"These American automakers chose the Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auction to launch their most important cars because we offer the ultimate stage to engage the most passionate consumers," said Craig Jackson, Chairman/CEO of the Barrett-Jackson Auction Company. "Our events have become the epicenter of the automotive lifestyle world, attracting manufacturers ranging from the domestic giants to high profile automakers like Bentley, Honda and Mercedes."

The vehicles poised to launch the most heated muscle car battle since the late 1960s are the 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8 badge No. 1 (Lot #1331), the "First Retail Order Produced" 2009 Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1 (Lot #1316) and a special one-of-one 2008 Ford Shelby GT500KR (Lot #1300). The Challenger's winning bid will benefit Not My Kid, Inc., the Shelby's proceeds will go to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and the proceeds from the Corvette sale will go to United Way.

good to see the proceeds going to JDRF and United Way

I was blown away by news and new models of the recent Detroit Auto Show; 10% of the new models shown were hybrids, some claiming to be able to get 150mpg; with power sources as varied as plugging into an outlet, using recycled biofuel, some solar, etc.

All those decades of lobbying for alternative energies are really paying off, in models like the Chevrolet Volt, Saturn Vue 2, Honda CR-Z, BMW's X6, the Toyata A-BAT and -- my favorite, the Jeep Renegade.

I've done a lot of work with JDRF and they are great people, every one of them.
Just these past couple of years we have seen more and more hybrid cars out there getting on an average of 35 mpg plus. We have had the technology for years, but automakers and big oil companies were making money by having cars with poor mph capacities. I'm glad to see it finally happen, and eventually we all can tell big oil to kiss our grass.