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While the price of new cars and trucks has gone up partly for new devices to compensate for the lack of the operators basic inability to safely operate a motor vehicle. There has been an increased cost of the materials used to build them and pay and other compensations for the labor force. On a personal side we are at a point were we are considering replacing one or two of our cars. The first is an '09 Jeep Sahara at 98K miles with all of the suspension and wheel and tire upgrades that we have done thru the years. New the basic Jeep, with everything you could get at that time on a Sahara was about $30k. The new '18 JL Jeep Rubicon that we want is now closing in on $50k, not going to happen just now. The second car is a '10 Dodge Charger RT with AWD with 89K miles. This also was just over $30K in 2010. This has a two fold problem for us in that the AWD feature that we would really like to have can now only be had with the 6 Cylinder engine and I'm just not going there as we want at least another RT that even with no AWD is looking like $45K. Also to compare my Wife's '14 Dodge Avenger RT with all the bells and whistles cost as much as the '10 Charger when it was new. It would seem that automobiles along with all other products that are needed for day to day life keep going up and all to often the quality seems to be lacking and our incomes ? Well I hope you all are doing better than most people I know, my self included.

I'm fine with your questions and agree with your price statements. You may or may not find this post being moved to the Off Topic Section of the Forum. But I wouldn't let that discourage you. There seems to be a very real problem with operator error with these devises. You make an interesting suggestion about GM and pricing. I spent over 25 years in the retail auto business and most of it in GM stores. In the '80's GM stride the pricing strategy that you suggested in the California Market. They didn't change the dealer invoice they just lowered the MSRP on the window sticker and told dealers that they were doing them a favor so that they would no longer have to negotiate the selling price. GM ran TV ads telling everyone about the good news and they should hurry done to buy their new cars and trucks. The problem was that people still thought somehow dealers were still making thousands of dollars on this cars and still insisted in "Horse Trading" just like always. Dealers profits suffered and customer relations went in the toilet. GM stopped the sales campaign but never returned the dealer markup to what it once was.

This type of "expression" is not uncommon. Years ago we used to attend the Mendocino Whale Watch and Wine Festival, now that was a low key week end drunk. There was a local who would drive an older Cadillac convertible that was covered in sea shells. I think he even had a simulated Fish Tail on the trunk. Sorry I can't find any pictures at this time.

That's a proper Model A build.

I also would enjoy seeing more of this.

Very sorry for your unimaginable lose. Our hobby has a way of letting our minds drift to more pleasant thoughts and I hope it works the same for you. You '57 Bel Air looks great and I like the darker red color than what you usually see.

Great looking build. I have never seen that paint color before, will have to consider it in the future. The interior details look well with the exterior, and you just can't go wrong with the Olds Fiesta Hub Caps. Oldsmobile owners could not keep them on their cars back in the day. They would just disappear over night, thus the name "Midnight Auto Supply" was born.

Very interesting idea. This should be fun to watch.

I think that the stance combined with the wheels and tires make all the difference in the world on how your build looks. I think the body looks best without the large hood scoop. The Road Racer look is enhanced with the front and rear spoilers.

I like the '58 Impala addition, it gives the rear quarters a rather voluptuous look.

That is a real pale Blue interior. On the exterior, are you going with a solid color Blue or have you thought about a two tone or one of Edsels wild tri tone exteriors ?

I have to agree with the others on the Headlights, I don't recall ever seeing tis done before and I think it adds a curtain degree of realism to that area of the model.

I think that any production date or "run" information would be included in the Bar Code on the box. I have had to have two bodies replaced by Revell and both went well. I had purchased a '56 Chevrolet Nomad, after sitting in my to do pile for a couple of years I found the body sides were bowed way out when I got around to opening it. I made my claim on line and with the Bar Code and kits box number they replaced it. The other time was the Foose Cadillac because of the broken Windshield. Same processes and no problem. I think on the Caddy Revell was aware of a packaging problem and I know of several others that had to have the bodies replaced. I'm still a little surprised that they wanted the old body for verification of a problem.

Did anyone have some pictures to share for those of us who couldn't make it this year ?

I enjoyed your pictures. A lot of great looking models and the dioramas were exceptional.

My experience with Revell has always been positive on part issues, but I'm afraid there are those that would take advantage of Revell and that may account for their request to verify the damage.

That is really a bright Green, but I like it. Very realistic looking trim and stance. The Continental Kit even fits the look of the build.

Great detailing on these builds, especially the Rain-X Camaro.

Very nice clean looking build. The paint is outstanding.

Nice clean looking Day 2 model. These were far better cars than most people realize.

Your weathering on the engine makes it look like its on it's last legs, which is good. In the movie the sound track would leave you to believe the Nova had a V8, but its what ever you want it to be. You're going to want to get rid of the SS in the grill. You might be able to use the Revell COPO Nova for a standard grill and a bench seat. I really don't remember what kind of wheels the movie car had but I don't think the were the Rally wheels. This should be an interesting build, I hope you can work in with your work schedule.

The little I know of all things Cougar is that the '67 & '68 bodies are different than the '69 and newer Cougars. While the rear bumpers and front grill and bumper look similar they are different. The '67 & '68 Cougars also had a very distinct rear quarter design and the '69 and newer shared the Mustang quarters from what I have seen in pictures. I would be interested in a well done stock '67 & '68 Cougar XR7.

Very cleanly built, I like the color on this base model Dodge.

Don't get me wrong on Aaron Kaufman, I still think he's smart and knows what he is doing. I also watched the "Scout build" but I still prefer the type of builds he did on Gas Monkey. I think that he may be doing some different subjects to separate himself from the Gas Monkey influence and try of offer something different from what all of the other such TV shows are doing. I truly hope he does well with his show, he was the one that would always figure out how to fix what ever was going wrong on the GS builds.

Sorry missed the "It passed the Spoon test".