Out of gas?

Only for a minute.
Delbert and Wilma Bauermeister, Fort Wayne, take a break from the temperatures near the 90's Wednesday, near a collection of vintage gas pumps by the Kruse auction rings. The weather forecast says Thursday should be a bit less sweaty, calling for a high of 78.

Two kinds of fancy

I just love the, (Art Word coming up...) juxtaposition of these two vehicles. Granted, the Auburn Speedster is a replica, not an original, but still, the size and color contrasts, (not to mention passenger potential,) made this stand out.

Showing muscle

An early, highly unofficial poll suggests that this is going to be a big year for muscle cars at the Kruse auction. Certainly the Car Corral is boasting lots of '60s and '70s performance cars.
Is this a desire to thumb the collective nose at higher gas prices, or are these relics of motorized masculinity destined to be shelved as museum pieces, joining the ranks of other collector cars?

Discuss among yourselves please.

Hoosier Tour returns Thursday

If you like seeing older autos in action, then show up when the Hoosier Tour returns at noon Thursday for the festival’s Kickoff Luncheon at the ACD Museum.

If you reserve a spot, there’s a champagne lunch for $13. Call the Festival office at 260-925-3600.

http://acdfestival.org/html/schedule_of_events.html

Good news for the 9-5 crowd.

Starting at 3 pm every evening of the Auburn Fall Auction, guests will be able to enter the grounds at half price--$5 instead of $10. Organizers hope the "Twilight Rate," new this year, will encourage more people to attend during the early evening hours.

For auction info. Go to:
http://kruse.com/auctions/aubfall07/index.asp

Auburn House closed

I've had a serious crimp put into my lunch plans for the week.
The Auburn House Restaurant closed in mid February. This isn't news in Auburn, but it was to me. About two years ago Dave Costa sold the downtown eatery, known for its heavy dose of auto-collector items and, MUCH more importantly, its amazing Auburn House chicken.
Just recently, after bankruptcy proceedings progressed, Costa got the keys back to the building.
He's not going to reopen, but hopes to sell to someone interested in running the restaurant.
"I'd like to see somebody come in and bring it to what it was before," he said, although its not a condition for the sale. He'll be in and out of the place, cleaning up and sorting things out throughout the festival week. I doubt that I'll be the last to drop by and tell him that I miss the place.

...start your collector car engines.

If the morning haze is any indicator of the humidity to come with today's predicted 90-degree temperatures, it should be quite the sweaty time out at the Kruse International Auction Park. Driving by on I-69, I saw this line of cars winding around the site, waiting in line to register for the sale.
I've covered the sale and the ACD Festival about a dozen times in the last 19 years as a staff photographer for The News-Sentinel. This year, as a reporter/photographer, I get the chance to tell stories via words and photos. This blog will be where I put some of those thoughts together, perhaps before writing my daily stories for the print edition of the NS.
Stay tune. I plan to update frequently for the next six days. If you have any suggestions, requests or gripes, let me know. I'll keep a close eye on the comments.

Thanks,
Steve Linsenmayer