MERCEDES MUSEUM, STUTTGART:

I visited the Mercedes Benz Museum, Stuttgart in 2009 and learnt a great deal about the evolution of the Mercedes Benz product and their future plans.

Mercedes have done it all really, the first 'engine powered' motorcycle and the latest creation I have seen, the SLR McCLAREN 'STIRLING MOSS'' a massively fast motor car full of the latest technologies, except a windscreen!

MERCEDES 125th, BROOKLANDS:

I attended Mercedes Benz World at Brooklands, England for the Mercedes Benz 125th Anniversary Celebrations. There was a marvellous array of cars on display, however the real highlights for me were outside!

On the Mercedes Benz World entry plaza I was delighted to meet Sir John Surtees OBE and view a magnificent display of SL300 Gullwing cars.

PORSCHE MUSEUM, STUTTGART:

The Porsche Museum was opened in 2009 and I was lucky enough to visit the museum within months of the official opening. Everything I viewed and read only reinforced my extreme interest in all things Porsche and their constant refinement of a classic design.

From Ferdinand's early days at Mercedes, the 'Peoples Car', huge successes at Le Mans, the Panamera, the Hybrid Cayenne and Super High Performance 918 Spyder Hybrid, it's all happening at Porsche.

PORSCHE - 60 YEARS IN AUSTRALIA:

Porsche Australia celebrated their sixtieth year in Australia in March 2011. Amazingly Australia was Porsche's first right hand drive market and one of their first export territories in 1951.

The first two cars were imported by Norman Hamilton in 1951, subsequent years have witnessed a steady growth in sales, Porsche Cars Australia is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Porsche AG with current Australian sales exceeding 1,300 vehicles per annum.

THE HONDA COLLECTION HALL:

The Twin Ring racing circuit at Motegi includes a somewhat plain looking building called the 'Honda Collection Hall'. The contents, truly magnificent, the car exhibits cover the full spectrum of Honda's achievements in car racing including Formula 1 and a vast array of production machinery.

HONDA NSX:

I have a huge admiration for the Honda product, mainly the motorcycle range and the golden years of Honda's Racing Motorcycles.

One Honda Car continues to retain my interest and that car is the Honda NSX, the shape, the finish, the uncomplicated day to day functionality of the vehicle. Quite an achievement given it was basically Honda's 'first' attempt at a true supercar.

SHELBY WORLD HQ, LAS VEGAS:

I started developing my Shelby World Headquarters coverage on the very date of Carroll Shelby's 'reported' 89th birthday and the month appropriately coincided with the 50th anniversary of the Shelby Cobra and Shelby American.

ST JUDE'S CAR MUSEUM, NEVADA:

A collection of cars and motorcycles located within the Saint Jude's Ranch for Children. The collection is owned by local car collector and enthusiast, Mr Richie Clyne.

SAN DIEGO CAR MUSEUM:

A diverse range of cars and motorcycles including custom rods, speedway cars, cruisers, even a custom VW Kombi Van.

BEAULIEU NATIONAL CAR MUSEUM, BEAULIEU, HAMPSHIRE, ENGLAND:

Located on Lord Montagu's Beaulieu Estate, the Museum hosts a wide range of mainly British vehicles honouring British road cars, land speed record cars and Formula 1 cars. The Museum setting and the grounds, truly magnificent.

The 'clickable image' depicts the front of a 1909 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost.

COVENTRY TRANSPORT MUSEUM, COVENTRY, ENGLAND:

Located in the city centre of Coventry, the Museum display includes a wide range of British Vehicles.

The 'clickable image' is the frontal intake area of the World Land Speed Record Holding Car of 1983, Thrust 2.

GAYDON - HERITAGE MOTOR CENTRE, WARWICKSHIRE, ENGLAND:

The Heritage Motor Centre located in Gaydon, Warwickshire, England houses a wide variety of vehicles linked to the history of British motoring with over 180 exhibits. The Centre has many displays clearly defining the very first cars to take to British roads, right up to present day.

Many unusual exhibits are included not the least of which is Ford's version of the Lady Penelope's 'Pink' Thunderbirds Limousine.

The 'clickable image' is the front end of Timo Makinen's 'AJB 44B' Morris Mini Cooper S that won the 1965 Monte Carlo Rally.

THE NATIONAL 'MOTOR RACE MUSEUM', BATHURST, AUSTRALIA:

Location, Location, Location... at the bottom of Conrod Straight in Bathurst, New South Wales. The Museum has very high quality exhibits of Motorcycles and Cars. There is a huge display of mainly Bathurst 1000 Race Cars including some marvellous reminders of the vehicles raced by Peter Brock.

The 'clickable' image depicts arguably the most famous colour scheme and racing number in Australian Touring Car history, Peter Brock's '05'.

MOTORCLASSICA 2010, VICTORIA:

The inaugural 'Motorclassica - Australian International Concours d'Elegance and Classic Motor Show', was a truly a magnificent event in an equally magnificent location, the Royal Exhibition Building at Carlton Gardens, Melbourne Victoria.

Sir Stirling Moss was the guest judge, suffice to say this must become an annual event on the Australian motoring calendar, absolutely tops!

The 'clickable image' is the front end of a 1934 Riley Nine Imp Sports.

MUSTANG 30th ANNIVERSARY:

The Mustang Owners Club of Australia celebrated their 30th anniversary with a Concours D'Elegance at Parklands on Queensland's Gold Coast in April 2011.

The cars were judged in various categories including original, modified and display sections. I was amazed at the amount of Shelby Cobra Mustangs, irrespective of class they really looked and 'sounded' the goods!

The 'clickable image' is the Shelby GT500 'Super Snake' grille badge.

GARTERBELTS & GASOLINE, 2011:

The Garterbelts and Gasoline Nostalgia Festival was held from April 29th to May 2nd, 2011 at Mount Tamborine, Queensland. The Festival was a celebration of the Cars, Music, Art and Culture of the 1940's and 1950's.

All manner of events included Carnivals, Art Exhibitions, a Vintage Soap Box Derby and a Kustom Hot Rod Show!

The 'clickable image' depicts one of the many 'low rider' cruisers on display.