We’ve been talking about this for years. After the Jackass Run from Vegas to Oatman, we have finally had enough of slow traffic in the inside lane and people driving and chitchatting side-by-side, while backing up things. So, Monday rolled around, and we went to work on a new t-shirt design to sell side-by-side with our other car shirts. We got it off of our chest, and we’re hoping to get it on yours. Tell what you think of the design. If it gets good response, we’ll send it to production and make it available on ReverClothing.com.

It would have seemed like a gathering of the exotics, but just how exotic is a Smart Car anyway? Everybody was welcome at this year’s toy drive with Lamborghini of Las Vegas and KLUC. It made for a fun day, and it’s really going to make some people’s Christmas.

Vegas is known to suck the loose change from people’s pockets, but it is actually a very giving town. Every year, KLUC’s morning jock Chet Buchanan camps out on a scaffold in the cold for an extended period of time to help local disadvantaged kids for Christmas. It began many years ago and has grown almost out of control. It’s really great. Many of the car clubs support the drive, and some of the Rever gang made thei pilgrimage with friends at Lamborghini of Las Vegas. 

So, it was fun. Some of the gang spent as much on bicycles, electronics and gift cards as they do on their own families. Everybody had a great time. The dogs seemed to enjoy themselves. A good time all around.

I know you are wondering how we got all of those bikes down to the place; nobody had a trunk. Lamborghini of Las Vegas had a big truck. Robert is going to another toy drive with the Ferrari Club this weekend.

Merry Christmas everybody.

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We were invited to see a private unveiling of the new Lotus Evora at Norm Baker. I noticed there weren’t many Lotus club members at the event, so I suspect they had their own, “Lotus only” showing. And rightly so.

The dealership provided live entertainment and great food. During the unveiling speech I learned that the car will go on sale at the end of 2009 as a 2010 model. I was disappointed to hear the wait would be so long.

The Evora is a great looking car. Although the car looks a little “standard”, it is nice that Lotus will now be more than a one-note company. Obviously larger than their current models, it is easier to get in and out of. This is in line with their goal of increased day-to-day usability. But don’t be fooled, it will still be one of the smaller cars on the road. It will be available as a 2+2, but the company points out the back seats will only be suitable for children. Personally, I don’t care if a car has a back seet at all…I normally crack my standard joke here: “Back seat? That is where the engine goes!”

The car is similar to other modern Lotus models in that it sticks to being mid-engine and lightweight. Power continues to come from Toyota in the form of a 3.5-liter V-6 with variable valve timing. The motor produces 276 horsepower and 252 lb-ft of torque, with a claimed 0-to-60 in less than five seconds. Top speed is 160 mph. While quick around the track, the Evora is set up to have a more compliant ride in order to appeal to a wider market. Price should start around $75,000.

I can’t wait until they go on sale. I am sure a Lotus club aquantance will buy one, then all I have to do is con a car swap up to Mt. Charleston.

You may need to wait for the new Lotus, but you don’t have to wait for the new Rever shirts! Click here to find cool car t-shirts.

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A few of us spent some time at Barrett Jackson on Saturday. It wasn’t as fun as I expected. There were three areas to see the cars: the staging area, auction stage and “salon,” where cars went after going across the stage. The salon also held all the vendors including our friends at Lamborghini of Las Vegas.

The three areas were too spread out, requiring too much walking. I heard they will fix that next year with a new arrangement. I was also surprised at the size of the crowd. It was small. There seemed to be a lot of buyers (good for the show), but not many spectators. I suppose the upside to that was the ease of getting a decent seat.

My friend and I were at the show primarily to see Tom Tjaarda action off his personal Pantera. Unfortunately, it wasn’t really a personal car with history, it was simply a car he recently purchased, cleaned up, and added some “updates” to. The updates were new bumpers, tail lights and side markers. I certainly don’t begrudge him for flipping a car. If anyone should make some money from the Pantera brand it should be Mr. Tjaarda. I was surprised to see it cross the block for $100,000. Always good to see a Pantera fetch a good price.

I was told that numbers were way down, and many cars were selling under expectations despite BJ claiming that they proved the doom-and-gloom crowd wrong.

I did learn something at the show: when I am surrounded by hundreds of perfect cars, it is hard for anything to stand out. When everything is special, nothing is special. Once I got home, I was surprised at how few pictures I took. It doesn’t help that I like exotics, something always in short supply at Barrett Jackson.

If you love classic cars, you will love our car t-shirts.

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One of the Rally In The Valley sponsors was Lamborghini of Las Vegas. Chris and I stopped there for longer than most to visit friends, and see if there was anything new worth seeing.

They didn’t really have anything new EXCEPT the flat black and white Lamborghini Gallardos. They looked amazing. It is factory paint and while I forget the exact amount for the upgrade, I do remember that it is tens of thousands. If you are one of those people that think there are just too many Gallardos out there, this is your chance to have one that is unique. Too bad they aren’t the new LP560.

I also shot more pics of the Ferrari F40 (you will see it a few times on my Flickr page)…because I just can’t resist. With the price of exotics dipping, this might be the time to buy the supercars!

They also had a Ford GT in the showroom. I don’t like pictures of it in red, but it looked nice in person. I suppose I would like to have one in any color.

Can’t afford the F40? You can slill look good in one or our Rever Clothing car t-shirts!

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What happens when over 100 fast cars get together to blast all over Vegas? Expensive speeding tickets? Impounded exotic vehicles? Nope…we raised over $3,500 for the Nevada Diabetes Association!

Everyone left Cars and Coffee around 10:00am to begin a trek that took us all around town (even out of town in one case) with stops at twelve sponsors. Each stop had a professional photographer and a professional model. Unfortunately, my photos for this post are ones we took of the driving…BUT I will have the shots of the car with the model soon!

You may think the models were present simply to look good, but that isn’t true. Each model judged every car, so we could find the “hottest”, “cutest”, and “best date car” in the bunch. My Pantera held its own in the “hottest” category, but didn’t do as well when it came to cuteness. It looks and sounds too uncivilized to qualify as “cute.” Actually, I would be insulted if someone called my car cute. But it was judged even more harshly as a date car. Some say it was the lack of a back seat. Others say the lack of reclining seats held it back. Maybe the models noticed it would be impossible to get in and out of while wearing a skirt. Well, not so much impossible as obscene. I think it was because you have to SPEAK SO LOUDLY to hold a conversation. Dates are for talking, right?

There was no prize for arriving first, so we all spread out and relaxed. Heck, a group of us hung out at one stop for 30 minutes to eat ribs and drink non-alcoholic margaritas. I don’t think a single driver received a speeding ticket during the rally. Must be our “no idiot” policy.

The photos taken of the Ferrari Club cars will be become our 2009 calander, which will raise even more money for the Nevada Diabetes Association. We love them.

Remberber to wear on or our cool car t-shirts to your next rally!

It has been a while since I went to visit Nick (ask for him if you are buying a car) at Lamborghini of Las Vegas. I was too busy to go to the official Gallardo LP560 event, so I was anxious to see it in the showroom.

The LP560 is beautiful. As its name implies, the new 5.2-liter V10 puts down 560hp. And it does it with better fuel efficiency (17mpg) and a reduction in CO2 emissions. In addition to the additional power, it has new suspension bits, full-time four-wheel-drive, and greatly improved styling. The new front bumper comes to a point in the center of the car, like the Reventon (see pics elsewhere in the blog), and larger intakes help engine cooling and look aggressive. I think the new headlights are the best feature. The new rear end treatment cleans things up, and makes the car look wider, and lower.

A friend of mine recently bought a LP560 and says it is the perfect daily driver. Perfect if you don’t have to transport anything larger than a breadbox. Fun, quiet, powerful and confident in the twisties, it is a performance car that you can drive all the time.

Despite my love for the Gallardo, I was quickly distracted by the Ferrari F40 and F50. Immaculate and perfect in every way (except on lacks original exhaust, don’t tell anyone) I spent much more time in that corner of the showroom than any other.

The Koenigsegg was impressive as well. Very techie, very precise. It has carbon fiber everything. The doors are uber-cool and open and close with the slightest effort despite looking thick and heavy. And the sound… Well the sound is perfect. Crisp and loud. I am told there are still some rough spots in production, and the car will be perfect when they have a few more builds under their belt. I don’t pretend to know if that is true or not, I was happy just to stand next to it.

So, it is worth visiting Dal Toro for the food. A bonus to look at the cars, and don’t forget to check out their life-size chrome bull.

Make sure to check reverclothing.com of clothing for automotive enthusiasts.

We were very happy to see the first Rever shirts arrive today. They look AWESOME! We can’t wait to share them with everybody, so you can order your shirts on Monday. We’ll get them out to you speedy-like. Check in regularly to see if there are new clothes for people who love cars.

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Many of us in Vegas avoid road trips in the summer. But a few of us, tired of waiting for cooler temperatures, took a quick blast to the Techatticup Mining Camp. The curvy, nearly abandoned roads make for run driving, and the driving-to-rest stop ratio is wonderful if combined with breakfast in Boulder City and a slight detour to see the Colorado River. The group included friends in a Lotus Esprit, Ferrari 355 and Angie and I in the Porsche. It is only 40 or 50 miles from Rever Clothing’s T-shirt HQ in Vegas. Watch out for HiPo on the main highway.

The “mining camp” is really a little rest stop with a lots to look at. Old gas pumps, rusted cars, and a million things that I can only group into the category of “cool old stuff.” There is a barn filled with aged signs, tools, furniture, soda machines, pictures, televisions and radios. You can also wander around an acre or two of buildings, signs, cars and assorted stuff. The shop has hundreds of photos and articles of historic happenings, as well as the many films and TV shows filmed in the area.

For some reason, they have a sign on the door that says “we don’t rent pigs.” I wish I would have asked about that.

The Techatticup mine was discovered in 1861, and was the most important mine in Eldorado Canyon. There were hundreds of mines in the canyon, but Techatticup was famous for producing more than $2.5 million dollars before 1942. That may not sound like much, but it is a gazillion dollars if adjusted for inflation and current gold values. I did the math; you can double-check it if you want.

Trivia: The canyon was also home to a couple of renegade Indians (Ahvote and Queho) that killed over 25 people. Queho killed his last victim in 1919 and was never caught.

Visible from the upstairs window of the Techatticup barn is an aircraft boneyard. It is worth a visit if you are into that sort of thing. Here is the funny scoop: In the 1970s, Thai and Vietnamese pilots trained at Keesler Air Force Base. The cadets damaged a BUNCH of the 1950s era T-28 Trojans, which were slated for disposal. An enthusiast bought the fleet and moved it to Eldorado Canyon to rebuild the airframes and salvage serviceable parts. They are sold as kits. I would have stopped at the boneyard if I knew that story in advance… But walking in the heat was daunting. That’s code for “I was too lazy”.

We hit the Colorado River on our way back. It was fun for a few minutes—we don’t see much water here in Vegas—but the lack of water wings, floaties or power boats kept us from doing much.

Anyone in Vegas should consider this short blast. If your butt can take it, add the Pioneer Saloon to the end of the trip. Supposedly it was founded by one of the discoverers of the mine… That is from a dubious source on the Interweb. Regardless, the 100-year-old Pioneer is in the theme of the trip. It is located in Goodsprings, and you can find a few pics elsewhere on this blog.