The world's first concept car--Harley Earl's 1938 Buick Y-Job. BUICK WEEK

It’s easy to look at the Harley Earl-designed 1938 Buick Y-Job today and dismiss it as just another neat old car. But put it in the context of 1938, and you’ll realize that it is one of the most radical, influential cars of all time.

Cars back then were much different. They had tall, narrow bodies. There wasn’t much room across, but there was plenty of headroom to accommodate the hats people liked to wear. There were running boards and fenders that attached beyond the body. This is one of the reasons they were so narrow inside. Headlights typically were housed in big pods over the fenders. Taillights were an afterthought—tacked unceremoniously to the back. Wheels were usually 16-inches in diameter or better. The roads were getting better by the late 30s, but people still placed value on the ground clearance the larger wheels provided.

When better cars are built, Buick will build them. A look at 110-years of history and innovation. BUICK WEEK

If there ever were a car company that was accused of being too old fashioned, while at the same time achieving its greatest success by looking into the future, it's Buick. It is one of the best-kept secrets in the industry today, yet has one of the most colorful, eventful histories imaginable.  My first car was a Buick, and my dad has had a few over the years, so I have kind of a soft spot for the brand.  So let's take a look at the history of this storied company.

David Dunbar Buick founded the company that bears his name in 1903, and the first cars were sold to the public in 1904. Those first cars, known as the Model B, were reliable because of their durable valve-in-head engines. So bulletproof was this design that Buick's mantra, "Valve-in-head is ahead in value" served the company in advertising pieces decades later.

Titans of design represented at the KCI Airport Cruise

One of the car cruises that everyone seems to look forward to in Kansas City is the KCI Airport Cruise, which is held at the old Ambassador Building in northern Kansas City.  But if you had been paying attention to the weather forecast for this year's installment, you may have had your doubts that it was even going to happen.  Storm warnings were north of town, the wind was blowing like 100-miles-per-hour, and there were some spooky looking clouds off in the distance.

Mecum Indy event offers rare chance to see 1953 Fiesta, Eldorado, Skylark, and Corvette all in one place

I’ve mentioned before that I think 1953 was the ultimate year in General Motors history. Never mind that it was twenty years before I was even born. The products, legacy, and accomplishments from that year speak for themselves.

But you can’t really get the full impact of just what GM was able to produce just by reading things. You really need to experience the crown jewels of the 1953 GM lineup firsthand. The Mecum Spring Classic Auction in Indianapolis is providing a rare, rare opportunity to do just that. Crossing the block will be the ultimate quartet of GM’s most ambitious and sought-after cars; a 1953 Chevrolet Corvette, a 1953 Cadillac Eldorado, a 1953 Buick Skylark, and a 1953 Oldsmobile Fiesta.

When you visit the auto show in Kansas City this weekend, it'll be good, but there was a time when it would have been spectacular

The Kansas City International Auto Show is in Bartle Hall this weekend, and I plan to go there and take a bunch of pictures for you and post them here. And they'll be OK. Lots of clean, shiny cars. Most of them just like the ones that are already out on the roads right now.

Did you know that there have been some 2012 model-year cars and trucks available for better than a month now?

Did you know that Chevrolet's concept car this year during their 100th anniversary at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, the biggest show of the year, was a slightly modified new Aveo?

General Motors concept cars were produced when anything was possible. A history of the GM Motorama and Parade of Progress.

There was a time when families gathered in wild anticipation of the latest offerings from Detroit. Cars were more than just a means to get from point A to point B. They were entertainment. They were enjoyable. They were fun.
Nowhere was this more apparent than with the General Motors show cars of the 1950s/early ‘60s. People didn’t look at GM’s giant displays as a marketing intrusion. They actually looked forward to it. And when you look at the cars they were able to see, it’s easy to figure out why.

Sometimes it is hard to remember this in light of everything that has happened lately, but GM has one of the most illustrious histories of any company. There was a time when they could produce anything their imaginations could think of. And GM hired the best and brightest imaginations money could buy. Nothing was too expensive. Anything was possible. It was an amazing period of creativity.