My memories of actor/racer Steve McQueen are just two: the first came during a Sebring 12-hour race when a colleague pointed him out. I wasn't a movie fan in those years so his presence meant little. The second happened when I was applying for a copywriter's job in a Toronto ad agency and with little agency experience worried that I might not be accepted. With time to spare I went to a local theater showing McQueen's "Cincinnati Kid." McQueen, a young gambler under the tutelage of Jackie Gleason, was cool, confident; a winner. So inspired, I got the job.

On August 15th at Quail Lodge in Carmel Valley, California, Bonhams & Butterfields will be offering Steve McQueen's Porsche, a 1969-70 908/2. McQueen and Peter Revson finished second overall in the 1970 Sebring 12-Hours, just behind Mario Andretti. The car was used that same year at Le Mans, mounted with two cameras to produce footage for McQueen's classic film Le Mans. It went on to become a five-time competitor in the Le Mans 24-Hour Grand Prix.

McQueen purchased the Porsche specifically to compete at Sebring, teaming with American F1 driver Peter Revson. Their private car seemingly had no chance against the factory giants. Yet, with only 25 laps remaining, they were in the lead; an incredible upset for the professional teams. Ferrari ordered Andretti to "win the race at all costs." Although the 5-liter Ferrari 512S was more powerful than the 3-liter Porsche 508, Andretti couldn't pass until the second-to-last lap, winning by only 23 seconds! More amazingly, McQueen had raced with a broken foot in a cast, duct-taped to keep it from coming apart.

[I've been corrected (see comment below) by a viewer who knows his movies. It was Edward G. Robinson that played opposite McQueen, not Jackie Gleason.]

Back in October of 2007 Nigel Matthews e-mailed me scans of photos taken by an old friend who worked with Colin Chapman in the early days of Lotus. I immediately added one to a blog and promised more, then forgot. Viewer Mark Britten reminded me of this oversight in his comment, and so I'm happy to offer another photo from the collection. This, as the caption states, is a Lotus Mark 11, minus body. Chapman's designs were so elegant that even when viewed "naked" the car is beautiful. Indeed, looking at this photo stirs my old racer juices and makes me want to climb into that lightweight frame and hit the "go" pedal. The engine may only have been 1100 c.c. but in a 900 lb. vehicle it was good for 130 mph. Colin Chapman's dedication to weight reduction is exactly what we need to reduce fuel costs in today's cars. May he rise from the dead.

With a new Indiana Jones movie just launched there is considerable interest in authentic memorabilia from the previous films. And what could be more authentic than the 1937 Mercedes 300 that was used for one of the spectacular chase scenes in Raiders of the Lost Ark. Indeed, the very car is currently for sale on eBay. The Buy it Now price (are you ready for this?) is a staggering $2.5 million. But wait... it may look like a Mercedes but this amazing replica is actually a Jaguar! It seems the studio needed a car that could do up to 120 mph, and so it asked Graig Hinton of Leaping Cats of Coventry to build one. What appeared to be a German staff car was constructed around a Jaguar Mark IX chassis with a Mark V body, using a 285 horse dual-overhead-cam XKE engine matched to a 4-speed Jag transmission with overdrive. According to the seller it can reach 60 mph in 6.2 seconds. It sat in a private collection for 26 years and is in concours condition. The sale is due to end June 6th so better hurry; just click on this link to see the ad and view an extensive gallery of photos.

I've just returned from a family visit to Toronto. Subaru Canada kindly presented me with the keys to a 2009 Subaru Outlook PZEV wagon to enjoy for a week; also to test and review for About Cars, my former Internet employer. PZEV stands for Partial Zero Emission Vehicle, a designation meant to meet the most stringent California environmental regulations. Under some conditions the air leaving the exhaust is cleaner than the air entering. With no fuel economy or performance penalty, that's quite an accomplishment.

While exploring the south-central Ontario countryside in search of suitable test roads I came upon the Halton County Radial Railway Museum, a haven for old streetcars suitable for restoration. The museum also operates weekend railfan trips aboard a Toronto Transit Commission streetcar, one on which I probably rode in younger years. Unfortunately the museum was closed but I managed to slip past the gate, snoop around, and take pictures.

As if that were not enough, the test drive found me at the foot of Milton's Rattlesnake Hill. Okay... so I went out of my way to find it, for the twisting uphill road is the scene of long-ago hillclimb victories driving modified sedans. In those years the surface was dirt whereas it is now paved and a pair of residence driveways interrupted any attempt to simulate repeats in the Subaru. A pair of cautious runs proved that all-wheel-drive is now the way to go yet I missed the fun of those tail-out slides around a 180-degree hairpin.

Barack Obama admits he enjoys driving and says that being driven around by the Secret Service is a drag. During an interview with Indianapolis radio station WFBQ, as reported in the Detroit News, he got to chatting about what, in his opinion, was the worst car ever to emerge from Motown. Obama's choice may have been influenced by experience, for he nominated the Ford Granada, the car in which he learned to drive. "This thing was a tin can. It was during the '70s when oil had just gone up, so they were trying to compete with the Japanese," Obama said. "They wanted to keep the cars big, so they made them out of tin foil. It would rattle and shake. You basically couldn't go over 80 (miles per hour) without the thing getting out of control." I'm rather hurt by this assertion because, indirectly, I was responsible for naming the car. It happened in the 1970's when, as creative director of the Ford of Europe ad account in London, I was asked to select a name for a new vehicle that would replace the aging Ford 20M. Granada was my recommendation, Ford agreed, and later transferred the badge to one of its upcoming Detroit sedans. Do I dare disagree with the man who may be president? Not on most subjects but on this one I might, for I've driven more than my share of Detroit turkeys. And the Granada was not the worst.

You can always count on RM Auctions to come up with something truly rare and exotic at their major events. This year's Sports & Classics of Monterey auction, on August 15th and 16th, promises to continue the tradition as it offers a one-of-a-kind 1957 Chrysler Diablo, a survivor from the Virgil Exner era of extravagant but exciting concept cars. Built on a 1955 Chrysler 300 series chassis, the Diablo is rather large for a sporty concept though no less impressive. This car had a lucky escape from an early demise when some last-minute details spared it from being shipped aboard the ill-fated Andrea Doria. The SS Andrea Doria was a beautiful Italian luxury liner that sank off the coast of Nantucket after colliding in thick fog with the MS Stockholm, resulting in a loss of 46 lives. The Chrysler Norseman, a prototype which had been built for Chrysler by Ghia in Italy, went down with the great liner. Ironically, I won't be at Monterey this year because I'm saving for a first-ever vacation on a cruise ship. No concept cars allowed.