The Porsche 911 is an automotive icon with few equals. 1970s 911s are particularly coveted among the cognoscenti. A 1970s 911 owned by the King of Cool? Well that’s just sick. Steve McQueen’s 1970 911S that was featured prominently in his 1971 flick Le Mans is set to cross the auction block come August, and given the provenance no one’s even trying to guess how much cash it could bring in. Not only did it get a lot of screen time in the film, McQueen used it as his personal vehicle while filming in France. The opening sequences of his character Michael Delaney driving it through the French countryside while reflecting on life, death and racing were pretty true to life.

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In my high school days my good friend Cale and I spent some time working as porters at a local car dealership. The job involved quite a bit of general grunt work, tons of new car prep and a helluva lot of car washing. Washing cars in the summer is one thing, but washing cars in the middle of a Cleveland winter is an altogether different thing. It sucks.

Our job also involved transporting inventory between the main dealership lot and the storage lot which was tucked away in a secluded area about five hundred yards from the dealership. Often we used a trade-in to shuttle over there to get whatever new cars the sales manager had ordered us to bring up. You’d probably be surprised to know that nobody really gave two shits about those trade-in cars, which meant my buddy Cale and I didn’t feel too bad about using them to perfect our tactical driving skills. And by tactical driving skills, I mean learning the intricacies of the relationship between the gas pedal and the hand brake.

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While out in California for the Concours d’Elegance I had a chance to pilot the insanely awesome Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG and lived to tell the tale. Let’s just get this out of the way, the SLS AMG is a spectacular machine.

Power. On. Demand.

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Thanks to Steven for the tip. This is mesmerizing both in sound and sight.

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A ’55 Chevy “one-fifty” with a 454 and four on the floor. James Taylor at the wheel and Dennis Wilson riding shotgun; no names and no bullshit. Two-Lane Blacktop came out two years before American Graffiti and two after Easy Rider. The film remains a cult classic. Good old American muscle. [Two-Lane Blacktop]

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The streets of Aspen were littered with awesome old trucks — Wagoneers, Range Rovers, Broncos, Suburbans and this really great looking Toyota Land Cruiser. As you may remember, I really like the old school smaller SUVs and I’m going to need to add this to my wish list of classic rides. I have to think one of these Land Cruisers would be a cinch to park in Manhattan — and that winch might even come in handy. The only question is, where to start? Defender? Bronco II? Scout? Willys? More photos after the jump. Ride Colorado, ride.

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A nice follow up to the Porsche 914 factory photos from 1972, this five part video from the 1960s takes you through the entire build process of the famed German sports car. Those photos made their way to all sorts of different sites and a few different forums, which is how I found these videos. If you aren’t into metal work, it might be worth it to skip ahead to part II. But the remaining four videos are definitely worth part of your Sunday. Enjoy!

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Chances are if I am going to buy an expensive sports car it would be a Porsche. Ferraris and Lambos are just too flashy for me. Not to say that a Porsche isn’t flashy, but there is a difference — at least in my mind. I will say that if the money was there I would defy everything I just said and buy a Bugatti Veyron, mainly because of this video. Porsche has just remained so consistent over the years that you can’t not love them. Give me a GT2 and i’ll be happy. Give me a GT2 in Bavaria and I will be really happy. Seeing as the days of ripping up the road in some expensive German engineering are still to come, I’ll (we’ll) have to settle for this 914 farm circa 1972. All of these images came from this gallery and show the quaint production of 1970s Porsches being made in Germany by workers wearing overalls. Sports cars and factory photos? Sign me up. More after the jump.

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If you haven’t been to the site, the guys at Speedhunters make some pretty kick ass videos. The FIA GT shorts selected and placed below are particularly fantastic. I love the lower tier GT3 series because every car has to be street legal and they race on road type courses. I’m not a huge NASCAR  fan because the races — with a few exceptions — are a four hour history of the left turn. I do like to watch (and did like to attend; RIP USGP) Formula 1 races, but the seemingly limitless money  / technology arms race is a little too America’s Cup for my liking; plus you are lucky if you see one pass all season. Speaking of America’s Cup, have you seen the BMW Oracle trimaran monstrosity? Good God man.

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That is a fine looking piece of machinery, a 1976 two-tone Ford Bronco Ranger in very nice condition. The best part is this slice of pure American pride is for sale. I spotted her over the weekend and it was love at first sight — I mean look at those wipers! From the looks of it this model seems to be the precursor to another favorite of mine, the Ford Bronco II. If I remember correctly this is pretty much the same car that the football coach drives in Dazed and Confused. So if you want to be like a 1970′s Texas football coach then scoop this baby up. If an ACL reader does buy it, I’ll take you out for a steak dinner and give you some Lone Star beers from my private reserve, because you are one bad ass individual and you deserve a pat on the back.

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In 1937 General Motors hired the Jam Handy Organization (maker of corporate sales films) to produce a “documentary” about the U.S. auto industry in response to the decisive  victory by the UAW in the Flint Sit-Down Strike. The result titled From Dawn to Sunset, attempts to establish the American worker as an individual from a purely consumerist and material view. The film presents a propaganda like view of Capitalism and American consumption in the days leading up to WWII.

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As far as American muscle cars go the reincarnated Challengers and Chargers are pretty slick, but I’m not a Mopar guy I’m a Ford man. The redesigned Mustangs have largely disappointed me, with the Shelby GT500 (which sells for about 46K) being a whole entire story altogether. The Shelby GT500 is one tasty automobile and I’d be happy to play the part of McQueen and take on the Charger any day.

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