Today’s Nor Cal Spotlight focuses on the legendary VW Beetle. I’ve yet to see a classic beetle reach our inventory but we do get a few of the new Beetles. Seems like they never stay too long though, so if you’ve been thinking of getting one, here’s your chance.

The Volkswagen Beetle was a craze that hit America hard during the 1960s; some might even consider them a slight obsession instead of just a method of transportation. To prove this slight obsession, we simply have to look at the number of Beetles produced in the past 65 years… more than 21 million. This number is more than any other automobile in our history. Let’s not forget that there has not been a Beetle legally imported to the United States since 1979.

The New Beetle successfully ended this drought and allowed Americans to once again get a hold of that adorable bug car. It is based on the same platform as the Volkswagen Golf model (more…)

Quick update on the Next Kool April Nites show in Redding. Last time I posted I was unable to find the exact date of this years show. it’s been scheduled for April 16-20 2008.

It’s good to note that they are only allowing 2300 cars this year. While that may seem like a huge number, in past years many cars have had to be turned away to limit the size of the event. So, if you’re looking to add your car, the sooner you register the better. Either way, April 9th is the dead line for entering.

As usual there will be a cruse scheduled on the Friday night before the show. (more…)

Another classic truck is the inspiration of todays Nor Cal Spotlight, the 1967 Chevy 1/2 ton Pickup.

The C/K is the name given for Chevrolet’s full-size pickup truck line from 1960 until 1998. The first ever Chevrolet pick-up appeared on the scene in 1924, but the actual in-house designs did not appear until 1930.
In 1967, a new era was marked for pick-up trucks. In particular, Chevrolet’s C/K line of trucks began seeing major improvements over previous versions and General Motors started advertising the trucks as general transportation vehicles instead of simply work vehicles. This campaign for mass-appeal called for some changes to the truck’s overall comfort and handling. The first of these changes included a coil spring trailing arm rear suspension that greatly improved the ride over the traditional leaf springs that where used back then. Other minor cosmetic changes and comfort tweaks made the pick-up truck more accessible to be an every day vehicle instead of one used simply for work.
The truck’s drive train came with (more…)

Today’s Nor Cal Spotlight takes a look at an Antique car in the NorCalCars inventory. A 1926 Ford Model T!

The Ford Model T, other wise known as the Tin Lizzie and the Flivver, was an automobile produced by the Ford Motor Company from 1908 through 1927. The Model T was produced using the revolutionary assembly line model and the factory paid its workers based on the cost of the car, allowing it to be the first car to be truly affordable to the masses. The first of the Model T’s where built at the Piquette Plant in Detroit, Michigan in 1908.

The thing that made the Model T so unique was that it was produced using an assembly line and not by hand. In 1909, the average cost of the car was $850.00. By 1915, the price for a Model T was $440.00. The sharp decrease in pricing through the years came from perfecting the assembly line. By 1915, the average time to produce a Model T was about one hour and 33 minutes.

The car used a front mounted four-cylinder (2.9L) en bloc motor that produced 20.2 horsepower. (more…)

In honor of one of the classic cars in the Nor Cal Car inventory, our Nor Cal Cars Spotlight today is on the 65 Ford Mustang. We thought this awesome car would be a great kickoff for our new Blog feature “Nor Cal Spotlight”.

The Ford Mustang is an automobile produced by the Ford Motor Company. The first of its kind was introduced in Dearborn, Michigan on March 9, 1964. It’s introduction ceremony created quite a spectacle as the car was showcased at the New York World’s Fair and via the three major American television networks of the time. Almost immediately after being introduced, the Mustang went on to sell one million units. The car became so popular that it even made an appearance on the popular James Bond film, Goldfinger. The Mustang brought forth a new class of cars that was affordable, compact, and highly stylish. Today, the Mustang is considered to be the car that coined the “Pony Car” class that describes those very aspects.

A build of specific interest to Mustang aficionados and car connoisseur’s worldwide is the 1965 Mustang. (more…)

I thought this was an interesting story (probably because I own one). Isuzu Motors has announced that it will no longer distribute new Isuzu passenger vehicles in North America. They site the reason to be because General Motors will no longer be producing one of Isuzu’s line of SUV’s and two of their pickups. I assume that they have made that distinction of only discontinuing their passenger vehicles because they also make a low cab forward truck, which it would appear they would continue to sell here.

Personally I own an Isuzu Amigo, which I think is a great little SUV. So, it’s good to note (more…)