Bernie Moreno, who started his working life as a gopher at Automobile Magazine, is an example of how to succeed in the car business

Here are the particular impressive things Bernie Moreno did, and they are what the best overachievers do, and make it to the top, written by Jean Jennings, president and editor-in-chief of Automobile Magazine

"He immediately made himself invaluable. No matter what we asked Bernie to do, he had already assigned it to himself and finished it. He moved the cars from our sixth-floor parking area to the first floor after the No Parking Before 10 a.m. curfew. How nice that the editors could jump into spotless, gassed cars!

How did the radio presets just happen to be on my favorite channels? Bernie somehow figured out what every single editor liked and would reprogram every test car’s radio every single day based on that evening’s driver.

Once, before I left on vacation to Mexico, I found a sheet of paper on my desk, with my favorite swear words translated into Spanish for my use.

At age twenty-six, he took on the running of a Saturn store in Boston despite no dealership experience. It took him one year to make it the most profitable store in its owner’s portfolio. In 2005 he bought a failing Mercedes-Benz dealership in Cleveland. He started with about twenty employees, twelve of whom had left Boston to work for him. Of course, he turned it around and began systematically buying more dealerships.

Today, Bernie has about 800 employees (including the original dozen) and more than twenty-five stores. “One of the Best Places to Work,” says the Cleveland Plain Dealer. His many awards include Midwest Region Entrepreneur of the Year, Time Magazine/Ally Financial Dealer of the Year, and Northeast Ohio Hispanic Entrepreneur of the Year. Honored by Mercedes-Benz (Best of the Best seven years in a row), Porsche, General Motors, and the city of Cleveland, which named him Business Executive of the Year.

http://www.automobilemag.com/features/columns/1405-vile-gossip-super-gophers-bernie-and-tom/

the Western Star custom Low Max truck "Wanted" for Daimler... why doesn't something like this make an appearance at SEMA?

This remarkable custom rig was developed especially for the giant Mid America truck of 2011 and was a real crowd favorite.

Chris Jory is the manager of the concept, the prototype and corporate show trucks for Western Star. He was told by brand communications manager, Andy Johnson, to come up with something amazing and was given free reign. Chris enlisted the help of Mickey Larson, president of Twins Custom Coaches in Oregon

The Redmond-based outfit let their imagination run free although they did stop short of fitting revolvers to either side of the bonnet, as per one member's suggestion, but they did install unique double-barrel exhaust stacks designed to mimic rifles.

There are many unique features, but it is the leather that most people's eyes are drawn to. Instead of limiting the use of leather to the interior, like most truck-builders, the Western Star team decided to use in on the outside too.

 It enrolled the services of Redmond's Gauteraux Boot Co, run by two ex-rodeo performers who create $4000 cowboy boots while wearing 10-gallon hats. The massive front bumper is lined with fine leather, as are the tool compartments and even the fuel tanks. And no, you're eyes are not deceiving you, the fuel tank covers are designed to resemble saddle bags, with special straps and buckles fitted to finish the look.

The leather surfaces have intricate patterns that need to be seen at close range to be appreciated. A gear-cog Western Star emblem is bolted to the middle of the bumper and resembles some kind of gargantuan belt buckle.

Above photos from https://www.flickr.com/photos/47148577@N08/6989203849/in/photostream/

And the colour is not just any shade of brown. It was chosen because of its resemblance to the colour of root beer and to give the truck a woody tone. Painting preparation and finish work was completed by Twin Custom Coaches, while the painting was completed by UnderGround Customs, also located in Oregon.

Inspired by the wild west, the Western Star 4900EX Low Max ‘Wanted’ is a stock truck that has been outfitted with leather saddle bags, shiny belt buckles and twin rifle barrel exhaust stacks. The Low Max model name is inspired by the Kirk Douglas character, Lomax, in the western film, The War Wagon, which co-starred John Wayne.





This was made for the Mid America Truck show, 2011

John Force said this about Richard Petty, and how to treat fans

" Richard Petty was really something else. He taught em to stand at the ropes and fences and never leave the fans. I'd watch him stand there and never leave a guy in a wheelchair. And I thought, my god, never walk away from a wheelchair even if you miss the next session. If you have to, shove him up there with ya! "
Hot Rod magazine interview June 2014 issue

The Bonniksen Isochronous Speedometer (Omg... WANT!!!)

Found on http://beveldrive.blogspot.com/2013/04/the-vintage-revival-at-montlhery-france_24.html

rat rod of the year award goes to:

the above photo was the creation of PonyRojo / Glenn (Generator Photography) and more of his work can be seen at https://www.facebook.com/generatorphotography  
and http://www.generatorphotography.com/ 
and also http://500px.com/generatorphotography
or even www.generatorphotography.com/

photos by https://www.facebook.com/craig.lankki?fref=ufi and https://www.facebook.com/brad.mcneill2

incredible garage doors

Found on http://hiconsumption.com/2014/04/style-your-garage-3d-prints/ via http://gentlemint.com/

1913 Isotta Frashini S1, first awesome race car I've come across this year, and it's incredible

The AGL Corvair powered articulated 4 wheel drive, interchangeable cargo box vehicle... astonishing (thanks to John Simpkins!)

This is pretty damn cool, and further reminds me that I have not yet seen all the cool stuff from history in this hobby

Thanks to John!

I've wondered how they made counter rotating dual props... here's a look at the engine set up

Found on Marc's Facebook page, and he frequently posts photos I've seen no where else, and immediately post here because they are so cool https://www.facebook.com/marc.tudeau?fref=photo

calculate the amount of time it took to make this animation transformer, in terms of how much he must love the Transformers!

Found on http://www.neatorama.com/