 |
 |
 |
 |
||||||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|||||||||
Amelia Island, Florida GMIs 13 a Lucky Number for Amelia?edited by Madelyn Miller, the TravelLady
Parnelli Jones
Happy Birthday General MotorsCelebrations take center stage for the 2008 show. Long-time Amelia sponsor General Motors’ will be celebrating 100 years of automotive history in 2008, and Amelia is one of the first stops for its year-long tour. In the planning for several years, it will surely be one birthday party to remember. Organizers expect GM to give us a glimpse of what their next 100 years will be like. The featured marque for this year is the iconic Thomas Flyer automobile. We will be recognizing the historic win this car secured 100 years ago in the famed New York-to-Paris “Great Race.” Friday’s seminar will be devoted to the grueling race and will be led by Mr. Jeff Mahl, great grandson of George Schuster, one of the drivers of the winning car. Additionally, the National Automobile Museum (formerly The Harrah Collection) in Reno, Nevada, has agreed to let us display the winning Thomas Flyer on show day. Once you’ve seen this car, you’ll wonder how these brave men ever made it around the world in such primitive equipment and inclement conditions. The horsepower-hungry Trans-Am seriesThe horsepower-hungry Trans-Am series of the late sixties will be the subject of Saturday’s seminar, and there will be some of the series’ top drivers recounting their experiences in a panel discussion with Q&A afterwards. In addition to Parnelli Jones, the 1970 series champion, you'll also hear Dan Gurney, George Follmer, Sam Posey, and John Morton, the series’ under 2.5 liter champion. Thanks to Henry FordThe celebrations continue with the car that put America on the road to freedom – Henry Ford’s venerable Model T. It will be marking a century of motoring in 2008. There will be a class of special Model Ts on the “Field of Dreams” to recognize this historic automobile and its contribution to America’s emergence as an industrial power in the early 1900s. CongratulationsCongratulations to both Ford and GM on their respective automotive milestones. Madelyn Miller is a travel and food writer who is a proud member of the Texas Automotive Writers Association. Read her stories on www.carladynews.com, www.travellady.com, www.yogayaya.com, www.chocolateatlas.com, www.cocktailatlas.com, www.coffeeatlas.com and www.TeaAtlas.com |
|||||||||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
||||||||||
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The
13th “Amelia” is set for March 7-9, 2008, and 13 certainly
looks like it’s going to be a very lucky number . Several
notable anniversaries are going to be celebrated and
organizers say “It’s as much about the people as it is the
cars.” 
America
has produced many great race drivers and for Amelia 2008,
they will be honoring one of the greatest to ever get behind
the wheel, Mr. Parnelli Jones. During his incredibly diverse
career, Jones raced just about every kind of car around,
including sports cars, sprint cars, Indy cars, midget
racers, stock cars and off-road vehicles. His 1963 Indy 500
win was one for the ages and, in 1967, he piloted one of the
most famous race cars to ever run at the “Brickyard,” the
controversial STP-sponsored, turbine-powered entry. A
successful businessman after his racing career ended, Jones’
is a member today of more than 20 automotive halls of fame.