The North American International Auto Show is a site to be seen around the country, but in the Detroit area it is a chance for the millions of local auto workers that live here to see what they may be producing and take pride in their company's name. Every year in January, the Cobo Center hosts the Detroit version of the Auto show and every year well over a half million people make the trip to the venue to take in the glory. This is a show for everyone, even the little ones. This years event took place from January 19 thru January 27th. It was a week of beauty, style, and concept. If you are a people watcher there is something here for you. If you are a car aficionado this is your dream, and if you are just looking for your next vehicle this is the place to start. Again they slow down, then stop, look about, they hear the water slapping the bank from the Great Lake again, but can not see it. The breeze from the lake is picking up, as the window is rolled down they can feel the breeze, there is a chill to it, so they roll it up a bit more. Trees are swaying.

To give you an idea of the depth of the collection, on display is a 1926 Rolls-Royce. Wilbert Grinsven, the curator tells me that there were only two years that Rolls-Royce manufactured cars in the United States. Those years were 1926 and 1927. This car is one of the few Rolls Royce's made here during that time. The auto manufacturer decided that it was not economically feasible to continue manufacturing autos in the US and closed its factory here in the states after only 2 years. Another example of a beautiful old car is a car used in the movie "Driving Miss Daisy". http://www.answers.com/Q/How_can_you_convert_your_1968_Chevy_truck_rear_end_to_positraction Considering cost of living in her area in the seventies, her income was suitable. A new home could be purchased for $25,000. A postage stamp rose from $0.06 in 1970 to $0.15 in 1979. I asked my mother if she could recall some prices of the decade. She remembered bread being $0.29, gas $0.74 a gallon, candy bars $0.05, soft drinks $0.10-0.15 a bottle in the early seventies and in the late seventies prices started to rise. She remembered cigarettes costing $1.00 a pack, cracker $0.29, milk $1.00 and most canned goods $0.10. Since Jay Leno took over the hosting duties at "The Tonight Show", he has earned another nickname-"The King of Late Night." So, how much money does the king earn? Another little known fact about Jay Leno is that his annual salary is reported to be a cool $17,000,000, according to Forbes. My mother and father enjoyed much of their leisure time with drive in movies, watching TV shows such as MASH, All in the Family, Dukes of Hazard, and Andy Griffith. They enjoyed the music of Merle Haggard, Freddy Hart and Conway Twitty. Lastly, they enjoyed fast cars as well as many people did in the seventies. Drag racing was a fun event for both my mother and my father. In the seventies my father owned a 1972 Ford Galaxy 500, 1970 Road Runner, 1973 Ranchero, and a 1976 buy truck at auction. The cost of a new vehicle was around $6000. Over all, the most rememberable event for my mother in the seventies was in 1977 when Elvis Presley died. If you've made it this far, you're a few steps away from $3,500 or $4,500 and a new, more environmentally-friendly car. No need to register-the official website explains all you need to do is head to a local car dealer. The national program runs off a $1 billion fund. Once the money runs out or we hit the month of November, you're on your own. I resumed my mission and approached the Shadow Bar. Shadow Bar is an unusual name that had nothing to do with the building itself. The walls were bright, white stucco with the front of the one-story building evenly divided by a massive black door with a small glass window centered about five feet up from the sidewalk. The few windows in the building were covered with shades and draperies that allowed no glimpse of what was happening inside. So to keep safety on your side, make sure that you check the steering system and the suspension system of your vehicle at least once a year. This should be done so that you keep away from accidents and crashes.