DRIVE LIKE A BOSS AT AUTOCROSS

AUTOCROSS IS BACK FOR 2022 !!!

Story and Photos by Keith E. Jacobson 

 

The Bay State Corvette Club ran their first autocross of the season on Sunday, April 10th. For those not familiar with the event their web site says: " Autocross is a form of motorsports that emphasizes safe, low-cost competition and active participation. An autocross is a timed competition where drivers navigate one at a time through a temporary course marked by traffic cones, rather than racing on a track with multiple other cars, as in road racing or oval racing. 

 Autocross tends to place more emphasis on car handling and driver skill than on sheer horsepower, and events typically have many classes which allow almost any vehicle, from economy sedans to purpose-built vehicles, to compete. 

Speeds are slower in absolute terms when compared to other forms of motorsports, usually not exceeding highway speeds, but the activity level (measured in discrete turns per minute) can be higher than even Formula One due to the large number of elements packed into each course. 

 Autocross courses are typically 40 to 70 seconds in length. In addition to being a national-level motorsport in its own right, autocrossing is a good way to learn skills that transfer to road racing, as drivers learn vehicle control and club ethics."

For more information check out their Facebook page or follow the link above.

 

 

 

THERE ARE VARIOUS CLASSES BY SKILL LEVEL AND EQUIPMENT SO NOVICES SHOULDN'T FEEL INTIMIDATED.

GM HERITAGE CENTER ~ WOW !!!

On a trip to Michigan in August of 2019 I was lucky to see the collection on display at the GM Heritage Center in Sterling Heights. The GM Heritage Center. It is GM's collection of cars and is not open to the general public. From their web site:

"The General Motors Heritage Center serves as a showplace for the vehicles of the GM Heritage Collection, as a corporate conferencing and special events venue, and as the permanent home for the corporation’s collection of historic literature and artifacts which document GM’s rich history of innovation. Located in an 81,000 square foot facility in Sterling Heights, Michigan, the Center has more than 165 vehicles on display. Each of the vehicles in the Collection illustrates a design, technical or sales milestone or accomplishment in the history of General Motors or automotive history."

Before entering the building we were surprised with a beautiful blue C8 parked out front just for our group.

What you see is only a small part of GM's collection and there are so many amazing cars you pretty much go on sensory overload not knowing what to look at next.

I only had ever seen a Futureliner in magazines and on TV. So cool I alwas wanted to see one, walked in the door and there it was...amazing !!!

"The GM Futurliners were a group of custom vehicles, styled in the 1940's by Harley Earl for General Motors, and integral

to the company's Parade of Progress-a North American traveling exhibition promoting future cars and technologies.

The scope of the collection made it hard to pick just a few pictures for this article but here are a few favorites:

  "1911 Oldsmobile Limited ... The Oldsmobile Limited was one of the largest cars ever built in America and in it's day. With 42 inch wheels and brass trim it is an elegant and ever imposing automobile. A Roadster, Touring Car (shown here) and top-of-the-line limousine were offered. In it's short three year production run, under 700 Oldsmobile Limited models were ever produced with a factory price ranging from $5,000.00 to $7,000.00. Today their value exceeds $1,000,000.00. Oldsmobile division had owned this vehicle since the 1930's.
ENGINE: 707 CID Inline 6, 60 horsepower / Base price $5,000.oo" 

 
"1969 Chevrolet Astro III Experimental ... The Astro III was a two passenger experimental car resembling an executive jet aircraft, down to it's tricycle-type wheel arrangement. It was envisioned as a high-performance vehicle suited for travel on restricted access highways of the future. The Astro III featured a power canopy that moved forward and upward to allow easy access to the passenger compartment which was finished in aircraft style interiors. Rear vision was provided by closed circuit television and the Astro III was powered by a gas turbine engine that was found in military and civilian helicopters of the period."

"1962 Chevrolet Corvair Monza GT Concept ... The smooth aerodynamic lines of the experimental 1962 Corvair Monza are the result of a wind tunnel testing program. The entire rear section of the Monza GT hinges upward to allow access to the air-cooled, six cylinder-opposed powerplant. The wrap around canopy opens forward and hinges for full access to the passenger compartment. The passenger compartment features reclined contour seating. The dash panel has reflection-free crackle finish, and all gauges to the right of the driver are angled toward them for maximum legibility."



So many outstanding vehicles it would be hard to pick a favorite. Each one in pristine condition. Cars that you may have seen in magazines or maybe never have seen at all. We had a couple of hours there ... I could have stayed a couple of days. I wonder what other gems lie in the hundreds of other cars not currently on display. Truly a car lovers dream location and this was only the opening event of my vacation adventure.

"2009 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Concept ... The Chevrolet Corvette Concept was introduced at the 2009 Chicago Auto Show. Five Chevrolet-based characters were featured in the movie "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen". The character Sideswipe took the form of a sleek, vision concept dreamed up by the Corvette designers at GM. The design was influenced by the original 1959 Stingray Racer, but also drew on Corvette heritage clues from other generations. It brought together in a futureistic that seems to be equal parts race car and spaceship."

A special treat was a talk, on the C8, followed by a Q&A by Harlan Charles, Corvette product manager. Who also had another C8 inside for attendees to check out.