Great Smoky Mountain Auto Fest was a nice surprise

For fall break this year, we decided to head down to Dollywood in Gatlinburg. Our hotel was right across the street from the Tennessee Smokies baseball stadium. Unbeknownst to me, the Smokies were hosting the Great Smoky Mountain Auto Fest the very same weekend! How does this happen to us? Crazy. So of course, I walked out of the hotel and over to the car show to see what this part of the state has to offer. The featured marque was Corvette this year, so of course they had some really nice Corvettes. But there were plenty of other great cars if Corvettes aren’t your thing for some inexplicable reason. I was there pretty early, so it’s possible that more cars showed up later, but the ones that were there seemed pretty good to me.

Early birds have all the fun at the BMS Cruise-In

Lately, Cars and Coffee-type gatherings are really picking up steam over the traditional night time car show. It makes sense. You get up early, spend an hour or three on a Saturday morning, and the rest of your day is free. The BMS Cruise-In is taking advantage of that trend. Last Saturday was cool and foggy, and there were still probably 150 cars and trucks out there. A lot of them are late-model Mustangs and stuff that are not usually what we cover here, but there are still plenty of very cool older rides if that’s what you’re into.

2017 Horsepower by the River 6 brought all the cars to Carthage

When you hit November, big car shows are hard to find. But obviously, Shawn Cook and the rest of the organizers of the Horsepower by the River Car Show didn’t get the memo. The 6th installment of this event brought nearly 300 cars to the Smith County Agricultural Center in Carthage, Tenn., and everyone enjoyed the nice weather, the model car show, and the swap meet. The only real complaint was that the lot was infested with bees. I guess they didn’t know it was fall either. There were several impressive choices, so it was tough to decide what to write about. But don’t worry—I’ve come up with a few.

Wagner's visit marks 800th story on Hover Motor Company

Today’s story marks a milestone with the Hover Motor Company blog. This is the 800th post on here in six years. We have looked at a lot of cars. Of course, avid readers know that before I moved to Nashville, I lived in Kansas City. Last week I went back home, and I figured a visit to Wagner’s Classic Cars would be a fitting article to put here. I was able to go with my dad, which is always great. Plus, they had some interesting things on the showroom floor. So here’s a look at what we saw during our journey to Bonner Springs, Kan. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed going there.

Tom's Cruise reaches boiling point

These guys standing around this ’60 Chevy Biscayne as all the water boils out of the radiator pretty much sums up last week’s Tom’s Cruise-In. It was stinkin’ hot in Germantown; there’s no other way to say it. They had music and karaoke and a few cars showed up, but everyone out there was wishing the parking lot behind the Jimmy Johns was air-conditioned. It obviously wasn’t, but that didn’t stop everyone from having a good time. Luckily for you, I took pictures of everything, so you can enjoy this car cruise sitting inside. Check it out!

2016 O'Reilly Auto Parts Customer Appreciation Car Show

Last Saturday, the O’Reilly Auto Parts location on Lebanon Road in Mt. Juliet held a customer appreciation day that featured a car show. Well, I’ve been an O’Reilly customer many times over the years, and I definitely appreciate a good car show, so I guess they achieved their goal on this one. And for such a small parking lot, this actually was a pretty good car show. There were several very nice cars in the lot, and every spot was filled. Plus, if someone couldn’t get their car started after the show, they could walk right into the O’Reilly and grab a new battery. Everyone wins with a deal like that.

2015 ISSCA Nationals in Bowling Green

Most people don’t really consider the mid-1990s to be a high-water mark in the history of the automobile. It’s an era of bland, jellybean-shaped appliances and soulless Toyota Camrys. V8, rear-wheel-drive performance cars were out, and the word “horsepower” was being replaced with “fuel economy.” Luckily, General Motors was quietly building cars under the radar that bucked the trends of the time. The 1994-1996 Chevrolet Impala SS was a holdout from another era. It was big. It sat on a full frame. It had a 260-hp V8 when 100-hp four-bangers were the norm. Its sinister, monochromatic looks were like a big middle finger to the wheezy turd-mobiles with which it shared the road.

2015 Gallatin Square Fest Car Show

The annual Gallatin Square Fest is a fun event for the whole family. All around the historic downtown square you’ll find food trucks, craft booths, and live musical acts. There’s going to be something there for everyone. Of course, in my case, that something was the Gallatin Square Fest Car Show, which draws in a nice assortment of old iron to a parking lot adjacent to the actual festival. This year, the weather forecast was a little ominous, which no doubt kept a few participants home. But in reality, the rain stayed away, and it was a perfectly nice day for this popular gathering.

A tale of two Impalas

You are looking at a pair of 2014 Chevrolet Impala sedans. Both are finished with Crystal Red Tintcoat paint. Both are top-level LTZ models. Both are currently being built and are sold in the U.S. And yet, there is very little else about these cars that are the same. You see, the one on the left is an Impala Limited, the previous-generation Impala that GM only sells to fleet customers. The one on the right is the newest version of the Impala. Let’s do a little comparison of the two.

Nothing to lose at the Goodlettsville Cruise

Saturday night means cruise night in Goodlettsville, so BHo and I jumped in the ol’ ’63 Chevy pickup and headed out. This was kind of a landmark event for us, because it was the first time since we moved to Tennessee that the truck has made it to a car show. I’m not sure that it really wowed the crowds or anything, but it was a significant point for me. I had a good time taking my son out to this event. It was a good night to enjoy each other’s company in the presence of a lot full of nice cars.

Wagner's fly-by

A couple of weekends ago, I was able to get back to Kansas City. Whenever I do that, I like to try and hit a car place or two. One of my favorites has always been Wagner’s Classic Auto in Bonner Springs, Kan. Yes, this is a dealership, and their primary function is to sell cars. But the inventory seems to change every time I go there, and the quality of cars on display often surpasses most car shows I go to. I always enjoy going there. Let’s look at some of the cars and maybe you’ll see why.

Perfect conditions at the Turkey Creek Car Show in Merriam

Car shows can suffer from all kinds of problems—heat, rain, location.  But every once in awhile, everything comes together exactly like it should, and what you’re left with is a huge turnout of nice cars.  That’s what happened on Saturday for the annual Turkey Creek Car Show in Merriam, Kan.  This was a massive event, complete with sponsors, a mini swap meet, and hundreds of shiny rides sparkling beneath the comfortable Johnson County sunshine.  Conditions don’t get much better.

2014 Chevrolet Impala LTZ test drive review. Looks like one of these is in our future

If you’re looking for a review of the 2014 Impala by someone who has experience with Impalas, you have come to the right place.  Over the years, my wife and I have owned no less than five cars with the leaping deer on the sail panels.  If you add close family members, that number easily could be dozens.  Right now, my wife has a 2007 Impala, and my daily-driver is a ’96 Impala SS.   So when I was given the opportunity to spend a week with an all-new 2014 Impala LTZ, I obviously jumped at the chance.

The 2014 Chevrolet SS recalls the full-sized, rear-wheel-drive Super Sports of the past

Thursday, Chevrolet took the wraps off of the much-anticipated, 2013 SS NASCAR Sprint Cup stock car at the Los Angeles Auto Show. The car will be based on the upcoming, Australian-built, 2014 Chevrolet SS. This is pretty big news for bowtie loyalists, because it marks the return of full-sized, rear-wheel-drive performance to the Chevrolet lineup. But it certainly isn’t their first foray into this market segment. When people think of the SS badge, images of ’69 Camaro 396s and ’70 Chevelles with 454s might come to mind. But the SS badge was born on Chevy’s full-sized offerings.

New Impala, Viper, and MKZ top picks at the 2012 New York International Auto Show

When I think of the most significant American auto show, Detroit generally is the one that comes to mind. But with all the new vehicle introductions taking place in New York City this week, the Big Apple is looking more important all the time.

With all the emphasis on fuel prices and economy lately, it may come as a surprise that most of the introductions in New York were full-sized sedans, as well as other decidedly non-eco-friendly rides. Chevrolet (Impala), Lincoln (MKZ), Acura (RLX Concept), and Toyota (Avalon) all revealed the latest versions of their flagship sedans. Chrysler eschewed any hint of economy by bringing out a new Dodge Viper and Ram pickup. And Hyundai, Buick, and Honda were among the manufacturers to show off their latest crossovers.

Kenseth survives fire and rain to win 2012 Daytona 500. Coverage, results, photos, and crash video

During the Sunday rain delay coverage of the 2012 Daytona 500, they played the 1979 fight scene (as they always do), and my dad recalled us watching that race live on the TV that my parents had in their bedroom in Omaha. I've watched every Daytona 500 since, and I've seen some pretty strange things over the years. But this year may have been one of the strangest. More on that shortly.

As the ISSCA meets up this weekend at the Woodward Dream Cruise, we look at the history of the 1994-1996 Impala SS

The big Woodward dream cruise takes place this weekend in Detroit. Automotive enthusiasts from all over the nation will converge on the Motor City to celebrate America’s automotive heritage with the granddaddy of all car cruises.

Chevrolet is a major sponsor of the cruise this year, with all kinds of displays and events happening as part of their 100th Anniversary celebration. Included in all the action, the Impala SS Club of America is holding their annual ISSCA Nationals event in conjunction with the Dream Cruise.

America's family sedan. The history of the Chevrolet Impala

For some 50 years, the Chevrolet Impala has been a perennial best-seller in American driveways. And there’s a good reason for that. They’re larger than most cars in their price range, have a record of reliability, and carry a history like no other family car on the market.

Impalas are a pretty common sight around my house. Right now, we have three—my wife’s 2007, my ’96 SS, and a 2004 that we purchased new. We were supposed to trade the ’04 in on the ’07, but it was such a good car, we decided to keep it. So yeah, the leaping deer logo is pretty familiar in our garage.

The Impala started as an upscale trim option in 1958. Bumping the lavish Bel Air from the top of the food chain, those long, chrome-drenched first Impalas were everything people loved about 1950s automotive style. When you look at a ’58 Impala today, it is hard to imagine that this over-the-top, highly-detailed land yacht sits in the same place in the market as the current car, but that’s how it was. You could order your fancy new Impala with anything from a 235-c.i. straight-six, to a monstrous 348 V8. And these X-framed cars are still revered by collectors today.

The pose

When I was in high school, we had an assignment in our art class in which we had to draw a fashion clothing design in pen and ink. Most of the people in the class went with the typical woman in a fancy dress or debonair dude in a tuxedo.

I drew the guy to the left in the racing suit and helmet. You can date him at about 1990, because of the open-faced helmet, Heartbeat of America sponsorship, and the pair of Nike Air Cross Trainers that had an uncanny resemblance to those worn by the artist.

Is it a good picture? No, it is not. I don't even think someone's legs could bend in exactly that manner. But it is the way his legs are crossed that bring us to the point (however pointless) of this article.

It has been mentioned to me recently that most of the pictures in which I've "posed" with a car feature a very similar crossed ankle position. And sure enough, as I went through some old pictures, that has proven to be a fairly consistent truth, as you will see below.