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The Motoring Scene Guide to Automotive Events and Adventures
 
Event Calendar [see more] [submit your event]
Jul 4 - Jul 5 Silver Collector Car Auctions-Jackson Hole, Wyoming
Jul 4 - Jul 5 Jackson Hole Auction
Jul 4 Coke Zero 400
Jul 5 The Fountain Elms Invitational
Jul 7 Concours Raduno
Jul 7 Saratoga Steam Car Tour
Jul 8 Importance of Restoration versus Preservation
Jul 10 - Jul 12 Hot San Jose Nights
Jul 10 - Jul 12 Carlisle All-Chrysler N`ationals
Jul 10 - Jul 11 27th Annual Classic Auto Show & Cruise-In
Jul 11 Firebird Nation Show
Jul 12 Barrington Road Rally & Evening Cocktail Buffet
Jul 12 Legends Legacies
Jul 13 - Jul 16 Walnut Street Invitational Car Show
Jul 16 - Jul 19 Int'l Challenge Concours d'Elegance
Jul 17 - Jul 18 Denver Collector Car Auction
Jul 17 - Jul 19 Honda Super Cycle Weekend presented by Dunlop Tires
Jul 17 - Jul 18 Mecum-Des Moines, IA Auction
Jul 18 Keeneland Concours d'Elegance-6th Year
Jul 18 Close up tours of the Crawford Collection
Jul 18 Mid Hudson Champlain Porsche Club of America
Jul 18 - Jul 19 Race Weekend at Schenley Park
Jul 18 - Jul 19 Combined Car Show
Jul 19 York Concours d'Elegance-7th Anniversary
Jul 19 Presidio of San Francisco Concours d'Elegance
Jul 24 - Jul 26 AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days
Jul 24 - Jul 25 35th Annual Denver Collector Car Auction
Jul 26 Corvettes @ CORSA Car Show
Jul 26 Hungarian Grand Prix
Jul 26 Vanderbilt Autocross-The 2nd Annual
Jul 29 Art of the Car, Photography!
Aug 1 RM Vintage Motor Cars of Meadow Brook
Aug 2 Meadow Brook 30th Concours d'Elegance
Aug 2 - Aug 8 BLOOMINGTON GOLD Grand Canyon/Rocky Mtn. Tour
Aug 3 - Aug 12 Pebble Beach Motoring Classic
Aug 6 - Aug 9 Silver Collector Car Auctions-Hot August Nights
Aug 6 - Aug 9 Hot August Nights Auction
Aug 6 - Aug 9 Street Rod Nationals
Aug 7 - Aug 9 Acura Sports Car Challenge & the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio
Aug 7 - Aug 8 6th Annual Verona Collector Car Auction
Aug 7 - Aug 9 William E. Swigart, Jr. Museum Meet
Aug 8 Krasl Concours on the Bluff
Aug 8 Van Der Brink Auctions
Aug 8 - Aug 9 WERA Motorcycle Roadracing Cycle Jam
Aug 9 Antique Car & Truck Show
Aug 10 - Aug 12 The Quail Rally
Aug 10 - Aug 11 Carmel-By-The-Sea Concours on the Avenue
Aug 11 - Aug 15 CAdillac La Salle Club National Driving Tour
Aug 11 - Aug 12 Automobilia Monterey
Aug 13 Pebble Beach Tour d'Elegance Presented by Rolex
Aug 13 - Aug 15 Russo & Steele Monterey Auction
Aug 14 - Aug 16 Pebble Beach RetroAuto
Aug 14 Concorso Italiano
Aug 14 The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering
Aug 14 - Aug 15 Sports & Classics of Monterey
Aug 14 - Aug 16 AMA Superbike Championship Suzuki Big Kahuna Nationals
Aug 14 - Aug 15 RM Sports & Classics of Monterey
Aug 14 - Aug 16 Vintage Grand Prix AuGrattan XXIII
Aug 14 Quail Lodge
Aug 14 La Dolce Vita Automobili at Black Horse
Aug 15 Close up tours of the Crawford Collection
Aug 15 Van Der Brink Auctions
Aug 15 Mecum's Monterey Auction
Aug 15 - Aug 16 Gooding & Co. Official Pebble Beach Concours Auction
Aug 16 Pebble Beach 59th Concours d'Elegance
Aug 16 Automotive Fine Arts Society-24th Annual Show
Aug 22 - Aug 23 Horsepower for History Concours d'Elegance
Aug 22 New England Auto Auction-32nd Annual
Aug 22 Adirondack Triumph Association British Motorfest
Aug 22 Club Day
Aug 22 Morgan Adams Concours d'Elegance
Aug 23 The Masterpiece Concours d'Elegance
Aug 23 Geneva Concours d'Elegance
Aug 28 - Aug 30 Corvettes at Carlisle
Aug 28 - Aug 30 Richmond Nationals
Aug 29 - Sep 1 Winston-Salem Concours d'Elegance
Aug 29 LeMay Car Show & Auction
Aug 30 Vanderbilt Centennial Celebration-The 6th Annual
Sep 2 - Sep 8 The Auburn Auction 2009
Sep 3 - Sep 7 53rd Annual Auburn Cord Duesenberg Festival
Sep 4 9th Annual Downtown Cruise-In
Sep 4 - Sep 6 Rocky Mountain Concours d'Elegance-CANCELLED
Sep 5 - Sep 6 Silver Collector Car Auctions-Sun Valley, ID
Sep 6 Chico Concours d'Elegance-31st Annual
Sep 6 Auburn Concours d'Elegance
Sep 6 Rocky Mountain Concours d'Elegance
Sep 7 Kirkland Concours d'Elegance-7th Year
Sep 11 - Sep 13 Radnor Hunt Concours d'Elegance-12th Year
Sep 11 - Jun 12 Bonham's Auction : America's Car Museum Sale featuring property from the LeMay Collection
Sep 11 - Sep 12 The Branson Auction
Sep 11 - Sep 13 AMA Road Race Grand Championships 2009
Sep 11 - Sep 13 Elkhart Lake Vintage Festival XXIV
Sep 11 - Sep 13 Street Rod Nationals North
Sep 12 - Sep 13 Fairfeld County Concours d'Elegance
Sep 12 Mecum-Special Event-Bob McDorman Auction
Sep 13 Palos Verdes Concours d'Elegance-16th Year
Sep 17 - Sep 19 Hoosier Auto Show & Swap Meet
Sep 17 - Sep 20 Coker Challenge
Sep 18 - Sep 20 Glenmoor Gathering-15th Annual
Sep 18 - Sep 20 Northeast Nationals
Sep 19 Kruse-Leake Car Show & Auctions
Sep 19 - Sep 20 New York Auto Guide New Car Show
Sep 19 - Sep 20 Championship Cup Series Motorcycle Roadracing
Sep 20 Dayton Concours d'Elegance at Carillon Park
Sep 20 Buckingham Concours d'Elegance-11th Annual
Sep 20 Concours d'Elegance-Honoree T. Boone Pickens
Sep 25 - Sep 27 27th Annual Newport Beach Concours d'Elegance
Sep 25 - Sep 27 Corvette Funfest 2009
Sep 26 Monmouth County Concours d'Elegance
Sep 26 - Jun 26 Ironstone Concours d'Elegance
Sep 26 Cruise-In and celebrate your car!
Sep 26 Vintage New England
Sep 27 St. Michaels Concours d'Elegance
Sep 27 Danville d'Elegance
Sep 27 Viva Italia Concours d'Elegance-5th Annual
Sep 30 - Oct 4 Fall Carlisle Collector Swap Meet, Car Corral & Auction
Sep 30 RM Automobiles of London
Oct 1 - Oct 3 Mecum-St. Charles Auction
Oct 1 - Oct 2 Fall Carlisle Auction
Oct 2 - Oct 4 GT Live Interactive Motorsports Festival Bosch Engineering Grand-Am KONI Challenge Twin Six Hour Races
Oct 2 - Oct 4 Golden State Nationals
Oct 4 Niello Concours at Serrano-6th Year
Oct 4 Louisville Concours d'Elegance
Oct 7 - Oct 10 Barrett-Jackson Auction Company
Oct 7 - Oct 10 2009 AACA Eastern Regional Fall Meet
Oct 8 - Oct 10 The Hershey Auction 2009
Oct 9 Vintage Motor Cars of Hershey
Oct 9 RM Vintage Motor Cars of Hershey
Oct 9 - Oct 11 Southeast Nationals
Oct 10 - Oct 11 NASA Oktoberfast Roadracing and German Car Festival
Oct 10 Morgan Owners Group
Oct 10 Mid America Motorworks Swapfest
Oct 10 - Oct 11 Biloxi Collector Car Auction 2009
Oct 16 - Oct 18 Lake Mirror Classic
Oct 23 - Oct 25 RM Classic Car Auciton of Toronto-Fall
Oct 25 Festival of Speed
Oct 31 - Nov 1 Great Fall Auction & Flea Market
Oct 31 SCCA Charge of the Headlight Brigade 13-Hour Enduro
Nov 6 - Nov 7 Hot Springs Collector Car Auction
Nov 6 - Nov 8 8th Annual Auburn November Classic 2009
Nov 7 - Nov 17 Car Guy Tour - Argentina
Nov 8 Winter Park Concours d'Elegance
Nov 14 Classic California
Nov 20 - Nov 22 Kruse-Leake Car Show & Auction
Nov 20 - Nov 22 37th Annual Dallas Fall Collector Car Auction 2009
Nov 27 - Nov 28 Daytona Classic Car Auction
Dec 4 - Dec 6 Mecum-Kansas City, MO Auction
Feb 11 Gatorade Duels
Feb 12 Nextra Resources 250
Feb 13 - Feb 1 Camping World 300
Feb 14 Daytona 500
May 2 Artistry in Motion

The Incredible “Flying Car”
Scheduled to Appear at Greenwich

By Bruce Wennerstrom

The Greenwich Concours d’Elegance is noted for showing some of the world’s rarest, fastest, most exotic, beautiful, historic and exclusive cars in the world. For 2009 add to the list “the highest-flying car in the world”: On June 6-7 the Greenwich Concours will unveil for car enthusiasts, for the first time, what television and the popular press have called “The Amazing Flying Car.”

The car is, in fact, truly amazing. It was designed and built by Terrafugia Inc., founded in 2006 by award-winning MIT-trained aeronautical engineers, who also happened to be passionate private pilots. They named the craft Transition.

Carl Dietrich, CEO of Terrafugia Inc., more carefully and precisely describes Transition as a “roadable aircraft,” but it may be tough to shed the “flying car” label, because it is a sophisticated two-place 115-mph airplane with a 10,000-foot ceiling and a 460-mile range that, upon landing, can fold up its wings and transform into a car in just 30 seconds at the touch of a button, or become an airplane again, in another 30 seconds.

Naysayers and doubters may scoff at the Transition, as there have been many attempts in the past at building an airplane/car combo. But modern materials – Transition is largely lightweight composite construction – and modern engines and computer-based avionics have made it possible and practical.

Light-plane pilots joke, “If you’re not in a hurry, fly,” because, if they encounter bad weather, they have to land and wait it out, or rent a car to continue on their way, with the inconvenience of having to retrace their steps back to their aircraft to return home. With Transition, bad weather is no obstacle, just land, fold up the wings, and continue on your way and – if the weather clears – go airborne again.

Transition also answers another concern of private pilots: cost. This plane doesn't need a hangar, just a typical suburban garage; it can be fueled at the corner gas station; and it gets 30 mpg at highway speeds. The same 100hp Rotax engine that spins the four-bladed prop also drives the front wheels through a variable-ratio transmission in Transition's car mode. It has a two-place side-by-side cabin, with a cargo area that can accommodate golf clubs, skis, or fishing rods. The estimated cost for Transition is $194,000, which, as private aircraft go, is quite reasonable, especially considering its tremendous versatility. A full-vehicle parachute is available as an option.

Notably, Transition meets the FAA’s Light Sport Aircraft criteria, which permits a novice to qualify for a pilot's license with as little as 20 hours of instruction.

So who will buy a Transition? Certainly sport and recreational pilots. First responders, too. But we think a great market is for CEOs of small companies who also serve as their company’s principal salesperson, and who have a lot of territory to cover. Not only will it enable the CEO to efficiently make a lot of sales calls, but what a door-opener Transition would make. Consider the sales prospect, who would at least meet with the flying salesmen to look over the Transition … and maybe get a ride.