So, into to Vegas I’ve come for COOL CAR SMACKDOWN!
Snuck in to see some of the best rides up close without the crowd since the show opens tomorrow. They weren’t gonna let me in until I told them who I was. Then, they DEFINITELY didn’t want me to come in. So, I jumped the fire encrusted SEMA fence and was nearly captured by vicious cockerpoos. Whew… The first non-surprise is that there was 250,000 Camaros everywhere. Lame. I mean, if you’re going to SEMA, and you want to stand out, then get the car that EVERYONE else will have. Make sense? Not.
But here’s a sneek anyway for what’s coming this week. So far, the rides are smolderin.’ From cool SCIONS from 5Axis to a Nasty Chrome Green FORD FOCUS from ma buddy Gary Watson at CNC. Nice job, G.
Old school, new school, and Detention. Yea.
Wow, the HB Concours show was an awesome success. (Although, it rained as I brought in my cool orange CVS caddy…) Hot Rod Saturday was a bit light but Sunday was a record crowd of car nut jobs! I think the entire city of Huntington Beach showed up! Here’s some of the tasty highlights, but thanks to everyone that came out, like DB, John Callison, Dan Woods, Styles and many more for the sun and cool cars!!
Why is Nicholas Cage’s million dollar Rolls sitting in the shop? That’s what I thought when I “rolled” in. Well, cuz he has a new movie coming and we’re building two extras. One as a stunt car, and one to…
…BLOW UP.
Ouchy. But that’s what CVS does. Build it, blow it to smithereens.
As I walked the shop, I saw several new cars that Ray brought in from a sale at Paramount. The vans that Tom Cruise drove from “WAR OF THE WORLDS,” several kookie Czeck cars and one of my favorites,… a Ford Saloon. This was the first die-cast that Corgi made. It’s awesome. I want to fully restore her and take her for a spin up PCH.
Oh, and today’s my Mom’s birthday. Family coming over to celebrate. She’s been gone for a short time now and it’s still tough. But we made her a Carrot Cake which she loved. That would have made her happy. …More later.
Easily, one of the best and coolest designs for a movie car ever done. However, the story isn’t a Hollywood story. Seems a mechanic was called in to work on “Mad Max” back in the day and after hearing that they needed a cool car for the film, told them about his neighbor’s beat up Aussie Ford Falcon. It was a mess and looked like a good bad guy car. And voila!
Although, this diecast is cleaner that his ever was. Still, the most expensive movie car toy you can get. This one, is $70 bucks!
A couple of weekends ago, I got a call from my buddy Chuck sayin,’ “Hey Fireball! Get yer butt over to FLAMES and see some the coolest rods in LA!” So, off I went. And since I hit over a hundred shows a year, I expected to see way cool stuff. And it didn’t disappoint.
But that got me thinking again. Why do I love cars so much? Why do ALL of us love cars?
Honestly? … Most cars are designed by men. Most men appreciate the beauty of the female form. In ALL it’s forms. And car designs… are inspired by women mostly. Shapes and curves, concave and convex surfaces. Textures. There are many other influences, but the designer of the ‘68 Split Window Vette (Harry Bradley) said this point blank… “I designed the Vette after seeing a woman dance and bend backwards on the ground as one of her moves. The most beautiful thing I had ever seen. THAT inspired me.”
This is not sleazy. Nor strange in any way. God has created a situation that allows beauty to inspire us all. From form in nature to the thing that attracts all men most. The human body. Look closely and you’ll see for your self.
Check out some of the rides above with new eyes. Let it guide your soul on a journey of inspiration. And let that journey help you to appreciate design.
An congratulations to Chuck for winning BEST OF SHOW with his “Rodriguez!”
Time for Chocolate…
Long…
