For decades we have seen the national auto shows, where the major manufacturers roll out their new models and a few flashy "prototypes" that will never see an assembly line. Then there are the rod and custom shows, populated thirty years ago by twenty- and thirty-somethings and filled these days with middle aged and older auto enthusiasts who still love classic American cars, both stock and in all the different permutations of customization they have gone through over the years.

And of course there’s the Concourse D’Elegance crowd, oohing and aahing at priceless Ferraris from the fifties and sixties as well as the older exotics such as Packards and, going even further back, Hispano-Suizas and Auburns.

For those who lived American Graffiti and those who live for the foreign classics, if you’re involved at all in building, maintaining or participating in the fellowship that has built around classics and exotics, you should consider utilizing a website.

First of all, it’s a great way to show off your car or cars, whatever you’ve got in the garage that is carefully driven once a week and towed, gleaming, to car shows. Secondly, it’s a communications device for like-minded collectors or builders that may be interested in your specialty - whether old Corvettes or sixties Alfa Romeos. There are current web sites for national and regional organizations as well as a number of sites that specialize as classified advertising for scarce auto parts.

A personal site, however, is going to give you a far different type of interaction with your fellow wrench addicts. Instead of searching impersonal national websites for parts or people with similar interests, you can use your site to bring them to you. Proper use of keywords and perhaps a classified ad or two online will bring potential contacts to you personally, and there they will find a site with photos of your car(s), your shop and a little history about your involvement.

You don’t have to find contacts like that at shows or in pulp publications for parts and project cars. A properly designed site for a car enthusiast that elaborates on his area of interest and the history of his cars will give that person a potentially national social role in the company of his peers, just as the kids are using MySpace to communicate.

You can advertise for parts, show vehicles for sale - with unlimited photos and videos, if you wish - and put the word out for a car you might be seeking for your next project. This approach will also limit your needs for entering ads in national locations. All you need to do is mention "55 Chevy for sale at www.old55.com" or whatever your site address is, and the interested parties will come to you. No more details listed in long paragraphs done in tiny print - and no more photos of your car on a page or in a lineup of dozens of other vehicles.

Let’s face it guys; we’re not all going to be able to pay for a Ferrari or a Porsche. Despite this may be a sad fact to have to face up to, yet its there nonetheless. At times exotic cars are out of reach for all except for those who are affluent and even they occasionally have trouble keeping up with the payments and maintenance of a Bentley or a Lotus. Sure the allure is strong; simply imagine slipping into the leather cockpit of your Lamborghini and cruising around curves at hundred miles per hour with the wind in your hair and the sun on your face.

Sure you may have everything from your driving gloves to your sunglasses and your driver’s license, though the one thing you wish for is to have enough money for a Lamborghini. And then there’s the Camry or Taurus, which in spite everything just don’t have enough horsepower to take mountain roads at 100, and even though you could get it going that fast it would in all probability fly off the road due to its lousy suspension.

Nevertheless what if you didn’t have the chance to own a Lamborghini or Lotus to be able to drive it around those hairpin turns? Well, nowadays we do have a great way to try out a luxury or high-powered sports car of our dreams, with exotic car rental we don’t have to sell our house or steal one from one of your yuppie friends. There are a number of can rental companies, mainly in wealthier areas, starting to specialize in exotic car rental. In fact even the regular airport car rental companies like Enterprise and Hertz are starting to rent out exotics or perhaps luxury cars along with the standard economy and touring cars.

For those who would like to try one out, you don’t need to fly out of town or go on a holiday, almost any special occasion will do. Maybe you want to knock the socks off your date or perhaps impress your wife on your anniversary. Yes, you can either show up at the door behind the wheel of a Lotus Espirit or a Porsche 911. And for those who feel like making their son or daughter’s prom a night to remember then forget about the limo; a sleek black Bentley will get them there in style.

Despite the fact that the exotic car rental is generally a little more expensive than renting a Camry at the airport, it’s at all times a lot more memorable. Besides exotic car rentals also make great gifts; as some rental agencies which rent exotics also rent classic cars, so you could give your dad or uncle the ride of his dreams in a vintage Corvette or brand new Ferrari. Sure, it will make a great gift instead of the usual set of gold clubs or tie clip that you were considering as an alternative!

Luxury car is a term that is widely used, but does anyone truly know what it means? When it comes to cars, luxury is in the eye of the beholder. What a car dealer’s ad touts as luxury may be different from what a car rental agency categorizes as a luxury car, and both may conflict with your personal perception of what a luxury car is.

In economics, a luxury item is one that is in higher demand among people with higher incomes. A luxury car is a status symbol, and status varies depending upon the socioeconomic or demographic group to which is applies.

A luxury car may simply mean a high-priced car. A luxurious car may not necessarily be considered a luxury automobile. For example, because of its high price, a Hummer is often considered a luxury car, even though the original Hummers are heavy duty military trucks without emphasis on comfort.

A luxury car may also simply be an automobile made by a manufacture known for making luxury automobiles, even if the specific vehicle is less expensive than its usual models. For example, all models of Mercedes and Jaguars are considered to fall into this category, even the least expensive versions.

Most people would agree that an automobile costing more than $100,000 would be considered a luxury automobile. Almost all cars made by Rolls Royce and Bentley, for example, fall into that price range. Exclusivity is on of the few agreed characteristics of a luxury vehicle.

Typically, luxury automobiles enhance comfort and operation. Leather, adjustable, heated seats are an example of luxury appurtenances. High-performance vehicles such as sports cars, for example Corvettes and Vipers, are prestige autos, but not everyone would call them luxury vehicles. An automobile may be luxurious by virtue of its amenities and its comfort level without being expensive, even though to most people a luxury means something they really can’t afford.

You might think that 6 liters was enough to make the Corvette two-seater fast enough, but not for the competition department lurking inside GM. They wanted to be able to compete head-to-head with the European supercars in the international endurance races for sports cars.

To do so, they took a leaf out of Ford’s book. In the 1960s, when Ford found it could not compete with the smaller Ferraris at Le Mans with the 4.2 (ex-Indy) or 4.7 liter engines, they brought out their 7-liter mill. And it was so much bigger than the competition that they won. So the guys behind the Corvette decided to produce a 7-liter version of America’s favorite and most famous sports car.

By the way, the 7 liter Corvette more than competes with the Dodge Viper SRT-10, which could give the standard Corvette a bit of a run for its money. Of course, this is not just any old engine. This is a very special version of its GEN IV 7.0 liter V-8.

This 2006 Corvette is challenging for muscle car of the year with no less than 500 bhp on tap at 6,200 rpm. Maximum torque from this mammoth engine is 475 lb ft at 4,800 rpm. This is bound to be a stunner with a top speed of about 185 mph and 0-60 in under 4.0 seconds. GM expects the quarter-mile be under 12 seconds.

To give durability, the engine has been beefed up in a number of ways. First, the connecting rods and inlet valves are now made of titanium – these weigh about half as much as steel ones and are used in quite a number of high-performance engines. Because of the low weight, the titanium parts put less load on other critical parts of the engine - the crankshaft, bearings and in this case the valve gear as well. The titanium valves also allow the engine to rev faster safely.

In fact, titanium used to be an aerospace-only material because it was so expensive, but it is now bein gused more in exotic cars and the heads of golf clubs, helping the lesser pros feel not so outclassed by Tiger Woods as they might with ordinary drivers.

You will see that the Corvette 7 liter is intended for the race track by the fact that the engine has a dry sump lube system. A dry sump system prevents the oil in the oil pan from slopping away from the pick-up on fast cornering – the sort you can do only on a track – and thus damaging the main bearings.

Instead of staying in the oil pan, the oil is pumped out to a tank, and then pressure fed from there directly to the engine bearings and other critical areas. Definitely a system for top supercars.

The underpinnings of the car have also been beefed up with a new aluminum perimeter frame which reduces weight. Further weight reduction comes with a new magnesium engine sub-frame. To ensure the car is stiff enough, it will be available only as a hardtop. The front fenders and wheelarches are now carbon fiber composite panels, which also reduce weight.

But there’s more…

To get all that power onto the road, and to get it to stop, bigger wheels, tires and brakes have been fitted. The front brake discs are now 13.9 inch diameter, and 19 x 12 inch wide rims are used at the back; front wheels are 18 x 9.5 inches. Such massive rear tires for a car with 50:50 weight distribution suggest that the car will have a tendency to oversteer – smoky drifts could be the order of the day!

All-in-all, this is a really special car, developed to compete with the best.

For an in-depth look at what consumer publications and opinions are saying about the 2007 Shelby Mustang Cobra, we searched the Internet high and low. What we found was that this car is on track to become the most popular and successful driving machine in history.

Mustang enthusiasts are coming out of the woodwork and they are all buzzing about the return of the master Mustang Cobra designed by Carroll Shelby. After an up and down, and sometimes stormy absence, Carroll Shelby has teamed up with Ford Special Vehicle Team (SVT) once again. “I’ve worked with the SVT guys for several years now,” says Shelby. “And I know they have the guts, the talent and the passion to deliver the best performance Mustangs ever.”

The target goal was to yield a unified rebirth of the consummate and most coveted Shelby Mustang Cobras from the glory days. The objective was not only accomplished, but far exceeded anyone’s expectations. It is now hailed as the most powerful factory-built Mustang in history, surpassing the 1969 Mach 1 (428 Super Cobra Jet) and the classic 1969 Boss 429.

Ford Motor Company is promoting the 2007 Shelby Mustang Cobra GT500 as a unique and exciting collaboration between the racing and design legend Carroll Shelby and the Ford Special Vehicle Team. “Carroll Shelby is truly a living automotive legend, a Ford performance legend,” says Phil Martens, Ford group vice president of Product Creation. “It’s a dream come true to be able to put the Shelby name on a Mustang again.” There was a time when Shelby and Ford could not see eye to eye on several issues, and a collaborating effort didn’t seem to be in the cards. The stalemate was broken when Shelby agreed to serve as the senior advisor on the specialized team that developed the 550 horsepower Ford GT, and now the newest dominator of the streets, the 2007 Shelby Mustang.

The 2007 Shelby Mustang Cobra cranks out over 450 horsepower, some, including Shelby, say as high as 475 horsepower. In spite of producing awesome power and torque, it actually has more than twice the fuel economy rating and 300 times less emissions than its’ legendary predecessors. Four valves per cylinder and a double overhead cam provide ideal proficiency in air and fuel ignition. This beast is equipped with Ford’s 5.4-liter modular V-8 supercharged at 8.5 pounds per square inch of boost. It also features a returnless and sequential force-feed fuel injection system, a cast-aluminum intake manifold, genuine MacPherson struts and large 34-mm tubular stabilizers.

The 2007 Shelby Mustang features very large wheels: 19 by 9 ½ inch machined aluminum, which accommodate massive P255/45R19 racing performance tires. It also comes with Brembo brakes: 14-inch vented, crossed drilled with four-piston calipers up front and thirteen inch vented, crossed drilled with two piston calipers on the back wheels. Ford and Shelby both agree that the new braking system is the best ever designed for any muscle car.

As much as we believe the statements of the manufacturer and designer, we went out and looked at what others are saying about this instant performance classic; Car and Driver compared a production prototype 2007 Shelby Mustang Cobra GT500 to a 2006 Z51 Chevrolet Corvette. The Shelby Mustang ran a 12.9 second quarter-mile and the Corvette obtained a 12.8. Similar tests by the magazine Road & Track reported a 13.1 second quarter-mile for the Shelby Mustang. Muscle Mustangs and Fast Fords (August 2006 issue) were able to run a low-12 second quarter-mile with a pre-production version, with a top speed of over 117mph. http://Carsmart.com ranks the 2007 Shelby Mustang Cobra as the most popular and sought after vehicle in the sports car market today. It is the number one search interest by far on their site. We visited a multitude of car finder service sites. Every one of them had some feature on their home page directly tied to the 2007 Shelby Mustang. Some even hinted at a bidding war, stating that some consumers were already offering as much as $20,000 over MSRP to be first to get their foot in the door on the incoming production models. The MSRP is predicted to be under $40,000. http://Carfinderservice.com has the MSRP range listed at $40,930 - 45,755 depending on options selected [ http://www.carfinderservice.com/model/2007-Ford-Shelby-Cobra ]. They also have valuable information about standard features like the primarily leather interior, the six-speed high performance manual transmission, and style options like the Shelby signature LeMans double wide racing stripes. Performance testing on the Shelby Mustang has gleaned a 0 to 60 mph in 4.0 seconds according to the site.

Car finder services sites can provide performance-buying power to the consumer. Some even offer the Shelby Mustang at an invoice price range of $37,008 - 41,302 depending on options. Some even offer deals at below invoice pricing. These sites are streamlined for location and direct dealers that actually have the product or can direct the consumer to a dealer that has it through Email and the phone lines. These are trusted and approved in-network dealers that have a special contract with a car finder service. Their pact is to provide only the highest quality service and the lowest costs to consumers. As a result, the best way to buy your Shelby Mustang at rock bottom prices turns out to be on the World-Wide-Web. Many of these sites offer this service free of charge with no cost or obligation.

The 2007 Shelby Mustang Cobra GT500 is ready to take its’ rightful place in the lineage of classic and legendary American muscle cars. This one, however, has sighted the top rung of the sports car ladder, and it is climbing fast. Make way for Mustang royalty.

It’s the time of year again when convertible lovers take to the road to enjoy open air motoring and the feeling of swashbuckling adventure. Whether whizzing along the highway or ambling down a country road, spring brings back the fun of alfresco motoring.

In the beginning all cars were open, derived from carriages and buggies. But as cars became more reliable and were used year round, motorists sought better weather protection. By 1925 more closed cars were being sold than open ones.

But although they shrank to a small part of the market, convertibles were still the glamour wagons of the automotive world.

Their allure and romance never died.

Following the unhappy 1930s, and the deprivation of the Second World War, people were ready to celebrate the good times and optimism of the 1950s and ’60s.

Convertibles flourished. Who can forget those beautiful 1955-’56-’57 Chevy convertibles, so popular then and still sought after today. Or low two-seater Thunderbirds, early Corvettes and little English sports cars. Or the huge, tailfinned, chrome-laden 1959 Cadillac Eldorado convertible that wags called the epitome of Wretched Excess, but is now one of the most popular collectibles.

Or those sporty little 1960s Mustangs.

But then the 1970s brought oil crises, emission controls and fuel economy concerns. Motoring fun died, and the American convertible with it. The 1976 Cadillac Eldorado was called “The Last Convertible in America.”

Better times brought them back, led by the 1982 Chrysler LeBaron convertible, followed by Buick, Ford and Chevrolet.

Convertibles are now flourishing, and better than ever, some with metal retractible power roofs like the Pontiac G6 that offer alfresco motoring as well as snug closed car comfort.

Led by General Motors with six convertibles, including the exciting new Saturn Sky, it’s once more a golden age for the open car.

- News Canada

On a hill overlooking Music City, a remarkable pair of Tennessee brothers have quietly devised a solution to one of the Motor City’s oldest and more expensive testing problems.

It’s the Car-Gate Ultrasound Arch System, a technology which could save the automotive industry billions of dollars each year. The Car-Gate Arch is the latest innovation from Gayle Technologies’ founder, Jimmy Gayle, who has been providing the automotive and racing industries with technical solutions for more than 20 years.

The development of the Car-Gate Ultrasound Arch was born from the need for automobile manufacturers to find new ways to test their vehicles for wind and water leaks often found in window, trunk and door seals. The problem is that the current test for finding these leaks causes damage to the car and trucks they test.

Currently, billions of dollars in damages are caused each year to automobile inventories by the use of what automakers call a water booth. During the final phases of manufacturing, a water booth is used to spray a car or truck with high-pressure streams of water to find leaks. Unfortunately, by using this process of finding leaks with water, the interior and electronic components of automobiles often get ruined by the water that leaks into them. Illogical as it might sound, it is how the automobile industry has been doing it for years.

The Car-Gate Ultrasound Arch, however, uses ultrasound in place of the damaging water. However the benefits of Gayle’s Ultrasound Arch are much greater than merely finding the leaks. Jimmy Gayle Says, “Beyond the Car-Gate’s ability to accurately finding leaks in cars without causing damage, the most exciting thing it does for manufacturers is collect data as it finds the leaks.”

With a combination of Gayle Technologies ultrasound leak testing technology and the company’s customized diagnostic software, automakers will be able to produce powerful trend analysis reports. These trend analysis reports will give automakers the ability to improve overall quality in their manufacturing processes, body design, and supplier materials.

Chrysler, Ford, Toyota, Mercedes, and Nissan are some of the manufacturers currently testing the Car-Gate Ultrasound Arch System. One industry insider is already using the expression “Gayle Rating,” to describe the exact measurement of a vehicle’s quietness and air tightness as determined by this remarkable new system.

“The water-saving feature is also an added benefit we didn’t really think about in its initial conception,” Jimmy Gayle said. “The Car-Gate will also help the environment, and we are proud to play a big part in that important task.”

The cost savings the Car-Gate Ultrasound Arch System offers the automotive industry is dramatic. An industry study has shown that replacing the interior and electronic parts damaged by water booths can cost as much as $4 million per manufacturing plant each year. This is not good news for the already financially beleaguered automotive industry.

The Car-Gate Ultrasound Arch System is a state-of-the-art solution to an age-old automotive industry problem. As Gayle Technologies’ president, Tommy Gayle said, “It’s the answer to improving overall quality of cars, and better yet, it will improve the bottom line of the automakers that will use it.” [PRWEB]

tagTRAX: ultrasound | arch | trend analysis | save auto industry billions

CorvetteBlogger.com announced the 2006 Z06 Corvette the Car of the Year. The Z06, one of the quickest US production cars manufactured makes it the obvious choice for speed enthusiasts.

“We reviewed several cars for this award and actually narrowed our search to three vehicles,” said Keith Cornett, Senior Editor of CorvetteBlogger.com.

“The Corvette Coupe and the Corvette Convertible models were considered, But the Z06, with its heart-thumping 505 horsepower and relatively low super car price of $65,800 made the decision easy.” [PRWEB]

Auto News: 2006 z06 corvette | corvette | corvette coupe | production cars

CSA Foundation, Inc. is a 501 c(3) non-profit organization dedicated to matching the social responsibility of the Corvette enthusiast to events that promote improving the quality of life for the community at large. [PRWEB Oct 6, 2005]

The new Chevy Corvette has all performance systems including engine, transmission, chassis, tires and suspension. An all-new LS7 7.0-liter V-8 (the displacement works out to 427 cubic inches) is said to churn out 500 horsepower. [PRWEB Jul 25, 2005]