Tere ( Justacargal ) took these, and for her full gallery see http://justacargal.blogspot.com/2010/08/pacific-beach-days-2010-something-for.html If you love hood ornament shots, see this other gallery, see just took some really good ones http://justacargal.blogspot.com/2010/08/pacific-beach-days-2010-views-only-in.html 
from an article on prohibition: http://www.944.com/articles/drinking-history-daniel-okren-s-last-call-examines-prohibition-and-how-it-shaped-america-s-tempestuous-love-affair-with-liquor/ this looks like a 1919 Dodge screen side
Sir Stirling Moss and the Maserati 250F feel the love at Donington Park http://motormodels.tumblr.com/
There are two things that Italy does better than anyone else: outrageous politicians and sports cars.
And while old Silvio has been up to his tricks, Ferrari has been busy building a fabulous new mid-engined sports car to replace the F430, itself a bit of a stunner.
The new car is called the 458 Italia. From the first bit of the name we can deduce that it's powered by a 4.5-litre eight-cylinder engine.
The new engine is direct-injection and has a whopping 570bhp at a screaming 9,000rpm.
It's more powerful than the F430 engine yet it is cleaner and more economical, not that economy is going to bother an owner that much.
What is important is driving slowly past nightclubs and attracting attention by blipping the throttle.
Many car companies claim to learn lots from racing and include the lessons in their road cars. Often it's just marketing talk but with Ferrari it's believable.
The Italia is full of hi-tech gizmos. For starters it has a seven-speed twin-clutch gearbox that changes gear faster than a blink, an electronically controlled differential and something called F1-Trac - a traction-control system that maximises acceleration out of corners without the risk of you flying off into a field.
The major controls are mounted on the steering wheel and by major we don't mean the stereo controls. Ferrari gives you a host of buttons to press that change the traction-control settings, throttle response and lots more. Just like on Raikkonen's F1 Ferrari racer.
As with the F430 the Italia's body and chassis is all aluminium, put together using aerospace technology including hi-tech glues. The Italia's dry weight is 1,380kg (a bit naughty that, as most manufacturers weigh their cars with oil and water in them).
A bloke called Michael Schumacher has played an active part in developing Ferrari's new sports car including helping to design the car's racer-like instruments.
With the Independence Day holiday fresh in our minds, and our nation focused on the troubled and changing economic times, I thought it would be interesting to re-examine what we should consider to be America's sports car. Usually the Chevrolet Corvette immediately comes to mind when thinking of the quintessential American sports car.
Ever since the mid 1950's, the Corvette has symbolized what a classic American sports car should be. A two seater with a big engine up front, able to spin the rear wheels with just a foot on the floor. The Corvette has really come of age recently with the current Z06 model, and the introduction of the 200+ mph ZR1. These cars are lightweight and technically advanced, and worthy of the America's sports car crown.
But let's take a step back, and focus on the changing climate in America. With the auto industry in peril, and the world's focus shifting to more eco-friendly autos, perhaps there is another car to consider. A car from a new company that is working to become a new major player in America, and the world. Tesla Motors has emerged onto the automotive world scene with their Tesla Roadster, an all electric sports car that sprints to 60 mph in just 4.4 seconds.
The Tesla is an electric car based on the Lotus Elise, but with an electric motor. The Tesla is six times more efficient than the average sports car while producing only 10% of the pollution. Tesla Motors is based in California, and is starting to open dealerships all around the US, and the world. At $109,000 the Tesla is not cheap, but you won't need to buy any gas or oil to maintain the roadster. Besides, the Corvette ZR1 also will set you back about $100,000, and is much less efficient.
The next release from Tesla, the Model S is going to have all of the performance of the roadster, but it will be a more useable four seat luxury all electric car. Tesla is already taking orders for the Model S so we are just a couple of years away from perhaps the most revolutionary American car debut since the Chrysler minivan.
If the Model S is well received, and America (and the world) embraces the new technology by installing charging stations along our nations highways, it may just change the way we think about cars. Being a sports car guy, I have always been leery of new hybrid and energy efficient alternative forms of transportation. I was always worried that they would take the fun out of driving. After having been in the Tesla Roadster, I no longer fear the new technology. It is truly an amazingly fast car, and it makes absolutely no noise when underway.
The Tesla Model S is going to sell for around $50,000 after the federal tax credit of $7500. That's pretty much the same as your average high line luxury sedan. The standard Model S will reach 60 miles per hour in just 6 seconds, while an optional sport version will achieve 60 mph in under 5 seconds. The top speed for the Model S is 130 mph. The Model S costs around $5 to drive 230 miles.
If the Model S is constructed as well as the Tesla Roadster, and has even half of its performance abilities, than we just might have a new great American sports car that we can all be proud of. Perhaps the day will come in the future when we have an all electric Corvette. For now, I think America has two great sports cars to call its own, the Corvette and the Tesla Roadster!
