Raymarine Autohelm Autopilot Rotary Rudder Reference Position Sensor M81105 on 2040-parts.com

Birth of an Icon

The first thing you notice when you step into Icon's sprawling, 120,000-square-foot shop in Chatsworth, Calif. -- past the fenced-in yard of Broncos of every size and Land Cruisers of every generation, past the 1952 Chrysler Town & Country station wagon with the DeSoto front end and a massaged patina of greens, browns, and ochres resembling a Cezanne painting -- is the smell. It smells old in here.

German Parts Pillagers Roam the American Southwest, Sending Treasures Home For Future Car Museum

Quite a few older European cars are purchased in rust-free parts of the United States and then shipped back to the home continent, and this process tends to intensify when the Euro gets stronger versus the dollar. While that's going on, crews of European gearheads also roam the wrecking yards of the Southwest, filling shipping containers with parts to ship back home; I know of a trio of Swedes who come to Colorado every year and ship home tons of parts, but they've got nothing on this pair of Germans. These gentlemen fly to the United States four times each year, spending two or three weeks each trip, and send home cars and shipping containers packed with parts, all as part of a scheme to open up a car collection showcasing "cars from the road." They were kind enough to send me a bunch of photos of their most recent trip, so let's see what their enviable lifestyle looks like.

Bugatti Galibier based on Bentley Mulsanne

The Bugatti Galibier and Bentley Mulsanne. Cousins or non-identical twins? There have been comparisons to everything from a Panamera to a Flying Spur via the Rolls Royce Ghost and Rapide.