We spent some time enjoying a number of collector cars and hot rods with the Minnesota Street Rod Association. Here’s a brief video with one of the members:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C575uqZl5hU]
Condon Skelly visited Scottsdale, Arizona last week to check out some unbelievable classic and custom cars. Scottsdale is actually a hotbed for collector cars, custom hot rods, and a gathering place for gearheads across the country to gather, share, and race. Here are some of the beauties we found.
We recently attended Salute the Troops in Media, PA.
Corvettes represent one of the most recognized and significant collector car franchises of the automotive industry. In looks and performance, they were always top-notch. They cost more than typical American muscle, but they back it up with fine craftsmanship and exclusivity. This is especially evident in a number of models from the ’60s. Here Mike shares with us some info on his ’66 Vette.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_OpszAbjXY&w=640&h=360]
Horsepower, like many things, continues to grow with the times. Many want bigger, faster, cheaper. Technology and economies of scale are happy to oblige. In some ways, however, it’s remarkable that we’ve come this far, given the effects of the gas crises. The resulting fuel economy efforts devastated the market for power and performance. In the 80s, a typical Ford Mustang had between 88 and 140 horsepower – today’s equivalent of a compact or subcompact economy car. Despite the crises, and the need to clean up our act, the horsepower wars are raging now as much as ever before. Let’s take a look at what five decades will do.
In the 60s, the most powerful production car (by rated net HP) was the Chevy Camaro ZL-1, producing 376 bhp. Today, the list of cars with more power is nearly endless, but let’s focus on the ones that most people can afford. The Camaro ZL-1 was expensive in 1969, but not outlandish – about $43,000 in today’s money. Today’s cars under $43,000 with more than 376 bhp are as follows:
It’s nice to see that Detroit has returned to its old hallmark of affordable power for the people. There’s a vast array of European and Japanese cars over 376 bhp, but most of them cost two or three times what these cars cost. The ZL-1 was a rocket ship in its day, and just 5 years ago, none of these cars were around. This decade, however, has marked the return of American Muscle. What’s to come in the following ten years?
We visited Levittown, PA to check out the Kruzers at the Knight of Columbus. There some beautiful collector cars and antique cars, and a great time was had by all. Here are just a few of the great vehicles brought to the event…
Condon Skelly creates and compiles a variety of videos at collector car shows, classic car races, and other automotive events of interest. We love classic cars just as much as we love collector car insurance. To see a broad array of videos, including a recent video on the Indy 500, visit our YouTube channel today.
Condon Skelly attended the AACA Fall Meet in Hershey Pennsylvania from October 5 – 7. Many collectors came from around the world to browse over 38 miles of vendor spaces looking for parts, etc. We met many existing Condon Skelly policy holders and found it encouraging that a good quarter of the people we spoke with sought us out to tell us they were long-time Condon Skelly customers. On October 6 we hosted a pizza party for a big group of classic car collectors with the help of Jim Kruse’s family who had previously hosted this get-together for many years prior. A great experience for car enthusiasts and classic car collectors, we had fun and highly recommend it!
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Participants were the judges at our show, voting for their favorite cars throughout the day; a 1930 Packard belonging to Bob Reis took home top honors, Best In Show.
