Vauxhall is rolling out the retro cool by holding an invitation-only roller skating event in North London on July 29. As part of the festivities, the General Motors division has reportedly commissioned bespoke sets of Vauxhall Corsa roller boots (seriously), and the event will even feature a "pit-stop themed hair salone with free styling from a 'huge name' in celebrity hairdressing." The secret party doesn't look to have a name, but it's got the kind of vibe that doesn't need one: "'70s disco meets Knight Rider on roller skates." If only the Knight Rider show had thought of that, perhaps it would still be on the air.

You can check out the details at www.tiny.cc/vauxhallskate, and you can get into the groove with video of a young lady doing her thing wearing Vauxhall Corsa skates after the jump. Hat tip to Clarence.

[Source: Event magazine]

This weekend saw the running of the first Mini Mille Miglia. No affiliation to the famous touring event, the Mini Mille is a greatly scaled down version of the race. How scaled down? Well, it's run on a digital Scalextric track for 1/32-scale slot cars in Umbria, Italy. Put on to benefit Alzheimer's research, the Mini Mille was a full 3-day program of public activities, including 14 different races throughout Saturday and Sunday.

Event founder Graham Lane built a 30-meter track tucked amid an Italian countryside: 20 meters of it is a central circuit, sightseers can dip off into a 10-meter loop into a forest-lined valley and over an aqueduct. Participants could either go with their cars to Umbria to race in person, or could send their cars and have them driven -- and photographed and videotaped -- just for the experience.

While it's too late to enter this year's race, it's not too late to start prepping your miniature runner for next year's Mini Mille Miglia. Nor is it too late to have a gander at the gallery of images below.



[Source: Mini Mille Miglia via Pistonheads | Photo credit: Jaak Beentjes]

As we start the second half of 2009, the automotive industry remains in turmoil but the economy is finally showing signs of recovery. And once again, we have a full calendar of events to keep our minds on the positive aspects of our industry. Show season is in full swing so you'll find plenty of concours events, cruise nights, and local shows filling July weekends. In America, Meadowbrook is the star of July, but there are also other interesting events like the GoodGuys Heartland Nationals, Hudson-Essex-Terraplane meet in Pontiac, New England Concours d'Elegance in Vermont, the First Annual Great American Car Show in Massachusetts, Micros on the Monument in Racine, International Bricklin Owners Club Annual Grand National Meet, and the Alfa Romeo Owners Club National Meet in Portland, among others.

There's lots of racing in July, too. Most Formula 1 teams will make a brief stop at Goodwood before resuming their regular racing schedule at the Nürburgring, followed by the Hungarian GP at the end of the month. IndyCar hits Watkins Glen, the Streets of Toronto, and the airport course in Edmonton. NASCAR fans can look forward to races in Daytona, Chicago, and at the Brickyard. ALMS teams can take it easy after the marathon that was the 24 Hours of Le Mans with a two-hour stint at Lime Rock Park.

There will also be plenty of other random racing action in July, with the Goodwood Festival of Speed, the Portland Historic Races, Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix, Kohler International Challenge with Brian Redman, and the New England Forest Rally. Green car fans can look forward to the Eco-Rally U.S.A. 2009, and bike fans can take in the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix or AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days at Mid-Ohio.

If none of those events appeals to you, check the Google Calendar after the jump for even more listings, all with detailed info and links. Please use the comments section to add or modify listings. Oh, and Happy 4th of July!

Thunder will descend upon Itasca, Illinois on July 11th, even if the sky is clear. The rumbling will be of the horizontally-opposed variety as Subaru of America's Great Lakes Region goes for a Guinness world record. The particular accomplishment Subaru is after is the "largest Parade of Subaru Cars," and Subie owners interested in participating in the event can hit a Subaru website to register.

The record attempt coincides with Itasca Fest, a weekend of family-friendly frenzy. Parade participants can save money on a hotel room, and Subaru's not solely seeking notoriety. Homeless pets in Chicago find refuge with PAWS Chicago, and Salute, Inc. is a non-profit organization that supports military personnel, veterans, and families. Both organizations will receive $15 per participating car from Subaru, up to a total of $7,000. If you've got a Scooby with a taste for the open road, strap the whole family in and light out for Itasca, all wheel drive churning, and turbocharger awhirl. Press release posted after the jump.

[Source: Subaru, Photo: WickedBigMeet]

It's hard to believe, but it's been 50 years since Americans first saw a Honda on these shores. Way back in 1959, Honda opened its first storefront office in Los Angeles with just six employees, and started selling the Honda 50 motorbike. Skip forward to 2009 and American Honda now employs more than 25,000 workers directly, and some 100,000 indirectly at authorized Honda automobile, motorcycle and power-equipment dealerships throughout the United States. That doesn't even take into account the tens of thousands employed by nearly 600 U.S. Honda parts suppliers.

To help celebrate their golden anniversary stateside, the company had a small car and bike show at their U.S. HQ in Torrance, California. We dropped in for a bit and took a bunch of photos. Although there were far more bikes than cars, it was a still a fun outing. On the car side there were a smattering of S2000s, a couple of first-gen Insights, an NSX, a couple of early CRXes, a bunch of Civics, and even a few show cars. Our favorites had to be the Side-by-Side formula car and the 600 coupe right next to it.

On the bike side there was everything from a Trail 70 to the 2004 NAS concept. The little ZB50 even displayed a speeding ticket showing it clocked at 60 mph! Our favorites were the turbocharged CBR1000XX Blackbird and the 1970 Daytona-winning CR750. We've amassed a huge gallery and pasted in the press release after the jump. Click away and enjoy 50 years of American Honda.




Photos copyright ©2009 Frank Filipponio / Weblogs, Inc.

We returned from a secret mission in Alaska just in time to make it to one of our favorite smaller concours, the Huntington Beach Concours d'Elegance in Central Park this past weekend. Not quite as prestigious as the L.A. Concours we covered from the Rose Bowl, it's always an eclectic show, with everything from hot rods to supercars, pre-war classics to bikes. In fact, Big Dog and Nimbus Motorcycles were featured this year. Pontiac and Aston Martin were the featured automotive marques, but there were a healthy showing of Mini enthusiasts as well for the car's 50th anniversary. Not quite as many as the number at Silverstone last month, but there were about 50 of them in every color and configuration you could think of. Lots of Ferraris, muscle cars, Corvettes and motorcycles as well.

This concours always attracts mostly locals, but this year, that included seven Borgward Isabella owners! We're not sure we've ever seen more than one in any single show before so this was a bit of a treat. And there was at least one representative of each bodystyle: saloon, estate, cabriolet, and coupe. The Master of Ceremonies was local car presenter Dave Kunz and the Grand Marshall was Jim Wangers, "Godfather of the GTO," on hand to celebrate Pontiac. Although we couldn't make it on Saturday, the previous day's Grand Marshall was our MINI-mad friend, Fireball Tim Lawrence, who was at the show on Sunday as well, just not marshaling as grandly.

Highlights included the Judson-supercharged MG TD Mille Miglia, Ferrari 400 SuperAmerica, Lusso and Europa, Barbie-pink Mini, International Karate Champion Harley, BMW 501 V8, Pegaso 102, Jaguar XK120R, '31 Cadillac Convertible Coupe, Marco Rigassi's '32 Highboy, a tangerine AMX, and the Schwinn Stingray Super Deluxe and Apple Krate. Other sentimental favorites included the '81 Lancia Zagato, two Subaru SVX sports coupes, two early Mazda RX-7s, and a trio of '80s GM ragtops. It was another fun, family-oriented show that had us smiling about being car people.


All photos copyright ©2009 Frank Filipponio / Weblogs, Inc.

As we approach the half-way point of 2009, the automotive industry is still in turmoil and the economy is just barely showing signs of recovery, but we still have plenty to be happy about. Dozens of concours events, cruise nights, and local shows are being held each and every weekend around the country. There's probably one close to you. Greenwich, Huntington Beach, Los Angeles, and Rodeo Drive top that list of concours in June. There will also be plenty of racing action with another running of the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans June 13 and 14. Formula 1 makes stops at Turkey and Silverstone. With the Indianapolis 500 over, IndyCar moves on to Texas, Iowa and Richmond. And NASCAR fans can see action at Pocono, Michigan International Speedway, Infineon and New Hampshire. Speed junkies will also have another go at land speed records when the next El Mirage event takes place June 14.

There will also be some auction action too, with a Bonhams sale at the Greenwich Concours d'Elegance and the Mecum Corvette Auction during Bloomington Gold in St. Charles, Illinois. One of our favorite events of the summer returns this June, the Friends of Steve McQueen Car Show in Chino Hills, CA. Other events on our Google Calendar this month include the Carlisle All-Ford Nationals, Susquehannock Trail Rally, Fleetwood Country Cruize-In, Corvettes of Myrtle Beach, Greatest Cruise on Turf, Wranglers' All Ford Show and Swap Meet, 20th Annual Orphan Car Tour, Automezzi Colorado, Red Mill British Car Day, 14th Annual San Clemente Car Show, GoodGuys Hot Rod Nationals, AutoMat's 52nd Anniversary Car Show, 24th Annual Huntington Beach Concours, UCP Concours d'Elegance, Ault Park Concours d'Elegance, Classy Chassis, Pismo Beach Classic Car Show, 45th Annual L.A. Roadster Show, British Motorcar Gathering, Challenge Rally Cinque, The Hemmings Challenge, Annie & Steve Norman Classic Motorcar Rally, GoodGuys East Coast Nationals, CAR Show at the AACA Museum, Palo Alto Concours d'Elegance at Stanford, and another pair of AW Briefing events from London.

If none of those events appeals to you, check the Google Calendar after the jump for even more listings, all with detailed info and links. Please use the comments section to add or modify listings. Oh, and Happy Fathers Day to all of you Dads out there.

It's hard to believe it's been two decades since Mazda first showed the world how to build a classic British sports car right. The roadster known as the Miata and MX-5 at different times and places around the world is 20 years old and to celebrate, Mazda has invited 200 examples and their owners from across Europe to a party in France next month at the 24 Hours of LeMans.

Over the course of two decades and three generations, Mazda has sold over 850,000 MX-5s and it remains one of the most entertaining roadsters available. While it's never been the most powerful sports car and some dismiss it as a secretary's chosen chariot, the compact, lightweight roadster has won over even the most insecure alpha males with taut handling, a balanced drivetrain and one of the simplest convertible mechanisms known to man.

European MX-5 owners who want to participate in the party should contact their national MX-5 club or Mazda France. The 200 attendees will watch the race from the Mazda camp alongside the circuit and a best in show will be awarded, along with plenty of goodies.

The Nürburgring 24 kicked off a short time ago, and as was the case last year, you can watch it streaming live (in German) at the official Nürburgring 24 site. RadioLeMans.com is providing live audio in English. Just head over there and click the "Listen Live" button in the upper left corner. Then, if you're us, you'll turn off the volume on the German video stream and listen to the RadioLeMans.com audio, since they're calling it off the same video feed. Good stuff.

[Sources: Nürburgring 24, Radio Le Mans]

The Grand Prix region of the Porsche Club of America (PCA-GPX) is centered in the Long Beach area of Southern California. It takes its name from the Grand Prix held every year since 1975 on the streets of the coastal city south of Los Angeles. Besides getting together for the race every year, the PCA-GPX also hosts a number of driving and dining events throughout the year, including a spectacular concours d'elegance in the shadow of the Queen Mary.

We tagged along with the 356 Club this year to see what the show was like. Besides seeing some of the greatest Porsche models from the past 50 years, we also met some great people, had some terrific food, and learned a thing or two about the 356, 911, 912, 964, 993, 996, 997, and the rest of the offerings from Stuttgart and Weissach. We rekindled our love affair with the iconic Gruppe B-inspired 959, we made a new friend in the form of the 1977 SCCA Trans-Am Championship-winning 934.5 and we spotted an "Outlaw" 356 with a 3.3-liter 930 turbo motor that's probably as fast as either of those two.

Primarily we discovered that despite the state of the automotive industry, one thing remains true: people are still celebrating their cars. Join the celebration by checking out the massive gallery below.


Photos copyright ©2009 Frank Filipponio / Weblogs, Inc.