It’s the day after Thanksgiving and the weather was unseasonably warm and sunny. Perfect weather for racing. My oldest friend and I headed down the Garden State Parkway to Wall, NJ, to watch auto racing at Wall Stadium. And Wall Stadium did not disappoint.

December 10, 1915 marked the day that Henry Ford’s hard earned labors showed their worth. One hundred years ago, the famous Ford Motor Company, one of America’s big three automakers, produced its one millionth car in a plant in Detroit.

Despite the form fitting tuxedos, the smooth talking shaken not stirred, and the sensual lovemaking scenes in antique overnight train carriages, there is one thing about Bond that any automotive enthusiast will covet above the rest – the cars.

For all of us north easterners November signals the tail end of the last hurrah of the most optimistic car show efforts. The season is over. It is well past over. Even stalwart and true car enthusiasts have been forced to put their convertible tops up on the drive home.

So, what do we car enthusiasts, who have the grand misfortune to live where there are seasons, do when the summer is over? Here are a few ideas to help get you through the bleak, show-less winter months.

When George Barris died at age 89 on November 5, most of the published obituaries referred to him as the designer of the Batmobile for the 1960s television series. But among dyed-in-the-wool car guys from the 1950s and 60s, Barris was much, much more than that.

Monticello, New York does not seem like the kind of place where automotive enthusiasts might go to live out their teenage fantasies. But this past week we did just that, enjoying two days of testing, on track, road, and off-road, a range of new cars and vehicles.

In October, 1972, dirt-track stock car racing came to the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse for a year-end championship event, and this October, the 44th annual “Super Dirt Week” will take place there. For the last time.

There is no perfect recipe for the perfect car show, but a few factors make for a really good car show – and some are even simpler than you might think.

This year, some two decades after my first Lead East Car Show, I am still complaining of tired feet – but I do so with a smile on my face. Lead East is more than a car show. It more than a philly cheese steak vendor in the hot summer sun. It is more than a couple of ripped up Chevy t-shirts bearing nudey lady tattooes. Don’t misunderstand – it is all of those things. But it’s more too.

This year the famous Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, known for luxury, class, and panache, is getting an infusion of cool, American style, in the form of post-war Ford Mercury customs – never before seen at the show.