Is It That Time Already?

Must be. This Saturday night, February 11th I'll be previewing some of the metal prints I'll have at the L. A. Literature Meet which will be held next month.

If you're in town please drop by and check out some of my prints on metal as well as some matted prints. The event is at my studio/gallery on 30th St., San Diego. The location is "Art on 30th", 4434 30th Street, Studio 4 upstairs. The event hours are, 6:00-8:00 pm. Here's one of my prints that I'll have at the studio, it's of the ultimate car restaurant/bar in Carmel Valley, Carmel, CA....

Be there or be square...

Print on metal, "Baja Cantina"  © John Straub

"Open Desert" at Palm Spring Art Museum, and Welcome

First, I would like to welcome my new subscribers from last weekends Art Walk in Little Italy and say "thank you" for taking an interest in my photography!

Well, I'm pretty jazzed about this email received from the Palm Springs Art Museum concerning the upcoming "Open Desert" show.

"Dear John Straub,

We are pleased to inform you that a selection from your submission has been accepted to exhibit as part of the photographic slide show developed for OPEN DESERT Music and Photographic Arts Showcase.

We hope you can join us at 8 p.m., Saturday, May 7, 2016 at Palm Springs Art Museum’s Annenberg Theater.  The event will feature an international selection of photographic submissions projected in collaboration with the explosive musical talent of: Drum Hall, Tribesmen, Caxton, and Mike Pygmie Ensemble.

Congratulations!"

This will be coming from my B/W series called "Decaying Dreams." I've spent quite a bit of time documenting some of the conditions around the Salton Sea, an area of California that has suffered badly with the drought. If you would like info on the show, here is a link: http://opendesert.org/

Amelia Island Concours Lands Two Rare Porsches...

I received this notice from one of my friends, Burt Propp. Thought I would share it with you guys.

With the automotive celebrations at Amelia Island looming (March 13-15, 2015), Porsche let us know that they'll be bringing two very significant racing cars from their museum to display on the concours field. While there are certainly some great Porsches for aution, the level of rarity is kicked up another notch out on the green show field. The first of Porsche's entrants being the venerable, one-of-two 909 Bergspyder, and the second is a one-of-one powerhouse in the form of the 917 PA Spyder 16-cylinder. Both were extraordinary engineering exercises that helped to develop Porsche into an international sportscar racing leader. The late 1960s and early 1970s were an exciting time at Porsche, and these two racers exemplify the type of out-of-the-box thinking that helped them to win multiple world championships.

909 Bergspyder, Factory Photo Archives

Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion, 2015...

For those of you that like to make the trip to Monterey for the Historics, here's the latest info on this years honored marque.The Shelby GT 350.

Donn Vickery coming down from the "Corkscrew" entering turn 9 at Laguna Seca.

Insider's Guide to Monterey 2014...

This must have been the "Revenge of the Google Nerds" on me.

Now you gotta' know I'm no Tech Monkey or Code Geek, wish I was, because if I was, I could figure out why "Feedburner" was no longer sending out my blog post. That's right, all you guys that signed up for blog updates, were not getting them. So, it was time to switch over to another blog mailing service. This is the second going out with that new service, and it's secure. No spamming coming from me, why, because I hate it as much as you. Your email won't go to anyone, because I also hate that. You can still unsubscribe any time you want, although why would you want to? It's a blog about cars, their history, artistry, events, and creative car photography.

Anyway, with August fast approaching, the return of the Monterey Car Week is looming. One of my personal favorites of the week is the "Carmel-By-The-Sea Concours." This show is always a delight to see with new attractions every year. And what better setting can you have, but the main street of Carmel, with an eclectic variety of cars to check out as well as shops for your better half to keep them busy. It's a guaranteed "Smile Buster!" Here are a couple of shots from last years event...

Now on to the guide for the week. If you click on this link to the Calendar of events and scroll down to August 11-17, you'll see a complete list, along with event links. Enjoy... Car Kulture Kalendar

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Carmel-By-The-Sea Concours 2013...

Imagine a hunk of aluminum on a lathe...it turns and turns, more times that can be remembered. It comes out a beautiful and functional piece of art, a piston. For years, that's how Doug Freedman thought about and worked his "Carmel-By-The-Sea Concours On The Avenue" before the first car was shown the street.

In the last six years of the Carmel-by-the-Sea Concours, it has been said that this is the perfect Concours, boasting gorgeous and exotic micro cars to "full on" race machinery, and open to the public to view between 10:00AM to 5:00PM. There seems to be no way to make this event better, but Doug has touched this event over and over through the years, again and again to create a subtle but better show including fantastic branding partners, the likes of Tiffany & Co., Meguiar's, and the beautiful Cypress Inn in Carmel. One could say he has put constant inspiration into this competitive display so the party is familiar when you show up, but you can count on each year becoming a little bit better. Last year the Trans Am cars that were going to be running at Laguna the following weekend were invited to drive onto Ocean Boulevard sans mufflers to rock the street. I was lucky enough to be the official photographer last year, and with the next event drawing closer while I'm polishing my camera lens, I thought it about time I shared some of my images, to get you in the spirit for this year, or if you would like to become involved with this event in the future.

New Kid On The Block...Porsche 911

It was the 1st 911 to race at the famous Daytona racetrack, finishing 1st in class. 1964 Type 911, a-Series, Chassis No. 300-128. One of the two first 911's delivered to the United States.

Sadly, photographer unknown

Brumos Porsche received the car for demonstrations. As Porsche said "Anybody who wanted to drive a 911 just had to get to Brumos and they could test drive the new 911."

"Eres un Payaso"

The backstory began about a year ago with a Lowrider Culture Art Display and Car Show at the Oceanside Museum of Art. Growing up in SoCal this would be the perfect opportunity to wrap my mind around this lifestyle. Off I went to do a story for the blog, which was "The Art of Lowriding." But, read on for more of the story...

Los Angeles Auto Show 2012 hits the Road...

On the West Coast, the auto affair not to miss is the L.A. Auto Show.  "Press days" presented a perfect time to grab photos without hoards of onlookers.

The show is the first North American show of the season leading into 2013, and hosts some of the industry's most important new vehicle debuts, nearly 50 in all. One of those was the BMW i8 Spyder hybrid roadster and the Jaguar F-TYPE convertible, as well as the SLS AMG Black Series Mercedes-Benz. Porsche had the new 911 Carrera 4 which was first shown at the Paris International Motor Show in September, distinguished by its prominent broad rear section and a red light strip between the rear lights, with its typical all-wheel drive layout. The big debut however, for Porsches ultra-stark and all white display, was the next generation Cayman covered in the last post.

The green categories were also well represented with Fiat's first electric 500e vehicle, Chevrolet's Spark EV, Ford's C-MAX, Focus Electric and Honda's Accord plug-in hybrid.  The show also included  debuts of compact performance, with unveiling's such as the North American debut of the cool Mini Paceman and Clubvan, as well as the sweet 2013 Volkswagen Beetle Convertible in their  retro "Go-Go" display.

 It may be no surprise, but I'm more interested in the performance side of the market rather than grocery getter's when the new models go public...cars like the Viper, Shelby 500, and Dodge's. So, needless to say my camera was leaning to the "Put you back in the seat type of rides." Check out the photos...



A sweet SRT Viper...

Monterey Car Week ... 2012

It seems as though this week just creeps up, slowly simmering continuously on a back burner in my brain. It's car nirvana. If you've never been, try it at least once. Here's a list of "Don't Miss" events for the week. Check the web sites listed for cost and dates/times.

The 1982 Historics, first year for Porsche...great memories. Image © "Along For The Ride"

Carmel By The Sea Concour on the Avenue 2012

As I sit here thinking about the upcoming summer car adventures, there's one special event that stands out among the multitude of gatherings. The "Carmel-By-The-Sea Concours on the Avenue" claims the spot as a Must-Do...Must-See over the top event. The date is August 14, 2012.

This year as in the past, the concours will have special classes for Porsche's as well as Ferrari's through the year 1989. For those of you that are caretakers of Porsche 356 or early 911 cars, this is definitely the place for your car to be seen. You say, "I don't have one of those." Don't worry, this is also a multi-marque friendly show including hot rods, 1940 through 1973 along with the Heritage Avenue Exhibit, any vehicle, any year. If you haven't entered, do it today. If you just want to go as an onlooker, the event is designed to be a fun, free, family friendly, pedestrian walk-about with the streets closed, lined with beautiful cars and key to education for all. What better way to spend the day than on the streets of Carmel checking out the machinery. And, I almost forgot to mention, the shops lining the streets are decked out in window displays to celebrate the concours occasion.

Rare Corvette "Grand Sport" rolls across the podium. Image via Road & Track.

Here's a link to the Carmel-By-The-Sea Concours on the Avenue. See you there!

Related Post: The Action Replay, 2011...photos.

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Peking To Paris Motor Challenge 2013 ... True Grit!

In 2010, "Along For The Ride" followed Ahmet in his Turkish built 1967 Anadol as he tackled and finished the "2010 Peking To Paris Rally." Now, back to the present, the blog is going along for the ride with owner of Shamrock Racing's, Stanley Gold and Shamrock's Director of Operations and good friend, Brant Parsons as they prepare to take on the 2013 Peking To Paris. They're using a 1965 Porsche 911, the first 911 to compete in this event. If you frequent vintage racing events, you've probably seen Stanley participating in one car or another, choosing from his 356, 911s, a 910, a RS 60 to a 904 with great success.

The team will first tackle the Trans-America Rally from New York to Anchorage running the second leg from Vancouver to Anchorage as a pre-run for the car, this coming May. So come along with the blog on this lifetime adventure.

The '65 911 as it's being prepared. Image © "Along For The Ride"

A little history on the Peking to Paris Rally. In 1907 the first-ever trans-Continental motorcar Rally between Peking and Paris became an epic challenge. Five cars set out from Peking, four made it to Paris to a tumultuous welcome and world-wide fame...they had set out to confirm that man and car could now go anywhere, they hoped it would make borders between countries redundant. They had left Peking with no passports – these had been confiscated by Chinese authorities who suspected they were spies, and had no interest in seeing the success of the motorcar having just invested in shares in the trans-Siberian railway.

Now to the relative current time. The second Peking to Paris was not held until the summer of 1997, with the first-ever rally for classic and vintage cars to cross China, and the first-ever rally to cross Tibet...and camping at the foot of Mount Everest. They also cracked open the border between Tibet and Nepal. The border at Friendship Bridge between Tibet and Nepal had been closed for 40 years since it was slammed shut by Chairman Mao. However, in 1997 the Peking to Paris organizers negotiated the re-opening, and it remains open today. They drove on into India and Pakistan, and were the first rally to cross Iran since the 1977 London to Sydney Marathon. Of 96 cars that set out, all but nine made it to the celebrations in Place de la Concorde.

The 2013 event will go through places such as; the Gobi Desert, Mongolia, Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Slovakia, Austria, Switzerland and into France. The event dates are May 28-June29, 2013.

The blog has a separate page entitled "Peking To Paris Motor Challenge 2013 Build" listed just below the header, here. You can read the full story on the build by clicking on the link. Check back on this separate page to see the build along with photos as it progresses and to follow them along on both rallies.

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La Jolla Concours d' Elegance ... A Replay

What do loafers and shades by Gucci, Seersucker suits and Ferrari's have in common? Well...the new, improved and renamed La Jolla Concours, of course. The weather was a bit cool and breezy, so layering was the order of the day for spectators. Oh yeah, cameras too.

Keith Martin of Sports Car Market Magazine was the emcee for the day and the music played long and hard. Friends met and renewed bonds with a common interest, cool cars-that is, works of art that designers from years past had scribed onto paper hoping to create what people could dream of owning some day.

As the engaged enthusiasts cruised back and forth weaving in and out of the arty machinery, many smiles could be seen with fingers pointed to details. The paint, feet deep, chrome sparkling and leather interiors that just wanted to be rubbed. Now is not too early to start looking to next year, for the day the "Jewel of the Sea" will put  its best dressed rides back on the grass to be admired along with its beautiful people. Watch the "Along For The Ride" calendar as new dates are published. Check out the Kalendar link here.

Enjoy the photos...

The Shelby King Cobra, once raced by Parnelli Jones at the 1964 L.A. Times Grand Prix (Riverside) finishing first.
 La Jolla Concours d' Elegance.
 Image © "Along For The Ride"

La Jolla Concours d' Elegance ... Rubies on the Grass

This is one of the "big boy" shows on the Concours schedule here in So-Cal. So guys leave the sweatshirts at home and break out the classic Ray-Bans, straight leg jeans, white tees, fitted leather bomber jackets and loafers by Scarpe Di Bianco ala James Dean, with your best girl on your arm to check out the machinery.

This is one of the few concours that I know of that honors not only the cars, but the restoration shops and restorers that perform their magic on the metal. All of this plays out in one of the most beautiful settings on the west coast...La Jolla's Ellen Browning Scripps Park.

Image courtesy of the La Jolla Historical Society

The date for the show is this Sunday, April 1st, the weather looks like it's gonna' be dynamite and the waves big to rock the good vibes on the grass.

As a side note, this year, several blog followers have entered their rides; Skip and Leslie Shirley, Steve and Araceli Lopez, Tom and Bev Gould, Dale and Lorena Sommerfeld. John Bessey will bring an MGC/GTS and Donn Vickrey will be showing his radical Shelby King Cobra. Remember, this is not an event to be missed...be there!

You can find more info at this link: La Jolla Concours d' Elegance

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Goodguys Del Mar Nationals

The Goodguys show is an event that can't be missed. If you're a So-Cal guy here it comes this weekend, March 30-April 1 at the Del Mar Fairgrounds. This vintage poster was found from days of auto racing when people couldn't wait to get to their closest track to hear the sound of roaring engines. Well I guess it's still the same today, there are just fewer tracks around. Can you imagine the looks on the horse race crowd watching V-8s rumbling around Del Mar today?

So if you're around the area, head out to Del Mar where hot rod legends Ed Pink and Ed "Camfather" Iskenderian will be honored during the weekend. There will be a huge "Woodie" display and one of my favorites, the nitro-dragster display where they fire them badass babies up to vibrate your intestines. Just wonderful...pure power! Can't wait...

You can get more info: www.good-guys.com

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Road Trip...

For all you Porsche fanatics, let's say you're sitting around this summer wondering what to do with yourself. How about joining along for a "Road Trip?"

How's a DE at Miller Motorsports Park close to the Bonneville Salt Flats sound? It's the yearly PCA convention (officially called, Parade), this year being held in Salt lake City. I've been to 26 of these gatherings and it's a week long party of cool car stuff.

One little tid-bit that no one yet knows about, is a tour to the Nish race shop, the same guys that prepare a "Streamliner" to run each year at B-Ville Speed Week. Got you interest yet? Or, that DE at Miller? There's also the Ford race car museum at Miller, or if you want to show your ride, that's going to be on the grass at the State Capital Building overlooking the entire city of Salt Lake. If you're interested in beating up on some other guys, the Driving Event will be held at the huge Maverik Center lot. So when is this? Read on.

The Nish race shop. The gold to go 425 mph a break a F.I.A. World Record. Image via Nich

Tattooed Windows / Burger Run 2012

What do you do when you get to a show first thing in the morning, chill in the air and there are 700 plus cars? If you're like me, first look for your buddies to hang with, grab a bacon cheese burger to drag along...then start checking out the badass rides. At a recent show, called the "Burger Run" in Vista, California that's just what we did.

Unleash that '57 Chevy.
Image © Along For The Ride

Way too many cars to shoot, so here are some tattooed windows, enjoy...

This Way Please / Zone 8 Porsche Concours

The morning was dark, clear and heavy with stars as I put fire to my ride. Making my way to Shelter Island the sun rose out of the hills behind me, warming the smooth water on the bay next to the show site. I was there early to help direct cars, and couldn't help to think, this was to be a nice day. As I saw it, every blade of grass was ready to accept the perfect Porsches directed onto the ramps.  Later on, not having a camera, and spotting Shannon Bowman with one in hand, I asked, "Will you take some photos for the blog?" Her face tightened, then her initial resistance broke way to a big smile. "Sure", was her response.

"I like to look for the beauty in the cars...

they're like art."--Shannon Bowman

The shutter in the camera clicked opened and closed with her creative blue eye looking through, carefully framing each image. So here they are, wonderful shots of Steve and Araceli Lopez's organized Zone 8 Porsche Club Concours. Enjoy.

San Diego Zone 8 Concours. Image © Shannon Bowman.

The Runway Rumble / Coronado Vintage Races

It's time for the Coronado Vintage Races, hosted by Fleetweek San Diego. Again this year San Diego Region of the Porsche Club will be hosting a Hospitality Tent at the races both Saturday, September 24th and Sunday, September 25th. If you are a member of the Porsche Club and would like to receive a free Porsche parking corral pass, or would like to read more about it, please click here.

Our Hospitality Tent at the Coronado Vintage races. Image © Greg Phillips.

If you would like to help the Vintage Race Committee, click here.

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A Day at Crower / The Crower Car Show

Took the cover off the '67 and let her rip, heading down a concrete ribbon south, way south. Close to the border turned east to the Crower Car Show. Dragsters, close to a dozen, Bonneville Salt Flat Cars, Hot Rods, Low Riders, music and food, it was the third of these gatherings of extremes. Bad rides everywhere, but the bonus for the day was hearing Nitro burning beasts bark to life.

Have you ever heard real American horsepower up close?  There's nothing quite like it. The deafening concussions pounding into your chest, reverberating every bone in your body. Each cylinder explosion crisply piercing the air...then the crack of the throttle and no other sound in the world can be heard, time stands still, every eye on it, every heart was poundin'. As it stops, you take a breath...just awesome!

Image © AFTR