Another year and another great Sacramento Autorama, the longest running indoor car show in North America. This time however I did not make it there until after 2 pm on Sunday. It seems that is the time for the multitudes of real weirdos to attend the show. Sadly this also meant that I missed Catherine Bach, better known as Daisy Duke, as well as Chris Jacobs from Overhaulin’. Not too excited about meeting the guy who hosts a show about cars anyway. Like previous years there were not enough Mopars there. The outstanding exception was the 1970 Challenger with a new 6.1 liter HEMI sitting next to a brand new SRT Challenger. They had a room full of Mercs but they were all pretty much customized the same with different paint and little creativity. Some of the coolest stuff to be seen were off in the little rooms where they had an actual horseless carriage.

This show always has something for everyone, from Mercs to the Munster mobile and of course the General Lee. Its a great show to attend and its great that such a large show is in Sacramento. Maybe next year I will actually go check out the auction.

Today behind the internet buzz surrounding Google’s all new Android based phone being offered on TMobile Chrysler quietly introduced the world to the first EV Town and Country along with an EV Jeep and a mule in a Lotus Europa skin. Autoblog has a great write up about these vehicles with some shots of them.

What makes this really interesting is that with all the fanfare and hoopla surrounding the Volt, Chrysler secretly developed these vehicles and made production ready versions, except for the sports car which obviously needs a Dodge skin applied which we could only hope is the Dodge Demon enthusiasts have been waiting for. Its really exciting to see the promise of two very popular Chrysler vehicles getting the EV treatment.

The Jeep EV uses an electric motor making 200kW (268 hp) and 295 lb-ft of torque, while the Chrysler EV uses a 190kW (255-hp) motor making 258 lb-ft of torque. If these numbers end up being realistic then they have a couple of real winners. The other prospect is what kind of range enhancing motors will be available as well, will there be a 4 banger or a 6 squeezed in for a more typical hybrid or is this the direction that Chrysler sees taking all of its vehicles?

Check out these official Chrysler videos and the pictures of the new vehicles in the gallery.

So here are a ton of pics from the epic Cherry’s Jubilee Show n’ Shine on Cannery Row. As with a lot of general rod shows there was a serious lack of Mopar to be seen but I think my favorite was the 1972 Challenger with the blown HEMI. There were lots of great cars to see and as always the owners were very friendly. In the last two years this show has grown quite a bit down at Laguna Seca with the addition of Big Rigs and bikes. Enjoy the pics, by clicking on the picture at the top or enjoy these little videos that were broadcast live via qik.

Here is a preview for the Cherry’s Jubilee auto event here in Monterey this very weekend. Lots of great hot rods, food and music. Tonight is a cruise down Alvarado and then tomorrow on Cannery Row. For more information on the event go HERE. I also have some pics to throw up there.

Chrysler has formally unveiled the full 2009 Dodge Challenger range here at the New York Auto Show. Jim Press gamely handled a few technical snafus that plagued one of the skits going on behind him as he re-introduced the the Challenger SRT8, pulled the wraps off the Challenger R/T and showed us the budget-minded Challenger SE for the first time.

The Red Monkey: "I have been waiting for this car ever since they revealed it over two years ago. I have a Dodge Ram HEMI and the new Ram HEMI had 370 HP opposed to 345. The R/T version of this car with a six speed tremec and 370 HP is mind boggeling and I must have one. This is the only car I have waited over two years for."

Credit for the photo goes to an unnamed Autoblog photog. Click on the picture for a link to their gallery of the Challenger pron.



read more | digg story