. They provided great coverage and helped establish this new market.”  

Miller continued, “In the beginning, our vendors were guys who were restoring cars and they brought extra parts here to clean out their garages or to swap parts for money to buy parts for their ongoing projects. Over time, that evolved, as many of these people grew to understand that parts that are hard to find could be reproduced and sold at shows or by mail order. Our first vendors largely were folks and enthusiasts rather than business people FOR enthusiasts, and the business has evolved to that scope today.”

Miller added that the original vendors also helped event growth and support, as they achieved good business, and helped promote events by word of mouth and by handing out fliers at their shops and within mail order shipments.

Dianne Vaughn, who, for nearly 38 years served as promotions manager, facilities director and director of customer relations of Carlisle Events, said that there are 36 of the original vendors still selling their wares at the events and promoting the shows today.

While Vaughn and Miller have stories about nearly all of them, they gave a shout out to an original vendor who has passed.

Miller said, “We lost Dennis Carpenter recently. From the beginning, he sold antique Ford parts and had grown his business from a pop-up tent to huge tents selling reproduction parts.” Vaughn added, “He passed away over Thanksgiving and he is already missed.”

Vaughn and Miller reminisced about a few original vendors and smiled when they spoke of Chuck Begley. Miller began, “Begley sold a little bit of everything. He is still here, and very knowledgeable.” Vaughn summed up, saying, “He is always on top of the market and he has a part for everyone.”

Miller thought back and said that many early vendors helped prepare the venue, even helping place location discs in the ground at appropriate vendor and car display spots on the field. He said, “Craig Hollar is one of the original vendors that helped with disc layout back in the day and continues to vend at some of the events to this day in Building Y.”

Miller brought up the many original vendors who have introduced subsequent generations them to the events, “There are so many multi-generational vendors still with us …S&S Sales comes to mind. They sold tools here and have expanded into car tires and through multi-generations of their family.”

Vaughn also recalled multi-generational vendors and for example, remarked, “Richie DiFabrizzio sold OEM Chevy parts and was big into VW in the beginning. He and his dad sold here every show and we watched his sons grew up. It is the neatest thing when contacts and their families become our family. We often see three generations of vendors and when they bring their grandchildren to start a fourth-generation with us, it makes us smile.”

“These small businesses have grown, but most are still family businesses, and they keep the family atmosphere at Carlisle, which is still a family-owned business, “added Vaughn. “The vendors have shared their families with us and created an atmosphere in which we all knew each other’s lives. That atmosphere has remained the same.”

Miller expanded on the family feel, saying. “Our vendors and our attendees consider us family as well. They hold weddings here on our stage. Some have named their children ‘Carlisle’, for the love of the hobby, and their business has grown from swap vendor to full business BECAUSE they loved the hobby.”

Over the years, the events, the markets and the vendors have adapted to current trends. Miller said, “The vendors are more professional than they were in the beginning. Swap meets were not sophisticated business, and today, vendors realize that they may have only sold Pennzoil back in the day, but now they may need to sell tires, memorabilia, parts and a variety of targeted items to do business. I talk to vendors and they know what they need to do. Their product sophistication is so good now that, while they may have sold everything they owned, in the ’70s, they now have full facilities stocked up before and after the shows.”

Another difference between then and now, according to Miller, is repro parts. Miller said, “The parts sold here used to be all original. Our vendors learned that original parts are still valuable, but remanufactured and new repro parts mean business and sales.”

If there is one thing Miller and Vaughn say they have learned about their vendors since the beginning, it is, and they agree.  ”Car people are good people. They make life fun.”

Be part of the vending fun April 21-25 at the fairgrounds as part of Spring Carlisle 2021 presented by eBay Motors!  The fun starts at 7 a.m. and continues through the weekend.  In addition, Carlisle Auctions offers a two-day collector car auction, April 22-23 at the neighboring Carlisle Expo Center.  The auction starts at 12 p.m. daily.  

Mike Blake, former editor of KIT CAR magazine, joined Carlisle Events as senior automotive journalist in 2004. He's been a "car guy" since the 1960s and has been writing professionally for about 30 years.

 

If you are a devout truck enthusiast or even a casual fan, you find something special in the genre. To those of us who are “truck people,” every truck is special, but some stand out more than others do.

The evolution of trucks, from steam wagons in the 1770s, to the internal combustion trucks of Karl Benz in 1895 and Gottlieb Daimler in 1896 has evolved into today’s diesel and turbo trucks and electric and hybrid models. The genre of truck may have started with pick-ups, 18-wheelers, tow trucks, and three-quarter-ton representations, but the niche has grown to include, vans, compact trucks, sport trucks, and the most popular derivation outside full-sized trucks in today’s marketplace, the sports-utility-vehicle, or SUV. In fact, as a group, SUVs are currently the world's largest automotive segment, accounting for nearly 50 percent of the world's passenger car market in 2020.

During the late 1990s and early 2000s, the popularity of SUVs greatly increased, and along the way, sports-ute stars have come and gone. During that time, another genre has gained popularity, the sport truck. 

A sport truck is for the “more power” crowd. A sport truck is any truck that has been modified for enhanced appearance and/or performance.

Today, the power, the cosmetics and accouterments are limited only by imagination, but back in the day, a sport truck and an SUV stand out. Limiting the scope to just these two, a turbocharged SUV and its sibling, a sport truck, attacked the market. These pioneers brought performance, big horsepower, and sportscar-killing performance to the truck and SUV niche before the uptweak became commonplace. These two vehicles were GMC’s Syclone compact pickup and Typhoon SUV, revered and followed today by numerous “SyTy” forums.

GMC SYCLONE

The GMC Syclone was a high-performance version of the GMC Sonoma pickup truck, with 2,998 units produced in 1991 and ’92 by GMC along with Production Automotive Services (PAS). Following the Syclone, the 1992 GMC Sonoma GT truck was offered as a sport package with the looks of a Syclone but without the price and performance of its turbocharged predecessor.

Legend has it that Syclone with an "S” was an homage to the “S-10” or “Sonoma”, but Mercury had already produced the Cyclone (with a “C”) from 1964-’71 and GMC did not want to copy that name representation.

Measuring 180.5 inches long, 68.2 inches wide and 60.0 inches high on a 108.3-inch wheelbase, Syclones powered up with a 280hp 4.3-liter turbo V-6. Weighing in at 3,599 lbs., and mated to a 4-speed 4L60 automatic transmission, Syclones were timed in a 4.3-second zero-to-60mph sprint and a 13.4-second quarter-mile.

Engine modifications included lower-compression pistons, special intake and exhaust manifolds, a multipoint fuel injection system, bigger twin-bore throttle body from Corvette's 5.7-liter small-block, and a Mitsubishi TD06-17C turbocharger with a Garrett water-to-air inter-cooler.

Syclone was meant for the street. Its cab carried a warning: "This vehicle is not intended for off-road use. The reduced height of this vehicle will not allow it to clear obstacles commonly encountered in an off road environment. Off road operation could result in serious damage to chassis and drivetrain.” In addition, it wasn’t meant to haul.  Syclone had a 500-pound payload capacity, low for a pick-up, and towing was not recommended by the factory.

Syclone only came in black, except for a few third-party exceptions: The Red Marlboro Syclones customized by American Sunroof Company, and the Indy Syclone, used at the Indianapolis 500 race in 1992. Although there were three of these unofficial pace cars, only one (the PPG version) got a multi-colored silver, magenta, and aqua paint scheme, while the other two got sticker packages.

Marlboro Syclones featured Boyd Coddington wheels, Recaro leather seats, a Momo steering wheel, and a targa-style removable roof panel. The Indy had a racing fuel cell, a built-in halon fire suppression system, water-cooled brakes, and color matched leather interior to the exterior paint scheme. The bed had a multi piece tonneau cover that accordion folds with the tailgate to reveal the fuel cell, halon canister mounts and a molded in light bar in the roof.

A GMC ad for the Syclone compared it to a Porsche 911 Carrera 4, with the ad headline: "Think of it as a Porsche 911 that really hauls.”

GMC Typhoon

Based on the GMC Jimmy, General Motors produced 4697 Typhoons from 1991-1993. The two-door mid-size SUV was powered by the same modified turbocharged 4.3-liter V-6 that powered the Syclone, although Typhoon’s transfer case was a BorgWarner 4472 – Syclone used a BorgWarner 1372). Like the Sy, the Ty system also produced 280hp and 350 lb-ft. of torque. The Ty had a 100.5-inch wheelbase and measured 170.3 inches long, 68.2 inches wide and 60.0 inches high, weighing in with a curb weight of 3822 lbs. The manufacturer touted a 5.3-second zero-to-60mph dash, and the SUV ran a 14.1-second quarter-mile.

Typhoon paint colors included Forest Green Metallic, Radar Blue, Raspberry Metallic, Frost While, Royal Blue Metallic, Aspen Blue, Bright Teal, Apple Red, Garnet Red, and black, and it was a favorite among celebrities.

Among those big names who owned Typhoons were Clint Eastwood, John F. Kennedy Jr., Bob Seger, and two Miami Dolphins players – Brian Cox and O.J. McDuffie.

You can see Syclones, Typhoons in Building Y this year presented by the SyTy’s at Carlisle club display.  In addition, also at Carlisle are all manners of trucks, from the early days to the present, from the antique to the modern and from the iconic to the obscure, at the Carlisle Truck Nationals presented by A&A Auto Stores August 6-8 at the Carlisle, PA Fairgrounds.

 

> Visit www.CarlisleEvents.com for more on the automotive hobby.

Mike Blake, former editor of KIT CAR magazine, joined Carlisle Events as senior automotive journalist in 2004. He's been a "car guy" since the 1960s and has been writing professionally for about 30 years. </I>