2012 Ford Explorer EcoBoost and 2012 Ford Edge EcoBoost test drive review

Maintaining this little blog is a fun hobby, but it doesn’t pay the bills. That’s why in real life, I work as the senior editor for Penton Media’s Automobile Red Book. I research new and used cars, gather specifications, new pricing, and VIN information; then determine used values to the best of my ability.

The Red Book has been in business for a cool 100 years in 2011, and I’m proud to say that I’ve been a part of it for the past eight. The work we do here may not cure cancer, but it does touch literally millions of people. So I think it’s important to maintain credibility within the auto industry.

The delicious Chevrolet Corvette Z06

I guess I could do another review of the Corvette Z06, but what’s the point? If you like these cars, there are reviews in every car magazine or Internet website out there. What would you expect to hear? It’s freakin’ fast. You can keep the throttle buried around corners without skeetering out of control or tipping over. You can roast the rear tires all day long. Or until the tires wear out. Whichever comes first. When you drive it, you actually feel like you might be cool, even if you’re a scrawny, glasses-wearing nerd who can’t dance and can barely catch a ball. Not that I would know about that.

Nice cars highlight the 2011 Olathe Police Foundation Car Show at the Great Mall

The Olathe Police Foundation has hosted their fundraising car show at the Great Mall of the great Planes in Olathe for the past couple of years, and it is fast becoming a destination for classic car owners and fans each August.

This year's edition was no exception, as a full lot-full of shiny cars and trucks glittered under sunny Saturday skies.

The Woodward Dream Cruise brought out the biggest and best of the collector car world

We have lots of car shows and cruises here in the Kansas City area, and some of them are pretty darn good. But none of them quite measure up to the granddaddy of them all—the Woodward Dream Cruise, which was held last weekend in Detroit, Mich. Organizers claim the event draws in some 40,000 classic cars, and 1.5-million people from all over the United States, and all over the world.

For such a monstrous event, it had pretty basic beginnings. It was started in 1995 as a soccer field fundraiser. But Woodward Avenue is in the epicenter of the American automobile, and 250,000 people showed up that first year alone. The lightning was out of the bottle, and the cruise has been going strong ever since.

Cadillac Ciel Concept recalls former flagship, Cadillac's "Golden One," the timeless Eldorado

At the exclusive Pebble Beach Concours over the weekend, Cadillac introduced the Ciel Concept Car, a radical, highly-stylized convertible that might hint at a future Cadillac flagship. The opulent Caddy features suicide doors and a direct-injected 3.6 V6 paired up with a lithium-ion hybrid battery system. Cadillac states in their press release that the Ciel is a “new expression of Cadillac’s historical grandeur, as well as a celebration of open-air motoring.”

2011 Midwest Camaro Fest defies the odds

Originally, it was supposed to take place in the tree-lined E.H. Young Riverfront Park. But then the park flooded. Then, it was moved to the Red X store parking lot in Riverside. But there were thunderstorms. Big thunderstorms. Two nights in-a-row. Water stood in the parking lot. The power was out in the Red X. Lunch was not served.

No doubt about it, the Midwest Camaro Fest was snake bit. But it was far from dead.

Parkville Days Riverfest Parade was just like the Woodward Dream Cruise. Sort of.

The Woodward Dream Cruise was held in Detroit this weekend. If you love cars, you could simply sit in a lawn chair, and watch all sorts of great cars and trucks parade down Woodward Avenue. You wouldn't have to lift a finger.

Now, Kansas City is obviously not Detroit, and we certainly don't have anything as epic as the annual Dream Cruise, but I did manage to sit in a lawn chair and take some pictures of neat cars as they drove by my location.

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.