MOPAR

Spotlight: Capital City Cruisers 2018 Car, Truck & Bike Show

August 20, 2018 by admin 4 Comments

Capital City Cruisers hosts their 12th annual event.

Chevrolet Chevelle SS Capital City Cruisers — Check out the wheels on this Chevrolet Chevelle SS!

Weeks of above normal rainfall in the Carolinas means one thing: if you have plans in place, then know for certain that they’re subject to change. Moreover, if those plans involve hosting a car show with scores of classic and antique cars prepared to compete, there is a good chance that at least some owners will stay away.

Happily, the bad weather held off long enough for the 12th Annual Capital City Cruisers Car, Truck & Bike Show to welcome more than 100 vehicles to its location in Garner, NC. This judged event awarded the top 100 vehicles, which were split between 75 “old school” models (1987 and earlier) and 25 “new school vehicles (1988 and later). Fittingly, a portion of the proceeds raised money for the local schools, Angel Tree and the Give Back Organization, Inc.

Capital City Cruisers Photo Gallery

My time was limited on Saturday, but I was able to show up early on and stay until just after the noon hour. That allowed me to take hundreds of photos and converse with various owners.

About 40 photos were posted on the day of the event on the Auto Trends Magazine Facebook page. Another four dozen or so are included here, with details covering specific vehicles or categories. If you’re the owner of a vehicle featured here and would like a copy, simply right click on the photo and save it to your hard drive.

So, without further delay, I give you a broad sample of the stars, cars, people and other vehicles featured at this year’s Capital City Cruisers show.

Cars, Trucks and a Motorcycle

1948 Buick Roadmaster Convertible Capital City Cruisers

Ford Falcon Thunderbolt Capital City Cruisers

1973 Chevrolet Camaro Capital City Cruisers

Chevrolet pickup truck Capital City Cruisers

2007 Honda motorcycle Capital City Cruisers

1960 Cadillac Coupe de Ville Capital City Cruisers

Ford Model A Capital City Cruisers

Mopar Madness

What is a car show without sufficient Mopar representation? In this case, various Plymouth and Dodge models, old and new, paraded in and took over their own slice of the lot.

Capital City Cruisers Mopar

Mopar Capital City Cruisers

What is it?

Not every vehicle at car shows fit under the antique, classic or contemporary car theme. Take this customized vehicle which got everyone’s attention when it arrived around noon. The owner said that it is powered by a 1834cc Volkswagen engine with VW front and rear suspension parts. The rest of the vehicle is a mish-mash of anything goes. Oh, the vehicle is a tribute to America’s fallen heroes — the men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military.

Capital City Cruisers dune buggy

But Wait…There’s More!

Pontiac Trans Am Capital City Cruisers — 1979-1981 Pontiac Trans Am models featured this quad headlight look.

1940 Ford Coupe Capital City Cruisers — And all of a sudden there was this gorgeous 1940 Ford coupe.

Phillips 66 Capital City Cruisers — Your Phillips 66 assist truck at your service!

Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder

Not every vehicle on display is in mint condition. Some are in a work in progress, including this classic Chevrolet pickup truck. Many a classic or antique model have gone through a long process of restoration. Best wishes to this owner as he or she renews this beauty.

Chevrolet truck Capital City Cruisers

We Have Pickup Trucks

Long before crossovers became a thing, pickup trucks have served American consumers and business owners. Nearly every mainstream manufacturer had one, including Studebaker, International and Jeep. These days, the segment remains strong with American and Japanese manufacturers dominating.

Pickup truck fans were not disappointed at the Capital City Cruisers show as more than a dozen were spotted. In addition to the ones we already featured, the following 10 trucks were on also on display.

1957 Chevrolet 3600 pickup truck. Capital City Cruisers — 1957 Chevrolet 3600 pickup truck.

1961 Ford F-100 pickup truck. Capital City Cruisers — 1961 Ford F-100 pickup truck.

Chevrolet “Goldfinger” C/K pickup truck.

Chevrolet 3100 pickup truck. Capital City Cruisers — Chevrolet 3100 pickup truck.

1947-1955 Chevrolet pickup trucks. Capital City Cruisers — 1947-1955 Chevrolet pickup trucks.

1940-1941 Ford Pickup Truck. Capital City Cruisers — 1940-1941 Ford Pickup Truck.

GMC S15. Capital City Cruisers — GMC S15.

1994 Chevrolet S10 customized pickup truck. Capital City Cruisers — 1994 Chevrolet S10 customized pickup truck.

Chevrolet El Camino SS. Capital City Cruisers — Chevrolet El Camino SS.

Previous Spotlights

Spotlight: 24th Annual Rod & Custom Show Presented by the Stray Cats

Spotlight: American Children’s Home Show-off Show

Spotlight: 2018 Piedmont Classic Chevy Club Car Show

Cars and Coffee Cary: March 2014

March 3, 2014 by admin 4 Comments

The second of two Corvette Stingrays present lifts its hood.

While much of the eastern part of the nation remains locked within winters icy grip, mild weather throughout the southeast has allowed monthly Cars and Coffee meetups to continue throughout much of the Carolinas and extending all the way to Texas. Cars and Coffee Cary (NC) is one event that has continued uninterrupted throughout the colder months despite a pair of snowstorms in Jan. that paralyzed the Raleigh area.

This past Sat., the Cars and Coffee faithful gathered at the upscale Waverly Place shopping center, on a gray, chilly morning. Several hundred drivers and their cars showed up, bringing with them an assortment of antique, classic, performance, and modified rides for display.

Cars and Coffee Cary: 1941 Packard One-Twenty

The oldest car on the lot was a 1941 Packard One-Twenty. Its owners bought the car on Long Island, NY, and have had it for two months. It underwent a restoration 10 years ago.

Cars and Coffee Cary

Just as it did last month, a McLaren MP4-12C showed up, a two-door convertible that retails for $265,750. Clearly, it was the hit of the show, with dozens gathering around the sports car, sitting inside, or simply admiring its sleek design including its alluring dihedral doors.

Snapping away with liberality, Auto Trends captured dozens of the cars in attendance including the ones pictured here. At the very end of this story, please read up about a new event in Raleigh as well as updated information about two more North Carolina show and tells that begin or return this month.

Jump to: Cars and Coffee Raleigh

Cars and Coffee Cary: 1972 AMC Gremlin

This 1972 AMC Gremlin was classified as a subcompact car when new. AMC used a variety of engines ranging from a 2.0-liter four to a 5.0-liter V-8.

Cars and Coffee Cary: Ford Mustang

Every generation of Ford Mustang is well represented, although not always at the same time. Classic and late model steeds alike draw much fan interest.

Cars and Coffee Cary: Yes!

There are only three registered Yes! sports cars in the entire United States. This orange one made an appearance at Cars and Coffee.

Cars and Coffee Cary: Chevrolet El Camino

Will we ever see the return of the Chevrolet El Camino?
In many eyes, it represents the ultimate car-truck.

Cars and Coffee Cary: Corvette Stingray

Classic and new sports cars dominate Cars and Coffee. The occasional 1960s era Corvette Stingray will make an appearance.

Cars and Coffee Cary: Dodge Dart

Most people are familiar with the contemporary Dodge Dart.
This classic edition was in mint condition.

Cars and Coffee Cary: Jaguar XJ12C

A handful of British models tend to show up including this very good condition
silver Jaguar XJ12C with Michigan plates.

Cars and Coffee Cary: Porsche 911 GT3 RS

This Porsche 911 GT3 RS needs no introduction. Its orange wheels, side mirror caps, and graphics offer an unusual contrast to the body.

Cars and Coffee Cary: Triumph

This British pair underscores the way that a hood should be lifted.

Nissan GT-R

One person’s Nissan Skyline is another person’s GT-R. No matter, it was one of the fastest cars to make an appearance this month.

Cars and Coffee Cary: 1966 Ford Mustang Fastback

The owner of this 1966 Ford Mustang Fastback has had it for 14 years. Prior to its restoration it was his sons driver while attending the United States Air Force Academy.

Cars and Coffee Cary: Chevrolet Bel Air

All eyes are on this Chevy Bel Air,
a mint condition model that represented 1950s Chevrolet design quite well.

Cars and Coffee Cary: Volkswagen Golf

This Volkswagen Golf rally car seems anxious.
Give it a track or a back road and it will strut its stuff.

Cars and Coffee Cary: Mopar

Dodge Charger and SRT Viper in red: Mopar Madness offers
the same fevered condition as does March Madness.

Cars and Coffee Raleigh

The Cary, NC gathering regularly fills the allotted parking lots, demonstrating strong local interest in automotive meetup events. That has led to the formation of Cars and Coffee at the Raleigh Grande, a monthly gathering that will supplement, but not replace Cars and Coffee Cary.

Beginning on Sat., March 15, 2014, at 4840 Grove Barton Road in northwest Raleigh, display and spectator parking will be available for this monthly show. Auto Trends talked with Dave Marsic, one of the new events organizers, learning that more than 500 display and parking spaces will be available. The concession stand at the Raleigh Grande will be open during the show with attendees invited to take in a movie afterward. You can learn more about the Raleigh event by clicking here.

Cars and Coffee Greensboro (NC) will also resume on March 15 after a four-month break. And Cars and Coffee Charlotte is also back (now meeting on the second Saturday of each month) despite having been canceled following the stupid antics of a few drivers that wrecked it (literally). Visit the Facebook pages of (Greensboro) and (Charlotte) to learn more.

Will the Ram Rumble Bee Sting the Ford Tremor?

August 22, 2013 by admin 2 Comments

A sport truck concept with an entombed bumble bee.

Car manufacturers like to respond to the pronouncements made by competing makes by answering with new and improved products of their own. In the 1960s, the Camaro was Chevrolet’s answer to the Ford Mustang. In the 1970s, Ford and Chevrolet partnered with Japanese manufacturers to supply small pickup trucks to them before embarking on a model campaign of their own. In the 1980s, Ford pushed back against the rising tide of midsize sedan competitors by launching the Taurus.

Ram 1500 Rumble Bee Concept.

Ram 1500 Rumble Bee

These days, battles are being fought across all segments from the tiniest city car to largest pickup trucks. Earlier this month, Ford announced that its all-new F-150 Tremor would go on sale this fall, a sport truck retailing from $38,000. Not to be outdone, Ram has rolled out its concept 1500 Rumble Bee pickup truck, a model that if built would challenge the new Ford truck. The Ram concept truck was introduced at the 2013 Woodward Dream Cruise in Detroit last week.

Fittingly, the Rumble Bee features a Drone Yellow finish with bee graphics on the exterior striping and inside on the seat covers. If the name sounds familiar it is — inspiration was taken from the Dodge Super Bee muscle cars of the 1960s. Moreover it marks the 10th anniversary of the original Rumble Bee, then a Dodge product.

Sport Truck Platform

The Rumble Bee is based on the Ram 1500 R/T, itself a performance truck. Under the hood is a familiar 5.7-liter HEMI V-8 engine rated at 395 horsepower and 407 foot-pounds of torque. It is paired with an eight-speed TorqueFlight automatic transmission, a ZF-supplied shifter. Its a two-door, rear-wheel drive model.

Ram sought to place the Drone Yellow color schema nearly everywhere — on the bumpers, the flares and on the Mopar ground effects kit. An all-new “Speed Bee” design is plastered on both sides of the Rumble Bee, set within a gloss black stripe that fades into honeycomb.

That black stripe flows from front to rear, around the top of the bed and over the Mopar tonneau cover to commemorate HEMI-powered vehicles that dominated the racing scene in the late 1960s to early 1970s. Gloss black, 24-inch Vellano VRH custom wheels and a 2-inch drop supplied by King Suspension enhances handing performance and improves overall appearance with the help of a reservoir shock at each wheel. A gloss black finish coats the grille, hood vents, badging, fuel door and the dual exhaust tailpipes, a theme found on both sides of the truck.

Bumble Bee Encasement

Back inside, the color and graphics schema include Drone Yellow leather sport mesh seats with two-tone yellow/light-grey stitching, while “Rumble Bee” lettering and Ram logos are affixed to chairs, the floor mats and on door bolsters.

There is also an interesting design choice that you haven’t seen before: an actual bumble bee encased within the transmission shifter knob. It is bathed in amber and the knob lights up to show both the bee and the honeycomb patterned background. The designers also installed a pair of buttons below the knob control exhaust cutouts to bypass the Mopar cat-back dual-exhaust system, what brings in the full sound of the engine at what Ram describes as loud and still louder decibels.

10th Anniversary Model

Ram says that the unique honeycomb pattern is shared with door trim and the dash, where a milled aluminum “10th Anniversary” commemorative badge serves as the truck’s identification. So, despite being a concept, we’re likely to see limited editions of this bright yellow Rumble Bee truck in Ram showrooms this fall. Your move, Chevrolet.

Photo courtesy of the Chrysler Group.

Concept Jeeps: The Crawl of the Future

October 8, 2012 by Hank Choi 1 Comment

Jeep Concept Vehicle — Classical Jeep styling cues in a pickup truck frame.

A concept Jeep J-12 with heritage good looks.

Reviewing this year’s Jeep Safari Moab concepts, we turn our lens towards the J-12 Concept from Mopar, a pickup truck that may also answer the consumer call for diesel-powered models. The Jeep J-12 Concept strikes a rare balance of classic and avant-garde styling that most concept vehicles are unable to achieve. Its trim and powertrain boast truly innovative thinking in automotive design and manufacturing.

At one glance, off-road enthusiasts and the uninitiated both will recognize this vehicle’s quality in craftsmanship.

Crawl Features

Jeep and Mopar are not only looking at different lifts and axles, but also have varying configurations in mind for the hood, heat displacement, exterior colors and interior fabrics. The concept Jeep is outfitted with Chryslers 3.6-liter V-6 engine, the same motor found in virtually every larger Chrysler product built today. Jeep fans have long been begging for a diesel, but so far the answer has been unclear at best with European customers given a 2.8-liter diesel four for the Wrangler. At the Moab event, Jeep officials hinted that a diesel option was possible perhaps even for this Wrangler-derived concept.

The 2012 Wrangler Unlimited serves as the baseline for the J-12, its frame extended 18 inches to allow for a 6-foot long truck bed, while reserving space for the spare tire under the bed floor.

As an acknowledgement to classic Jeep Gladiator series enthusiasts, Jeep’s design team created a custom hood and front fender flares for the J-12. Mopar also ramped up the J-12’s off-roading capabilities with the exciting addition of the new Mopar 3-inch suspension lift kit, as well as Teraflex sway bars controlling ARB air-locker equipped Dynatrac D-44 and D-60 axle assemblies. And the J-12’s classic 36-inch tires mounted on 16-inch steel Jeep wheels gives it phenomenal traction over the gnarliest of terrains.

Superior Interior

And Jeep knows that it is important to hit those gnarly Moab patches in comfort and in style. The J-12 concept’s cabin has been designed with a minimalist approach in support of a basic truck theme, with a rugged truck bed liner replacing the interior carpet. The bucket seats have been fashioned into a modernized bench seat, trimmed in a unique, original red and white plaid pattern. A Mopar fuel-filler door, Mopar slush mats, Tom Woods custom driveshafts, and Katzkin seat trim complete the J-12 concept Jeep.

Concept or Reality?

Like most concepts, the J-12 may never see the light of day. However, enthusiast feedback has been very positive with message boards lighting up with build this now! remarks. Given that the entire Chrysler Group is on a roll, it seems possible that Jeep will someday make the J-12 concept a reality.

See Also — The Benefits of a Good Winch

Photos courtesy of Chrysler Group, LLC.