Photo Tour of Slick's Garage

Many of you will be watching the Discovery Channel series called 'Highway To Sell' based on Slick's Garage in Palmetto, FL but you  can't appreciate the work done on the cars in the show unless you take a tour, and I mean a real visual tour. Yes the show will probably have some nice footage of the goings on there but sometime you need to slow down the camera and see what a car guy eye for auto art can see. Slicks Garage is a mini Louvre of the car world and here's some shots I took today to prove that.  Slick was kind enough to let me roam the place and search for the art that is there. Thanks Slick!  

                        If you want more information about Slick's Garage, here's the link to his website:
                                                      http://www.slicksgarage.com/


And now for the photo tour:

Copper Patina

Cadillac Nose Job

Buick Nose Job

Taillights To Nowhere

Classic Rod

Rods In The Rafters

 

Yikes- Cars On The Ceiling

 

Now We Are Talking Artwork

Is This A Bad Boy?

Or Is This?

Don't Let The Mail Burn

Patient Waiting For Slick & Crew

Wait For The Next Masterpiece To Exit Here

The End of The Tour

Be sure to watch Highway To Sell on Monday Nights at 10:00!

Slick's Garage - Highway To Sell

Want to take a ride back in time and see some cars that will bring back memories of your youth?  If you are not over 50, do you want to see automobile history and some excellent craftsmanship?  Check out the new show 'Highway To Sell' coming Monday night, September 1st at 10 on the Discovery channel featuring Slick's Garage in Palmetto, Florida.  If you have any interest in cars I'm sure you will like the show.  Here's a news article describing the program with a video trailer to introduce the show.



Can Slick Help With My 1968 Dodge Charger?


Check Out This Article About The Show:

Slicks's Garage

Rolls Royce Stories and duPont Registry Cars & Coffee August 16, 2014

Powerful Elegance

 

 

Rolls Royce - the name evokes thoughts of money, fame, prestige, performance, power and Palmyra Motors?   What's Palmyra Motors got to do with Rolls Royce?    Palmrya Motors for anyone living in Upstate NY in the 1970's was purported to be the largest Rolls Royce dealer in the US if you believed the stories. It might have been true, as I worked the summer of 1973 for Howard VanBortel , owner of the franchise.  My job was to preen and pamper the 50 or so Rolls and Bentley cars stored at 'The Factory' out in the rolling drumlin countryside stable 3 miles from the dealership.  The cars ranged from the 1930's to new 1970's editions.  It was like a storybook treasure trove of cars collected from worldwide buying trips Howard commissioned.

Not to be too boisterous about the business of selling Rolls to the rich and famous, Howard pioneered the $49.00 over invoice craze that hit the industry at the time and he claimed to sell 5000 Chevy and Olds cars a year in a town of 4000 people.  He also had a mural painted on the west end of the showroom building for everyone to see as they came into the village of Palmyra - a beautiful Corvette with the bold letters, 'World's Largest Corvette Dealer".  And I am sure it was true. As one of the gang of guys that prepped cars for delivery, we were working from  7:00 AM to 9:00 PM trying to keep up.

Enough of the daydreaming of days gone by-  Here's pictures and some well written testimonials to Howard after his death a few years ago.  I was inspired to post this after recently visiting 'home' and seeing Howard's daughter, Kitty VanBortel at the car show held at her Chevy dealership (See previous posts) and chatting with the Sales Director, Mark Powell from Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, Tampa Bay last Saturday at Cars& Coffee.



My dad and Howard were partners in  the franchise in the 1950's. My dad sold out his interest and went on to his own pursuits as an American Motors and eventually Dodge and Dodge Truck dealer.   The picture of Palmyra motors shows Howard (tallest person next to my dad in the suit)



Palmyra Motors Circa 1955
Howard VanBortel and Karl Ziegler


Here's some interesting stories of Howard from people who spent years working for him:

Click Here

Memories of Howard

 

du Pont Registry Cars & Coffee August 16,2014

 

Detroit's Version- Super Sleek Caddy



Beautiful Example of a Porsche 914



Clean Lines

KING COBRA




Perfection!

Wow- What A Stable!

Sam Posey's  1970Trans Am Race car

Trans Am Racer -All Business and Real Loud Pipes



 



My 1987 Trans AM  GTA w/ Factory Corvette Motor Option

Lamborghini Countach- Fast From Any Angle

Another Successful Cars & Coffee-  Every Third Saturday of the Month at duPont Registry!

 

#Michael Schumacher And Ayrton Senna Tributes

Michael's 2000 Ferrari

MOTIVATION, INSPIRATION

Racing fans from around the world are united in support for Michael Schumacher's recovery and Mercedes is continuing its affiliation with Michael as an ambassador.  This is a great gesture and a class act.  Formula 1 fans consider him one of them- one of the family. Few sports have produced such world wide personalities that are not only loved and recognized in their country, but around the world.

Ayrton Senna is the other driver that immediately comes to mind when thinking about Michael.  It is sad that each driver came to a sudden end as a result of completely different types of accidents. The difference is that Michael is still alive and there is hope.  It is ironic that Michael looked up to Ayrton as his hero when he was young. In striving to be like Ayrton, Michael surpassed him in his achievements.  Both are considered the best there ever was.

First, a link to the news article this week about Michael's connection with Team Mercedes followed by video tributes that use the same music 'Just Drive' and honor these two giants of the racing world. I hope you enjoy them; they may inspire you to be the best at whatever you do.



Mercedes Benz Retains Ambassadorship

Worth The Time To Watch Each- You Will Feel Motivated!

Best Driver In The World?

Ayrton Senna- The Best? Just Drive