You may well have noticed gorgeous, massive cars in classic movies. What happened to these car makers? Were they innovators or just producers of boats or other monstrosities of little innovative value? Sort of like big tank S.U.V. trucks in these days of $ 3 a gallon gasoline. Indeed you may have spotted such cars as the Italian made Isotta Fraschine in classic movies such as the movie “Sunset Boulevard” which starred Gloria Swanson. These cars were not only the highest end luxury models of their days but they introduced early on many advanced features into cars as well as moving ahead and reinforcing standards of reliability and durability of motor vehicles. The thin edge of the wedge even then. Back in 1929 when the Tippo 8A primo motor car was delivered to its first waiting owners , the automotive name and models if Isoto Fraschini were held in the same breath , prestige and level as those of Rolls-Royce and Hispano-Suiza. The story starts in Milan, Italy thirty years earlier when Cesare Isotta and Vincenzio Fraschino joined forces and went into the “newfangled” car business.

At that time Italy was a poor country, they soon realized that with their limited car market, and luxury car market the need, indeed the necessity to export their products. The enterprising partners first shipped a car to the United Sates in 1902 and established the Isotta Import Company in New York just five years later. In 1908, Isotta won Sicily’s super tough Targea Florio race and notched up more than several important auto races in America. Two years later, the Italians launched the mighty KM model, which sported 10.6 liter, four cylinder, and sixteen valve engine. It would storm along at 90 mph at a time when few aircraft could achieve that in flight.

After World War I, Isotta Fraschini decided to concentrate on the lucrative and prestigious luxury end of the automotive market. The 5.9 liter Tipo 8 arrived in 1909 – powered by the world’s first series production straight eight engine, and was later joined, then replaced by the Tipo 8A. Customers purchased a chassis and ordered whatever body tickled their fancy from a coachbuilder. The well known high end coachbuilder of the time Sala and Castanga accounted for most of them. Others built to the likes of Fleetwood and Barker.

One of the lighter and more powerful Super Spinto versions of the *A finished sixth in the first Mille Miglia , driven by none other than Count Maggi , one of the 1000 -mile road race founders and originators. He was accompanied by Bindo Maserati. Bindo and his brother Alfieri were then working for Isota Fraschini as testers. Most of the parts for the first Masaerati cars were made at Isotta’s factory on Via Monterosa in Milan.

Launched in April 1931, the Tipo 8B is generally considered as Isotto Fraschini’s finest automobile product. It offered more performance than its predecessor. About 950 of these fine motor vehicles were manufactured and sold. The Tipo 8B Automobile product line encountered strong opposition from the likes of Rolls-Royce, Hispano and Bugatti. By the mid nineteen thirties the Isotta Frascnini car production system and enterprise was out of the automobile business. It made a short comeback after the time period approximately of the post Second World War II period when the Tipo 8C Monterosa appeared to a fanfare of postwar trumpets. The Post World War II Tipo 8C Monterosa was a most interesting concept car of its time period – a very big car with a V-8 engine its tail. Rather unbelievably, or perhaps

We owe a debit of gratitude to these early luxury automobile innovators and producers in that what we take today for automotive vehicle features , engineering as well as reliability started early on with the expectations of purchasers of these luxury automobile products.

Chrysler part of the used to be Detroit?s Big Three and producer of American Motors catalytic converter is now down to being the fourth-largest US automaker. And just recently it has announced that it is dropping its plans for a new Imperial luxury sedan due to the rising gasoline prices and tougher fuel-economy regulations.

It can be noted that the Senate has passed a bill last month calling for automakers to raise their average fuel mileage to at least 35 miles a gallon by 2020 the same proposal in the House would also hold manufacturers to the same standard by 2018.

Chrysler?s executives have made the decision within the past few weeks according to the automaker?s spokesman Ed Saenz. The Auburn Hills, Michigan-based automaker has unveiled its Imperial two years ago and has scheduled the production to start in 2009 in Brampton, Ontario.

Saenz said, “There was no business case for us to bring it to the market. We will continue to look for a future product for the plant.” He also added that the decision has put $597 million of investment in the factory on hold but will not affect any of the plant?s 3,500 jobs.

Chrysler will be investing $3 billion in order to produce more fuel-efficient engines and other powertrain components. It is no secret that the automaker has been badly hurt by its reliance on pickup trucks, sport-utility vehicles and minivans that are continuously losing sales as US gasoline prices soared nearly to $3 a gallon. Another reason for Chrysler?s decision to divert its production target is the fact that the US Congress is also considering an increase in fuel-efficiency standards.

Tom Libby, an analyst at marketing-research firm J.D. Power & Associates in Westlake Village, California said, “It makes sense not to build a high-end, lower-volume car when the direction of the market is moving toward smaller vehicles. If there is a hole left in Chrysler’s product lineup without the Imperial, it’s a not a hole in the growing part of the market.”

Chrysler has also planned to pull the production of a new vehicle from the Brampton plant if the Canadian Auto Workers didn?t agree to give up a wage premium of about C$125 a week. The union has initially rejected the pay provision but then changed its decision last March 11 giving way for the planned investment.

Chrysler is being sold by parent DaimlerChrysler AG to Cerberus Capital Management LP which is purchasing 80.1 percent stake in Chrysler in an agreement that includes a $7.4 billion investment and will be completed this quarter.

It was the Windsor Star in Windsor, Ontario that reported the change in plan of Chrysler which is not to go on with the production of the Imperial.

The Mercedes luxury coupes embodies forty years of design and styling that has made Mercedes Benz to become one of the most renowned luxury brand in the world.

The story of Mercedes luxury coupes started in the year 1950 in West Germany years later after the Second World War. During that time the traffic density in Germany was very low with only 19 cars per 1000 habitants. Despite the depressing post war situation in Germany Mercedes Benz was able to shine through and was able to launched the 300 S Coupe in the W 188 model series which was presented at the Paris Motor Show in autumn of 1951. And then a year later in the summer of 1952 the 300 S Coupe entered series of production.

The 300 S Coupe demonstrated Mercedes Benz outstanding engineering expertise and its entrepreneurial spirit. The S Coupe was equipped with 150 hp six-cylinder engine and capable of reaching 175km/h.

In 1955 Mercedes Benz presented a revised model of the 300 S, the 300 Sc Coupe which is equipped with an injection pump that resulted to its 128kW/175hp output. The new 300 Sc Coupe was also made even more comfortable with the addition of a single-joint swing axle derived from the Saloon model. Between the years 1951 to 1955 only 314 of the W 188 series coupes were produced.

The year 1956 an economic recovery in Germany had developed which was recorded in history as an ?economic miracle?. For the past four years starting 1952, car ownership in Germany has doubled to 40 per 1000 inhabitants.

It was also in the year 1956 when the first transatlantic telephone cable went into service making it possible to call New York or San Francisco from the comfort of one?s home. This year was also the start of the global revolution in telecommunications. Mercedes Benz presented the 220 S Coupe in the W 180 series also on this same year. The 220 S is a two door coupe with flowing roofline and prominent, curved rear window. And just like the 300 S Coupe the 220 S also displayed powerful and elegant contours that is typical of a Mercedes vehicle.

The large bumpers and fog lamps of the 220 S characterized the front end but its most striking feature was the three-fold division of the passenger cell, front end and rear end which has led to the ?Pontoon Mercedes? nickname given to the 220 S. The 220 S is the very first coupe ever produced by Mercedes-Benz to possess a self-supporting body which was welded to the frame floor.

The ?Pontoon Mercedes? models were given a 74kW/100hp engine which was increased later to 78kW/106 hp. Its front wheel location was also enhanced to provide better riding comfort. The same thing was done with the single-joint swing axle with its low pivot point. And at an addition of 450 Marks, an automatic, hydraulic clutch called ?Hydrak? is added.

The interior was also luxurious and included polished exotic wood trim, leather upholstery and an auxiliary fan which are for heating and ventilation system. The ?Pontoon Mercedes? was a blend of ?Modern technology and purposeful elegance?. As answer to the demands of customers, Mercedes-Benz offered a petrol injection system in the 220 SE W 128 series at an extra cost amounting to 1900 Marks from 1958. Only 2081 220 S and 220 SE coupes were produced. And today the ?Pontoon? Coupes have become one of the most sought after collectors? items.

1961 is the year when Mercedes Benz has started to attract enormous international attention. This is also the very same year when the GDR sent a construction team to build the wall that would separate the East and West Berlin. This has marked the political division which has lasted for 28 years.

Despite the political strife in Berlin Mercedes-Benz was able to launch another coupe, the 220 SEb coupe in the W 111 series which was presented at the opening ceremony for the new Museum at the plant in Stuttgart-Unterturkheim on February 24. The new coupe as expected has once again demonstrated the creativity and unerring sense of style that Mercedes vehicles are known for.

The 220 SEb is a four-seater coupe provided with plenty of room for long trips. It has adopted the engine and suspension plus the safety body from the four-door Saloon. It is powered by a six-cylinder engine that delivers 120 hp, enough for high average speeds on long journeys. The 220 SEb was the first series production car made by Mercedes Benz to feature disc brakes at the front. A padded steering wheel, three-point seat belts and new wedge-pin door locks were also added.

Then came the year 1981 which is the era of global communication, it was during this year that Mercedes Benz launched its 380 SEC Coupe and 500 SEC Coupe in the C 126 model series. With the production of these new coupes the designers and engineers of Mercedes Benz has once again turned to the S-Class as their basis. The 380 and 500 SEC were given slightly bigger dimensions.

The 380 SEC and 500 SEC coupes were also given the V8 engines which have been revised to achieve reduced fuel consumption and exhaust emissions as part of the Mercedes Benz Energy concept. The output of the 380 SEC Coupe was 150 kW/204hp while the 500 SEC Coupe delivers 170kW/231 hp. And according to a motoring magazine: ?The feeling of spaciousness and visibility are quite excellent, the SEC appears to drive itself.?

The SEC coupes were also given improved camshafts with altered timing, air-bathed injection valves and electronic idling speed control. The SEC coupes also share the same safety features as those of the S-class Saloons.

One of the most interesting interior features of the SEC coupes was the electrically operated belt feeders which were designed to bring the seat belts into the filed vision on all four seats while those of the driver and the front passenger were made easily accessible. Newer types of Mercedes Coupes produced today are equipped with even more advance equipments and parts such as the Mercedes catalytic converter which helps in reducing harmful emissions.

Private jets no luxury for NASCAR teams

Business travel can be a grind, But for NASCAR drivers and race teams who are on the road for 36 races per year travel is unavoidable.

If these teams had to rely on commercial airline schedules travel would be a nightmare, if not a logistical impossibility. That?s why most of the top tier drivers own private jets, and race teams operate fleets of small aircraft to transport pit crew members and team executives to the racetrack each week.

Dale Earnhardt, Jr. owns a LearJet 60, which is the top of the LearJet line, and their largest jet. It?s a business jet that can seat up to 10 passengers.

Thanks to the jet Earnhardt can leave his home in North Carolina and be at the racetrack in Daytona or Texas a couple of hours later — about the time it would take to drive to a major airport and clear security.

NASCAR rookie and former Formula One driver Juan Pablo Montoya also owns a LearJet 60. 2006 champion Jimmie Johnson owns a Learjet 31A, and Jeff Gordon owns a British Aerospace Hawker 800.

Most of the drivers leave the flying to professional pilots, but Mark Martin is a licensed pilot who often pilots his own Cessna Citation. Martin lives in a unique community near Daytona Beach called Spruce Creek. It?s a fly in community with it?s own airport. Residents have aircraft hangars in the yard where most of us have garages. Martin can literally park his jet in the garage.

The race teams operate larger planes to ferry the pit crews and team executives to the track. Roush Racing operates a fleet of planes, including a Boeing 737 and several smaller business jets. Dale Earnhardt, Inc. flies it?s pit crew on an Embraer 120, a mid-size turbo-prop that seats 30 passengers.

While cars have vanity license plates, NASCAR teams have vanity aircraft registration numbers. Dale Jr?s Learjet is N8JR, and Jeff Gordon?s Hawker is N24JG. The corporate Embraer at Dale Earnhardt, Inc. is N500DE.

NASCAR has come to rely on private jet travel so much that many tracks are located right next to airports. Daytona International Speedway is located right next to Daytona Beach International Airport where private jets and commercial flights arrive daily.

While most tracks are not located so close to a major international airport, some tracks have built their own airports. Right next to Atlanta Motor Speedway sits Tara Field, a small general aviation airstrip that sees little traffic until race week, when more than 600 planes descend on this tiny airfield.

However, some tracks are not as convenient, but when that happens expect the NASCAR drivers to come up with a solution. When NASCAR descends on a track like Dover Delaware some drivers like Dale Earnhardt bypass race traffic by flying from the airport to the racetrack in a chartered helicopter, landing directly in he infield.

Some people consider private air travel a luxury, but with the hectic schedule of today?s drivers it is a necessity. Following a Sunday afternoon race a driver can hop on his jet and be home by Sunday night. This means they can meet with the crew chiefs and team owners Monday morning to review the previous race, and develop a strategy for the following race. During the week drivers are often on the jet again, meeting with sponsors, shooting TV commercials, making public appearances, and testing. Without a jet this schedule would be impossible. Most drivers agree that having a private jet gives them one to two days per week of productive time, or just allows an occasional day off.

You can see pictures of these jets at JetJit.com and get more detailed information on each airplane.

See photos of these jets and more at JetJit.com