The exhibition opened in June and will run through mid September 2011.
1953 Porsche 550, Prototype, Serial No.550-01: photo © Peter Harholdt.
Steve McQueen’s 1957 Jaguar XK-SS Roadster
1937 Talbot-Lago T150-C-SS “Teardrop” Coupe
This summer the Portland Art Museum presents The Allure of the Automobile, an exhibition investigating the stylistic development of automobiles. The installation includes 16 of the world’s rarest and most brilliantly conceived cars ranging from the 1930s to the early 1960s, including masterpieces by Bugatti, Ferrari, and Alfa Romeo. The Allure of the Automobile is guest-curated by Ken Gross, former director of the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, CA.
1930 Bentley Speed Six Gurney Nutting Coupe
1931 Duesenberg SJ Derham Convertible Sedan
1933 Pierce-Arrow Silver Arrow
1937 Mercedes-Benz 540K Special Roadster
1937 Hispano Suiza H-6C “Xenia” Coupe
1937 Bugatti Type 57S Atalante
1937 Talbot-Lago T150-C-SS “Teardrop” Coupe
1938 Alfa Romeo 8C2900B Touring Berlinetta
1948 Tucker Model 48 Torpedo
1953 Porsche 550, Prototype
1954 Plymouth Explorer Sports Coupe
1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SLR Roadster
1957 Jaguar XK-SS Roadster
1959 Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray Prototype
1961 Ferrari 250 GT Comp./61 Short-wheelbase Berlinetta
1961 Aston Martin DB4GT Zagato Coupe
About the Portland Art Museum
The seventh oldest museum in the United States and the oldest in the Pacific Northwest, the Portland Art Museum is internationally recognized for its permanent collection and ambitious special exhibitions drawn from the Museum’s holdings and the world’s finest public and private collections. The Museum’s collection of 42,000 objects, displayed in 112,000 square feet of galleries, reflects the history of art from ancient times to today. The collection is distinguished for its holdings of arts of the native peoples of North America, English silver, and the graphic arts. An active collecting institution dedicated to preserving great art for the enrichment of future generations, the Museum devotes 90 percent of its galleries to its permanent collection. For information on exhibitions and programs, call 503-226-2811 or visit
[ Portland Art Museum ]
How do you know if making the move to an electric car will work for you? It may depend where you live, if there are charging stations within your battery range limitations, your driving habits, and your lifestyle. And it’s an expensive proposition at the moment as the battery alone accounts for $10,000 of the purchase. There’s a new app that can measure your driving habits and needs to help make the decision to move all out to an EV or hybrid.
the new app is Virtual Test Drive that operates on your smartphone, compiling data every time you drive your car.
Drivers can log onto Virtual Test Drive’s website and view where they have recently driven and see range issues and cost savings. The company also compiles all data and could be a resource for future EV infrastructure development.
At the moment the app is only available to beta testers. If you want to check out the app yourself, sign up here
producer: virtual vehicle company
Will this be world’s fastest hybrid? A combo Prius and Veyron? Jaguar and Williams F1 is teaming up on a greenish supercar. The hybrid tech is a ‘state-of-the-art, small-capacity, highly boosted internal combustion engine’ and an electric motor on each axle and lithium-ion battery technology from Williams. The Jaguar C-X75 will be four-wheel drive, and able to drive using just the combustion engine, in EV mode with a range ‘in excess of 30 miles or use a combination of the two. There are three drive configurations: EV, Normal and Track.
250 cars will be built, 200 destined as road cars and 50 as racers. You can order one or more today. Production is confirmed for a 2013 delivery. Price estimate $1 million-plus USD. Production name is Jaguar CX-75. [ veyron ] [ car magazine ]
With its lower profile, longer front hood and angled windshield, the 2012 “New Original” Beetle is sleeker and sportier than its bubbly predecessor. And now that it comes without the iconic bud vase, it’s decidedly more masculine too. Upping the Beetle’s appeal to male consumers was a conscientious part of the design process. Last year, 60% of new Beetle buyers were women. With this more ‘macho’ redesign, VW hopes to encourage sales amongst men.
When it was unveiled at the recent New York Auto Show, the two New Originals on display had very manly black and red paint jobs – no lime green, orange or yellow Beetles in sight. In fact, when it becomes available in the US in October 2011, it’s still unclear as to whether the New Original will even be offered in colors on the lighter side of the spectrum, besides white, of course.
I bought a used New Beetle during college, so as a former owner I’m more than a little partial to this car. What’s more, I love the changes VW made to it. I think the lower profile and more streamlined look is big step up. That said, I lament the loss of the bud vase in an attempt to appeal to men. Men love the bud vase! Once a man even left me flowers on my windshield “for your bud vase,” the note said. It’s a pity to lose this piece of history for the sake of sales. Besides, it’s not like you have to keep flowers in it. Dudes should feel free to use it to display their manliness with pride. Tuck a jock strap inside or use it as storage for beer bottle caps – but there’s no reason to shy away from a harmless little flower.
about perrin drumm
GM has announced it was dispatching demonstration Volts to Chevy dealerships in the Volt’s initial launch markets of California, Connecticut, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Texas, Virginia and Washington, D.C. GM said the move would allow people to test drive the vehicle – and would likely boost business for its other models as well.
500-plus demo Volts will be delivered to dealerships in the first quarter of 2011, and by the end of the year, “more than 2,500 U.S. dealers will receive a dedicated Volt for consumer demonstrations and test drives.”
Interestingly, GM feels the extended-range electric car believes 85 percent of people looking up information about the Volt end up checking out other models, too. “We are seeing that the Volt is increasing traffic onto our dealer showroom floors and is exposing consumers to Chevy’s line of ‘gas-friendly’ vehicles, including the Cruze Malibu and Equinox,” Cristi Landy, Chevrolet’s marketing director, said in a statement.
How to achieve a worry-free electric driving experience ? The problem isn’t the car it’s “range anxiety” about “refueling.” How to find charging stations: U.S. Department of Energy; Better Place.
The 2011 Fisker Karma still on track to reach the U.S. in March or April. The price will be $95K. If you’ve been following you’d also know in 2008: $80K, 09:$87K. Full story [RK]
