February, 2005, Cruise News

STORY LINE: WHATS HAPPENIN’

IT is that time of year again for Detroit’s most popular specialty car show-AUTORAMA. Interesting to note regarding the Detroit Autorama, is that the west coast, California, has become a part of this 53 year old annual specialty car show in recent years. The past two years RIDDLER Award winners have been cars designed and manage built by the likes of Chip Foose-who is pure California and Pasadena Art Center educated. Not that Detroit does not have some of the very best car people in the country-let alone the world-the west ‘left’ coast has taken notice of what Detroit really is … car country capitol.

Blackie Gejeian-who is California’s Mr. Custom-has brought a nationwide alignment to the Detroit Autorama by just being here … and he brings cars and people from the west coast. John D’Agostino-I think he loves Cadillac cars as much as I do-has been a major big car custom builder who shows those big customs here too. Troy RAD RIDES Trepanier and dad Jack along with the MOOSE from Illinois-just outside the Windy City, have also become a fixture at Autorama the past few years.

And locally Chuck Miller of STYLINE CUSTOMS fame. He’s the man who puts together the great Cavalcade of Customs  display showing the classic custom 50’s and 60’s design heritage when builders such as George Barris, Gene Winfield, Bill Cushenberry and the Alexander Brothers turned out customs by the dozens.

Countless people make the Detroit Autorama what it is today, from the Michigan Hot Rod Association as hosts that represent the seven founding member clubs, to the sanctioning International Show Car Association-ISCA … it IS the people that make Autorama.

LAST year  the ‘Tall Cool One’-Jon Moss, retired as head of GM Specialty Vehicles … on January 1 of this year John Coletti the proverbial ‘Chief Wizard’ of Ford SVT … retired. Two of the most recognized real horsepower brokers, GOOD CAR GUYS of Detroit, are now likely off to bigger and better car ‘stuph’. Ironically, these two mega famous car men have no doubt garnered more enthusiast press for their respective companies, have no doubt helped sell more performance parts for Ford/GM and the aftermarket, and have given more to the automotive business-industry/hobby during their careers then might be estimated… it is a true end to an era.

John Coletti once said to me,  “John, the good old times are right now … look at what we have in cars available today, right now.”  That statement holds true to everything we do, from making coffee in the morning, to remote starting our cars, to communicating by wire with virtually anyone, to flying any where in the world we can afford to and even replacing internal human body parts!! Leaving Ford as the ‘father’ of the modern Ford GT, John had said, “What a way to leave a company, making the fastest street legal car in America come to life.” Another of John Coletti’s famous vehicles-other than all of the SVT projects and project cars-is the Calypso Coral Orange 604CID BOSS 9 powered ‘Godzilla Stang’.   READ IT ------>   Ford hot-rod king retires - 12/12/04

Jon Moss has gone on to form Jon A. Moss, Inc as a design and engineering consulting firm. Famously revered in the hallowed halls of GM as ‘Dr. Frankenstein’ for his extreme powerplant motivated GM Specialty Vehicles, Jon may be  best known for the 572CID/ZL2 powered Black Camaro rumored to have a terminal velocity in excess of 230mph.  

KATECH … Mark McPhail, a high performance engineer with GM since the mid 1980’s, had also left GM last October to join with KATECH, Inc. of Clinton Twp., MI. to oversee the launch of a new street performance division with the well known race engine building company.  Katech is involved with building engines for the IRL, Busch Grand National USAC Sprint Car, IMSA, LeMans and Daytona, as well as the 1000 HP Cadillac Sixteen GM concept car. 

While with GM, McPhail performed the first LS1 engine retrofit, the first smog legal certified engine conversion kit for Camaros and Firebirds, first fuel injected LS1 crate motor engine conversion kit with computer and wiring harness, the first 4L60 crate transmission and first  electronic transmission controller and wiring harness for the 4L60/4L80 transmissions. At Katech, McPhail will be responsible for the development of new breeds of high performance engines and components designed to meet the needs of a changing enthusiast market.

ST. IGNACE … Ed Reavie the creator of the annual St. Ignace car show has made it through the BIG ONE. Christmas brought Ed a … heart attack, which he survived, had the required surgery and is recuperating excellently. HAIL CEASAR!!!

AUTO FACTOID: Did you know … That in 1909-Henry Ford almost became part of GM.