Cloudy weather did not keep more than 80 sponsors, 600 beautiful cars and 35,000 guests from this weekend's Kragen O'Reilly Sacramento Autorama at Cal Expo. This year marks 60 years of appreciation for customized, classic American muscle cars. The rods, which rolled in Wednesday for registration and early judging, still can be viewed Sunday, the last chance to catch the three-day show. This year's theme, Mardi Gras, lends a special flavor to the event with decoration and awards for cars that best depict the theme. The anniversary makes this a special year for event producer John Buck. Pictures of show winners all the way back to the first Autorama in 1950 are on display. The Capital Aut

Mark your calendar and don't miss the California Automobile Museum's Annual Spring Swap Meet on Sunday, March 7, 2010 from 6am - 2pm.Vendors will offer unique and hard to find automobile collectibles and accessories, including antique auto parts, tools, books, magazines, models and much more! The Meet is located next to the Museum at 2400 Front Street - parking in Museum parking lot, on the street, and behind the Museum. New this year, vendors can pre-register by visiting www.CalAutoMuseum.org/SwapMeet. There will also be set-up and merchant and car sales registration on Saturday, March 6 from 2pm - 5pm and registration and set up will open at 5am on March 7. General admission and parking

The smell of rubber and motor oil fill the vast warehouse stuffed with cars, trucks and motorcycles. The battle between man and machine reaches its pinnacle under the I-5 freeway in downtown Sacramento. The California Automobile Museum, 2200 Front St., is featuring the Born to Ride exhibit through March 12. The exhibit is chronological, following motorcycles from their humble beginnings at the turn of the 20th century to the current world speed record holder. This impressive machine, BUB 7, reached 367.382 mph in September at Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah. Bikes of all brands, spanning several countries and countless models, are on display. There's a 1912 Harley Davidson, once owned by Steve

"Wildly Successful!" said Stacey Castle, president of Castle Communications and producer for the international show, when I spoke with her moments after the gates closed, in response to what may have been the most successful auto shows in Sacramento history. The weekend-long Sacramento International Automotive Show had something to offer for every level of car enthusiast. With the auto market climate as it is, the changing economy and a need for good family entertainment, the event's coordinator, Castle Communications set out to make great strides with this year's Sacramento International Automotive Show in spite of odds that seemed to be stacked against them. Though numbers are not yet a

Car enthusiasts and gear heads unite! The Sacramento International Automotive Show is coming this Friday through Sunday at Cal Expo. The auto show has been held in Sacramento for more than 25 years, according to Stacey Castle, president of Castle Communications and producer for the international show. The show this year will be larger than ever before, she said.  "The Auto Show is the largest show that takes place in Sacramento, other than the State Fair," Castle said. "It takes all 13 buildings at Cal Expo, plus the three on-site 'Ride N Drive' test tracks."  The European-spec 2010 Ford Fiesta and redesigned 2010 Mustang will be two of many cars available. Attendees can visit the "Ford

The City of Sacramento departments of Transportation and Economic Development invite residents to complete a Web-based survey to provide feedback on the K Street Vehicle Traffic Study. The survey results will be used by city staff and the project team to understand public sentiments about the idea and what features would be most important if the City went forward with a trial conversion.   To complete the survey, visit the project Web site at www.cityofsacramento.org/KStreetVehicleTraffic. The non-scientific survey will remain active until Saturday, August 22 at 12 noon.   Residents and interested parties are also invited to attend a community meeting on Wednesday, August 26, from 5:3

A plethora of sparkling cars bejeweled J Street in downtown Sacramento as a cruising tradition returned. Scores of classic and snazzy modern cars cruised J street Saturday afternoon, from Midtown to the Sac State University parking lot. The sight was veritable eye candy for any car enthusiast. The event started in the early afternoon with staging of the cars for show on 18th through 20th streets on either side of J for spectators to meander and appreciate. The event drew a constituency of folks to the midtown area who normally would not be there on a Saturday afternoon. It became a natural festival setting as attendees shopped and gleaned from side walk sales, giving local businesses a

Although there are several automobile shows throughout the year in Sacramento, the art of the car cruising display has been lost in the City of Trees for decades. This Saturday, The California Automobile Museum and hundreds of car owners will be teaming up to present the debut of CAMBER (California Automobile Museum's Big Event on the Road), bringing back the old tradition of parading the merchandise along city streets to Downtown Sacramento. "As far as we know, there has not been a cruise in Sacramento since back in the 50s when it was really popular," said Karen McClaflin, executive director of the California Auto Museum. "They'd cruise down J Street and K, going in a loop. So the idea

The California Auto Museum (formerly the Towe Auto Museum) couldn't have chosen a better time to unveil their Carved Elegance: Woodies, Wheels, and Waves auto exhibit. With summer well underway, it's the perfect time to check out the exhibit which features a collection of wooden automobiles, also called "Woodies," reminiscent of California summer days spent surfing and lounging on the beach. Today Woodies are prized pieces in car collections and are famous for the exquisite craftsmanship on the wooden panels of the cars. The cars were the ideal mode of transportation for surfers who could tow their boards on top of the them. The surf culture-themed exhibit opens Thursday, July 2 and the

Sacramento Corvette owners started off a very busy weekend with a relaxing evening at The Fountains Shopping Mall in Roseville. Throughout the summer, this beautiful venue will host an outdoor shopping fair, the first Friday evening of each month. If you are a Corvette enthusiast, you won't want to miss this as the Corvettes will be on display at each event. Guys, this one time that you really really want to take your wife shopping. Now, when you say "that's ok honey, go ahead and take your time shopping; I'll wait out here"; try to say it with a degree of sincerity so she doesn't catch on to your plans (although I think may already have a clue when you pull into the mall). Corvette owne

Spring is almost over and so begins the onslaught of fun, fabulous things to do during the summer months in Sacramento! It's not quite time to break out the bikinis and flip-flops, but I have spotted some sleeveless tops and open-toed shoes lately...my all-time favorite season in Sacramento is almost here! This week, and particularly this week-end, is already jam-packed with music, festivals and outdoor events with the promise of the heat soon to come. I hope you haven't made plans already... Tuesday 4.28 Music: Rev Theory-- $12 at the door Where: Marilyn’s on K When: Doors- 6:30pm, Show- 7:15pm Why: You may get an idea for their music-style by the bands they’ve opened for: the likes of

Here's the bit: there's this guy in Sacramento who's active in veterans rights, alternative transportation and the environment, who started this campaign called drive55.org, meaning you don't drive faster than 55 mph. I interviewed him for my radio show and mentioned him a while back in my "Best of 2008" radio interviews which appeared here. He thinks that American motor vehicle operators should drive no faster than 55 miles-per-hour. Period. If your vehicle is human-powered (not by body fat) I guess you can go faster. Tim Castleman is a man of patience and vision, who is taking a common sense approach to one of America's most volatile debates. In the '70s in order to preserve oil and bl