Hearse pictures for Halloween

Well, it's Halloween.  Not exactly the best time for car shows, but if you want a fun-sized bag of Whoppers, you're probably in luck.  Of course, if you're here, you probably like cars better than candy, so we need to do something about that.  But Halloween isn't about COPO Camaros or Deuce Coupes.  This is a creepy holiday, and you want to know about creepy cars.  That's why we're taking our annual look at the creepiest cars of them all.  Cars that are specifically built to haul dead bodies around.  You know them.  You love them.  Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the history of the hearse.

2014 Camaro SS convertible test drive review. Pure evil

Off in the distance, the vile shrill of a banshee pierced the silence.  Then I saw them, the white halos, cutting through the darkness like lasers.  But these were not the halos of angels.  Before my eyes could even focus, there was a flash of blood red, as evil as the devil himself.  And then it was gone.  My heart raced as I contemplated what I had just seen.  Was this the apocalypse—a lost soul escaping from hell to exact its revenge on all humankind?  No, but it was close.  This was the 2014 Camaro SS convertible.  This is a car so powerful, so unruly, that Satan would use it to pick up his date.  Wicked and wonderful, the new Camaro SS is temptation on wheels.

Keeping the flame lit at the Fritz's Cruise in Shawnee

The opportunities to attend a cruise night in Kansas City are just about over, but Dick and Judy Rule are doing their best to extend the season as long as possible.  They organize these gatherings at restaurants all over Johnson County, and usually work in some kind of food discount to participants.  Last Sunday, the action took place at Fritz’s hamburger joint in Shawnee.  So while the cars were gleaming in the late-day sun outside, folks were getting their food delivered with a model railroad train within.  Now that’s an unbeatable combination.

2014 Chevrolet Traverse LTZ test drive review. Better than drugs

Last Friday night, I was dealing with a kidney stone.  If you’ve never had one, it’s sort of like trying to pass a large cocklebur through a swizzle stick.  Your back hurts.  A lot.  It is very hard to calm things down.  So I ended up climbing out of bed and heading to the emergency room for some pain medicine.  And as I was driving, a soothing sense of calm came over me.  And then I realized, it was because of the vehicle I was driving: a 2014 Chevrolet Traverse LTZ.

Quality is the key at Wagner's Classic Cars

A couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to check out the inventory at Wagner’s Classic Cars in Bonner Springs.  I really like going there, because they have some of the nicest cars around.  But I held the story back so I could present it when I had fewer car shows to write about.  But believe me, this place is as good as any car show.  Let’s take a look at some of the exceptional cars that were on hand during our visit.

OOIDA Heart of America Trucking Show showcases some beautiful big rigs

I’m not an expert on semi-trucks, but I know if something is cool when I see it.  And there was plenty of cool stuff to look at when the Heart of America Trucking Show headed to Kansas Speedway over the weekend.  This is a huge event for the Owner-Operator Independent Driver’s Association (OOIDA), and big rigs from all over the country were on hand to celebrate the 40th-anniversary of that organization.  Some of these trucks rival even the most high-dollar hot rods.  With a combination of custom bodywork, chrome, and lights, you can be sure that these guys and gals go all-out for their one-off creations.

2014 Silverado vs. 1963 C-10. The ultimate battle of supremacy

If you turn on the television at this very moment, there will be a Chevy commercial on one of the stations proclaiming “Silverado vs. …”  Then they’ll put it up against a Ford or Ram, or the perils of the desert, or whatever might pose a challenge to the all-new 2014 Silverado.  I recently had the chance to drive a new Silverado LTZ Z71 Crew Cab, but I didn’t have a comparable F-150 sitting around.  So I did my own Silverado vs.  This one is “Silverado vs. the Hover Motor Company 1963 C-10.”  You will undoubtedly learn all about the latest full-sized Chevy truck from this hard-hitting bit of reporting.  Or just look at the article I wrote about the 2014 GMC Sierra a couple of weeks ago.  They’re pretty similar.

Chiefs can't stop Moody's Hotrodtoberfest

Sunday was a tough day to have a car show.  Most of the difficulty stemmed from the big Chiefs’ game in which they were trying to be 6-and-0, they were trying to break a record for the biggest private flyover formation, and they were trying to break the loudest stadium record for the Guinness Book of World Records.  They accomplished all of that, by the way, but you can see why most people would be interested.  Still, Moody’s Hot Rods held their annual Hotrodtoberfest gathering, and they got a surprisingly decent turnout.  Sure, there were a few TVs and radios tuned to the game, but everyone seemed perfectly content enjoying live music from The Mighty Wax band and watching the traffic go by on North Oak.

2013 Turner Days Car Show - good news/bad news

I always feel mixed emotions when I go to the annual Turner Days Car Show at Turner High School.  On one hand, I’m happy, because there are always a bunch of really cool cars and trucks out there.  But on the other hand, I’m sad, because it usually means we’re getting to the end of the car show season here in Kansas City.  But for the purposes of this story, let’s focus on the positive, and take a look at some of the rides on display at Sunday’s big event.

2014 Buick LaCrosse test drive review. The pride of Kansas City

One of the most underrated luxury cars on the planet is built right here at the GM Fairfax Assembly Plant in Kansas City.  Take a look at this 2014 Buick LaCrosse.  Yes, Buicks are often considered old folks’ cars.  Yes, this is the biggest car in the Buick lineup.  And no, that chrome tri-shield is not going to impress your neighbors like a three-pointed star or a blue-and-white propeller.  But if you can put all of those pre-conceived notions aside, you’ll realize that this is one of the most well-appointed, quality-built luxury cars there is.  Pay attention, folks, because this became a mighty nice car while everyone was looking over there.

41st-Annual AACA Car Show is rich with history

One of my favorite car shows happens each year about this time in Lawrence, Kan.  Yes, I like hot rods, customs, muscle cars, Corvettes, and so on.  But the Lawrence Chapter of the Antique Automobile Club of America (AACA) is something different.  This is where you find older, mostly original cars.  You aren’t going to see people doing burnouts when they leave the parking lot of this one.  And with this crowd, no one has to remind them not to.  This caters to a more mature clientele.  These are the guys that have been in the old car hobby longer than the rest of us, and know how to take care of an old car better than most of us.

Rare rides at the Hartman's Heritage Center Cruise for the Cure

Most people know that every Saturday night throughout the summer, the Hartman’s Heritage Center in Independence hosts one of the area’s biggest car cruises.  But there was a bit of a twist this weekend, because the event started a couple of hours earlier, and was presented as a full-fledged car show.  Known as the Cruise for the Cure, raffle tickets were sold in an effort to raise money for mammogram services at St. Luke’s Hospital.  I have no doubt that the donation was generous, because there were some great door prizes up for grabs, and the car count was sizable.

12th-Annual Mid-America Chevelle Show. Shimmering Chevelles in Shawnee

The 12th-Annual Mid-America Chevelle Club Regional Show was held last Friday and Saturday in Shawnee, Kan.  If you like Chevy’s popular intermediate, this is the place to go.  Unfortunately, everyone knew ahead of time that Saturday was going to be rainy.  I don’t really like trudging around in the rain, so I swung by the show on Friday afternoon.  I was pleasantly surprised to see that the turnout was very respectable in the lot behind the Westglen Movie Theatre.  There were several of them there that tripped my trigger.  Let’s take a look at a few of them.

2013 Basehor-Linwood Project Grad Car Show: Better late than ever

Organizers at the Basehor-Linwood High School Project grad Car Show had a big decision to make.  Keep the original Saturday date, or listen to the rain-soaked weather forecast and move it to Sunday up against the Chiefs Game.  They chose the latter option.  And even though the turnout was a bit lighter than in years’ past, it was still a nice bunch of cars.  Saturday indeed ended up being a washout, and Sunday was one of the most beautiful days of the year.  They clearly made the right decision.