What’s Going On 3/4-3/6
Mar 2nd
Tribute Night at Amsterdam Bar and Hall – Friday, March 4th
Unless you have a Delorean and can time travel back to the early nineties it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to hear Weezer’s entire Blue Album, Alice in Chains’ Dirt and Nirvana’s Nevermind performed live from start to finish. Fortunately, you won’t need Marty McFly’s help this weekend because all three albums will be performed atAmsterdam Bar and Hall’s Tribute night. All this for just $10.
MMA at Mystic – Friday, March 4th
The last fight we saw at a casino was between two seniors trying to stake their claim on a lucrative penny slot. This weekend you can witness more intense fighting when the MMA heads to Mystic Lake. We’re not big on fighting, but you probably knew that since we’re looking for a Volkswagen Hippie Bus.
Bedrace for bridging – Saturday, March 5th
There’s nothing quite like snuggling up in a warm bed — while hurtling down a snowy ski slope. If this sounds like your idea of fun you have to check out the Subway Bed Race for Bridging. This annual winter extravaganza pairs mattresses of all sizes with exuberant individuals looking for a different type of winter activity.
Minnesota Roller Girls Home Season Championship – Saturday, March 5th
Hell on wheels. That’s what we’d call our roller derby team if we had one. Alas, we don’t so we have to resort to watching others play. We’re in luck because theMinnesota Roller Girls Home Season Championship kicks off this Saturday.
What’s Going On – 2/25
Feb 25th
A shortlist of upcoming events that piqued our interest
Adult Coloring Club – Thursday, February 25th
Who says coloring should only be for kids? The Coloring Club MPLS gives artistic adults an opportunity to put their colored pencils to use, which is good for people like Amber (one of our graphic designers) who have “coloring degrees” and want to keep up on their skills. Throw in $5 beers from Eastlake Craft Brewery (the event host) and coloring sheets from local artists and you can’t go wrong.
WinterFest at the Union Depot – Friday, February 26th
When he was in town last week Vice President Joe Biden had nothing but good things to say about St. Paul’s Union Depot. If that’s not reason enough to plan a visit maybe a little beer might persuade you. This Friday the Minnesota Craft Brewers guild is hosting Winterfest, a tribute to Minnesota beer. Chase out the winter chill with a multitude of Winter Warmers, hearty food, beer education, entertainment and music.
Tech Fest 2016 – Saturday, February 27th
We’re all for introducing our youth to engineering, mechanics and hands-on technology. If we don’t who is going to fix all of these old cars we’ve collected? All kidding aside, The Works Museum is hosting a neat family engineering and technology fair offering hours of technology exploration for the whole family. Consider it a good alternative to sitting home on the couch.
Red Bull Crashed Ice – February 26th and February 27th
The icy spectacle known as Red Bull Crashed Ice returns to St. Paul this weekend for its fifth straight year in a row and serves as the grand finale of the worldwide four-stop tour. If you’ve never been it’s definitely something you should check out. Also be sure to check out the Crashed Ice Village. If you’re looking for easy travel to and from St. Paul Metro Transit will be offering a variety of free shuttles.
An SUV with the Heart of an Italian Sport Car
Feb 20th
Italian automakers have historically produced some of the most beautiful and best sounding vehicles, but they don’t often make Sport Utility Vehicles. Maserati has been delivering fun to drive, gorgeous cars to showrooms for years and they are now taking that recipe to the SUV market with the Maserati Levante. They have carried over the company’s design language with an aggressive front end highlighting the tapered headlights. The signature styling continues past the grill feature with three iconic air vents and trapezoidal C-pillar. The underpinnings of the Levante feature sophisticated air suspension with air springs and controlled damping. The Q4 all wheel drive system similar to the Quattroporte and Ghibli is adapted for unparalleled on road performance and low grip off road situations. An 8 speed transmission has been specially calibrated for the new SUV attaching to the gasoline powerplant.
Inside the Aston Martin Vulcan
Feb 10th
photo by The Drive
The production of the Aston Martin Vulcan is in full swing, of course by that we mean they are being hand built in a small facility outside of Aston’s main manufacturing space. All 24 cars are being built by a 40-member team who have worked on all of the Bond cars, put together the DBX concept, and shoehorned a V12 into the Vantage. In other words, they build all that is awesome in the world of Aston Martin. The Vulcans are built to order and will be run in a race series with only Vulcan’s all over the world, starting in United Arab Emirates at the Formula track Yas Marina. You can find more details about the Vulcan on our blog here.
Carfection recently was able to tour and fortunately for us they made a video with some great sneak peeks at the details incorporated into this track only car, you’ll want to turn up the volume for this one.
Bentley Bentayga Preview Event at Morrie’s Luxury Auto
Dec 17th
Last night, we had the opportunity to unveil the all-new Bentley Bentayga to a number of our close friends and customers.
The Bentley Bentayga is the first SUV from the British automaker but still maintains all of the company’s luxurious DNA. With 600 HP and 660 ft-lbs of torque, the Bentayga is claimed to be the fastest production SUV in the world, hitting 60 MPH from rest in just 4.0-seconds and surging ahead to a top speed of 187 MPH. Despite having so much power on tap, inside the Bentayga takes SUVs to a whole new class of luxury with huge swathes of leather, wood, and metal throughout. The Bentayga also leads the way with technology, featuring 4G LTE WiFi, a pair of Android OS tablets for backseat passengers, a full-color head-up display, and a night vision mode. Of course, the trick air suspension system helps to make the Bentayga just as good off-road as on.
We can’t wait to start taking delivery early next year!
Five Automotive-Themed Watches To Keep The Car Lover On Your Gift List On Time
Dec 14th
Nobody likes being late and while anyone can check the time on their smartphone, it’s not a particularly elegant option. Watches have made a huge comeback lately (especially mechanical watches that don’t require batteries to run) and it’s easy to see why. With a style to fit nearly any wrist, there’s something cool about strapping a tiny little machine or supercomputer to your wrist. Being a bunch of car lovers here at Morrie’s, we figured we’d compile a list of our favorite automotive-themed watches to keep the car lover on your holiday gift list on time.
Autodromo Veloce in stainless steel
We’re big fans of Autodromo, not just for their watches, but also because the owner of the company is a big car guy. He races a vintage Alfa Romeo and creates some great driving gloves as well as sunglasses. Autodromo’s watches (ranging from $375 – $1,200) are offered in five styles, although we prefer the models that emulate the classic gauges of our favorite race cars such as the “Veloce”, the “Stradale”, and the “Group B”.
Autodromo Prototipo Chronograph
While Autodromo is a relative newcomer to watch world, Tissot has been assembling watches since 1853. While that was quite a while before the first cars (or horseless carriages) were ever created, Tissot has built a solid reputation for themselves with a line of automotive-themed watches. The range features both quartz (battery-powered) and mechanical watches with prices ranging from about $350 – $2,000.
Tissot PRS 516 Automatic Chronograph
For those that appreciate motorcycles, Tudor offers the Fastrider chronograph (about $4,000) in conjunction with Ducati. Available in three unique colors taken directly from the hot new Ducati Scrambler motorcycles, they also come with a really unique leather strap that reminds us of our favorite leather jacket.
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Tudor Fastrider Chrono
One name synonymous with motorsports and cars in general is Steve McQueen. While Heuer (now Tag Heuer) has been around since 1860, Heuer went through a bit of a golden age when they began sponsoring motor racing events in the 1960s. That resurgence hit critical mass when Steve McQueen began wearing a blue and red Heuer Monaco at the track and on set while filming movies like LeMans. As such, that style of Monaco has been dubbed the “Steve McQueen” and now Tag Heuer is offering an updated version with their Caliber 11 movement for 2015 ($5,500).
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Heuer Monaco McQueen
One of the quintessential timepieces that harkens back to vintage racing is the Chopard Mille Miglia. Named after the famous 1,000 km street race through Italy, the Mille Miglia comes on a really cool rubber strap made from actual recycled tires and stamped with a cool vintage tire tread pattern. We especially like the Mille Miglia GTS Power Control ($6,640) model seen below because it features a power reserve indicator that looks just like a gas gauge to alert the wearer when the watch needs to be wound.
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Chopard Mille Miglia GTS Power Control
Those of you who attend our Formula One viewing parties at our Morrie’s Heritage Car Connection warehouse, you might’ve seen three-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton sporting his signature IWC Ingenieur Chronograph ($15,200) around the paddock. The titanium case, ceramic crown and chronograph pushers, and carbon fiber dial just scream motorsports.
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IWC Ingenieur Chronograph Lewis Hamilton Edition
But for those who aren’t part of the Lewis Hamilton Fan Club might want to consider something even more exotic: the carbon fiber-cased IWC Ingenieur Automatic Carbon Performance Ceramic. With a case made out of solid carbon fiber and accented with shiny and nearly indestructible black ceramic, this lightweight watch is just as much F1 car as it is a watch ($20,800).
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IWC Ingenieur Automatic Carbon Performance Ceramic
OK, so that was more than five watches but with so many cool options out there, we didn’t like limiting ourselves, or you, from seeing some really cool watches. And since we already blew past our five watch limit, we’ve got one more holy grail of a watch to share with you…
MB&F HM5 CarbonMacrolon
The MB&F HM5 CarboMacrolon is a true piece of haute horology with a completely in-house designed movement and a sleek case that was designed as an homage to one of the most beautiful cars ever built: the Lamborghini Miura. Limited to just 66 pieces in each of three colors, we picked this version as the best of the bunch. What makes this watch so unique is the fact that this is a mechanic watch that displays the time in a digital way, showing the time in two little windows on the side of the watch. What would normally be the face of the watch is actually made up of intricate movable louvers that can be opened by the wearer to allow light to come through the watch and illuminate the time readout. But good looks don’t come cheap – the MB&F HM5 CarboMacrolon carries an eye-watering pricetag of $63,000, or about as much as this lightly used 2014 Maserati Ghibli S Q4.
Holiday Gift Ideas For The Discerning Enthusiast
Nov 24th
It’s that time of year again, folks.
The holiday season is upon us once again, and that means gifts. Fresh out of ideas? Worry not – we’ve got you covered.
Autodromo Watches
Smart watches are for chumps – but Autodromo Watches are for champs. The creative vision of Bradley Price, these watches draw aesthetic inspiration from a golden age of motoring, when driving required style, panache, and perhaps a little bit of danger.
Triumph Street Twin – 900cc
For those who can’t get enough classic styling, but perhaps prefer modern reliability. The 2016 Triumph Street Twin replaces the existing base Bonneville model, with the welcome addition of an upgraded 900cc eight-valve, high torque motor. Updated from the ground up, this Bonnie gets a new chassis, new suspension, ride-by-wire throttle with traction control, slip assisted clutch, ABS, and LED lighting. Triumph were also so kind as to release a few custom ‘inspiration kits’ you can purchase as a package!
Liveried Egg Chairs
The perfect gift for the racing enthusiast in your life, these ‘egg chairs’ combine retro modern form with iconic styles to create functional automotive art. Using mid-century modern furniture as a canvas, Anthony Jannarelly and Benoit Fraylon create intricate designs that call back to the famous liveries of the legendary race cars of yesteryear.
WohnGeist Tool Set
This gorgeous set of WohnGeist tools includes screwdriver, file, and pry bar handles, as well as the whole segmented 2m ruler and are made of Swiss pear wood that resists warping and splintering when exposed to moisture. The same wood, plus leather for the handles, serve as the materials for the tool set’s case. All of the tools are held in place inside the case with magnets, so carrying and opening it won’t cause a cacophony or result in metal spillage all over the shop.
BIR Track Day
Tired of watching races from the comfort of your couch? Want to hop in the drivers seat and take the bull by the horns? A BIR Track Day is an immersive racing experience unlike any other – and with the option to either track your personal car or take the wheel of a spec racer, there’s something for everyone!
Subscription Boxes
Whether you’re giving a gift or simply indulging for yourself, these subscription boxes are sure to please. And the best part? You don’t have to leave your house to buy them. One of our favorites is DetailBox – every month you’ll receive 3 to 4 new sample products, which include polishes, waxes, tires polishes, etc. If you like the product they often have exclusive, member-only coupons for the full product! For the ladies in your life, we recommend Stitch Fix – clothing and accessories selected by a personal stylist and hand-delivered to her door.
Whiskey Stones
Why water down your whiskey with ice? These stainless steel cubes (or balls, take your pick) will actually keep your drink colder than ice, for longer than ice – and they won’t dilute that heavenly flavor. If that’s not enough to sway you, they’re also completely non-porous, ensuring you’ll be able to use them over and over with no risk of cross-contamination.
Smartphone Garage Opener
This neat piece of tech from Chamberlain installs to your existing setup in minutes, and allows you to open and close your garage door from anywhere with your smartphone and a Wi-Fi connection! Never worry about having left your garage door open again – you can’t buy peace of mind like that.
Auto Floor Guard
Protect that sweet, sweet garage floor from salt, snow, and other other miscellaneous nastiness with Auto Floor Guard – mildew and rot resistant fabric that has been tested to -40 degrees. Available in multiple sizes, the fabric has a unique ultraviolet treatment that resists fading and material breakdown. The perfect gift for those who love to keep everything in their life immaculately clean and well-ordered.
Leather Works Minnesota
Purveyor of fine, handcrafted, leather goods Leather Works Minnesota is more than just a local company – they’re the vendor of choice for Morrie’s Heritage Car Connection’s leather needs. Wallets, belts, travel accessories and much, much more are lovingly crafted by this Saint Paul-based establishment. It’s worth noting that due to their huge popularity and the fact that everything is made by hand, they recommend you allow 2 weeks for shipping during the holiday season.
911 Speedometer Cufflinks
What more can be said about these cufflinks that the title doesn’t say already? They look like the speedo from a freakin’ Porsche 911! For the air-cooled enthusiast in your life.
Morrie’s Teen Driving School
This comprehensive course gives young drivers the hands-on experience they need to avoid accidents. Through a combination of classroom activities and engaging, hands-on exercises, this program teaches young drivers skills they simply cannot obtain in traditional driver’s ed programs. Each student is paired with a dedicated instructor who coaches them in his or her own car throughout the entire day. At the end of the program each student will have a vastly improved grasp of their car, vehicle dynamics, car control and lifesaving, proactive driving techniques.
Lego Creator Car Kits
Who says Legos are just for kids? If these Volkswagen T1 Camper Van, Porsche 911, and McLaren P1 sets don’t get your engine revving, there’s probably something wrong with you…
The Great Sleeping Bear
Who among us hasn’t wished we could hibernate through the winter winter months, waking up as the last of the salt is cleared off the roads? With this hand-made bear sleeping bag by Dutch Artist Eiko Ishizawa, the idea seems a little less far-fetched! These individually numbered sleeping bags cost a mere $2,350 – a small price to pay for supreme comfort when the weather gets to be simply unBEARable (Yes, that pun happened. We regret nothing).
Happy Holidays, everyone!
Aston Martin Vulcan leading the way for the future of oil changes
Nov 10th
Castrol is working hard to reinvent the oil change, which frankly sounds about as easy as reinventing the wheel. After a couple of years of developing what they are calling Nexcel, they have done something special. The Nexcel unit itself holds oil and the filter all in one container and simply fits into a base within the car’s engine bay. Once the recommended oil change interval is reached the Nexcel unit can be changed out in 90 seconds by simply lifting the unit out and replacing it with another one. The unit is sent back to be reconditioned for reuse and can be reconditioned 5 or 6 times before its service life is over.
We first found about this new product from an article on Autoblog.com and it peaked our interest that the Aston Martin Vulcan was going to be the first car to implement Nexcel. While the Vulcan is a track only car, Castrol UK worked closely with Aston Martin to develop Nexcel and test it in the real world, retrofitting Aston Martin’s cars with Nexcel and have been testing in England for the last couple of years. After talking to a representative from Castrol at SEMA we found out that other manufacturers are very interested, one being Ford as they get the street version the GT ready for 2017. There are also a couple of companies with fleets of long service life heavy duty trucks looking to retrofit this technology for their use as it would pay off over the life of the truck as they are in service for hundreds of thousands of miles.
James Bond: SPECTRE Premiere Event at The Loop and ICON Theatre
Nov 6th
Last night Morrie’s Luxury Auto hosted a movie premiere party for the release of the new James Bond movie “SPECTRE” last night at ShowPlace ICON Theatre at West End with a pre-screening happy hour at The Loop. Continental Diamonds came out to support the event with a range of Omega watches including the special edition Seamaster worn by James Bond in the movie. To mark release of the movie, we features three gorgeous new Aston Martins in front of the theater, including the new 2016 DB9 GT model in special Spectre Silver.
Thanks to everyone who came out to the event last night and we hope you enjoyed the film!
Fascination Motors: A New Reason For Car People To Go To The Mall
Oct 26th
This past Friday and Saturday, Morrie’s Luxury Auto had eight vehicles on display in the East Rotunda at the Mall of America as part of Fascination Motors, a proof of concept to see if having an automotive-centric store would bring in more shoppers. From the huge amount of feedback from mall-goers over the weekend, it seems like having Aston Martins, Maseratis, Lamborghinis, Ferraris, McLarens and more is a nice treat to see in the mall. We also had an awesome time talking to everyone about the cars and sharing in the experience. We’d like to thank everyone that came out to the Mall of America this weekend who stopped by the rotunda to check out the Fascination Motors display and make it a success!
