Someone killed the messenger. So long, Mercury

2011 was a rough year for a number of iconic automotive brands. Some of them aren’t a huge loss from a historic standpoint, i.e., Saturn and Hummer, but a couple of them will truly be missed. Particularly, I’m talking about Pontiac, and the subject of this article, Mercury.

From luxury and performance cars, to auto racing, to legendary customs, the Mercury brand has been a significant part of the American automotive landscape.  In mythology, Mercury was the messenger of the gods.  Here, we take a look back at the history of Mercury, and the end of the once popular nameplate.

Inside The Auto Collections at the Imperial Palace

Last week, I had the chance to go to the SEMA Show in Las Vegas. Now, most normal people would take this as an opportunity to check out an epic entertainment show, or take their chances in one of the casinos. I, however, am not a normal person. I'm not much of a partier, I hate losing money, and smoky casinos give me a headache.

I love cars, though. And in addition to the largest automotive aftermarket trade show, Vegas is the home of a well-known auto museum. Once we had seen all there was to see at SEMA, we headed down the Strip to the Imperial Palace, and the famous 125,000 sq-ft showroom known as The Auto Collections.

Las Vegas was the center of the automotive universe during the 2011 SEMA Show

The SEMA Show. What a circus.

For one week, every company, every person, every eye of everybody who is anybody in the automotive world is focused squarely on the annual Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show in Las Vegas. This event is like no other—bigger, crazier, more popular. The sheer size of the facility they hold it in boggles the mind, and it is so full that it spills outside.

Hearses, orange & black cars, and other scary things. Happy Halloween!

For car enthusiasts in the Midwest, Halloween is a scary time of year. This is the weekend where you begin to realize that you won’t be driving your pride and joy much longer, lest you expose it to the evil effects of snow and road salt.

Speaking of scary cars, I would hate to throw a story out here without a little automotive history, so here we go. The first motorized hearses appeared in the U.S. in about 1909, although horse-drawn carriages were still preferred.

The sun (literally) sets on the Longbranch TGIF Cruise in Overland Park

One of the latest-running car cruises of the season in the Kansas City area is no more. Amid the harsh setting fall sun, the Longbranch Saloon TGIF Cruise in Overland Park held their last event of the year Friday night.

This final cruise was sort of a melancholy affair. For most of the year, they tend to get a huge turnout at this event. For this last one, however, the car count was quite light. If it hadn't been for the Corvette guys, there barely would have been any cars here at all.

Nice little car show at a nice big hardware store. The story from the Nuts and Bolts True Value in Bonner Springs

Sometimes people like to compare the size of their local hardware store to Wal-Mart. Well, the Nuts and Bolts True Value store in Bonner Springs does them one better. It actually was a Wal-Mart. And to draw more interest to the new 28,000-sq/ft facility, Nuts and Bolts held a car show over the weekend in their expansive parking lot.

Great movie car chases are almost exactly like real life

So yesterday I was wanted by the police for a murder that I didn’t commit. Unfortunately, they had enough so-called evidence to lock me up and throw away the key. The only way I was going to get out from under this was to catch the real killer. I broke out of jail by piling pillows under my covers, then I jumped out from behind the sink when they came into my cell to investigate. I then broke my truck out of the impound yard, and went to work.

2011 Chevrolet Caprice PPV history and test drive review

This week, I had the opportunity to drive Chevrolet’s newest and hottest performance sedan on public streets. Yes, it is cool. No, it is not available in stores. What is this forbidden vehicle that is setting the GM message boards ablaze? I’ll give you a hint--it’s a name you know.

After a 15-year hiatus, Chevrolet is finally bringing the Caprice back to the U.S. lineup. Right now, the plan is to make it available as a police fleet vehicle only for 2011-2012, but there is a decent chance that we could see it in civilian hands eventually. Let’s take a look at the Caprice in a little more depth.