Update: Bernie's Top 5 Picks from the 2012 Barrett-Jackson Auto Auction

As we speak, the Barrett-Jackson Auto Auction is still going on in Scottsdale, Arizona. Money's being spent and cars are being purchased. Through their site, I was able to see what's on the chopping block, and offer my opinion of what's being sold.

Recently I was just turned onto the magic of the Barrett-Jackson auction, and they offer some great cars for you to purchase. Most importantly, it gives you that opportunity to own your dream old school car, those vintage, hard to find vehicles can literally be found under one roof. There were many vehicles and one old school John Deere tractor for sale, but I was able to pick my personal favorite from the bunch...

I'm not going to lie, I would gladly take Bret Michael's Bentley Continental off of his hands... after a full detail. (After all, he did have three seasons of Rock of Love.) The car has been sold for $128,700.00- well above the Blue Book value for an 8 year old car. Also his 2004 Lincoln Navigator went for $29,000- again- well above the Blue Book value for an 8 year old SUV.

A 1955 Chevy Bel-Air Hardtop. One of many Bel-Airs for sale, however, there's something about powder blue cars from the 1950's that just stand out. This beautiful car- whitewalls and all sold for $44,000.00. I would look so cute driving around Compton-- I mean-- Los Angeles in this.

1966 Ford Mustang GT Fastback... but the color has to GO!!!! Lime Green??? This car sold for $34,100.00. (**Note: Certain colors irk me when I see them on cars. Just because it's available as a Crayola Crayon, it wouldn't look good on a 3,000+ piece of metal on four wheels). An adorable car that had to suffer, I really hope this was the original color...

1951 Ford Crestline 2 Door Sedan. My god, this is beautiful. Get this, the color isn't a typical one, but it fits. It compliments the car, and it's called Hawaiian Bronze and Mahogany. 1951 was a very good year- it was the year my mother was born AND in that same year, I Love Lucy debuted. Sadly, this car was sold for only $22,000, and that was a bargain.

1955 Ford Crown Victoria 2 Door Hardtop. First and foremost, I'm probably one of the few chicks who can say that pink is not my number one color. I like black, white, and silver. But like I've said earlier in this post, certain colors work on 1950's cars that wouldn't really work on a modern vehicle. I've fallen in love, but I'm not abandoning my dream of having a Star Chief. Unfortunately, this car was snatched up for $18,700. That means I won't be cruising on the 405 in this, listening to Jadakiss.

After seeing these vehicles, I wouldn't mind attending a Barrett-Jackson auction and they give out media passes. But I'm well aware that I'll stick out like a sore thumb. I need to plan a trip to the auction to take photos...

Bernie's Top and Bottom Picks from the NAIAS

NAIAS or the most important auto show- the North American International Auto Show is currently taking place in Detroit, Michigan. Despite Detroit being the home of the "Big Three", almost all automakers use this show to show off what they've been working on in hopes to have the next great automobile.

I wasn't fortunate enough to attend the NAIAS this year (I'm currently back in school), however, in true Bernie fashion, I bring to you my top picks from the North American International Auto Show.

Number 5... The Dodge Dart. This particular car, I'm not looking at it from whether or not I would buy one, but I'm looking at it from Dodge's standpoint. Dodge hasn't had a strong compact car/economy car/clown car/funsize car since the Neon, and that was awhile ago. During that era, Dodge dominated it so maybe the Dart would be a solid move on Dodge's part. Let's be real, if you combine the Avenger and the Caliber together, it still didn't make the noise that the Neon made.

Number 4... The Chevy Tru 140S. This looks better than the Chevy Cruze, but sadly, according to Autoblog, it would perform just like the Cruze. *sad face* That means the Tru 140S will have the same 1.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine and it'll put out 150 horsepower and 148 pound-feet of torque to the front wheels via either a six-speed manual or six-speed automatic transmission. Which means it'll look better than it performs.

Number 3... Acura NSX. I've never described a vehicle as being sexy and I'm not a fan of vehicles that barely clear the ground, nor have I been a fan of exotic cars. However, if Acura gives the thumbs up and I had the money to purchase this, believe me, I would snatch this up in a heart beat. But if it suffers from the "Chevy Tru" disease (I look fast, but my performance sucks), then I would leave it on the lot.

Apparently because of NAIAS, Acura gave the green light to the NSX which will be produced in 2015. Acura, call me to test drive, I'm available. But if it has less than 300 horsepower, then lose my number.

Number 2... The Bentley Continental GT V8. I Love Bentley. They took their best selling vehicle and figured out how to make it better. They reduced the engine power from the W12 to a V8, lowered the horsepower, thus increasing the MPG. I'm huge on horsepower but Bentley hasn't been stingy with it. Bentley kept the design but made the Continental a stronger vehicle. The difference is- it's roughly $10,000+ less than the W12, you lose about 60 horsepower, but the 0-60 is still the same, plus it gets better gas milage to over 20 mpg. Let me stop, because I'm starting to sound like a car salesman.

Number 1... Of course it's the Ford Shelby 50th Anniversary Edition. But I hear that Carroll Shelby wants to back away from creating the Shelby Mustangs as a whole vehicle, and focus on making the parts to convert a Mustang into a Shelby Mustang. That means he wants to make more money. Either way, I love the car and I'm still working on getting one... or being perfectly content with a Mustang 5.0 GT.

I do have one honorable mention, and it goes to Mercedes Benz. Mercedes Benz has been paying attention to "what's hot in the streets" so to speak and everyone knows that all trends start in the streets. One trend is matte painting a vehicle, and Mercedes picked up on it. Offering high end vehicles in white, flat silver, dark grey, and black and possibly expanding the color palette down the line. It's a great idea, and I commend them being ahead of the curve, but... As a person who has been in the streets (a.k.a. car shows around the country), I've seen many matte vehicles. BMWs have been the most popular, followed by other imports, and I've seen a matte black Lamborghini, plus Jim Jones does have a matte black Audi. I don't think a matte Mercedes Benz will go over well. If they sell more than 9, I will be surprised. I'll give Mercedes an A for effort, but BMW should have came up with that idea since they would have profited more.


Now for my bottom picks...

The Cadillac ATS that everyone was wetting their pants over. Why? It looks just like the Cadillac CTS and usually Cadillac can crank out different designs in their models. I hope Cadillac isn't turning into Nissan. Which brings me to my next bottom pick...

The "Newly Modeled" Nissan Pathfinder. It's newly modeled all right. It looks just like the Murano and Rogue. What's the difference? I won't find out for myself until I can corner Nissan at an auto show in March and April.

Chevy Node 130R. Remember when the present design of the Chevy Camaro was just a concept? Again, that's what this looks like to me, but it probably won't perform like the Camaro.

Lexus LF-LC. That grille... That grille... That grille...

And finally, the Buick Encave. Normally I'm sympathetic towards the Encave because Buick's clientele are folks over 50 and the Encave was the shred of hope for a younger audience. However, the length seems squished and the bumper looks off.


I hope that the vehicles I listed above will strut their stuff at the 2012 New York Auto Show, because I'm going this year...

Photos: AB and NAIAS

Bernie's Top 5 Car Rentals in 2011

Anyone who knows me knows that I rent cars. I'm not like the folks in Atlanta who would rent a car just to go to the club and pretend it's theirs. Most of my rentals were out of town ones or traveling to a car show outside the metro Atlanta area, plus I had two unexpected rentals because my boo on four wheels (My Envoy) was being serviced or being repaired.

So I compiled a list of my top five rentals of this year with the pros and cons of each, where, why, how long it was rented, etc... I'm sure everyone can guess the number one car.

5. 2012 Dodge Avenger. Rented from Alamo for transportation for a week while transmission was being repaired.
My most recent rental, and I liked it. The Avenger is the smaller version of the Charger, which is what made me to pick it. Plus it was black on black. The interior stitching was a nice touch, and for a vehicle that had the base package, it came with useful perks- especially the audio and driving controls on the steering wheel. It served it's purpose, however would Bernie buy one: NO... Why own an Avenger if you can own a Charger?

4. 2010 Dodge Charger. Rented from Alamo for car show in Georgia for one day. Having experience with leaving tire skid marks on the road with a Charger, I decided to rent another one. I always liked the Charger, but would Bernie buy one: NO... Everyone and their mother has one. It's perfect if you want to blend in with everyone else and not stand out. You can't go to a car show without seeing at least 10 of them. I believe that everything that you do to a Charger has been done.

3. 2011 Nissan Rogue. Rented from Alamo in Los Angeles and drove to Vegas and back for four days. My first time driving a Nissan but what really surprised me is that it had the ability to go 160 MPH... and this was the base package. It was a cute CUV, but the size of it is a fraction smaller than the Murano. It was great on the road and it was able to fight through the Santa Ana Winds, Jim Jones sounded great coming out of the stock sound system, but would Bernie buy one: Nope. I'll get a Murano instead- the difference between the two is that Murano has a V6 engine (which means more horsepower. I like pickup in my vehicles), and it's a bit more high-end and a tab more cargo space. But if you don't care about a V6 engine, extra amenities, or a little less space- then the Rogue is the car for you.

2. 2011 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sport. Rented from Alamo in Boston and drove to Providence RI for one day. I had a serious Blond moment in this truck, but I LOVED IT. I got it because the original vehicle class I rented wasn't available, so I picked the four door Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sport. This was the vehicle where I realized how short I was, because there is no graceful way to get in or out of it. The Wrangler really could use a running board, but it would take away from the ruggedness of it. It performed GREAT on I-95, even in the rain in Boston. Talk about a perfect vehicle. Would Bernie buy one: As awkward as I was entering and exiting this truck, I would buy one. Oh and T.I. sounded great coming out of the sound system. Yes I listened to T.I. while I was in Boston and Providence... but I didn't try to find Pauly D.
P.S. The blond moment was that I didn't know how to roll down the windows. The controls were in the middle panel by the audio system, not on the doors like in most vehicles.

1. 2011 Ford Mustang 5.0 GT. Rented from Avis in Los Angeles and drove to Vegas for one day. I already created a post about this experience, but the only thing that I do not like about this car is that it's a very low car and you can feel the road. I wouldn't drive this on the Cross Bronx Expressway like I was driving it on I-15. But I sure tested out the 412 Horsepower. Would Bernie buy this: Yes I would... in black. What a 30th birthday gift this would be... I really did love this car. Thank god for Avis for having that special that particular time I was there. Great vehicle for California and Vegas... you know, places that have sunshine almost all year.

I've rented seven cars this year, and the two that wasn't listed was the Dodge Caliber that my insurance company set up for me to use while my Envoy was being fixed after the accident. And the second was the 2011 Chevy HHR. Both cars can be summarized by the same statement: It was alright, but it wasn't anything to write home about.

Sadly, this wasn't the first year where I excessively rented cars. 2006 was a very good year as well. Some people do drugs, some people drink, some people gamble, some people shop. I rent cars.

A post about Car Rental Tips will be coming soon...

Dreamworks Motorsport and Vellano Wheels Show Off A Chevy Chevelle

Dreamworks Motorsport in Roxboro, NC released photos of a fully customized, clean Chevy Chevelle sitting on Vellano VST Wheels.

CarTunes of Atlanta and Injected Engineering Presents A 1971 Chevelle

Cartunes and Injected Engineering have collaborated together to create this head-turner of a 71 Chevelle...

The car has over 700 horsepower and all the motor work was custom done by Injected Engineering in Kennesaw, GA. This car is a custom built Injected Engineering Motor supercharged and built from the ground up. Cartunes created a full custom sound system for this one of a kind monster featuring:

Alpine Radio
JL Audio 12″ Subwoofer
Alpine PDX 5 Channel Amplifier
Alpine Type R Speakers

For more information about the motor checkout Injected Engineering at www.injectedengineering.com and to see more photos of this Chevelle, check out CarTunes of Atlanta's site