E3 Spark Plugs News

Scene inside Automania Studios, a longtime provider of picture cars and sets for the film and television industry

Okay, maybe that headline is taking our love for all-things-automotive a bit far. But do you ever wonder how filmmakers find all those great rides featured in period films like The Help, The Artist or Midnight in Paris, or gearhead-targeted films like Drive? E3 Spark Plugs introduces you to Automania Studios – one of the busiest providers of “picture cars” to the film and television industry.

Based in Oakland, California, Automania Studios has served the film industry since 1982. On the lot is a filmmaker’s dream collection of period cars, trucks and commercial vehicles from multiple eras. These include police cars, hearses, farm trucks, muscle cars, station wagons, a late 1960s catering truck, a boom truck, an antique farm tractor, old dump trucks, an 18,000-pound forklift and dozens of gorgeous tail finned classics. From beaters to beauties, if you’re a filmmaker or TV producer needing a period automobile for your next project, Automania Studios either has it already or can help you procure it.

Automania Studios also offers a range of interior and exterior sets plus props. Garages, vintage gas stations and an outdoor campground scene complete with a fully outfitted 1953 Spartanette travel trailer are among the multiple scene-setting possibilities. A sampling of the props include:

• Vintage furnishings and appliances
• Wood and metal caskets
• An assortment of canister vacuum cleaners
• Vintage gas pumps
• Several barber’s chairs
• Two rows of airplane seats
• A 1917 dentist’s chair
• Antique phonographs and records
• A life-size cigar store Indian
• Two old telephone booths
• Clawfoot bathtubs
• Parking meters
• Lots of vintage toys, luggage, and automobilia

Founder Bill Silveria, a bonafide gearhead, also has a real talent for creating eclectic art using discarded automotive and machinery parts including lots of spent spark plugs.

“Not only can I can authenticate the accuracy of your chosen picture car for your next shoot, but I can supply it as well,” Silveria says. “Whether it’s an awesome 12,000 square foot studio to shoot in, a period picture car for your next film or a unique prop for an upcoming production, I should without a doubt be on your list of people to call who can help you get it done.”

If you’re a gearhead and a film lover, be sure to watch for Automania Studios’ name in the credits of the next film you see. And if we here at E3 Spark Plugs had any say with the Academy, we’d grant Bill Silveria and Automania an honorary Oscar!

11-year-old Annabeth Barnes (with father, Darren Barnes, a retired pro racecar driver) struggles to balance being a future pro racer and a regular kid in "Racing Dreams."

It’s been described as Talladega Nights meets Catcher in the Rye. And it’s E3 Spark Plug’s latest must-see film pick. Racing Dreams is a highly acclaimed documentary co-executive produced by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson chronicling the efforts of three tweens as they pave the way to their NASCAR dreams.

This coming-of-age story follows Annabeth Barnes (11), Josh Hobson (12) and Brandon Warren (13) as they compete for the World Karting Association’s National Series championship – widely regarded as the Little League of professional racing. These kids are still several years away from being old enough to get their learner’s licenses. But they’re regularly booking it at speeds of up to 70 miles per hour on the go-cart tracks.

Barnes of Hiddenite, North Carolina is the daughter of retired pro racecar driver Darren Barnes. It’s clear that racing is in her blood. She’s the youngest person ever selected for NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity and spends nearly every weekend at the track. But she struggles to balance her love and natural talent for racing with her desires to be a regular kid.

Hobson, who lives in Birch Run, Michigan, first revved his racing engines at age five and spends his off-time studying the driving styles and interview techniques of NASCAR drivers in a years-long bid to become the consummate racing professional.

"Racing Dreams" is co-executive produced by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.

For Creedmore, North Carolina’s Brandon Warren, racing isn’t just a passion. It’s also an escape and an outlet for coping with a difficult home life. Warren lives with his grandparents and is a charismatic comic one minute, an angry young man with a fiery temper the next. He’s in the running to win the same championship that he lost the year before when he was disqualified for rough driving.

Directed by Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Marshall Curry, Racing Dreams is as much about young love, family struggles and the pressures of growing up as it is about racing. Both humorous and heartbreaking, it has racked up multiple awards on the film festival circuit including Best Documentary awards at the Tribeca Film Festival, Nashville Film Festival and Jacksonville Film Festival; Audience Award props at the Florida Film Festival and the Indianapolis Film Festival; and the Silver Hugo Award at the Chicago Film Festival. The film made its television debut this week on PBS’ POV and can be seen in its entirety on the POV website through March 24. DVDs are available on the Racing Dreams website.

E3 Spark Plugs sends props and best wishes to Annabeth, Josh, Brandon and all the other young drivers chasing their pro racing dreams.

RACING DREAMS TRAILER 166m from N/A on Vimeo.

King of the Motos must might be the toughest off-road motorcycle challenge yet. Photo by Dirt Rider Magazine.

Here at E3 Spark plugs, we’ve seen a lot of crazy off-roading excursions and competitions. But this one really got our engines racing. Last week, 21 brave, or just plain naïve riders suited up for the inaugural King of the Motos motorcycle race. When the mud stopped flying, the rocks stopped rolling and the dust settled, only six were left standing.

The grueling 65-mile race took three hours to complete and sent competitors across sand-filled washes, through largely impassible boulder fields and over massive hills throughout the Johnson Valley OHV (off-highway vehicle) terrain in Lucerne Valley, California. It’s a new addition to the Griffin King of the Hammers and it mercilessly pits the nation’s top motocross racers against rugged earth usually reserved for custom-built four-wheeled crawlers.

The inaugural King of Motos featured an invitation-only class of riders – most of whom ended having to walk their rides out of the rocks. Mechanical breakdowns or pure pain and exhaustion claimed 15 riders who braved the first-ever event that combined high-speed Baha-style desert racing with extreme terrain, including 10 miles of rocks. The no-holds-barred competition placed no performance limitations on bikes but also provided no pit support. Nor did the course include many marking, forcing riders to rely on GPS units to make sure they were heading in the right direction.

Two hours, 57 minutes and 19 seconds after the start, it would be British endurance specialist Graham Jarvis who crossed the finish line first and claimed the $10,000 prize. It was a winner-take-all event, so there were no runner-up prizes save for sheer props. So, E3 Spark Plugs sends mad props to Kyle Redman, Destry Abbott, Mike Slawson, Cody Webb and Jimmy Jarett.

Planning your own off-roading excursion? Pick up a set of E3 motorcycle spark plugs or ATV spark plugs and leave your buddies in the dust.

Each year, the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) releases statistics on the most popular makes and model of cars among car thieves. Of course, even if your ride isn’t on the most-at-risk list, it still may be a target for thieves. E3 Spark Plugs and the NICB offer a few tips on keeping your car in your driveway and out of a thief’s garage or chop shop:

• Don’t rev and run: You’d think this one would be a no-brainer. You’d be wrong. Statistics show that half of all stolen cars are easily lifted because they’re left unlocked and/or running while you make a quick run to the ATM or to the mailbox. Cold mornings present a huge opportunity for thieves, too. How many times this past winter did you start your car so it could warm up while you ran back inside to grab a cup of coffee and remind the kids to grab their homework?
• Hide yo’ keys, hide yo’ stuff: Okay, we won’t tell you to hide the wife ala Antoine Dodson. But we can’t emphasize enough the need to hide your keys. And we don’t mean in the glove compartment, center console, sun visor or that nifty magnetized box inside your tire well. Those are the first places a thief will look for the key to your prized ride. Always take your keys with you and keep your spares in your wallet or at your mom’s house. And hide your valuables, too. A wallet, nice piece of jewelry or high-dollar gadget sitting on the seat or dashboard screams “take me, please.”
• Post a warning: Would-be thieves will keep moving if they can clearly see or hear that your car is armed with an anti-theft device. As annoying as those incessant siren sounds and horn beeps are when they emanate from the mall parking lot, they’re effective theft deterrents.
• Immobilize it: If a thief can’t start it, he can’t steal it. Kill switches, fuel cut-offs and smart keys are proving increasingly effective in keeping your car where you put it, even if the window’s smashed when you return. It’s much easier to replace a window than your prized ride.
• Track it: Installing a tracking device in your vehicle will help police quickly pinpoint its location and move in for a bust. Look for a model that uses telematics, a technology that combines GPS and wireless features. If your car moves, the system immediately alerts you and can be tracked via your computer.
• Park smart: Parking in the back of a sports arena, movie theatre or mall might well keep your paint job from being dinged by absent minded teenagers and runaway shopping carts. But keep in mind that car thieves like it nice and quiet, away from the crowds. And your shiny, ding-free car looks all the more tempting now. Kids in a candy store. Also, be sure to park in an area that’s well-lit at night.

Got a great story about how you foiled a would-be car thief’s plans? E3 Spark Plugs wants to hear it. Post it on the E3 Facebook fan page. Meanwhile, here’s a list of the current most stolen cars according to the NICB:

1. 1994 Honda Accord
2. 1995 Honda Civic
3. 1991 Toyota Camry
4. 1999 Chevrolet Pickup (Full Size)
5. 1997 Ford F150 Series/Pickup
6. 2004 Dodge Ram
7. 2000 Dodge Caravan
8. 1994 Acura Integra
9. 2002 Ford Explorer
10. 1999 Ford Taurus

Proud owner of a Ford Mustang? You'll want to see the NICB's recently released Hot Wheels Classics report.

And by hot, we don’t mean sleek and sexy. We mean stolen. Swiped. Jacked. Gone in 60 seconds, and not in the good way. For over 25 years, the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) has published its annual Hot Wheels report, pinpointing America’s 10 most stolen vehicles of each year – something we here at E3 Spark Plugs watch for each January. But 2012 marks the first year that it’s published a Hot Wheels Classics report focusing on a particular make and model. What better choice for a debut than the Ford Mustang, arguably America’s most iconic muscle car?

Researchers made some surprising conclusions. While conventional thinking would place newer and pricier Mustangs atop a most-stolen list, the data suggests that thieves prefer older, less flashy models. Namely, it was the 2000 Pony that topped hijacker’s target lists over the past decade. Figures show that 7,085 2000 Mustangs were reported stolen between 2001 and 2011, followed by 6,790 1995 models and 5,394 1998 Ponies.

Here’s a rundown of the figures for top Mustang thefts by model year over the past 10 years:

• 2000 model – 7,085 stolen
• 1995 model – 6,790 stolen
• 1998 model – 5.394 stolen
• 2001 model – 5,103 stolen
• 2002 model – 4,226 stolen
• 2003 model – 3,966 stolen
• 1994 model – 3,949 stolen
• 2004 model – 3,234 stolen
• 1996 model – 3,045 stolen
• 1989 model – 2,629 stolen

All total, 45,421 Mustangs were reported stolen throughout the past decade. To get to these figures, NICB researchers reviewed data from 1964 to 2011. Keep in mind, though, that pre-1981 records are questionable. Researchers cite inconsistency in reporting protocols and in VIN (vehicle identification number) protocols before they were standardized by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in 1981. Click here to for the press release with a link to the full, downloadable report.

Got the lowdown on a possible car theft or insurance fraud? Report it anonymously by calling 1-800-TEL-NICB (1-800-835-6422), texting keyword “fraud” to TIP411 (847411) or visiting the NICB website.

In our next blog, E3 Spark Plugs offers a few tips on protecting your ride from thieves.

Imagine you and your lover behind the wheel of this for Valentine's Day! Photo credit: ben smith / Shutterstock

Hey slackers! Got your Valentine’s Day gifts yet? If not, E3 Spark Plugs has a few lovely ideas for the car buff who stole your heart. They range from the practical to the pricey, but they’re all a romantic little something that any auto enthusiast will love.

1. Gearshift bottle stopper: No doubt the wine and champagne will be flowing tonight. So this bottle stopper designed after a 5-speed gearshift will come in handy immediately. Made with stainless steel and a cherry wood knob, it’s available online from the Wine Enthusiast.
2. Seatbelt totes: If the car lover you love is also a lover of all things eco-friendly, he or she will love a selection from Harvey’s, maker of the Original Seatbeltbag. Purses, backpacks, laptop carriers, wallets, dopp kits, makeup cases, etc. are made from real recycled seatbelt material in shiny, vibrant hues. Available online and in stores nationwide.
3. Gift basket: This is a great way to load up your love with items that will keep him or her safe and in style on the road. Search online for pre-made baskets, or fill a basket or carwash bucket with items of your own choosing. A few suggestions: car wash and buffing products; books or magazines about classic, vintage or muscle cars; a tire gauge; jumper cables; a battery charger; a flashlight; a car-themed t-shirt or tank top; a GPS navigator; an MP3 FM transmitter; a remote starter system; and, of course, a set of E3 car spark plugs or truck spark plugs.
4. A driving adventure: Tickets to a favorite car show or museum allow for shared experience. But if you really want to rev the engines, opt for a driving adventure like the DFW Drive Your Dream supercar experience. For a price your love can get behind the wheel of an Audi R8, Lamborghini Murcielago or Ferrari. You’ll get a briefing on the nuances of driving an exotic car, then hit the road for a tour over a predetermined course. Ride-along tours allow the two of you to experience driving and riding in the car of your choice. DFW Drive Your Dream has five locations in Texas, but similar driving adventure companies dot the nation. Just do an online search.

From all of us here at E3, have a safe and happy Valentine’s Day!

A scene from the 1903 Chicago Auto Show. The event debuted in 1901 and is the nation's oldest auto show.

Heads up, Chicago-area fans. E3 Spark Plugs has its eye on the 2012 Chicago Auto Show running February 10-19. Did you know it’s the nation’s oldest?

The inaugural Chicago Auto Show revved up in 1901. General admission to the show was just 50 cents and patrons watched then new “horseless carriages” take spins on a wooden track that surrounded the Coliseum exposition hall’s main floor. The attraction’s main goal apparently was to help dispel public apprehensions and convince locals that motor vehicles were safe and easy to handle. At the helm was Sam Miles, editor of Motor Age magazine and the man who would become known as the father of the modern auto show.

The show ran once annually except during the 1930s and 1940s. Throughout the ’30s, it was held twice a year with shows staged during the spring and fall – an indirect request of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who sought to boost demand for cars and, thus, jobs in auto plants. In a dramatic reversal, the show stopped production altogether from 1941-49 as plants redirected their efforts to meeting the country’s need for war vehicles and artillery rather than the consumer’s wants. Its 1950 return was a no-holds-barred celebration complete with beauty queens, Rockette-style dancers, a full orchestra, farm animals, 3-D exhibits depicting game hunting adventures in Africa and a massive box of dirt flown in from France so patrons could walk across it and “truthfully say they had stepped foot on foreign soil.”

Today’s Chicago Auto Show promises to be a little less weird, but every bit as entertaining. Blues Traveler opens the event with a concert and charity benefit tonight. Guests walk the red carpet and rub elbows with renowned artist Thomas Arvid. Members of the Chicago Bears and the Chicago Blackhawks make appearances throughout the week, as do NHRA drivers TJ Zizzo and Dale Creasy, Jr. Wednesday’s show takes a feminine turn with exhibits geared toward the fairer sex. Yoga sessions, manicures and a fashion show are on the schedule. And you’ll get chances to win cash prizes, an iPad2 or a 2012 Toyota Camry, among other items.

So do you plan to hit the Chicago Auto Show? Be sure to take pics of the coolest new cars and post them on the E3 Spark Plugs Facebook fan page. And stock your ride with E3 car spark plugs for show-worthy performance.

1937 Cadillac Sixteen Custom Phaeton expected to fetch upward of $1 million at the auction of the Milhous collection later this month in Boca Raton.

If you’re a true connoisseur of all things vintage automotive, E3 Spark Plugs urges you to mark your calendars for a trip to Boca Raton, FL February 24-25. That’s when RM Auctions and Sotheby’s will sell off upwards of 1,100 lots of amazing and rare antiques including toys, player pianos, jukeboxes, guns, Tiffany lamps and massive chandeliers collected over the past four decades by the Milhous brothers, Robert and Paul. But the real Milhous treasures are the gorgeous vintage cars.

In 1959, Paul Milhous made the first fateful purchase of a player piano, followed by dozens of rare and unique musical instruments. During the early 1970s, brother Robert caught the collecting bug when he purchased a 1934 V12 Packard 1101 Convertible Victoria that had been commissioned by Marie Dressler, the formidable actress known for her role as the original Tugboat Annie in the 1933 film of the same name. He began showing the car at major concours events throughout the United States, winning at every appearance. So enamored was he of the experience that he began adding other vintage beauties to his stable.

Soon, the brothers’ collections outgrew both their homes and their wives’ patience. So, in 1978, the two, who had made their millions in the printing industry creating circulars and comic strip inserts for newspapers, opened their first museum.

Over the years, the massive collections ended up in a nondescript corporate park building that belied the treasure it held. Inside, the museum bore the sumptuous ambiance of a Prohibition-era speakeasy and veritable wonderland of antiques. Among them: 29 vintage cars, five motorcycles, two tractors, a motorbike, a popcorn and peanut wagon, a PT-22 airplane and the only known surviving 1912 Oldsmobile Limited. The Olds alone is expected to fetch bids of $1.5 million or more.

The Milhous brothers are known for not just showing antique items behind velvet ropes, but for creating mesmerizing environments around their coveted pieces. For the car buffs, they created an exact replica of a Union 76 service station from the late 1910s and a half-size replica of the famous Auburn Cord Duesenberg Auto Salon of Auburn Indiana – just the way it looked in 1935. The brothers even commissioned the original brick manufacturer from the 1920s to recreate the same brick used in the original structure.

Got some extra cash and a passion for vintage automotive? Visit RM Auctions’ Milhous Collection website to see photos of all the items up for bid and information on registering for the auction. (See below for a video overview – The good stuff starts at the 1:45 mark). And if you make a purchase, be sure to take a pic and share your bragging rights on the E3 Spark Plugs Facebook fan page. Happy bidding!

Toyota's FCV-R Hydro concept car is a lean, mean machine and an example of hydrogen-fueled vehicles set for production in coming years.

The Washington Auto Show started January 27 and won’t wrap up until Sunday. But E3 Spark Plugs has already seen enough fun stuff to declare the event a success. Here’s a few of our top sights:

• Toyota’s FCV-R Hydro concept car: This sleek sedan designed to run on hydrogen has seating for four and impressive luggage space, thanks to the housing of the fuel cell beneath a specially designed body shell. The company aims to launch a fuel cell vehicle by 2015.
• Vintage ponies: A whole lineup of vintage Ford Mustangs proved a scene stealer for the classic muscle car-loving show-goers.
• Famous faces: President Barack Obama stopped by for chats with a few of the top automaker executives and an inside look at a few choice vehicles. J.R. Martinez, the former soldier who famously survived a landmine explosion while serving in Iraq and came home to win So You Think You Can Dance and become a sought-after motivational speaker, also made an appearance. Multiple Washington Redskins players showed up too, as did Jersey Shore’s Snooki Polizzi.
• Cram the Cube: A contest in which 20 people with no shame crammed themselves into a Nissan Cube.
• The USA Cheerleaders: No explanation necessary.

So what was your favorite feature at the Washington Auto Show? Post your comments and pics on the E3 Spark Plugs Facebook fan page.

Heath Frisby wins gold and makes history with the first ever front snowmobile flip at the 2012 Winter X Games. Photo by Mark Kohlman/ESPN.

E3 Spark Plugs sends big props to Colten Moore and Heath Frisby for their winning rides at the Winter X Games, which wrapped this weekend in Aspen, Colorado. Moore took the gold in the Snowmobile Freestyle event. And Frisby added a second Snowmobile Best Trick gold medal to his collection of seven Winter X Games medals.

Both wins were surprises. Many fans were shocked to see Moore make it into the finals, after a spectacular crash during the first heat of the elimination round. He let go of a double crab in midair and hit the ground, ducking his head and flipping onto his back in the nick of time. Chalk it up to the impressive aerial awareness he’s developed via exhaustive training over a foam pit and a decade of riding ATV quads.

Moore shored up his win with some serious FMX-styled tricks including a cordova backflip and a superflip Indian air. His skill and showmanship racked up a top score of 93.66, which he immediately celebrated by Tebowing in the snow.

“I knew I had to come out here and stomp the best run of my life, and that’s just what I did,” said a breathless Moore just after his winning run. “I’ve never rode so good in my life. I’m so pumped right now I can’t even breathe.”

Joe Parsons won the event’s silver medal and Moore’s brother, Caleb Moore, took home the bronze. Both Moore brothers are relatively new to snowmobiling, first taking up the sport only three years ago.

Heath Frisby delivered another big surprise, handily winning the gold and making sport history by pulling off the first ever frontflip on a snowmobile. He and his team tried to keep hush about his best trick competition plans, but word got out early in the afternoon. So, Frisby confirmed his plans – and worked up some serious fan hype – by posting a YouTube video of himself completing the trick over a foam pit in a practice run.

Frisby perfectly nailed the trick in his first of two runs. The feat proved impressive enough to beat Moore’s tsunami Indian flip and Parsons’ no-footed can-can backflip. Even more impressive than his history-making trick and top score is the fact that Frisby had the nerve to go for it just moments after seeing competitor and friend Justin Hoyer wipe out in a failed double backflip attempt and get carted off on a stretcher.

“Guys, it’s alright. I’ve been waiting a year to do this,” Frisby told concerned onlookers after seeing a video replay of Hoyer’s wicked crash. “I am my own deal. This is a totally different trick and I’m ready.”

Within minutes, he proved those words to an instantly whipped-up crowd and got an on-field onslaught of high-fives from fellow competitors.

E3 Spark Plugs congratulates Moore, Frisby and all the winners at this year’s Winter X Games. If you plan to hit the slopes soon yourself, make sure you stock your sled with a set of E3 snowmobile spark plugs for a competition-worthy ride.

Check out Frisby’s history-making flip…

And Moore’s gold-winning, FMX-styled run…