Tag Archives: Automotive industry

LeMay: America’s Car Museum – Grand Opening

17 May

June 1st, 2nd & 3rd, it’s been on my calender for quite some time.  Why?  Because I eat, drink, and sleep automobiles.  My two boys are named after cars, I stay awake at night thinking about cars, and I’ve written 100′s of articles about… you guessed it – cars.  June 1st and 2nd mark the grand opening dates of Lemay: America’s Car Museum.  If you follow my blog, you’ve heard of it before.  A collection that started with one man’s passion has grown into a world class museum, focused on America’s love affair with the automobile.

What once was a collection of cars crammed into every square foot of the old Marymount Academy in Parkland, WA will now be a state of the art 165,000 square foot, four-level museum.  Resting just off of I-5, next to the Tacoma dome in Tacoma, WA, America’s Car Museum is a sight to behold.  At first glance it’s clear the museum was designed after the hood of a car.  The long sloped design of the building itself resembles something like an old Duesenberg.  Herold LeMay isn’t with us anymore, but I’m sure he’s looking down from the heavens with an approving eye.

Young or old, new school or old school, ACM will be a gathering place for automotive enthusiasts of all kinds and levels.  ACM won’t just be a place to display cars, it will be a place to gather, learn, and grow.  You can eat there, dance there, learn there, and ultimately, the love affair of the automobile will be instilled upon all who enter.

June 1st & 2nd & 3rd, 2012.  ACM will be hosting a number of parties on the night of June 1st, with free car shows on the 2nd and 3rd.  Other activities and events like go-karts and music concerts will also be a part of the festivities.  Not to mention, Saturday the 2nd will mark the first tours in the new museum.  Tacoma is now home to a landmark museum that should be on anyones “to do” list.  Be sure not to miss it!

General Motors Is Partnering With PSA Peugeot Citroen

29 Feb
English: Logo of General Motors Corporation. S...

Image via Wikipedia

I’ve been doing a lot of writing for The Daily Derbi lately but I’ve not forgotten about my roots!  Information is still going to flow through Mountain High Motoring.  Even if that information is just a reiteration of what I’ve written for the Derbi.  If you haven’t checked The Daily Derbi out yet, please do.  The content is great, and there are other contributors besides just myself.  In case you get tired of me :( .  It was announced today that General Motors is partnering with the European based company of PSA Peugeot Citroen in order to be more competitive in the European market.  I won’t spill the details here due to time but you can find my thoughts at the Derbi at the link below.  I hope your hungry for some European delicacy because we’re getting a lot of it these days here in the States.

Studebaker: A Company For The Future?

15 Feb

It’s been over 40 years since the demise of the Studebaker auto company, yet I recently came upon http://www.studebakermotorcompany.com.  Near the bottom of the page is the the quote “A time honored name, a company for the future.”  A company for the future?  If you know your automotive history, you’ll know that Studebaker bit the dust back in the 1960′s.  Beginning in the 1800′s as a wagon builder, Studebaker joined the automobile fray in 1902 and for over 50 years, hung with the best of them.

Studebaker Motorcycle

Unfortunately, just as we’ve seen too much of over the past ten years, with a number of companies, Studebaker came upon hard times and never recovered.  As we’ve seen with DeLorean, there is always someone out there that is either crazy enough, or resourceful enough to try and make a comeback.  So far, Delorean has been pretty successful but DeLorean had the advantage up picking up the pieces of moderately recent demise and was able to reuse most of the parts.  Studebaker has been gone for over 40 years and even if the parts were still kicking around they’d be so far out of date that it would just be restoration project, not a legitimate modern company.  According to the website, Studebaker will have cars that are powered by gasoline, diesel, and hybrid drivetrains.  

Visiting Studebaker’s website will reveal several renderings of concept vehiclesmotorcycles and scooters.  A six step plan on how the company will go about designing its vehicles and putting them into production can also be found. If Studebaker does get any of its vehicles into production, I hope it’s the motorcycles, and if any of the cars do, they better get better looking.  A couple of the models are OK looking, but the Lark looks like the hood was used as a seat for a 2,000 pound animal, and the Sport Sedan looks like its parents were cousins.  The motorcycles on the other hand are much more finished looking.

Definitely had a large animal sit on the hood.

Succeeding in the automotive industry with a start up is a tall order.  The few that are in the thick of it now, like Fisker and Tesla, are having plenty of struggles of their own and there are billions of dollars flying around in those endeavors.  Still, if any car company is worthy of being resurrected, Studebaker is a worthy namesake.  While the founders of the new Studebaker Motor Company state that they are not affiliated with the original company, you can bet the company is comprised of the most dedicated of Studebaker enthusiasts.

[Source: Studebaker Motor Company]

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