Gifts to rev 'em up

Auto buff on your list? This week and next, Wheels writers come up with some gift ideas

Dec 11, 2009

Motorsport Writer

Before we begin our annual tour of specialty shops in the Toronto area catering to motorsport enthusiasts, and before you continue through this week's Wheels Section to find holiday gift suggestions from other contributors, let me tell you about several "must-buy" books that you just have to pick up for that special loved one.

Winning: The Racing Life of Paul Newman, by Matt Stone and Preston Lerner with a forward by Mario Andretti is a gem. Newman used motorsport to get away from his real world jobs of movie acting and philanthropy, and for a guy who came to the sport late (he was in his 40s), he turned out to be very good.

This book – and there are wonderful photographs and tributes from a who's who of the motor racing fraternity – starts with him discovering car racing in the late 1960s during the filming of Winning (starring his wife, Joanne Woodward, and co-starring Robert Wagner), and concludes with him saying goodbye to his beloved Lime Rock Park racing circuit just a few weeks before his death. You'll have tears in your eyes when you get to that part; I did.

So get it. You'll never regret it and it's not expensive – you can purchase it for less than $40.

Go Like Hell: Ford, Ferrari and Their Battle for Speed and Glory at Le Mans by A.J. Baime, is the story of how Henry Ford II, Lee Iacocca and Carroll Shelby set out to reinvent the Ford Motor Co. by daring to try to beat the famous Italian manufacturer at Le Mans in 1966.

But there's so much more to this book than the race. It was the '60s and boomers wanted both speed and style in their automobiles. And there was the politics of manufacturing, and of racing. This is a fascinating read and you can have it for about $30.

He Crashed Me So I Crashed Him Back by Mark Bechtel is about – guess what? – NASCAR, specifically the 1979 season. That's when what was primarily a regional southeastern U.S. sport exploded on the North American psyche primarily because of the fistfight between Cale Yarborough and the Allison brothers, Donnie and Bobby, at the end of the live telecast of that year's Daytona 500.

This book has got it all. Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt, Darrell Waltrip – all the good ol' boys are in there with their feudin' and their fightin'. It was the start of NASCAR's trip down the long road to respectability that has seen it become the second most popular spectator sport in the United States.

Note: the publication date isn't until February 2010. Lucky me; I have an advance copy.

Okay, here we go with our annual rundown. Always remember, the prices quoted here are either publishers'/manufacturers' suggested retail prices or price tags found at individual stores. You might be able to do better at other retail outlets or, of course, online.

CAR BUFFS AUTO GIFT CENTRE Square One, Mississauga 905-949-9707

Car Buffs is on the ground floor to your right just as you walk into the mall from Zellers. You can't miss it, particularly because of what's in the window.

"Look at this," says owner John Cuschieri, who's a very at-your-service kind of guy. "That (pointing at the display) is a model of a Lamborghini Murciélago covered with Swarovski crystals. You can take it home for only $1,500."

Since you may be looking for something a little more reasonable, we took a tour of his shop, which is chock full of model cars, books and DVDs. There are steering-wheel covers and framed, autographed prints of F1 drivers like Mark Webber ($75). But what really caught my eye was a selection of gorgeous Ferrari jackets (black with yellow piping or the traditional red with white) that can be yours for $119.95. Want matching running shoes? Try $95 for Ferrari reds.

Aston Martin polo shirts are on sale for $95. Henri Lloyd clothiers of Britain has a line of Jenson Button T-shirts out for $80 and since Button is my favourite driver ... I'll just have to put one of those on my list.

Most memorable item? A Tony Stewart Home Depot barbecue tools set that was originally priced at $29. But since Stewart doesn't drive for them any more, you can have it for only $19.

MINI GRID 608 Mount Pleasant Rd., Toronto 416-488-7663, minigrid.com

Scott Maxwell, one of Canada's most successful international sports car racers (he's hinting that a significant announcement about 2010 is forthcoming), is the proprietor of this midtown shop dedicated to magazines, books (there's a library room there), models, DVDs, art and just about anything else you can think of having to do with motorsport.

He's even got a serious slot-car racing layout in the downstairs that's known as "Maxport."

And slot cars are one of the potential gifts he's suggesting this year.

"You can purchase a beginner set for just shy of $100, but they also run up to more than $500. Individual cars can run you anywhere from $30 to over $100."

Autocourse, the F1 yearbook, is on sale at Mini Grid for $80 (and could be a real collector's item this year because the long-running F1 year-in-review video/DVD is not available anywhere).

Maxwell also points out there seems to be a resurgence of interest in Gilles Villeneuve (Gerald Donaldson's excellent biography is out again in soft cover), so he has GV models going for $30 to $60.

Sunday, another famous Canadian road racer, Ron Fellows, will be at Mini Grid between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. to sign copies of a limited edition print "Colour of Victory" by the acclaimed designer/artist Ivan Novotny. The print – which sells for $150, with a portion of the proceeds going to the Hospital for Sick Children Foundation – beautifully captures Fellows's legacy at Corvette Racing.

COLLECTOR STUDIO

MOTORSPORT GALLERY 136 Yorkville Ave., Toronto 416-975-5442, collectorstudio.com

You can lose yourself in nostalgia at Morry Barmak's shop on Yorkville Ave., just east of Bay St.

Says Morry himself: "If people have been contemplating buying something from our gallery all year, now is the time to do it. Keep in mind we have 2,500-plus items in inventory, so these are just a few suggestions."

Okay, Morry. What's hot for, say, somebody interested in Ferrari?

"How about a 1959 Ferrari Yearbook/Annual signed by Luigi Chinetti? It's in very good condition and you can have that for $1,695. Or a 1967 Le Mans original poster showing the 275 GTB/4? It's on sale here for $995."

Well, what's available for the Vintage sports car enthusiast?

"I have a 1964 black-and-white photo at Le Mans autographed by both Dan Gurney and Carroll Shelby. Briggs Cunningham is in the picture too. The price for that is $125."

I've seen that picture and it's terrific.

What about something for the F1 enthusiast this year?

"I have a 1965 British Grand Prix program signed by Jim Clark ($1,695) and a 1994 Imola GP program signed by Ayrton Senna ($5,995). They are prizes. Oh, and I have a 1995 Australian GP FIA grid list, signed by every driver in the race ($595).

"I also have the helmet that Michael Schumacher wore when he won the last Grand Prix of his career, at Shanghai in 2006. It is a spectacular piece of history. Anyone interested will have to email me for the price."

TRANSPORT BOOKS AT

DRB MOTORS LTD. 16 Elrose Ave., Toronto 416-744-7675, transportbooks.com

Owner Jim Roseborough always starts off our annual conversation with a quip. This year, he said:

"Everything old is new again. Or, everything new is about old."

Thanks, Jim. I'll think about that. Meantime, what are you really saying?

"Well, I'm really excited about 1965: Jim Clark & Team Lotus: The UK Races by William Taylor with photographs by Peter Darley ($66.95). It's not just Grand Prix racing, it's a big slice through all major classes of British motorsport because Clark and Lotus raced everything.

"Then I have a great DVD, If you're not winning ... you're not trying by Classic Team Lotus ($39.95). It's a real period piece.

"There have been many books written about Bruce McLaren and the McLaren company but this new book, McLaren – The Cars 1964-2008 ($99.95) promises to be the definitive pictorial study of the man and his marque. "Last, I recommend Indianapolis Motor Speedway, 100 Years of Racing by Ralph Kramer ($36). Everything you ever wanted to know about the old Brickyard is in this book."

TORONTO MOTORSPORTS 283 Port Union Rd., Toronto 416-724-7223, tomotorsports.com Co-owner Derrick Kostka reports that Formula One and MotoGP calendars are staples and very popular at this time of year and he has some of each starting at $14.99.

"But models are our specialty and this season we are seeing a trend toward historic Can-Am 1/43-scale replica models from Spark Models. Each release from the series is limited to just hundreds and they are all hand-assembled. They're going for $49.99 and up."

JOE RUSSO'S PRESTIGE

AUTO ART & GIFT GALLERY

101 Yorkville Ave., Toronto 416-929-9090, prestigeautoart.com

"You've called at the right time," says an enthused owner Joe Russo, "because I've got a sale on. I have a whole bunch of 1/18 diecast metal cars – Porsches, Jaguars, a '57 Corvette – that normally sell for $60 to $120 that I'm letting go for $25 apiece. That's right: $25."

So how's business been this year?

"I'm surviving, but it's been better. Before, people would come in and see something they liked on a whim and think, `Oh, oh – my wife would kill me,' but then they'd buy it anyway.

"Now, they see something they like and think, `Oh, oh – my wife would kill me,' and then they don't buy."

Well, Joe, you're still in business and so are the others. I hope you make enough this holiday to either retire – or be around so we can visit again next December.

Meantime, Merry Christmas.

Toronto Star