2006 Indianapolis Auto Show

Yesterday, I went with my wife's Uncle and my son to the 2006 Indianapolis Auto Show. The event was both exciting and a bit frustrating. On one hand, the new Chevrolet Camaro concept car was very cool! However, I was disappointed that Dodge did not have a Challenger concept at the show. I was also disappointed in the general lack of exciting products and product changes for the coming year. Granted, the auto-consumer has a lot of choices with lots of models and more foreign automakers like Kia, Mini, etc., however, there doesn't seem to be a lot of creative styling in the industry today. Every car looks like someone else's car. Not many breath-taking designs.

Camaro Concept

Some highlights included:

• Chrysler-Diemler is considering re-entering the Jeep name plate into the truck market. The Jeep Gladiator concept was on display...sort of a Jeep wrangler with a truck bed.




• Chrysler also had the Chrysler Imperial concept on display. Sort of a Bentley-want-to-be/Mafia car. Appears to be built on the 300 C/Magnum platform.




• Although I'm not a Ford guy, I was impressed with the Saleen Mustangs on display. The metallic orange Mustang had a completely glass top!
  

I've been told that my links to photo albums do not work. Until I figure out what's going on with them, I thought I would upload several pictures from the Auto Show directly to this posting.

15 Passenger Van

A couple summers ago, a friend of mine called me from Kentucky. Apparently, she had went to an auction at Northern Kentucky University. She owns a lab and was interested in some lab equipment that they were getting rid of. While she was there, they saw several university vehicles that no one had bid on. They were interested in a late model Caprice for their business, but couldn't resist the "fun" in placing the minimum bid on a few other vehicles.

Needless to say, they ended up with a car, a truck, and a fifteen passenger Dodge van. She called wondering if I would be interested in the van, since I had told her about a project I was working on at my Middle School. She thought I might be able to use the van to haul around students.

To make a long story short, she donated the van to my "cause". Her husband drove it up from Kentucky a few weeks later when they were visiting family in the area. The van was in "decent" shape for a 1985, but the university had removed ALL the passenger seats. The van had basically been used by university maintenance as a work van.

The day after I drove it home, I got on eBay and typed in "1985 Dodge 15 passenger van". To my amazement, the first item that came up on the list was a "like new" set of seats for a 1985 15 passenger Dodge van!!!! The seats were located in Nashville, Tenn. No one had bid on the seats, so I placed a minimum bid of $50.00. Again...I was amazed that no one else bid on the seats, and at the end of the auction, I was the winner!

My dad and I made a "one tank trip" to Nashville, Tenn. the following Saturday. Basically, we drove to Nashville, loaded the seats in his truck, ate lunch, and headed for home.

The story behind the seats was an interesting one. A couple of "college-aged" guys had bought a 15 passenger Dodge van to make a mobile recording studio (only in Nashville, huh?). They had gutted the van, taking out all the seats, stacking them in the garage behind their home.

Since receiving the van, I've installed the seats and had the van tuned up. I've used the van several times, but still haven't decided how to paint it. Below is a picture of a few ideas I had one night while messing around with a photo editting program.

The Shay

I have a friend that is a real "horse trader". Every time I stop by his house he has a new "toy" or two. Cars, tractors, pinball machines, gas pumps, who knows what he will have next or how long he will hang on to it before the next trade. One of the cars that he has had for a few years is a Shay A. Shay's are a fiberglass Model A reproduction produced in the early 1980's. The cars were built on a pinto chassis with a 4-cylinder engine. They were sold through Ford dealerships.

During the summer, I like to borrow the Shay and take it out. I've taken my wife out on our anniversary. I've also taken our three oldest children for rides. Last year, I took the Shay to a couple of cruise-ins.

The car handles well and rides smoothly at highway speeds. (Something that can not be said for an original Model A).

These pictures were taken a couple of years ago during one such "borrowing". I parked the car in front of my garage so that I could take some pictures of it with the Wayne 70 Texaco gas pump I had recently restored. The pump was purchased on eBay and was in terrible shape when I got it (see photo).

The Shay is a great car to drive. The kids love to ride in the rumble seat with the top down. My friend spends winters in Florida and trailers the Shay on the trip every year. He says that the "retired folk" get a kick out of seeing him tour around in it.