SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA AND COACHELLA VALLEY CAR NUTS!

SIMON COWELL BUYS BUGATTI VEYRON, ROLLER DROPHEAD COUPE, MCLAREN SLR TO ADD TO HIS COLLECTION

Rolls-Royce has calculated that there are 85,400 people in the world who have the necessary disposable income to buy their cars. The company-aims to do business with 1 per cent of them every year. Simon Cowell already had one (or two) but a few weekends ago in Los Angeles bought one of the first Roller Phantom Drophead Coupes ... and a Bugatti Veyron. (Photo --- Cowell and girlfriend Terri Seymour in a Bugatti Veyron, perhaps a "test-drive loaner;" Cowell took home an all-black model).

American Idol's Simon Cowell, 49, the (creator/producer/) judge on that FOX-TV smash hit which viewers most love to hate, did what untold millions of other transplanted Southern Californians have done before --- Hit a few car lots, kicked a few tires and considered making a purchase or two, perhaps wanting to bring something special home for the girlfriend, so she can make a run to the market when their stock of eggs dwindles.

When his weekend shopping jaunt was over (he had some spare time to shop because the Rugby World Cup precluded taping of his UK TV show, X Factor), the garage at Cowell's a-building Beverly Hills manse was populated by two new models (of cars, that is, not fashion): A Bugatti Veyron and a Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe. Cowell dropped somewhere well north of $2 million (with factory options) for the two engines, eight wheels, AM radios and all else which comes with these machines (the ego boost alone has got to be phenomenal ... and worth it).

He's got the cash; no one need hold a benefit dinner for The Young Mr. Cowell. More than two years ago, Cowell signed a "golden handcuffs" deal worth £20 million-a-year (currently USD$39,037,284) with the UK's ITV, making him the highest paid British TV star of all time (quick, name two other highly-paid UK TV stars ... Ha ha! Got you on that one!). (Photo --- Last week, for Mother's Day in Los Angeles, Simon Cowell took his mom to the star-heavy Ivy restaurant on Robertson Boulevard in West Hollywood, which is directly across the street from a business office which we've frequented for many years ... So I can attest that the street is always a 'scene', with star-sightings as guaranteed as anywhere in La-La Land. And Cedars-Sinai Hospital is barely 100 yards around the corner from the famed eatery, which is where celebrities have their kids; they die of old age at St. John's in Santa Monica. Anyway, Cowell and Mum enjoyed arriving in son's black custom-built Rolls-Royce Phantom Limousine, purchased near New Year's, 2008, and equipped with that most showbizzy of optional extras - mirrored privacy glass).

Turns out that Cowell already had quite an auto collection. Cowell's is not in the "Jay Leno mode," that is,   a grouping of classics and collectibles kept in a plain-Jane industrial area near the Burbank (CA) Airport. Leno visits "his garage" almost every day, sometimes twice a day, tuning and working on the cars and motorcycles himself aided by a small crew; no, Cowell's collection is probably more closely-related to what the average Car Nut would purchase if they found themselves on the winning end of the Super Lotto. They're generally stock from the factory, they're new, they have warranties and Cowell doesn't have to employ a full-time gang of wrenches to do upkeep on the the fleet.

He says, "I've got lots of nice cars... six, in fact. It's completely over the top! I absolutely love them. I could have 100 cars and I'd still want more. I love staring at them. I love driving them too. I've got two Rolls-Royce Phantoms, a Range Rover, a Jaguar XKR, an Aston Martin DB9 convertible and a very hot Mini Cooper which I drive more than anything else."

In addition to the newly-acquired Veyron and Roller, Cowell has recently taken-delivery on one of the last of a small run of McLaren SLR coupes, what many call "the ultimate Mercedes-Benz sports car". The USD$683,052 McLaren, as all of Cowell's cars, has instant credibility, inherent high value and immediate cachet. This is not only because of their low production numbers which translates into exclusivity, but also their celebrity connection. In fact, in years to come, Cowell's stable will do very well either at auction or in private sales because the cars are so stock ... We'd expect that all the numbers will "match". (Photo --- Cowell in the Veyron which he now calls his own; fewer than 200 of the cars have been built since production began in 2005).

The style and comfort of the Bugatti Veyron coupe deserves a whooping price-tag. Built by Volkswagen, the car comes with more than 1,000 horsepower being produced by its 16-cylinder engine and a top speed of 253.81 mph (408.47 km/h). The Bugatti concept car at the 1999 Tokyo Motor Show actually had 18 cylinders. Cowell's Bugatti Veyron is truly a stud car. With an excess of 1,000 horsepower, the Veyron - built by Volkswagen, which also owns the Bentley, Audi and Lamborghini car brands - has a top speed of 253.81 mph (408.47 km/h). The car lists for $1,480,584 in US dollars.

For much more on Simon Cowell and his cars, click below!

ARNOLD'S SQUEEZE NOW CHOKING FROGS?

PHOTO UPDATE! For a moment after seeing this photo we thought comedian Buddy Hackett had returned from the grave and donned a woman's wig and clothing, but thankfully, we were wrong. Remember a year-or-so ago when there were rumors about a California State Assemblywoman having slept with Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger? Actually, the woman, Bonnie Garcia, a long-time Republican hack from Southern California's one-and-only remaining bastion of the Grand Old Party --- the Palm Springs area --- started the rumors herself by telling a group of 16- and 17-year old female high school students, in a 'home ec' classroom, with reporters in the room, that she "wouldn't throw him (the Governor) out of bed!" How Garcia ever let a conversation in any classroom get to that point is still beyond us; good thing, even though I am against term limits, Garcia gets "termed-out" this election. Garcia is obviously a decorous and proud Hispanic Republican woman only trying to help students in her district "to do better". This photo of Garcia appeared in the LA TIMES this past week. In it, Garcia appears startled by a frog (near her left hand) during the annual "Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" competition in Sacramento, CA, which was made famous in a book by Mark Twain. By the way, the frog is green; Garcia is the one in the pretty pink sweater from Target's "husky teen" section. Keep it up, Senora Bonnie! All that Pilates work appears to be paying off --- Maybe Governor Arnold will give you a second look this year.

BIG WILLIE TO BE FEATURED ON NBC-TV SHOW "WHIPNOTIC"

A group of General Motors officials and executives, hosting about a dozen automotive journalists from throughout the Western US, gathered recently in the painfully-hip Huntley Hotel in Santa Monica, CA, for a media introduction of the all-new Pontiac G8 and 2009 Pontiac Vibe. All were pleasantly surprised to find the legendary co-founder of the "National and International Brotherhood of Street Racers," "Big" Willie Robinson, in their midst. He was taking a meeting with a segment producer of the NBC-TV automotive show, Whipnotic. Robinson (on the right in the photo) and Whipnotic's Yon Motskin spoke for well over an hour, doing the necessary initial planning for a Whipnotic segment about Willie, his recently-departed wife of 38 years, Tomiko, the Brotherhood and the hoped-for re-opening of Brotherhood Raceway on Terminal Island in the Los Angeles Harbor area. (Photos by Steve Parker).

Whipnotic, the NBC-TV show, is now in its fourth month of brand-new episodes every week focusing on the Southern California automotive lifestyle each Saturday at 5pm. My guess is that the segment will show sometime in the next 3 to 6 weeks; as soon as we know the exact date, we'll announce it and have it available for viewing right here on this SteveParker.com website and it will also be on the Whipnotic.com website, too.

I have been a consultant to NBC-TV's Whipnotic show,  and also the Whipnotic.com website. We've been working closely with Fred Roggin and Kip Epps, the show's executive producers, on various aspects of the program, and also have been providing material for the Whipnotic.com website since well before the first week both the show and the website went "live" on NBC-TV and the Internet, in mid-January, 2008. We're happy and proud to have been able to have introduced the people behind-the-scenes at Whipnotic to Willie and the Brotherhood and to have some small part in making this segment on the show possible.

Here's the latest on the status of Brotherhood Raceway's re-opening: Land for the track on Terminal Island appears to be available; the concrete barriers, grandstands and other items which have been loaned in the past by the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach to Brotherhood Raceway are again available; Southern California weather is now dry and warm for the next several months, and members of both the LAPD and LA Sheriff's Department are making their support known of the track known publicly. Also, and most unfortunately, many injuries and deaths resulting from illegal street racing keep occurring throughout Southern California and throughout the nation, and gang-related crime including injuries and deaths of gang members and innocent civilians resulting from shootings and other violent crimes continue throughout the City of Los Angeles and the counties of Los Angeles, Ventura, Riverside, San Bernardino, Imperial, San Diego and Orange. The positive results throughout the entire community which came from Brotherhood Raceway's opening after the 1992 Los Angeles "Rodney King Riots" are well-known; many people in all levels of government in the area are saying that "the time is right" for Brotherhood to re-open.

Whipnotic is the first NBC-TV program produced in both English and Spanish. KNBC sportscaster Mario  Solis hosts the English-language version, seen every Saturday at 5pm on KNBC/TV4 Los Angeles, and repeated at 2am Sunday mornings. The program also airs on KNBC’s Digital Channel 4.4 (available on Time Warner Cable) at 8pm on Saturdays. Toni Romero hosts the Spanish-language version on Telemundo's KVEA/TV52 in Los Angeles, which runs each Sunday at 9:30am.

E-mail Big Willie by clicking anywhere on this line. We're doing our best to keep everyone up-to-date of the very latest news concerning Willie and the track's soon-to-come re-opening. Please direct any other Brotherhood members and/or others interested in Big Willie and the track to this SteveParker.com website. And be sure to let us know any related news by e-mailing us directly; just click anywhere on this line to do so. Thank you!

NEW LOS ANGELES GADGET AND POSSIBLE LAW/TAX FIT OUR AUTOMOTIVE TIMES

Speaking of Los Angeles legends ... I'm watching the Dodgers beating the Giants at Dodger Stadium, and it's just turned into a rainout. A rainout in LA!? Those usually don't happen until July ... or August. (Photo --- You might recognize Los Angeles City Hall as the "Daily Planet Building" from the old Superman TV series; nothing magical about it, but both interiors and exteriors of it have been seen in hundreds of films and TV shows).

And now, two auto-related news stories out of (where else?) Los Angeles, the world's Capitol of Cars and, also no coincidence, legislation which attempts to manage, control and charge for them all. One story tells of a proven way for California drivers to help pay our way to cleaner air, our second story is about a gadget which reminds the owner when a car payment is due.

Both of these tales of woe are courtesy the Los Angeles Times and KTLA/TV5, the first commercial TV station west of the Mighty Mississippi ... These one-time legends of news and purveyors of sport both suffer from having the same incumbent owner, a slumlord from Chicago called Sam Zell, who created some sort of financial dodge which puts the holdings of the former Tribune Corporation into the hands of the employees, at least the ones left after Zell finishes his corporate slashing and burning. (Photo --- Sam Zell).

But Angelenos, never fear; Zell apparently hates Chi-town as much as he loathes LA ... He's already announced the impending sale of not only the Chicago Cubs (also a former Trib property) but their Wrigley Field, too, where they started playing in 1916. The gum-making Wrigley family, who also owned the team and the stadium at one time, also owned most of Santa Catalina Island, just "26 miles across the sea" from Los Angeles, as the Four Preps sang in 1958, and those very same baseball Cubs wintered for many years on Catalina Island, honing their baseball, uh, skills, we guess you'd call them ... In 1936, Ronald Reagan, as a young radio announcer for WHO in Des Moines, Iowa, traveled to Catalina Island to cover the Cubs during their spring training. While there, he took a screen test and was offered an acting role. How different our world might have been but for the Wrigleys ... But enough of the past! Here's the latest "auto news" from So Cal:

A Riverside County company is cashing in on the subprime credit crunch.

Murrieta-based, Sekurus, sells a device that will disable a driver's car if a payment is missed.

The so-called 'On-Time' device is actually a little box mounted underneath the dashboard that forces high risk car-buyers to make their payments on time.

A light on the plastic box flashes when a payment is due. If the payment isn't made the vehicle won't start. The next step is a visit from the repo man.

Sekurus has sold 250,000 devices at up to $250 each. Most are purchased by finance companies or dealers who cater to car buyers with troubled credit histories.

The privately held Sekurus has grown at a 30% rate in recent years. Revenue goal this year: $20 million.

For the next story, click on the link below:

IT'S SOAP BOX DERBY TIME! GET INVOLVED!

BE THERE! Saturday, March 29, 2008, the "14th Annual Coachella Valley Don Berry Memorial Soap Box Derby" will be run on Avenidas Bermudas in La Quinta, California. From 9am until every entrant has run, late in the afternoon, there will be all the excited thrills and spills which occur in every kind of speed contest, but also a lot more. There will be great amounts of love, enthusiasm, coaching, learning, caring, mentoring and winners and losers ... But truly, no losers at all. All the competing girls and boys, from age 8 through 17, have, along with their adult "partners", built their own Soap Box race cars, made from kits which are shared by every participant, developed new ways to coax more traction and speed from their vehicles, learned about working with sponsors and, especially, the local media, to get the word out about this great annual event. These are great lessons for anyone of any age ... Just imagine if you'd had these kinds of lessons when you were much younger!

And the winners can make it all the way to the this year's "71st Finals" in Akron, Ohio.

This coming July 26, 2008, over 100,000 spectators will gather in Akron for the finals of the "71st All-American Soap Box Derby". Over the decades, the Derby has had its highs and lows, as any large event might, but in the past few years, along with a resurgence in Americans' patriotism, it has re-built itself into a huge, exciting contest not only for boys and girls, but also for their moms and dads, aunts and uncles, granddads and grandmoms, mentors and coaches of all types and kinds.

We'll be there at Avenidas Bermudas on March 29th, cameras and microphones in-hand, interviewing and taping all the kids and their great efforts, along with those of their mentors and sponsors, who are often the most emotional people at the event, based on past experience, for a future  'CAR NUT TV' show, and of course we'll post all the video on this website, too.

Over the years, many people have been great contributors to the Coachella Valley's Derby, including the late US President Gerald R. Ford, who with his wife, Betty, was for many years a local resident, and always a great font of encouragement for the Derby and all its participants and supporters. Don Berry, for whom the local Derby is named, established the event and was a person of non-stop action and enthusiasm, doing everything which needed to be done to guarantee the local Derby would continue on for years, even without him, as it has. Fred Mohler, now a longtime local Coachella Valley resident, was the national winner of the Soap Box Derby in Akron, Ohio, in 1953, and gives willingly of his time and effort, wherever he might be of the greatest good to encourage his "kids". We do point out, however, that while Mohler was from Muncie, Indiana, the next three finishers that year, 54 years ago, were from Los Angeles, only 100 miles from where our local Derby will be held on March, 29th, in La Quinta.

And we want to encourage all the adults from the Southern California area who visit this website --- more than several hundred a day --- To participate as sponsors and mentors in their own local Soap Box Derby! It's fun, it's a great learning and teaching experience,  and it's a fantastic way for kids and adults together to learn patience and teamwork. And all the local events need sponsors of all kinds, large and small, as you'll read below.

To paraphrase Dragnet's Sgt. Joe Friday, "Here's just the facts":

Race Date: March 29, 2008, 9AM Start - till approximately 4-5PM

Location: Avenida Bermudas in the La Quinta Cove area

Contact information: 760-564-3761; E-mail: Luciam@dc.rr.com

Coachella Valley Soap Box Derby Local Website: www.cvsbd.org

Ages: Stock 8-13, Super Stock 10-17

Divisions: Stock & Super Stock (Masters Division to be held in 2009)

Local area for competitors: All of Riverside & Imperial Counties (and portions of San Bernardino, i.e. 29 Palms)

Cost of New Car: Approximately $700

We are always looking for sponsors to help with the costs to send the winners back to Akron. 

Anyone interested in a sponsorship, please call 760-564-3761.  We can get your names in the event program for this year's event if you contact the Derby by March 25th.

Click below to read more for the sponsor and contact information ... Maybe you can help out! Maybe you should help out! What if someone had helped you when you read about the Soap Box Derby as a kid ... maybe you dreamed about participating ... but for whatever reasons, you couldn't ... Maybe that was because that someone who could have helped you never called when they should have ... So NOW is YOUR chance to help! It'll be fun! You'll LOVE it ... So DO it!

80-YEAR-OLD WOMAN VERSUS RANGE ROVER: ROVER WINS

While we search the newswires every day for the car, truck, motorcycle and motor racing stories we think you'll find most useful and entertaining, sometimes a story jumps off the screen, grabs us by the throat and pummels us into submission all the time screaming, "This could only happen in Southern California!"

Which is exactly what happened with the story below ... How could we possibly resist posting this story, and thanks to it, creating a new site section entitled, "Only in So Cal". And we think the following is a great story with which to kick-off (pardon the pun, which you'll 'get' after reading the first line of the piece, which we found on the KNBC/TV4 website) the new section:

An 80-year-old Corona (a city about 30 miles east of Anaheim, CA) woman who tried to turn off the idling engine of a Range Rover was hospitalized after the vehicle slipped into gear and ran over her legs Monday, authorities said. (Photo - The daunting interior of a Range Rover; could an 80-year old woman lean into the vehicle, engine idling, and turn the key while it's in the ignition?)

The Range Rover then continued into the street, where it managed to strike both sides of a parked vehicle (now you don't see THAT every day, do you?)  before plowing into a tree. The crash was reported at 9:35 a.m., and happened at a home in a gated community on Reserve Drive at Trilogy Parkway, said California Highway Patrol Officer George Foard.

The engine apparently had been started by the victim's 50-year-old daughter, who then got out of the Range Rover and went into the home, Foard said. He said the vehicle had not been put properly into the "park" mode and slipped into gear as the 80-year-old woman leaned into it.

Foard said that the Rover ran over both her legs, cutting the flesh down to the bone. The vehicle then rolled backward down the driveway and hit a parked vehicle belonging to a woman who was waiting to take the 80-year-old woman on an errand, he said.

After hitting one side of the other vehicle, the Range Rover continued into the street, where it did a U-turn  and then struck the same vehicle on its other side, Foard said. The Rover then went up the driveway and struck a tree, he said.

The victim was taken by ambulance to Inland Valley Medical Center, the CHP reported. The woman in the other vehicle was not injured, authorities said. (end of story)

Now ... Could we make these things up? Our best wishes to the injured woman. She must have imagined that she's a lot taller than she is, in order to reach into an idling Range Rover from the driver's side open door, then try to reach either over or under the steering column tunnel to try and turn the key ... And if she reached in from the passenger's side, then she was really not hitting on all eight, as the saying goes.

FIRST "DESERT CLASSIC CONCOURS d'ELEGANCE" DRAWS 100+ CARS, THOUSANDS OF SPECTATORS IN PALM SPRINGS, CA

SEE THE ALL-NEW "PHOTO ALBUM" FOR THIS EVENT BY CLICKING ANYWHERE ON THIS LINE! OVER 60 PHOTOS OF EVERYTHING FROM THE "FIRST FERRARI" TO AMERICAN CLASSICS TO ONE OF TEN MASERATI MC12 STRADALES IN THE COUNTRY ... COST? ... OVER $900,000!

The "Inaugural Event" of the "Desert Classic Concourse d'Elegance", held at the O'Donnell Golf Course in downtown Palm Springs, California, was held Saturday, March 1st, and for a first-time Concours, promoters produced a nice grouping of (mostly) very local cars, a large number of vendors and a very nicely-produced, well-written and superbly-designed souvenir program. And as often as we complain about automotive PR people, we have to admit that the PR folks working for this event were helpful, professional and ... amazingly enough for PR people ... not in the least bit aggressive. They let the cars, their owners and the event speak for themselves, judging, we guess, that motor journalists know a car show when they see one. What a concept, eh? Maserati was the featured marque, and a 1956 Maserati A6G/54 Berlinetta Zagato which John Bookout brought from Houston, Texas, won both the "Long Distance" prize, for being the car-owner bringing a vehicle from the farthest point, and its namesake Maserati category.

In the above photo, event organizer Paul Merrigan stands with Ken and Ann Smith of La Jolla, CA, and the winner of "Best of Show" and the "People's Choice Award," a 1936 Delahaye 135 Competition. The twin wins were a rare and pleasant agreement between the event's judges and jus' plain ol' show-goers (like us). In addition to the show award plaque, the Best of Show winner received a limited edition print from artist Nicholas Watts of the winning Bugatti Tipo 35 in the 1930 Monaco Grand Prix, signed by Watts and the late racer and NYC restarantuer Renee Dreyfus, who won that year.

The event promoters do themselves wrong by writing the following on the "classicrallies.com" website: "Only the most rare and beautiful automobiles will be invited to Palm Springs next year (2009) as a part of a miniature version of the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, the world's premier collection of exotic vehicles." I think the Concours could stand on its own ... And apart from a lack of proper punctuation, why use the word "miniature" when describing their own event? And why say it's operating in the shadow of Pebble Beach? People already know that; saying it on their own website only reinforces a "second-best" mentality for everyone involved. But, what do we know, right?

Helping along the first-time event was standard and typical Palm Springs Chamber of Commerce weather: Temps in the mid-80s, dry, breezy and all under a cloudless azure blue sky (with apologies to Bentley). The promoters said that 3,000 people attended (at $20 per person), and more than 100 cars were displayed. The Senior Judge was Bill Krause, and co-master of ceremonies was author Michael Lynch, who has longtime involvement with the Pebble Beach Concours and the Quail Show, held the same week as the Pebble Beach event. His expertise lent a needed authenticity to the event.

As we have the only automotive website in the local area, we're happy to publish the names of the winners of the event, along with a selection of photos (other than the Best of Show photo, supplied by the event's very professional and helpful PR people, all photos were taken by me using one of our iPhones, which are advertised as having 2meg cameras ... judge for yourselves, but I think they're good enough, at least, for a website, but probably not for print publication, which usually demands at least 7megs of resolution). We also shot quite a bit of video for our own 'CAR NUT TV' show, and for other use by Time-Warner, and we'll post it here as soon as it's edited and ready to show.

The event's location has an interesting "back story", and this is how it was once told to me: Mr. O'Donnell was apparently a very wealthy Texas oil man, and in the 1930s found his personal paradise in Palm Springs (a trend which continues with the very wealthy, and the hoping-to-be-very-wealthy, to this day). He purchased a large swath of land in the downtown area, right up against the world-famous mountain escarpment which serves as a backdrop to all of Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley. O'Donnell built a nine-hole course, made it private, allowed a few friends to join, and today, the golf course is probably in better condition than ever before in its past, and though membership to the club was closed long ago, anyone can play as a "guest" of the club, or of an actual member (if any are still around). O'Donnell's home, built of desert rocks, is located on a hill overlooking the course, and the "driveway" to the house has served as a stationary location for photographers to take many of the best-known photos of Palm Springs throughout its history.

The event had numerous problems, which is only natural for a first-time undertaking. We broadcast our LA-area radio show from the very first Concours in Greenwich, CT, in 1995, and that event was nowhere near perfect. However, through the years, especially because the promoters (Bruce and Genia Wennerstrom) were willing and able to pour a lot of their personal fortune into it, and as important, if not more so, those same people had great contacts in the world of cars both old and new, that Concours has grown into a great success, known around the world. They can also feature great motorboats, as Roger Sherman Park, where the Greenwich event is held, is located along Long Island Sound, something which would pose problems for Palm Springs. Airplanes, however, are another thing altogether, and the world-famous Palm Springs Air Museum, at the Palm Springs Airport, would be a fitting place to exhibit any historic planes which could "fly-in" for a great addition to the Concours itself.

It's possible that Palm Springs' "Desert Classic Concours" could eventually rise to some prominence. Any new Concours on the west coast is seen, rightly or wrongly, as raising a challenge to the annual Pebble Beach Concours. While it's true that those collectors planning on taking their vehicles to the Pebble Beach event would probably not see any benefit in showing their cars in Palm Springs in March, there are, of course, hundreds, if not thousands, of Concours-quality cars around the world which will never receive an "invitation" to Pebble Beach (and yes, each and every vehicle shown at Pebble Beach has been invited to do so, and no car has ever been judged there more than once, though some have been exhibited there more than once, without being judged). Also, even if invited to Pebble Beach, the car-owner must pay all the costs for getting their vehicles to and from the event, something which could easily run into the tens of thousands of dollars, if not quite a bit more, especially for those coming from overseas.

Many classic vehicle owners, with cars, trucks, motorcycles and airplanes they'd like to display, would probably see the Palm Springs event as something worthwhile. And if they've been to the area before, they know all the reasons to visit there, especially in March. If they've not been there, then it's about time they came to find out for themselves what all the fuss has been about for the past near-100 years.

Brand-New Corvette Z06 Smashed After Multiple Collisions; Valet Accused Of Expensive Joyride

Because the Corvette Z06 does not come with a "valet key" or some other type of power-robbing setting, as far as I can remember, Chevrolet engineers and product planners might seriously think about making one available after the people at Bowling Green, KY (the only facility where Corvettes are built) read the news item which follows below.

When a Z06 owner leaves their trusty steed, which carries a starting price over $72,000, in the care of what more-often-than-not is a pimply-faced 17-year old valet with a white shirt and red vest at some restaurant or elsewhere, a "valet key" feature would easily rob some of the horsepower from the machine's 505-horse 7-liter V8 (a 427cid, for you old-timers out there --- Like us!), in order to avoid incidents exactly like the one described below. (Photo - Huge, drilled discs haul Z06 down from high speeds very quickly; the valet in this story should have used them while he had a chance).

We can attest from much personal experience that the car is definitely and absolutely one which  should be driven only by someone with quite a bit of experience with high-horsepower automobiles ... In spite of all the modern safety systems in and on the car, 500 horsepower is still 500 horsepower, and this was certainly one wreck about which it could honestly be said: "It could have been a lot worse!" Thanks to KNBC/TV4, the NBC "O and O" (owned-and-operated) station in Los Angeles. That's the same station which carries the new NBC auto show, "Whipnotic", every Saturday at 3pm --- Be sure to check-out the Whipnotic page on this site; we provide that program's Whipnotic.com site with much of its content. Here's the story the way it ran on the website for KNBC/TV4, Los Angeles:

A valet at Van Nuys (CA) Chevrolet dealership is accused of a joyride that culminated in the crash of a 500- horsepower Corvette, police said Saturday, according to (Los Angeles') City News Service. (Photo - Cutaway of Z06's 505 horsepower 427 V8).

The man walked away without injury, police said.

The high-performance Z06 model Corvette hit a fire hydrant, a light pole and several parked cars on Oxnard Street near Van Nuys Boulevard about 9:30 p.m. Friday -- about a half-mile from Rydell Chevrolet, according to Los Angeles police with the Valley Traffic Division and a camera crew at the scene.

The driver suffered minor injuries and declined to be taken to a hospital, according to On Scene Video. (end of KNBC story) (Photo - Z06 interior).

And we might add: This fellow doesn't want to spend any of his time at a hospital; he'll be too busy looking for a job.

ILLEGAL STREET RACE KILLS 8 IN MARYLAND

The scourge of illegal street racing, which this website has been attacking since its inception, and which we've been very vocally against for decades (and which has not always been welcomed among certain people in the auto industry), has resulted in an "accident" so terrible, so horrifying and wasteful that we're simply going to reprint the entire NEW YORK TIMES story about the incident and let it stand as is (photos are from the NY TIMES, KTLA/TV5 Los Angeles and the LOS ANGELES TIMES).

We'll just repeat what we've been saying for many, many years: Unless and until local civic, religious and community leaders, businesses and governments make available safe, sane and well-managed sites where 1/8-mile and/or 1/4-mile straight-line, classic head-to-head drag racing can be held on a regular basis, these stories will be repeated, again and again and again ... These sites must also be used for proper "driver instruction", which has fallen by the wayside in our nation's high schools as budget cutbacks have done away with other popular programs, such as sports and music instruction.

Every other industrialized nation promotes driver training; in those countries, driving is considered a privilege, definitely not a right, and people are proud of their driving skills. In many European and Asian nations, a single incident of driving while impaired in any way can result in that person's driving privilege taken away ... for life. In America, attorneys specializing in DUI cases advertise freely, turning impaired driving into a "sport" which is won or lost in a court room, no matter what may have happened on the highway.

Nothing has changed since the first time there were two cars on the same stretch of road at the  same time; it is in people's natures to test their "steed" against the other's, whether it's one horse versus another or 500 horsepower versus another vehicle and its operator. Here's the NY TIMES coverage of this incredible disaster:

8 People Are Killed at Site of an Illegal Road Race

By SARAH ABRUZZESE

ACCOKEEK, Md. — A car crashed into a group of people watching an illegal street race staged here in the early morning hours on a dark highway Saturday, killing eight people and leaving five hospitalized.

The accident happened at about 3 a.m., the police said, when a car not involved in the race but headed north along Route 210 plowed into the spectators, striking at least 14 people who may have been standing in the roadway, said Cpl. Clinton Copeland, a spokesman for the Prince George’s County Police Department.

Corporal Copeland said investigators believed that the racers were “burning out,” revving car engines and spinning tires in preparation for the race, possibly causing smoke and debris to hinder visibility on the road.

Seven people were pronounced dead at the scene, including one of the bystanders who was thrown through the windshield of the car that struck the spectators, a white Ford Crown Victoria. An eighth victim died at the hospital. The car’s driver walked away from the crash; a passenger in the car was taken to the hospital.

No charges have been filed against the driver, whom the police did not identify. Corporal Copeland could not say if the driver had been tested for alcohol or drugs. He said Saturday that the investigation was continuing.

People who live near the crash site in this bedroom community of Washington say that illegal racing is nearly a weekly occurrence here, and that drivers even transport their vehicles to this stretch of road on flatbed trucks.

Robert Stafford, 60, and his wife, Glenna, 59, who live a few hundred yards from where the accident occurred, said they had been hearing the squealing tires from drag races for about 25 years, since the highway was expanded to four lanes and divided by a wide grassy median.

Mr. Stafford said they had basically given up on calling the Prince George’s County Police Department or the State Police.

“We’ve called and called,” Mr. Stafford said, adding that each time they heard a different story as to who was responsible for patrolling that stretch of road.

Corporal Copeland said the county had been aware of the races. “All we can do is come when somebody makes the call,” he said, but when officers get there the racers are usually gone.

Steve Swann, 36, of nearby Fort Washington, came by the crash site on Saturday afternoon with his cousin. Mr. Swann said that he was at the race when the accident occurred and that the aftermath was horrifying.

He said the car came right up behind the two race cars without its lights on “smashing everybody up.”

“There was blood everywhere and everyone was trying to get away,” Mr. Swann said.

Another spectator, Crystal Gaines, 27, of Indian Head, told The Associated Press, “There were just bodies everywhere.”

Ms. Gaines said that she was able to grab her child but that she could not help her father, William Gaines Sr., 61, when she saw the Crown Victoria approach. Her father was killed in the crash.

“He wasn’t breathing, he wasn’t moving,” Ms. Gaines said. “His body was in pieces.”

Mr. Swann said it was the first time he had attended a race in the area. He also said in such races drivers would often transport their cars and there would be two or three races with bets being placed and winners taking home as much as $3,000.

Corporal Copeland said the victims ranged in age from their 20s to 60s. He said he was surprised by the age of the spectators because these events were often attended by the young. About 50 people were gathered for the race, he told The Associated Press.

“This is a tragedy of monumental proportions,” Corporal Copeland said, “to have eight people lose their lives for the thrill of a road race.”

The residents expressed sorrow, but said the accident was not a surprise. “You see the skid marks in the morning,” Mrs. Stafford said. “It had to happen sooner or later.”

Legendary Magazine Publisher Robert E. Petersen Featured on SteveParker.com

  In case you missed it here, Car Nut TV had an opportunity to talk with Bob Petersen before he passed last year.  Steve has known Bob and Margie Petersen for many years and we had an opportunity to interview Mr. Petersen at a Peterson Museum Event honoring James Garner a couple of years ago. Watch Car Nut TV's interview with Mr. Petersen. 

Also, American Racing Today featured Bob Petersen in a recent show. Have a listen online here, available in Windows Media format and downloadable as well.  Interested in American Racing Today, find out more about carrying American Racing Today on your web site or your radio station, cparker@dc.rr.com

Posted by Carey Ann Parker, Car Nut Blog Site, Sales and Marketing cparker@dc.rr.com

Breakfast Special at BackStreet Bistro in Palm Desert!

New Year's Resolution?  Be Sure to Visit The BackStreet Bistro This Season!

One of our very special advertisers BackStreet Bistro in Palm Desert who has been a Car Nut TV advertiser for the past season now welcomes all Car Nut TV viewers and new and returning seasonal residents to the BackStreet Bistro for the New Year! The doors have re-opened for the season, so come on over and see the new construction which has just been completed by the landlord over the summer and also enjoy breakfast or dessert at the BackStreet Bistro with the Car Nut coupon below. 

Be sure to print out this online breakfast/dessert coupon for your added enjoyment and be sure to tell Lavine and her fine staff the Car Nut sent you today!

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Caption Contest.. Submit Your Entries Here!

Please submit your caption by posting a comment here, or directly to (cparker@dc.rr.com).  The ultimate winner of the Car Nut Blog Caption Contests will receive a fun gift from the Car Nut's Garage!  Send us your caption today and we just may post it in one of upcoming contests.  Entry deadline for this caption contest is February 15th. 

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Who Has The Cheapest Gas Prices in Coachella Valley?

When the cost of oil has recently risen to a hundred bucks for a barrel of oil, people tend to look at the cost of gasoline and scratch their heads wondering is the craziness ever going to stop?  Will the rise in oil prices ever be relative to the real costs of gasoline, gee I hope not.  While many of us are pondering the energy crisis in relation to oil prices, gas prices and if there truly ever is one, etc., some of us are scratching our heads wondering where is the cheapest gas around town, I imagine especially those of you with the biggest tanks to fill.  It's been a pleasure not to have filled my Prius lately, and I don't pay too much to fill a 12 gallon tank so it's not a hard hit on the pocketbook overall, but every now and then I get a giggle at the pumping stand when it's now only about $30 to fill my tank. 

So I felt it necessary that we owe it to our visitors to post this important website below I found recently, especially on our Coachella Valley Car Nut web pages, because not everyone is lucky enough like me to be driving a hybrid nowadays.  And as a side note if you are seriously concerned about the price of gasoline, you'll probably enjoy this website I've found!  Believe me I have other things I'm scratching my head about and worrying about so I'm not left out of the crowd, at least my little Prius gives me peace of mind everytime I go to the filling station.   Next time you're shopping for a new or used car, think about a hybrid vehicle, it will give you peace of mind at the pump and you'll be doing something right, good not only for yourself, but great for the planet as well.   

Take a look at this interesting automotive website which tells us who has the cheapest gas in Riverside County. 

Posted by Carey Parker, Sales and Marketing, Car Nut TV and The Car Nut Blog Site

ILLEGAL STREET RACING CONTINUES THROUGHOUT SO CAL; TWO DEAD IN PROBABLE STREET RACE IN HOLLYWOOD

The scourge of illegal street racing continues unabated throughout our nation, and especially in  Southern California. The birthplace of the "hot rod" industry and professional drag racing also holds the unwanted yet deserved reputation of being the nation's "hot spot" when it comes to illegal street racing. The growth and proliferation of the "tuner car" industry, with its base in Southern California, has a lot to do with the high number of illegal street races in So Cal. And organizations which promote legal racing, such as the NHRA and its tuner car equivalent, NOPI, and those which represent the companies which make and sell performance parts, such as SEMA, could very well be doing a lot more to help stamp-out illegal street racing. The stories in this section about Big Willie Robinson and his efforts to create legal and controlled dragstrips all over the country to get the racers off the streets, detail some of the things which much larger organizations could do to help solve this problem, yet no major corporation or sanctioning body has come-out publicly to support Big Willie. We should point-out, though, that "Brotherhood Raceway", which Big Willie ran for several years in the harbor area of Los Angeles, with great results and quantifiable drops in illegal street racing and even gang activity, was supported by and received sanctioning from the NHRA. (Photo Above --- The 17-year-old son of famous "professional wrestler" Hulk Hogan, Nick Bollea, drove his race-prepped Toyota Supra into a palm tree during what police said was an "illegal street race" on August 26, 2007. His passenger and best friend, John Graziano, has been in a coma since the wreck and shown few signs of recovering meaningful brain activity; Graziano is a US Marine who had seen combat in Iraq a few months before he got into the car with Bollea. Bollea campaigned this same car in "NOPI Drift" competitions).

A company can not create, manufacture, market, advertise and sell performance parts without  taking any responsibility for their part in tacitly approving, promoting and even encouraging illegal street racing. When a 16-year-old kid pulls into a mini-mall parking lot in a tricked-out Honda Civic, then buys a nitrous oxide injection kit from the local "speed shop", exactly what does the system's manufacturer think they are buying it for? And slapping a sticker on the product's packaging which says something to the effect that, "This product is not legal for use on public highways" or "Modification of your vehicle to install this or other products may result in the cancellation of your vehicle's manufacturer warranty" not only do nothing to stop the purchase and installation of the product; in fact, it might even make the kid feel more like an adult, or more of a "lawbreaker", seeing himself or herself as a rebel, not bound by normal societal constraints. (Photo Below --- Nick Bollea, 17-year-old son of "professional wrestler" Hulk Hogan, was arrested on several counts, some felony, after driving his Toyota Supra, which he competed with in the "NOPI Drift" series and other racing events, into a tree, destroying the car and putting his passenger and best friend into a coma from which he has shown little recovery; the wreck happened in August, 2007 in Clearwater, Florida. Police said Bollea had been racing a Dodge Viper on the public streets when he lost all control of his car).

And any company or group which claims that slapping those labels on their products is doing all they need to do to meet their legal requirements, well, that may be technically and specifically true, but they should also ask themselves how much a human life is worth, how many sales of nitrous kits can make-up for the loss of a life? They don't have to look too far for that information --- Ford Motor Company set that particular precedent decades ago by their development of a gruesome formula for determining the value of a human life after their "Pinto" came under attack for being a gasoline fire waiting to happen, due to the poor placement of and lack of protection around Pinto gas tanks.

Even with several high-profile deaths due to illegal street racing, including the near-death of the passenger in the Toyota Supra owned and driven by the son of professional wrestler Hulk Hogan, has this practice, this real-life "blood sport", been slowed to any measurable extent. Hogan's kid, Nick Bollea, was street racing last August in his Toyota Supra against a Dodge Viper, when Bollea crashed, demolishing the Supra, and leaving his passenger, his best friend, John Graziano, a US Marine who had seen action in Iraq a year before, in a coma from which he has shown few signs of recovery, apart from possibly opening his eyes on command. The charges being leveled against the 17-year-old Bollea include reckless driving, having illegal window tinting, being under the age of 21 and operating a vehicle with a blood alcohol level of .02 percent and finally, using a motor vehicle in commission of a felony. Writing tickets, arresting racers and spectators, impounding and even destroying their cars ... None of these lame law enforcement efforts has kept racers and their supporters off the public roads, roads which, by the way, we all pay for and should be able to share, safely, with others. (Photo Below --- Emergency workers had to extricate John Graziano, the best friend of Nick Bollea, 17-year-old son of "professional wrestler" Hulk Hogan, after Bollea lost control and drove his Toyota Supra into a tree in the center median of a Clearwater, Florida highway. The August 26, 2007 accident occurred about 7:30pm, and police said indications were that the Supra was traveling "at least 100 miles per hour". US Magazine reported that "Barrett Lawrance — a passenger in the silver Dodge Viper that was racing Nick in a Toyota Supra that day — confirmed they were driving at the high speeds and that "this is how [Nick and pals] always drive," according to the 130-page document released by the Clearwater Police Department in Florida).

The following story is only the latest in a long line of all-too-similar reports from around the nation, this one from Hollywood, California:

HOLLYWOOD, Calif. -- An innocent motorist was killed in a fiery collision possibly involving a street race between two BMWs at Sunset Boulevard and Highland Avenue early Saturday (December 29, 2007), and at least one other person was seriously burned, authorities said. "We do have a confirmed fatality," said Los Angeles police Lt. Michael Donatoni of the Hollywood Station.

Officials said the four-car collision, which occurred about 4:25 a.m., may have happened when a 24-year-old man -- possibly drunk -- lost control of his vehicle during a street race and smashed into a car driven by an innocent person, killing that driver.

At least one other person was seriously burned, and police said they are looking for the driver of the other vehicle, who could face murder charges. At least one vehicle caught fire, and a person with burns was thrown or pulled from a vehicle, said Cecil Manresa of the Los Angeles Fire Department.

A third vehicle was also struck by debris. And a fourth car, believed to have been racing the first one, drove away from the intersection, a corner in front of Hollywood High School where people congregate at a pair of all-night fast-food restaurants. Three people were taken to hospitals, including the burn victim, Manresa said. "The person had burns, possibly 50 percent of the body," he said. (Photo Below --- Video still captured from TV coverage of the Hollywood, CA, wreck which at last report killed two people. The accident and deaths were attributed by police on-scene to a combination of drunk-driving and illegal street racing).

Witnesses at the crime scene trembled when recanting details of the collision. "I pulled the burning… the one guy on fire from the passenger's side out from the car," an onlooker said. "I pulled him out, saved him, but I couldn’t get to the driver." Another witness said, "They lost control, and it happened so fast, the flames just started going -- it's crazy, you know."

A male in his 20s suffered neck and back injuries, and a female in her 20s suffered scrapes from an airbag that deployed in the crash, Manresa said. (End of story from www.knbc.com; KNBC/TV4 Los Angeles) After this story was posted, it was announced that a second person, originally listed as "seriously burned", had also died later that same day in a hospital.

What a horrible "holiday" season this must now be for everyone involved in that crash, and all their families and friends. How could this season ever be anything but tortuous for them? And for the families and friends, too, of US Marine John Graziano, another tragic victim of illegal street racing, specifically, the victim of Nick "My Dad's Hulk Hogan!" Bollea, a 17-year-old kid driving an over-powered (for his driving abilities, obviously) and race-prepped Toyota Supra; Graziano, Nick's purported "best friend", was the only passenger in the car when Bollea drove it into a palm tree at speeds police estimated at "over 100 miles an hour". Graziano has been in a coma and not regained consciousness since the crash; doctors do not hold out much hope for his recovery. We also know now that Bollea's mother is seen on a videotape, standing outside the trendy and expensive IVY restaurant on Robertson Boulevard in Los Angeles, cheering and laughing as her son pulls away from the curb in front of the restaurant, trailing bits of rubber and smoke as he ruins another set of expensive tires. Some mom, huh? She must be so proud of her little boy (and of herself, now that the video of her cheering-on her kid has hit the web). (Photo Below --- Nick Bollea's mother, Linda Hogan).

Some years ago we heard of a study done by the California Highway Patrol, or the Auto Club or some  other well-trusted, "safety-oriented" association which announced a statistic we first found difficult to believe ... But over the years, always having this particular stat "filed away" in the back of my mind, our own personal experience has borne-out its sad truth: The study's results showed that after drivers witness the remains of a terrible accident on the side of the road, or even blocking traffic lanes, and after waiting for many, many minutes in the bumper-to-bumper traffic so often caused by these wrecks, perhaps seeing injured people being treated or moved to ambulances or life-flight choppers, and maybe even seeing a dead body by the side of the road ... After drivers going through all of that, being effected mentally and physically, seeing terribly injured people and even perhaps dead bodies, drivers revert to their poor driving habits in just FOUR seconds. In FOUR seconds after seeing a horrendous wreck, we start driving unsafely again only FOUR seconds later. Hard to believe, isn't it? Keep the results of that study in mind, and see if they apply the next time you are one of the lucky ones --- Lucky enough to drive past that wreck, and not actually be involved in it.

"JOHNIE'S BROILER",DOWNEY, CALIFORNIA --- AN UPDATE; WITHOUT A MIRACLE, IT'S GONE FOREVER

One of the most-popular drive-in restaurants in the world of 1950s California, which was torn down in the middle of the night by an unscrupulous landlord, may be making a comeback of sorts, according to the Los Angeles Times. Downey, California is one of those cities which grew-up along with Southern California's aerospace industry. Hard by the "Santa Ana Freeway", the I-5, Downey is almost exactly halfway between the subdivisions of Orange County and the downtown of Los Angeles. Even today, cities like Downey and its neighbors, including Rosemead and Lakewood, are all still closely associated with the near-overnight appearance and gigantic growth of aerospace, an industry which needed entire cities, and all the infrastructure which goes with them, to house its tens of thousands of engineers, line workers and even executives. On this Website, we've tried to catalogue many of the "drive-ins" and even plain, old "hang-outs" from the 1950s and '60s which dotted Southern California's main highways. When these establishments have been in danger of being razed, we've also tried to 'get the word out'. One of these, Johnie's Broiler, opened as Harvey's Broiler in 1958 and evoked post-World War II car culture and the Space Age craze. Built in the Googie architectural style of the time -- characterized by strong lines, glass walls, hulking signage and brightly lighted interiors and exteriors -- it looked as if it had been plucked out of "The Jetsons."

On Jan. 7, 2007, the diner was in the process of being razed when residents called on police to halt the demolition because required permits had not been obtained from the city. The tenant at the time, Ardas Yanik, pleaded no contest to three misdemeanor charges stemming from the demolition and had his lease forfeited.

George Manzanilla, 28, a lifelong Downey resident and film producer, created a website where people could submit photographs and memories of good times at Johnie's.

Although Manzanilla never saw the diner at its peak, he numbers among residents who say that Johnie's is one of the few landmarks of historical significance left in Downey -- precarious as that existence may be.

According to the state's Office of Historic Preservation, Johnie's is one of only five buildings in the city that is either listed or eligible to be listed on the state's historic properties directory.

Whether Johnie's will be rebuilt or fully demolished remains to be seen. On Dec. 5, city officials wrote a letter to Christos "Johnie" Smyrniotis, the owner, outlining an agreement that he and the city had reached earlier: Smyrniotis would pay a consultant, chosen by the city, to report what options remain for preserving all or parts of the diner's structure.

"From the economic standpoint, it has to be developed," Smyrniotis said. "We might put in a restaurant, maybe something else."

Smyrniotis, who in 2002 rejected Johnie's official inclusion on the state landmark list, says he understands what the diner means to Downey residents.

"It was very sad for me to see Johnie's demolished," he said, noting that he was a chef at the diner before he bought it from the original owners in 1968. He continued to flip burgers and stuff bell peppers there until 2002, when he retired and the restaurant was shut down and the property was converted into a used car lot.

Some residents say the diner's time has come and gone.

Catherine Reed, 80, a resident of Downey for nearly 55 years, was a waitress at the diner from opening day until she quit 10 years later in 1968.

"In its prime, it was the best diner in southeast L.A., but then it went to nothing," she said. "It's the young people who don't know what it was about. It was a pretty place, but it had it's day. I feel that it should be gone."

Some younger people are also tired of all the commotion.

"The time to save it was before, not now," said David Bouffard, 27, a lifelong Downey resident.

According to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, in the year before Johnie's closed, it received health ratings as low as 70 out of 100, or a "C."

Eric Pierce, city editor of the Downey Patriot, said the paper received more letters on Johnie's than on  any other story this year, with writers almost equally split on whether to save it or start up the bulldozer once more. But months after a moratorium on development of the property was declared, readers call the lot an "eyesore" and say "something should be done soon."

On Dec. 11, the City Council voted to not extend the moratorium, which means that in late January, for the first time since the demolition, the area can be cleaned up. It also means Johnie's fate may soon be decided.

Michael Buhler, director of advocacy at the Los Angeles Conservancy, called the agreement between the city and Smyrniotis "encouraging" but worries that because Downey does not have a historic preservation ordinance, the diner may not be protected in the way it could be.

David Gafin, Downey mayor pro tem, said he was aware there is interest in introducing a preservation ordinance but "nothing has come out of it yet."

This makes Redfox, who wants to start a city conservancy group, nervous.

"Downey is losing its character," he said. "City Hall doesn't want to deal with that issue. They take the old architecture and ruin it with big-box mansions and stores."

Gafin, a near-lifelong Downey re