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Event Alert: November calendar of automotive events

Posted Nov 2nd 2008 10:48AM by Frank Filipponio
Filed under: Motorsports, Misc. Auto Shows, Event Alert



One of the big changes we made at Autoblog a couple of years ago was adding more live coverage of events with photos and impressions to hopefully make you feel like you were there with us. While we love going to these races, auto shows, concours and cruises to report on them for you, we know there are many of you out there who would like to witness these happenings firsthand. Many of you have commented that although you enjoy our event coverage you'd like more advance warning of the events we are attending so you might be able to check them out yourselves.

Well, as you might imagine, putting together a calendar isn't so simple. Often times we get last minute word of an event, or sometimes the events we cover aren't open to the public. Still, we understand your craving for live automotive events and we are here to help. We've scoured our planners and checked our favorite web links and have compiled a select calendar for November. We'll try to post a new one of these every month and we encourage you to add local events we haven't included in the comments for all to see. Our hope is that you'll scan the list and be able to find something exciting in your neck of the woods.

Don't take it personally if we skip one of your favorites, just know that we are trying to keep it simple for now. Two of our favorite resources for planning what events we are going to attend, btw, are the New York Times automotive calendar for national and international stuff, and for local stuff here in Southern California, our buddy Dave Lindsay's SoCalCarCulture pages. Dave has been photographing and reporting on the local car scene a long time and if we don't make it to one of the events on his calendar, you can be pretty sure that Dave will be posting pics of it before long. Enough talk, check out the select November event calendar we put together for you after the jump.

Continue reading Event Alert: November calendar of automotive events

Event Alert: The Garage419 Invitational is today!

Posted Oct 26th 2008 8:01AM by Alex Nunez
Filed under: Etc., Event Alert

G419 InvitationalHeads-up, people: I'll be driving in the Garage419 Invitational later today at Grand Prix New York in Mt. Kisco. If you're in the area, the event's open to the public, so feel free to swing by and check out the festivities. All proceeds from the charity kart race benefit Racing4Research and the Children's Tumor Foundation as they work to raise awareness and find a cure for neurofibromatosis. It's all for fun and a good cause, and you can show your support by making a tax-deductible donation online. You can support any of the participating driver teams (cough...Nunez/Duffy...cough) with a per-lap or fixed-amount pledge. Anything you can spare is greatly appreciated.


If you do decide to head out to the Invitational (click here for directions), there'll be a car show out in the lot beginning at 10:00 AM. The race itself kicks off at 12:30, and there are four open slots that will be filled on-site tomorrow before the event via a free drawing. If you want to get in on that action, arrive early -- the drawing's happening at 10:45.

So head on out, come say hi, and please make a donation if you can. This should be a lot of fun.

Top Gear Series 12 officially starts November 2nd

Posted Oct 11th 2008 6:07PM by Jonathon Ramsey
Filed under: Etc., Euro, Lifestyle, Event Alert



It's incredible that there can be so many goings on around a little car show. There was a spot of turmoil in the last shortened season of Top Gear, a few grumblings of unhappy presenters, and then the hallowed BBC couldn't figure out when the next season was going to begin. But here we are, the date has arrived: Top Gear version 12 will commence on November 2nd, 2008, A.D. I guess then we'll start to find out what they're doing in Vietnam...

[Source: Top Gear]

Au revoir, Montréal: FIA cancels Canadian GP for 2009

Posted Oct 7th 2008 4:27PM by Noah Joseph
Filed under: Motorsports, Event Alert


Everyone's surprised as the FIA has announced it is canceling the Canadian Grand Prix. Those in the world of F1 racing have come to know the event as a staple of the F1 calendar. Racing fans in Montreal, this writer's home town that has hosted the race for the past three decades, are shocked to lose the event. And that includes the race organizers, who apparently learned of the news the same way the rest of us have.

The cancellation of the race leaves a month-long gap in the race calendar in August of next season, and with the U.S. Grand Prix off the schedule the past few years, means F1 will stay completely out of North America. And save for the Brazilian Grand Prix, out of the Western Hemisphere altogether. But the trip across the Atlantic for the one race cost the teams dearly, and the sport's organizers have been on a crusade to cut costs. No doubt the officials at le Circuit Gilles Villeneuve will be burning up the phone lines to Formula One Management and the FIA, and organizers in far-flung Rio de Janeiro and Melbourne will be waiting for the proverbial other shoe to drop. Thanks to everyone who sent in the tip.

[Source: F1-Live, Photo by CARLO ALLEGRI/AFP/Getty]

Garage419 Invitational: 4 weeks to go!

Posted Sep 28th 2008 5:14PM by Alex Nunez
Filed under: Etc., Event Alert

G419 InvitationalAnd now, a brief public service announcement and reminder. The Garage419 Invitational takes place exactly four weeks from today at Grand Prix New York in Mt. Kisco, NY. All proceeds from the event benefit benefit Racing4Research and the Children's Tumor Foundation, as they work to raise awareness and find a cure for neurofibromatosis. I'm driving in the pro-am-style kart event with Garage419 fan Mike Duffy, and you can make a tax-deductible donation in support of us (or any of the other participating driver teams) by punching in your credit card number on the online donation form. We'd like to help raise as much as possible for the charity. Autoblog readers are legion, and you guys can definitely make a significant impact. Remember, no donation is too small!

If you're in the area, feel free to swing by, say hi, and be a part of the festivities, which we hear will include a car show out in the parking lot and some sort of opportunity to get onto one of three driver teams being held open until race day. It'll be a good time for a good cause, and we appreciate your support.

Grassroots Motorsports $2008 Challenge headed to Florida

Posted Sep 23rd 2008 3:56PM by Merritt Johnson
Filed under: Motorsports, Tuners, Lifestyle, Event Alert



In these tight economic times, the project car budget typically gets left on the cutting room floor. Fortunately for addicted enthusiasts there are resources, such as Grassroots Motorsports Magazine, to prove that it is still possible to put together a prize winning ride for only a few bills. Just in time to save the wavering automotive habit of frugal individuals comes the Kumho Tires Grassroots Motorsports $2008 Challenge. For the past nine years, the magazine crew dedicated to amateur motorsports has organized an annual competition of cars built around a budget equal to the current year in dollars. It may sound impossibly restrictive, but some competitors even come in under the cap. The 2007 champion, a Chevrolet Corvette sucker-car, managed to top the field for less than two grand. The monetary limitation forces creative and innovative back-yard engineering amongst the entrants.

The $2008 Challenge will take place October 3 – 4 at Gainesville Raceway in Gainesville, FL. The cars will spend a grueling two days dueling it out on the autocross course, drag strip and even the parking lot for a car show. Competitors should also be brushed up on their accounting skills since they are required to keep an itemized list of all their expenses. This detail keeps the event fair and also offers the magazine's readership inspiration to create their own budget racers. Follow the jump to for the official press release.

[Source: Grassroots Motorsports]

Continue reading Grassroots Motorsports $2008 Challenge headed to Florida

Event Alert: Italy's finest heading to Chicago for Italian Style

Posted Sep 18th 2008 7:31AM by Noah Joseph
Filed under: Maserati, Ferrari, Alfa Romeo, FIAT, Event Alert

If you live in Chicago and have been waiting for the opportunity to check out the most scrumptious of Italian sheetmetal this side of the Atlantic, the Midwest chapter of the Italian-American Chamber of Commerce has got some treats in store for you.

Sponsored by Case New Holland – Fiat's American agricultural and construction equipment subsidiary – the annual "Italian Style" event is gearing up for a return from September 19-21 at Navy Pier in Chicago. In addition to all manner of heavy machinery from the CNH catalog, Ferrari will be showcasing its top-selling F430 Spider and the 599 GTB Fiorano, Maserati will be showing off its freshly updated Quattroporte S and Alfa Romeo will bring out the production version of the 8C Competizione for its first public appearance in North America. Fiat Group CEO Sergio Marchionne will be participating, Magneti Marelli and Fiat Powertrain Technologies will be displaying various components from Italian automobiles, and Ducati will be on hand with a display of its motorbikes. Head on down and check it out.

[Source: ItalianExpo.us and Italiaspeed]

The Garage419 Invitational: Autoblog's in, and we need your support!

Posted Sep 15th 2008 11:31AM by Alex Nunez
Filed under: Etc., Event Alert

Garage 419 InvitationalThe Garage419 Invitational is a pro-am-style charity kart race taking place on October 26 at Grand Prix New York in Mt. Kisco. All proceeds from the event benefit Racing 4 Research and the Children's Tumor Foundation, which are dedicated to raising awareness and finding a cure for neurofibromatosis, or NF, as it's more commonly known. (Last year, the local NBC affiliate here in NY did an informative piece that serves as a good primer on NF. You can watch it here.)

"I'd like you to be a part of this, it'll be fun." So said Mike Spinelli when he invited me to be one of the pros driving in the Invitational. I patiently explained to Mike that calling me a "pro" is akin to calling those dudes who play Madden in videogame tournaments "athletes", but he was undeterred. And because Spinelli is one of the best guys you'll ever meet, it's essentially impossible to say no to him, so here I am. He's right, too -- it should be fun. After all, there are worse ways to spend a Sunday afternoon than driving go-karts and hanging out with the likes of Spin, Matt Farah, Mike Musto (a.k.a. "Mr. Angry") and other fellow participants like Farnbacher Loles Racing's Bryce Miller and Jalopnik's Wes Siler. I've been paired with Garage419 fan Mike Duffy, and on behalf of my team, I'm here to ask for your help in the form of a donation to Racing 4 Research.

If you go to the online donation form, you can support the Alex Nunez/Mike Duffy duo (or any of the other participants, for that matter) by pledging a traditional fixed-dollar amount or an amount for each lap that we complete at the Invitational. All major credit cards are accepted and your donation is tax deductible. While I'll do my best to represent Autoblog well at the event, I'm asking you readers to help us put on a good show on the fundraising end of things. No donation is too small, and your generosity is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Audi hitting the road in cross-country diesel Mileage Marathon

Posted Sep 14th 2008 6:01PM by Sam Abuelsamid
Filed under: SUVs, Audi, Event Alert


Click for a high res gallery of the mileage marathon vehicles

It's been a few years since Audi sold diesel-powered cars in the U.S., but that's about to change. After three years of showing what diesel is capable of at Le Mans and in the ALMS, Audi will introduce a diesel-powered Q7 TDI sometime in early 2009. Before that happens, Audi wants to show America what kind of mileage its diesel lineup gets in the real world. To do so, the German automaker has assembled a fleet of 23 vehicles including the coming Q7, the Q5, A4 and A3. Currently the Q7 is the only Audi diesel announced for the U.S. although the company has acknowledged that it's considering other models. A motley collection (aren't all groupings of journalists motley?) of 184 journalists and guests from around the world have been invited to drive the fleet across the continent from New York to Los Angeles in four legs with the goal of seeing who can get the best real world mileage. Among that collection will be several members of the Autoblog and AutoblogGreen teams, including yours truly. The Mileage Marathon kicks off on Oct. 6 in Manhattan and hits the city of angels two weeks later. We'll bring you live reports from the road as we wind across the country, so stay tuned.

Gallery: Audi Mileage Marathon


[Source: Audi]

Continue reading Audi hitting the road in cross-country diesel Mileage Marathon

First Australian Top Gear episode to air Sept 29

Posted Sep 1st 2008 3:56PM by Noah Joseph
Filed under: Etc., Australia, Event Alert

Mark your calendars, gearheads. The Special Broadcasting Service in Australia has confirmed that the first episode of Aussie Top Gear will air on Monday, September 29. The show will apparently have a regular slot at 7:30 in the SBS Monday night line-up, featuring all manner of Holdens, Ford Falcons and Elfin roadsters crisscrossing their way across the Outback. All the while co-hosts Charlie Cox, Warren Brown and Steve Pizzati – along with their own Fosters-swilling version of The Stig – will be endeavoring to prevent the dingo from eating their babies lest the entire endeavor boomerang on them all. (Okay, enough making fun of the Aussies.) We'll be keeping an eye on FinalGear.com for their count-down before heading on over to Top Gear's YouTube channel to see the first of the eight-episode inaugural season in less than a month's time.

[Source: SBS via FinalGear]

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