As we start the second half of 2009, the automotive industry remains in turmoil but the economy is finally showing signs of recovery. And once again, we have a full calendar of events to keep our minds on the positive aspects of our industry. Show season is in full swing so you'll find plenty of concours events, cruise nights, and local shows filling July weekends. In America, Meadowbrook is the star of July, but there are also other interesting events like the GoodGuys Heartland Nationals, Hudson-Essex-Terraplane meet in Pontiac, New England Concours d'Elegance in Vermont, the First Annual Great American Car Show in Massachusetts, Micros on the Monument in Racine, International Bricklin Owners Club Annual Grand National Meet, and the Alfa Romeo Owners Club National Meet in Portland, among others.

There's lots of racing in July, too. Most Formula 1 teams will make a brief stop at Goodwood before resuming their regular racing schedule at the Nürburgring, followed by the Hungarian GP at the end of the month. IndyCar hits Watkins Glen, the Streets of Toronto, and the airport course in Edmonton. NASCAR fans can look forward to races in Daytona, Chicago, and at the Brickyard. ALMS teams can take it easy after the marathon that was the 24 Hours of Le Mans with a two-hour stint at Lime Rock Park.

There will also be plenty of other random racing action in July, with the Goodwood Festival of Speed, the Portland Historic Races, Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix, Kohler International Challenge with Brian Redman, and the New England Forest Rally. Green car fans can look forward to the Eco-Rally U.S.A. 2009, and bike fans can take in the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix or AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days at Mid-Ohio.

If none of those events appeals to you, check the Google Calendar after the jump for even more listings, all with detailed info and links. Please use the comments section to add or modify listings. Oh, and Happy 4th of July!

In a press release announcing the cars it would be taking to this year's Goodwood Festival of Speed, Jaguar's own Mike Cross has officially confirmed the coming of the Jaguar XKR Goodwood Special. We noted before that it would be louder and faster and detailed in satin graphite, but now we find out it will get a lower ride height over 21-inch wheels and – are you ready? – "a unique Lime Green paint scheme and XKR exterior graphic" as shown above. Alrighty, then.

That hard-to-miss car will join a few more trailers of Jaguar goodies, including the 225 mph Bonneville XFR, a 1957 Long Nose D-Type, a Le Mans winning C-Type, and the one-of-a-kind Jaguar XJ13. Goodwood is just around the corner (July 3-5), and you can read all about Jaguar's plans in the press release after the jump.

[Source: Jaguar]

While lucky Brits are already capable of walking into a Lotus dealership and driving off with a new midsize Evora of their very own, Americans still have to wait a bit longer. We've already shown you the 2010 Lotus Evora that was at the L.A. Auto Show, and we've given you info on the specs and options. We've even confirmed U.S. details for the most important numbers.

Although an official release date hasn't been confirmed yet, we have heard that the magic moment will arrive early next year. Whether the Evora gets labeled as a 2010 or 2011 model remains up in the air, but we do know a lot of other info about this all-new model crafted by the magicians in Hethel. What we haven't had until now are some real-world photos. That all changed over the weekend when a couple of test engineers stopped by for a spell at our favorite weekly Southern California car meet, Cars and Coffee. Read the rest of our first impression after the jump, and don't forget to check out the gallery as well.



Photos copyright ©2009 Frank Filipponio / Weblogs, Inc.

Remember the Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart Sportback we showed you back in October? The one that debuted in Paris? The one that we lusted after for its hatchback practicality and Ralliart brawn? The one that the good folks from Mitsubishi had promised we'd be getting here in the States this summer as an early 2010 model? Well, Mitsubishi has delivered. Sort of. A few Mitsu reps drove down to Irvine from Cypress with a genuine 2010 Ralliart Sportback. And not only that, but they dragged along an Evo GSR and an all-new MR Limited as well.

The Ralliart Sportback drew a lot of attention for its shape, but the Limited was the one that caught our eye. It's a regular old MR with a few differences. In place of the Alcantara bits, Mitsubishi has gone all-cowhide inside. There are also a few additions to the standard options list, including an Evo-first moonroof. Out back, the car has gone undercover by foregoing the large wing that has heretofore characterized the Evo sedans. Sounds like the Evo MR for grownups. Mitsu's reps remained tight-lipped on the details, but pricing is likely to top $40,000 for this model. We didn't get as many shots as we would have liked, but we did manage to get a few that we've assembled in the gallery below. As soon as we get more details, we'll fill you in.



Photos copyright ©2009 Frank Filipponio / Weblogs, Inc.

Gallery: 2009 Mitsubishi Lancer Sportback Ralliart

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Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills is most known for its luxury boutiques like Giorgio Armani and Louis Vuitton, but during Father's Day it's all about the cars. For the past several years, the city of Beverly Hills has blocked traffic along the famous street between Santa Monica Blvd and Dayton Way for the Rodeo Drive Concours d'Elegance. The show is free to spectators, making it a popular outing for car-loving dads all over Southern California.

This year's event featured a unique collection of classic and vintage cars, highlighted by a spectacular 1939 Delahaye 165 and a trio of Bentley race cars from the 1920s. Rare and quirky supercars seemed to be a common theme, with a Bugatti EB110 SS, Cizeta V16T, and Vector WX-3R all on display. There were also a healthy amount of Shelby Cobras, Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwings, classic Ferraris, and more. You can check out all of them in the high-res gallery below.



Photos copyright ©2009 Drew Phillips / Weblogs, Inc.

The web is all about immediacy, and by that token, you should have seen these Greenwich Concours d'Elegance photos right after the event happened. Your humble correspondent, however, was juggling the Concours with his own family vacation preparations, and couldn't deliver in a timely fashion. However, like Dick Nixon, I'm now tanned, rested and ready, so follow the jump for several themed photo galleries and the annual rundown on what you missed if you weren't able to make the stop in Greenwich,

All photos Copyright ©2008 Alex Núñez / Weblogs, Inc.

At first blush, the city of Birmingham's decision to pull out of its official relationship with the Woodward Dream Cruise doesn't strike us as a big deal. After all, 40,000 or so classic cars are expected to descend on the historic Woodward Avenue just south of the Motor City whether Birmingham has representation on the Dream Cruise's Board of Directors or not. Officials representing the Cruise, though, don't quite agree with this assessment.

The Detroit News reports that Dream Cruise board President Greg Rasse sent a not-so-friendly letter to Birmingham City Manager Tom Markus requesting that the city cease-and-desist using Woodward Dream Cruise logos and event name when promoting its own event, which is scheduled to run concurrently with the official Dream Cruise. Not terribly surprising, given that Birmingham's departure from the Dream Cruise Board means that the city is not paying the Board or its Executive Director any money.

No matter what happens, the show must go on, as they say, and we'll be there as always this August with digital SLRs in tow and live streaming video of all the action. We don't imagine that many of those attending the Cruise in 2009 will notice the difference, and we hope the organizers and the locales involved can get along well enough not to ruin an enjoyable event.

[Source: The Detroit News]

We thought a vehicle like Jay Leno's Tank Car would be a one-off. After all, how many hot rods out there are thirty feet long and have a 1792 cubic-inch turbocharged V12 underneath the hood putting out 1600 horsepower? Well, this bad boy that we spotted at the Los Angeles Concours this past weekend doesn't exactly have that powertrain, but as you can see from that massive engine poking out of its fuselage, it does have some rather impressive hardware. What is it, you ask? A 2500 cubic-inch Packard supercharged V12 originally used in a PT boat from WWII.

The 41-liter motor produces an astounding 2000 horsepower and 3000 lb-ft of torque. That's right, this thing is actually even more bad ass than Leno's tank car. Known as the "Dream Rod", it was constructed by Rodney Rucker, one of the three Blastolene Brothers also responsible for building the tank car and the insane Hemi Trike we spotted at the Grand National Roadster Show earlier this year. Check out our high-res photos in the gallery below.

Update - we've added a video of the Dream Rod starting up after the jump.



Photos copyright ©2009 Drew Phillips / Weblogs, Inc.

We headed down to the 2009 Orphan Car Show in Ypsilanti, MI on Sunday and the first orphan we stumbled upon was this unusual hearse. This one off was built in 1927 as a prototype for a line of funeral cars sized for carrying the remains of children. According to the adjacent sign, Albert H Whittekind spent two years carving the wooden adornments on the flanks. The hearse runs on a Graham chassis, which was the truck division of Dodge Brothers before that brand was absorbed into Chrysler. No funeral homes ever purchased any of these smaller hearses and so this one was never replicated. The children's hearse is now owned by Cole Funeral Home of Chelsea, MI.



Photos Copyright ©2009 Sam Abuelsamid / Weblogs, Inc.

The love of motorsports starts at a young age for many racing fans, and countless enthusiasts owe their obsession to Hanna-Barbera's classic Wacky Races cartoons. The 60's-era animated series featured all manner of characters competing wheel to cartoon wheel in the most hilarious automotive concoctions ever rendered on celluloid. But what has remained for decades as the objects of childhood fantasy actually exist in real life and have taken to the streets of Chichester in West Sussex, England, ahead of their annual, real-life racing at the upcoming Goodwood Festival of Speed, held this year on July 3-5. Eleven vehicles in all have been painstakingly crafted for the event by the people at Goodwood – check 'em out in the gallery below along with some extra shots of them being run at last year's event. We've also got a video for you of their run last year after the jump.



[Source: CarScoop]