Autoblog

The Arizona auction posts are winding down as the results are finally being posted and our recap post is imminent. This is by far the largest automotive auction action of the year with thousands of classic and collector vehicles going across the block, racking up hundreds of millions of dollars in sales numbers. While some of you kept screaming, "More, more, more!" we understand that the rest of the automotive world is slowly coming back to life and it's time to move on.

Before we close the book on Scottsdale 2007, however, we wanted to share a mega gallery of random shots from the past week from each of the three major auctions we covered. This particular gallery is from Barrett-Jackson, the big top, the show, the main event, the auction that dwarfs all auctions. Drew Phillips of Fast-Autos.net once again provided us with tons of superb photos to supplement our own. Drew is truly one of the finest automotive photographers in the field. We were also fortunate to have the duPont Registry booth as a base of operations and the Ford skybox as a killer photo spot for a time. Thanks to all. Since the photos seem to be the thing that mattered most with our coverage, we'll wrap this up and get on with the show.

Yet another custom Mustang story. OK, we understand you might be getting overwhelmed by all of the special 'Stangs on the market right now, but as America's only affordable sportscar with a V8, it's an obvious tuner choice. And this happens to be a Mustang by one of our favorite customizers, Chip Foose. As we reported back in November, Chip Foose was working on a project with Ford to sell limited edition Fooseified products through select Ford dealers. Speculation was that it would be a version of his Stallion Mustang that had been available since June through select dealers. Well, that speculation was pretty accurate. But there's a twist.

While a supercharged version of the Foose Stallion will continue to be sold through select dealers, a new naturally aspirated base model will also be offered, through ALL Ford dealers. In partnership with Unique Performance, the base model Foose Stallion will be built with the Foose Stallion styling package as well as upgraded brakes, exhaust and wheels/tires. The complete rundown of modifications goes something like this: a Ford Racing exhaust and suspension, 11-inch rear and 12-inch front DecelaRotors, Chip's custom embroidered seats, Foose sill plates, Foose ID plate, signature logo on the dash, plus the custom Foose upper and lower billet grille and 20-inch Foose Nitrous wheels. The base model Foose Stallion is available now at a starting MSRP of $36,365. We swung by the local Tuttle-Click Ford dealer with our pal Drew Phillips and got some pics of a nice black base model.

Click the images to go to the high-res gallery and follow the jump to read the full press release.



[Source: Unique Performance]

Here are some random photos as a farewell to the wonders of SEMA. Mostly stuff that we walked past and thought we'd get back to later for a more thorough post, only to run out of time. Celebs, models, wheels, tuners, parts, models, trucks, one-offs, race cars, exotics, models, hot rods, muscle cars, concepts and models. Most of the pics in this gallery are from the halls of the Convention center, but half of what makes SEMA such a fascinating show is what happens away from the show floor. Unfortunately, photos are a little trickier at these parties and events. We managed to procure a few for you, although nothing too spectacular. Most of these pics are clickable for high-res versions. Thanks to Drew and Jason for helping out.

Michelin is our favorite tire company from now on. Without resorting to the cheap, albeit highly effective and entertaining, trick of hiring booth babes to draw attention to themselves, this French tiremaker still had one of the largest crowds of any vendor at the show. Accomplished with an elegant simplicity that had us drooling from the moment we saw the space. The plan was so breathtakingly simple that we hope others will follow their lead in the future. OK, we wouldn't complain too much if there were still some lovely ladies around as well, but this being an automotive show, putting cars above all else seems to be a pretty good idea.

What they pulled off went a little beyond the ordinary and deserves some kind of award. After working your way past dozens of individual wheel and tire booths with everything from clear rims to those 34-inch monster truck-worthy numbers, you round a corner in the tires and wheels hall and see one of the cleanest, most spectacular sights. Especially if you are a fan of exotics and supercars, but even if you're not, it's quite striking. More story and pics after the jump.