AUGUST 28, 2024

The original - and still our favorite - Autoextremist logo. 

The AE Quote of the Century: Everybody loves The High-Octane Truth. Until they don't. -WG 

Editor-in-Chief's Note: In a follow-up to my column about the greed-fest in Monterey, here are the results from just one auction house - Mecum - last week. A special comment on No. 7. This is the first production L88 Corvette (of 20) built that year. We - my brother Tony and I - took delivery of it at Hanley Dawson Chevrolet in Detroit and immediately set about turning it into an "A" Production racer to run in SCCA events, which Tony did very successfully. This ended up being a well-traveled machine, but quite a few years ago Tony was contacted to verify its originality, and then asked to supervise its restoration back to its configuration as raced in the 1967 SCCA Runoffs at Daytona, which he did. He was then asked by the owner to race it at the Monterey Historics and then the car was put back into its street configuration to up its value. Then, it was put back into competition configuration, then back into street configuration again. And now, it has a new owner. We get asked all the time if we wish we had kept any of our famous racing Corvettes, and the answer is always, "Sure, but remember, at the time there was nothing more useless than last year's race car. So..." -PMD

The top collector car sales at the Monterey 2024 auction included:

1. 1969 Ford GT40 Lightweight (Lot S90) at $7,865,000
2. 1969 Dodge Hemi Daytona (Lot S99) at $3,360,000
3. 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4 (Lot F90) at $3,080,000
4. 2003 Ferrari Enzo (Lot F77) at $2,860,000
5. 1970 Plymouth Hemi Cuda Convertible (Lot S97) at $2,576,000
6. 1967 Ferrari 330 GTS (Lot F96) at $2,530,000
7. 1967 Chevrolet Corvette L88 Convertible (Lot S96) at $2,352,000
8. 2005 Porsche Carrera GT (Lot S88) at $1,732,500
9. 1930 Packard 734 Speedster Boattail Runabout (Lot S104) at $1,375,000
10. 1957 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster (Lot F91) at $1,237,500

(VW Images)

Volkswagen of America, Inc., has announced pricing and the EPA-estimated range for the ID. Buzz. Pricing for ID. Buzz models will start with the rear-wheel-drive Pro S at an MSRP of $59,995, Pro S Plus at $63,495, and the launch-only 1st Edition at $65,495. At 100% charge, rear-wheel-drive models will offer 234 miles of EPA-estimated range, and 4Motion all-wheel-drive models will offer 231 miles of EPA-estimated range. Three different interior color worlds are carefully curated to complement the exterior colors and are currently exclusive to the North American models. Copper gives mid-century modern vibes with rich brown leatherette seats with yellow piping, brown door inserts and a washed wood-look dash. Dune—first seen at the ID. Buzz reveal in 2023—is a bright, airy, coastal-inspired interior, which pairs light grey leatherette seats with clay-colored piping and door inserts, along with a light wood-look dash. Moonlight, a moody dark interior, includes dark brown leatherette seats with white piping, blue door inserts and a dark wood-look dash, paired with black headliner. Editor-in-Chief's Note: The ID. Buzz is finally arriving late this year, a full eight years after it was first shown to the public. I see three major issues right off the bat for the "Buzz." First of all, the launch timing is atrocious. Despite the shiny happy EV boosters suggesting that "it won't be long now!" for EV sales momentum, the reality is that EV sales are sluggish, to put it mildly. Secondly, the EPA-estimated range for the Buzz is underwhelming to say the least. 234 miles on the rear-wheel-drive version? Wow, as in, you gotta be kidding me. And finally, the price is a killer. Yes, for months the buzz about the "Buzz" was that it would be pricey, I get that. But VW operatives are going to find out the hard way that the list for the "first-on-the-block" types who just gotta have a "Buzz" is going to be painfully short. The ID. Buzz is just too damn expensive, no matter how VW deigns to position it. As we like to say around here, it's Not Very Good, is it? -PMD

(motorsportcollector.com)

Editor-in-Chief's Note: I wanted to take this opportunity to mention George Levy's fantastic new book, Texas Legend - Jim Hall and his Chaparrals. This Official Biography of Jim Hall is simply one of the finest biographies I have ever read, and it stands as the definitive work chronicling the life and achievements of Jim Hall. Full disclosure, Jim Hall is and has been one of my all-time favorites, and Levy's book does Jim justice like no book before it. It is filled with details and anecdotes never revealed until now. I highly recommend this book for enthusiasts and non-enthusiasts alike. It is a superb effort and well worth the read. -PMD 

The AE Song of the Week:

I bought a toothbrush, some toothpaste
A flannel for my face
Pajamas, a hairbrush
New shoes and a case
I said to my reflection
"Let's get out of this place"

Passed the church and the steeple
The laundry on the hill
Billboards and the buildings
Memories of it still
Keep calling and calling
But forget it all, I know I will

Tempted by the fruit of another
Tempted but the truth is discovered
What's been going on
Now that you have gone
There's no other
Tempted by the fruit of another
Tempted but the truth is discovered

I'm at the car park, the airport
The baggage carousel
(The people keep on grindin')
Ain't wishing I was well
I said it's no occasion
(It's no story I could tell)

At my bedside empty pocket
A foot without a sock
Your body gets much closer
I fumble for the clock
Alarmed by the seduction
I wish that it would stop

Tempted by the fruit of another
Tempted but the truth is discovered
What's been going on
Now that you have gone
There's no other
Tempted by the fruit of another
Tempted but the truth is discovered

I bought a novel, some perfume
A fortune all for you
But it's not my conscience
That hates to be untrue
I asked of my reflection
Tell me what is there to do?

Tempted by the fruit of another
Tempted but the truth is discovered
What's been going on
Now that you have gone
There's no other
Tempted by the fruit of another
Tempted but the truth is discovered

Tempted by the fruit of another
Tempted but the truth is discovered
Tempted by the fruit of another
Tempted but the truth is discovered

Tempted by the fruit of another
Tempted but the truth is discovered

 "Tempted" by Squeeze, from the album "East Side Story" (1981).* Written by Christopher Difford and Glenn Tilbrook. Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC. Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind. Watch the Official Music Video here. 

*Squeeze singer and guitarist Chris Difford wrote the lyrics to this song. He explained in a Songfacts interview: "'Tempted' was written in a cab on the way to Heathrow, I just wrote down what I saw and how I felt as we wormed our way through the traffic. I also must have anticipated a good time on tour as the chorus suggests." Paul Carrack sang lead on this. He also sang with the bands Ace ("How Long") and Mike And The Mechanics (The Living Years"). In 1987, he had a solo hit with "Don't Shed A Tear." Carrack was with Squeeze for their East Side Story album, replacing Jools Holland on keyboards and also contributing vocals. He rejoined Squeeze in 1993 for their album Some Fantastic Place, and sang on a new version of "Tempted" that the band recorded for the soundtrack of the 1994 movie Reality Bites. Elvis Costello produced this track. You can hear him singing on the second verse. This was the first Squeeze song to crack the charts in America. Squeeze was already a big deal in their native England, where they had seven Top 40 hits to this point. They managed just two more US hits: "Hourglass" and "853-5937," but "Tempted" remains their most enduring song in the States, where it continues to get airplay. Glenn Tilbrook, who writes the music for Squeeze, considers this one of his favorites. Says Tilbrook: "It was a sort of breakthrough song for us, in spite of the fact that it wasn't a hit, it was our first song. It was when we grew up, really, as a band. When we finished it I couldn't quite believe it was us." (Knowledge courtesy of Songfacts.com)

Editor's Note: You can access previous issues of AE by clicking on "Next 1 Entries" below. - WG