Two Australian car stories

First up is an article our 6.9-loving friend Lukas sent me about Aussie Supercars.

Then we have this post about a visit to a car museum by our resident Bolwell fanatic, John L.

Thanks dudes!

Episodes Dodge van

Just watched Season 1 of Episodes.  The sitcom stars Matt LeBlanc, Stephen Mangan, and Tamsin Greig.  This van, which shows tourists the homes of the stars, caught my eye. 

Incidentally, Matt LeBlanc's character on the show, actor Matt LeBlanc, drives an Alfa Romeo 8C convertible.  I watched the show because of all the critical acclaim, but I found it mildly entertaining.

The transporter

The Corvette and Bentley are pretty impressive.  I wonder what else was on that trailer. 

-Taken today in Oakland.

Carspotting: 1986 BMW 635CSi with manual transmission

DC catches golf ball with Mercedes car

Porsche Panamera courtesy car

This is by far the best courtesy car I've ever seen.  It's from this dealership.

Mark I Honda Insight review

I used to hate these for some reason, but they fascinate me now.  Does anyone have any ownership experience?

Motorama Lafayette 2012 photos

First, an apology.  The show started at 9 a.m.  I got to a really slow start.  By the time I got to the show, it was 2:30 p.m. and more than half the cars were already gone.  Still, there were quite a few interesting cars left.

This Maserati Ghibli came all the way from Carmel.

This Maserati Sebring wasn't too shabby either.

Little Nash Metropolitan.

Old Cord and newish Alfa Romeo 8C.

At first, I thought this was an Italian roadster, but it's actually an MG Midget.

Cute Morris Minor 1000 Traveller Woodie.  It was purchased new from Tunnel Motors in Walnut Creek.

I've seen this Esprit before at another local show, but not the engine bay.

This 1967 Lotus Seven was one of the last 2nd generation Sevens made.  It's a 1962.

I don't know much about motorbikes, but this looked intriguing.  It's a 1970 OSSA Pioneer Enduro from Spain.  Ozmac and others: Can you shed some light on this?

Carspotting: 1929 Chrysler Series 75

This oldtimer, owned by an oldtimer, was parked outside the barber shop this morning.  The owner says parts, like the light bulb, are difficult to come by.  More on 1920s Chryslers here.

Mario Andretti driving a 2-seater Honda Indy car

This ad has been getting a lot of play on TV lately.

Eddins Moto photos

During lunch, I stopped by Jaan's shop for a quick peek.  I'm working on a 10-question interview, so if you have any suggestions for questions, please let me know.

The Fiat X1/9 in the foreground is the shop's errand truck.

Jaan was working on this Flavia 1.8.  It came in for a brake job but Jaan ended up fixing the fuel injection.  This particular example is so emblematic of Flavias, it is the subject of a Wikipedia photo of a Flavia.  Between 1965 and 1967, just 72 Flavia's came with fuel injection.  Jaan has never seen one that worked perfectly.

I asked if injection owners ever switched to carburetors for reliability.  He replied: Why?  Look how beautiful it is.

Spare parts are not available, anywhere.  So they have to be handmade, here.

A job that would stress out many a professional seemed calming, almost meditative, for this mechanic.

Inside, a somber Lancia Flamina and a Porsche 911 Turbo are up in the air, with their undersides exposed.

As I left, we partially pulled the cover off of this other Fiat.  The owner is a cannon collector (!) and the yellow paint was used to restore one of his cannons.  Wow.