’Tis the season, so rev your engines for the holidays

As the weather stays the same and no natural indicator of season change occurs in Southern California, I frequently, and eagerly, check and recheck the dates of two of my favorite holidays in the fall — not to mention the date that marks the beginning of what I like to call “Open Season.”
Are you wondering what two events could have this girl dancing in her favorite black heels? It’s Southern California car show season, and this year’s festivities are full of promise.
The Orange County Auto Show and Los Angeles Auto Show are coming up — the O.C. show is this week — and I couldn’t be more excited than if Christmas morning was only a few days away.
The really exciting fact: I’m credentialed for both shows. That means media access before the public is allowed to park. Oh yeah.
The line up of this year’s shows has all kinds of potential. At the O.C. Auto Show there will be a number of West Coast debuts and the L.A. Auto Show will have North American debuts, including the unveiling of the much anticipated 2010 Ford Mustang.
The O.C. Auto Show will have for the first time on the West Coast the Chevrolet Silverado hybrid, Lamborghini LP560-4, 2009 Pontiac Solstice Coupe, 2009 Subaru Impreza WRX and 2009 Volkswagen Jetta TDI Clean Diesel.
While none of these really catch my eye — OK, you got me, I drooled a little when I saw the LP560-4 would be making a cameo — the real reason I’m going out to the Anaheim Convention Center is the celebrity appearances.
Some of Hollywood’s most memorable cars will be on display this year including Bumblebee, the Camaro from “Transformers,” the time-traveling DeLorean from “Back to the Future” and a Mach 5 inspired by “Speed Racer.” While I’m stoked for the Doc’s machine and a sucker for speed, Bumblebee is the car-lebrity I’m dying to see in person. Awesome cars, huge robots, what more could you ask for in a movie?
I also have to admit, I’m hoping to grease a palm or two while I’m there. Mostly with Mark Williams, the senior features editor of Motortrend. If I can’t convince him to become a regular reader of my humble blog, maybe I can at least score an internship.
But I digress.
Besides nearly fainting from seeing my favorite big-screen cars, I’m very excited about the test driving opportunities that await me in the O.C. Mazda, Toyota and Hyundai will all have ride and drive events this year. Check back for what I test and what I think.
The O.C. Auto Show is like Christmas Eve for me, a few presents, but really more of an excitement builder for the next morning. Although the L.A. Auto Show won’t take place for more than a month after the O.C. show, the anticipation will only grow.
Any regular reader knows about my obsession and excitement over the 2010 Mustang, and I’ll be there the minute it is unveiled with my camera and a defibrillator in the event my heart stops.
Along with my beloved Mustang, 20 world debuts are confirmed so far for the L.A. Auto Show. Not all of the specific cars were not mentioned, but Buick, Cadillac, Ford, Honda, Hyundai, Infiniti, Lamborghini, Lincoln, Lexus, Mazda, Mercury, Nissan, Porsche and Volkswagen are the manufacturers who signed up.
Not much information is available for the L.A. Auto Show, but I’ll be checking the website regularly between now and press days. The lack of information just makes me more excited.
Stay tuned for complete coverage of both shows.



The L.A. Auto Show is tricky to get in to, but this is my golden ticket! I smooth talked my way in last year, and I guess they decided I was good enough to come back.






SHOW INFO

Orange County Auto Show

Dates:
Oct. 2 to Oct.

Hours:
Thursday, Oct. 2 and Friday, Oct. 3: noon to 10 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 4: 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 5: 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Ticket Prices:
Adults (13+) $10
Seniors (62+) $6
Kids (12 and under) Free

College Two-Fer day (Thursday): Buy one $10 adult admission with valid college ID & get a second adult admission free with a second valid college ID

Los Angeles Auto Show

Dates:
Nov. 21 to Nov. 30, 2008

Hours:
Friday, Nov. 21: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Saturdays: 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Sundays: 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Mon – Weds: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Thanksgiving Day: 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 28: 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Selling a name

I’ve recently come to the realization that the automotive world may have more in common with the sports world than I previously thought — I’m not talking about racing.
I’m talking about isolating one name and selling it off.
Professional sports teams do it all the time. Fans be damned, team owners want the money so they sell beloved players. The team remains intact with the exception of that one player.
Chrysler LLC is thinking about doing the same. In late August, Chrysler LLC announced that it was considering selling it’s high performance sports car, Viper, to interested third parties. Chrysler LLC even brought in a financial consultant, Lazzard Limited, to advise the sale.
According to an article on www.caranddriver.com, Chrysler doesn’t have a specific time it wants Viper sold by.
Some domestic companies, Roush and Saleen, have expressed an interest in buying Viper. But reports indicate people shouldn’t be surprised if a foreign company picks it up.
Viper is the halo car of Dodge. Let’s face it, Viper is the halo car for Chrysler LLC. A halo car is a high-performance, high-power car that companies make to prove to enthusiasts they have what it takes to be stylish and fast. Companies like Porsche, Lamborghini and Ferrari don’t need halo cars, but Ford, GM and Chrysler do.
Unfortunately, halo cars aren’t known for their tremendous sales.
USA Today reported that last year Dodge only sold 435 Vipers. The Detroit News reported that sales are up this year, with 682 Vipers sold as of July.
Those numbers shouldn’t be all the surprising. The Viper is available in two models. The roadster starts at $85,545 and the coupe starts at $86,295, according to the Dodge website. But honestly, if you’re buying a Viper, who is going to buy it stock? Add some fun features and your Viper is easily over $100,000.
Unfortunately, the high cost and low numbers don’t balance out in a way that is really beneficial to Chrysler, or its parent Cerberus — a private equity investment company with its hands in numerous industries. Cerberus is in the business of making money. It’s not particularly concerned with the fact that Viper has become one of Chrysler’s iconic halo cars — not to mention proof that the U.S. can compete in high performance vehicles.
Different estimates for the worth of the Viper name have been reported from different sources. David Healy, an auto analyst at Burnham Securities, told The Detroit News “that Viper could sell for maybe $50 million — likely ‘as a hobby for an Indian car manufacturer.’” But Kevin Tynan, an analyst at Argus Research, told USA Today that he thinks Viper could go for $140 million to $150 million. Does anyone else think the $90 million to $100 million difference in the estimates is a bit much? I almost wish Chrysler would hurry up and sell so I could see the final price.
In addition to selling off entire brands, like Ford selling Land Rover and Jaguar, many automotive companies have been seriously cutting back on the models produced — cutting out the low-selling high-performing cars — and closing factories. General Motors is planning on closing the factory where Hummers are made. Chrysler has plans to close the factory where Vipers are produced, the Corner Avenue Assembly Plant in Detroit, at the end of 2011, making that the last model year for Vipers.
It sounds like if someone else doesn’t pick up Viper, it’s at risk of going extinct. It will have been around for just under 20 years.

The art of building your dream car

Let’s be realistic. A lot of us will never be able to own the cars that race on the highways in our dreams — or maybe that’s just me. But it never hurts to plan out the colors, features, and extra options of a car you might consider buying one day. Thanks to the Internet, you can design just about any car, from a Toyota Corolla to a Porsche 911 Turbo. The “build your car” feature on most websites is a great way to pass free time, and motivate you to get a job that will help your dream become a reality. Here are a few of my personal favorites:
Design and build your own MINI
This is one of my semi-realistic dream cars. I like to start with the MINI John Cooper Works hardtop. I’m not a fan of convertibles, and while the Cooper S is a lot of fun, in my dreams, I always have the top-of-the-line.
The base price of the JCW MINI is $28,550. I like the British Racing Green color with a white roof and white mirrors. For the extra $100, I like to get the white bonnet stripes too. I toss in both the premium package and convenience package because I want a sunroof, keyless entry and an iPod adapter. For handling, I take the sport suspension, $500 but thanks to choosing the already awesome JCW MINI, I don’t need much else. The only things left to add are leather seats, a center armrest and killer sound system bringing my total to a mere $37,120. Not bad.

Ford: Build and price
I can’t help myself. I have to build a Mustang. I start with the Mustang coupe, premium GT for only $28,725. I liked the Grabber Orange color, because it was more of a yellow — at least on my screen. I added the 18-inch chrome aluminum wheels with all season tires. I don’t believe in the DVD-based navigation, I’d rather stick to my Garmin, so I save almost $2,000 and still get what seems to be a decent radio. Five simple steps and I’ve got an awesome Mustang, not really my dream but you can’t build a 64 1/2 online, you need to build it physically. The total of my Mustang: $30,705. But that’s limited to what I can do on the Ford website. If I took it to Shelby I expect to double that number.

Build your Porsche
Shut up — a girl can dream. And I dream in Speed Yellow on a 911 Turbo. I wouldn’t want the wheels painted the same though. That’s a little too much yellow. I like how the adaptive sports seat with driver memory sound, so I figured $1,145 wasn’t much more when you think of the $128,700 base MSRP. Now it’s on to the fun stuff. Porsche Ceramic Composite Brakes, Speed Yellow seatbelts, Bluetooth interface for mobile phone with a phone holder, six disc CD/DVD changer, universal audio interface and a fire extinguisher — safety first. And the grand total of a very awesome, very yellow Porsche is $153,770. But come on, seatbelts that will match the exterior? Totally worth it.

As much fun as I have building cars my journalistic salary might never aid me in purchasing, sometimes I do like to be realistic and look at cars I could buy in the next few years — before I make it big on the NASCAR circuit.

Volkswagen: Build
It’s not nearly as exciting — it doesn’t come in Speed Yellow or British Racing Green — but it’s affordable and practical. Those are two of my least favorite words. The VW Rabbit with four doors starts at $17,575. Black is really the only color that makes this car look remotely sexy, so black it is. I can’t really tell the difference between the interior color, so I skip it. I don’t believe in tiptronic transmissions, so a standard five-speed it is. At least I can add 18 inch wheels to make myself feel sportier. And a sunroof. I really like those. The sunroof was the last addition to my Rabbit, bringing the total to $19,827. That’s not completely unreasonable. I could buy seven Rabbits for the price of my Porsche.

Toyota: Build your own
The moderately priced Yaris is an excellent choice for any college student. It gets respectable gas mileage and the sedan version starts at $12,965. I chose “Option A” which is the convenience package. It includes AM/FM CD player with MP3/WMA playback capability, auxiliary audio jack, satellite radio capability and CD text display function; 60/40 split fold-down rear seat, 15-in. steel wheels with full wheel covers and rear window defroster — all for $840. To make it look more fun, I chose the Barcelona Red Metallic exterior color. I figured I’d keep this simple and not pick any pricey options so my total would stay relatively close to base price — it’s even under $15,000. My practical, responsible Yaris will only cost $14,525.

Build your Nissan
Hatchbacks are my favorite. I’m not in love with the Nissan Versa, but all things considered it’s practical — I really, really hate that word. The Versa hatchback starts at $12,990 and comes with 60/40 Split fold-down rear seatbacks, roof-mounted curtain side-impact supplemental air bags and front seat-mounted side-impact supplemental air bags. The Blue Onyx is a nice color without that look-at-me attitude. The nice thing about the Versa is that you can get either a manual or automatic transmission standard, a lot of times the automatic costs extra. I kept the manual. Anti-lock brakes aren’t standard, but it’s not an expensive option and it’s worth the cost, even if you have to buy the splash guards. The final cost of my Versa was $14,045, making it the least expensive car in my dream fleet.

Mustang facelift makes its debut in November

Stronger badge, stronger car
The 2010 Mustang is supposed to be stronger, crisper and more muscular. Shouldn’t the beloved pony badge match?
Ford has decided to give the classic badge a makeover and put a lot of thought into it.
The new pony will be more muscular, with more defined lines.
“We wanted to give the Mustang pony a more realistic feel,” said Douglas Gaffka, chief designer for the 2010 Mustang, in a press release. “We lifted the head to make the pony more proud, tipped the neck into the wind to give it a feeling of greater speed and better balance.”
250 words, 2010 Mustang
It’s been far too long since I turned my Mustang daydreams into a blog, so here’s what I’m dreaming about today.
Today I’m picturing myself pulled over on the side of Interstate 5. I’m driving home to Pleasanton, Calif. to visit my mom and dad, when a CHP Camaro pulls me over — yes a Camaro, that will be the only CHP car that will be able to catch me. Why? Because I’ll be cruising at unreasonable speeds in my brand new 2010 Ford Mustang. Did I mention this ponycar was free?
Well for some lucky schmuck, my dream might be a reality — without the whole being-pulled-over-for-speeding part. How is that possible? Ford is giving away a 2010 Mustang, for the low price of 250 words.
One lucky person who spins a tale of their Mustang experience in 250 words will win one. I don’t think I could ever limit my word count like that, so I’ll keep dreaming.
But whoever does win is one lucky person. Ford is about to make one of its bestselling cars even better.
It’ll start with the appearance. Some people may think the Mustang isn’t as tough looking as a Dodge Charger, those people will need to think again. The Mustang is getting a small hump behind the doors, like a muscular shoulder.
Other modifications will come in the taillights, the nose and — you guessed it — under the hood.
Some reports say that Ford is contemplating using a twin-turbo V-6 in the 2010 Mustang. The engine, which Ford has dubbed EcoBoost, is designed to help reach the ridiculous CAFE standards of 2020. Right now the EcoBoost is supposed to appear first in a performance version of the Fusion, but if it works, it could be a fuel efficient alternative for the original pony.
To win this dream car, log on to www.the2010mustang.com and tell your tale. The last day to submit is Oct. 15. The public, mostly Mustang enthusiasts, will vote for their favorite story from Oct. 18 to Oct. 30 with the winner announced Oct. 30.
The 2010 Mustang will debut Nov. 19 at the LA Auto Show and I fully plan on being there to see it unveiled. Who knows, maybe I’ll try to curtail my story to win the pony of my dreams.