There are a lot of hot rod shops all around the country that build show cars for SEMA, but none of them grab attention quite like the Ringbrothers. Based in Spring Green, Wisconsin, Ringbrothers was founded by brothers Mike and Jim Ring.
They’ve made a name for themselves as world-class car builders, and I had the priviledge of checking out one of their creations at the 2013 SEMA Show in Las Vegas. This is their take on a 1964 Ford Fairlane 500, which they have nicknamed “Afterburner.”
My fellow editors spotted this car in a random driveway while we were cruising around one night. Since I had my camera and took a picture, I get to write about it. The car was not immediately recognizable and the guys spent several minutes speculating about what it might be.
As it turns out, this odd-looking vehicle is actually a very rare luxury car called a Custom Cloud, which was built on a 1970s Chevrolet Monte Carlo chassis. In a lot of ways, this car is similar to the Stutz Blackhawk, only with a more down-to-earth price.
When the Ford Motor Company introduced the Thunderbird in 1955, they created a market for a brand new type of vehicle: the personal luxury car. From the very beginning, the Thunderbird was a big hit that broke sales records and earned high praise from customers.
Over at General Motors, VP of Styling Bill Mitchell wasn’t about to let Ford hog the spotlight. He decided that General Motors needed a personal luxury car of their own. Mitchell asked designer Ned Nickles to come up with a rival to Ford’s 2-door, 4-seater Thunderbird. Continue reading
The Lincoln Continental has been around for a long time, but I would say that the fourth-generation (1961-1969) Continentals are the ones that come to mind when most people hear the name. The car’s slab-sided design and suicide rear doors are signature design elements that people instantly recognize as “Continental.”
At the Scottsdale Pavilions car show, I ran across a 1968 Lincoln Continental sedan that’s been customized in a pretty cool way. First, the roof has been completely cut off. There is no top at all! That’s a pretty bold move to make, and I like it.
As an automotive journalist, I am constantly on the lookout for cool cars to write about. Most of the time I have to work hard to seek them out, but every once in a while the cars seem to find me. This particular car and I keep running into each other, so I knew it was time to write about it.
I first ran into this heavily customized 1951 Kaiser Manhattan at Cars and Coffee in Scottsdale. I saw it again at SEMA 2012 in Las Vegas. Then it popped up on my YouTube subscriptions for Jay Leno’s Garage and the Eastwood YouTube channel. It was just begging to be written about!
I spotted this unique 1967 Ford Mustang at the DuPont Registry booth at Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale 2013. DuPont Registry is a magazine where people advertise high-end and exotic cars for sale – sort of like an AutoTrader for millionaires.
This black stallion comes all the way from Beautiful British Columbia in Canada, where it was built by 360 Fabrication. This car has a lot going on with it – it’s half show car and half pro-touring car. The grille, wheels, and air ride are all show, but the rest of the car is all “go!”
