An Evening at the 2016 Petit Le Mans

One of 1,963 50th Anniversary 911s built, this Porsche makes a statement overlooking turns 11 and 12 at Road Atlanta. (Brooks Metzler 2016)

Campground craft take multiple forms. As it turns out, one of these is a convertible Chevy sedan. There's no arguing; the patina is perfect. (Brooks Metzler 2016) 

A classic long wheel base Range Rover flexes for the camera in the Road Atlanta infield during the 2016 Petit Le Mans. (Brooks Metzler 2016)

Members of Ferrari team Risi Competizione stand on the pit wall, awaiting their turn in the 488 GTE. (Brooks Metzler 2016)

Ford Racing's team tent in the paddock on pit lane. (Brooks Metzler 2016)

A replacement front bumper for the Ecoboost Ford GT sits on top of a toolbox by the Ford team. (Brooks Metzler 2016)

An Audi R8 V10 pace car was the subject of a lot of attention at the far end of the paddock. (Brooks Metzler 2016) 

The No. 4 Z06.R of Team Corvette powers out of turn one at Road Atlanta. (Brooks Metzler 2016)

The No. 68 Ferrari 488 GTE of Scuderia Corsa, which went to take home 8th in the GTLM class. (Brooks Metzler 2016)

No. 8 Audi R8 LMS GT of Stevenson Motorsports negotiates turn 10 at Road Atlanta. Finishes 6th in the GTD class. (Brooks Metzler 2016)

Ford Chip Gnassi Racing's GT No. 67, which went on to finish 7th in the GTLM class. Its twin, No. 66, finished second in class, bested by Risi Competizione's Ferrari 488 GTE. (Brooks Metzler 2016)

An offering from local manufacturer Panoz at Road Atlanta. Out of frame, their DeltaWing prototype is loaded into the trailer. (Brooks Metzler 2016)

A BMW M4 GTS at the manufacturer's booth on vendor hill at Road Atlanta. (Brooks Metzler 2016)

BMW race cars line up underneath the vendor awning at Road Atlanta. (Brooks Metzler 2016)

A trio crosses under the bridge as the sun starts to duck behind the trees during the final hours of the 2016 Petit Le Mans. (Brooks Metzler 2016)

A group barrels down the hill towards the fast final corner at Road Atlanta during the 2016 Petit Le Mans (Brooks Metzler 2016)

Ferrari and Ford round the final corner before the straightaway. (Brooks Metzler 2016)

Change Racing's Lamborghini Huracan GT3 rounds turn three at Road Atlanta, followed by the red and silver Huracan of Paul Miller Racing, which ultimately finished ahead. (Brooks Metzler 2016)

A Chevrolet fan watches the 2016 Petit Le Mans action across from the grandstands on turn 10. (Brooks Metzler 2016)

The No. 66 Ford GT of Chip Ganassi Racing, which went on to finish second in the GTLM class. (Brooks Metzler 2016)

The No. 60 Honda HPD of Michael Shank Racing, which won first overall at the 2016 Petit Le Mans, while also setting the best lap time of the day, at 1:13.5. (Brooks Metzler 2016)

Team Seattle Racing's 911 GT3R and Change Racing's Huracan GT3 are door-to-door leaving turn one. (Brooks Metzler 2016) 

All four discs glow red on a Mazda Prototype as night falls on Petit Le Mans. (Brooks Metzler 2016)

Porsche North America prepares to pack up their 911 RSR early. They finished 10th in the GTLM class. (Brooks Metzler 2016)

A Pilgrimage to Weird Car Mecca: My First Trip to Lane Motor Museum

Nashville, much like the rest of the American south, is a place chock full of curiosities. It's home to the Grand Ole Opry, a radio-cast country music show that established most of the big names in country music history, and later funded the existing Gaylord Opryland Hotel and Resort, a 172-acre indoor tropical oasis. Music has given Nashville a strong sense of its identity--something I wish we had in my native Atlanta. The streets of downtown and east Nashville--it's own artistic haven--starkly contrast the Grand Ole Opry, but share the same maverick attitude towards music and creativity.

My guess is that Jeff Lane, founder of the Lane Motor Museum in Nashville, shares that same spirit. Only his is directed towards cars.

The Lane Motor Museum is a place I've heard plenty about. Despite living fairly close to Nashville, I've never visited. For me, car museums run the gamut between spectacular and spectacularly-disappointing. You could easily have a room full of common cars, a swamp cooler, and musty carpets accompanying your $20 admission. So I went in with reasonable expectations. All of them went out of the window before I even left the parking garage.

Lane Motor Museum is on the south side of Nashville, off of the Murfreesboro Pike. The area has long been an industrial corridor, experiencing its peak in the mid-20th century. When the Sunbeam Bread factory shut its doors in the mid-80s, along with many other factories on the road, the area went into decline. Not until several decades later--when Jeff Lane purchased the building in 2000--was the area injected with an entirely new energy. One centered not around bread, but around quirky vintage cars.

Tall windows up top let in the right amount of light, and the unfinished walls and exposed roof structure mesh well with the collection of automobiles--a display of industrial engineering at its finest.

You'll find several contemporary vehicles splashed throughout the vast, one-room complex. But mostly, this collection showcases cars from the heyday of automotive ingenuity. France is well-represented here, with selections as exotic as a rotary-powered Citroen and a Dutch rally-outfitted Citroen DM.

Not to be outdone, the Japanese also show well and diversely. Everything from Daihatsu micro-trucks, to the Honda Beat, to a street-legal Honda ATV of sorts is on display in one corner. Many of these were cars I'd only ever seen in early Gran Turismo games. Never ones I thought I'd see in the deep south of all places.

Most impressive are the handful of early Japanese roadsters from Honda and Toyota. A Toyota Sports 800 sits in one corner, while a Honda S800 sits in the other. In addition to the S800, there's also an early-90s Honda Beat, and even a contemporary S660 roadster; all in the appropriate "rising sun" red. 

The collection is housed in a deceptive space--you can see all of it in one 360-degree rotation, so you initially think it's small. But the thing about it is, everything in the room is interesting, it's all packed pretty closely together, and there's a lot of it. Not to mention there are no ropes holding you back. Only good faith keeps patrons from fiddling with the inside and outside of cars on display. When you think about the level the museum staff bestows on the patrons, it really speaks volumes. I respect it tremendously.

As I mentioned earlier, French cars are very well represented here. The first cars to greet you when you walk in are several D-series Citroen sedans. These stylish cars defined what it meant for a car to be "French:" zany steering wheels, narrow rear track, that teardrop shape. This handful of cars shows nicely the development of that style through the 60s and 70s. There's even a rotary-powered Citroen M-35 prototype, which was actually sold to a Citroen customer as a "test vehicle" in the early 70s. The manufacturer was toying with the idea of rotary power, and slated 500 of these prototypes to be built and offered with a lifetime warranty. Due to production issues, though, only 267 were built, and in 1974 Citroen cancelled warranties on all M-35s.

Lane's French collection continues with a Renault 5 Turbo 2 hatchback, and a 1974 DS24 rally car, "La Belle Orange," decked out in the signature Dutch racing color. Possibly the most interesting Citroen on display, though, is the ex-Cogolin Fire Department "two-headed" 2CV. This unique creation, built by coachbuilders Ansart & Teissere, was born from necessity. Firefighters needed a vehicle that could fit down the narrow roads in the area, and valuable time could be wasted having to turn around on such a road. This resulted in the dual-engined, all-front-end car you see today; it actually remained in service for several decades.

Adding to this already unique collection is a display of 14 microcars, arranged from smallest to largest. A plaque written by Lane explains that these cars rose to popularity thanks to inexpensive production cost and ease-of-operation. Additionally, many only required a motorcycle license to operate, and cars like the 1975 Mini-Comtesse on display didn't require a license at all.

Other Notable microcars on display include the Peel P50, which still holds the record for world's smallest passenger car. Peel Engineering, originally a manufacturer of fiberglass boat hulls, built 508 P50s, each powered by a 49cc engine. Bill Minor, a fabricator and Tennessee native, built a working 3/4 scale American Austin. The project took almost 20 years to complete, and is powered by a 10-horsepower, single-cylinder engine.

In the microcar section, you'll begin to notice the artwork that accompanies the cars on display. Advertisements for the Gogomobile and NSU ads set in Brooklyn in the 70s are nearly as interesting as the cars themselves, if only for the common thread of obscurity. A detached gallery is dedicated to displaying these advertisements and artifacts--a fascinating and henceforth underrepresented category of American culture and advertising. It's good to see an illustrated history of MG mounted to a frame on the wall, next to a poster for a 2006 vintage track day at a local racetrack. They may not be spectacular now, but they will be in the future.

Lane Motor Museum motivates the future, even though its exhibits are so firmly rooted in the past. It shows us what innovation looked like; what even pedestrian automobiles can do for the path of the automotive world itself. It's in the details, in the Citroen's complex hydropneumatic suspension, and in the Tatra Aeroluge's complex answer to harsh, eastern European winters. We see what triumphed and what failed, and we can appreciate both.

It's a lot like Nashville itself. An old building, given new and entirely different life. Its cars tell a story, not only of America, but of the world and even of humanity. There are solutions to problems, the tangible, but also masterpieces of design; shapes and colors and lines that capture human emotion in a way that can't be easily explained, but easily appreciated.

For a more in depth look at what lies beneath the brick floor at Lane, check out this article I made on a second trip to the museum.

Every New Car You can Still Buy with a Manual in 2015

A thought occurred to me the other day. It's a recurring thought, in the minds of nearly every car enthusiast. Is the manual transmission as we know it going away? I'm not talking about dual clutch transmissions, or that deplorable "auto-shift manual" nonsense, but true manual cars. Three pedals.

We hear over and over again that this idea is dead, at least here in America. The market has spoken: nobody wants manuals anymore. And, while this may appear true, it's not the right way to approach the story.

I decided to do some digging. I wanted to find out for myself just how many cars you can still buy here with the classic three-pedal format. What cars, if you were to walk into a dealership today, could you actually find brand new with a stick?

The results aren't too surprising at face value. It does, however, get interesting when you look at individual manufacturers, and what vehicles they've chosen to leave the option on. Traditionally, manuals are less expensive, so it's more likely to see a manual option on the lowest trim level for a common, small car (take the Honda Accord for example, where a 6-speed manual is available only in trim levels with the less-powerful inline-four). Also, it's more common to see a manual option on cheaper, smaller cars than it is for larger cars, especially SUVs and crossovers. The Nissan Xterra, (discontinued for 2016, but still available in 2015 trims) a mid-sized SUV with a large, six-cylinder engine is available with a manual, a relative oddity for a vehicle of its size. It's still common to see manuals as an option in small pickup trucks, like the Toyota Tacoma and Chevrolet Colorado. RAM still offers manual transmissions on their heavy duty 2500 and 3500 pickups.

Exotic marques like Lamborghini, Ferrari, and Maserati have ditched traditional manual gearboxes for different reasons. Dual-clutch gearboxes operated by paddles and first seen in Formula 1 racers are now standard, offering much quicker shift times than traditional manuals and single-clutch automatics.

For this list, I'm including both 2015 and 2016 models, as some manufacturers haven't released model information for 2016 yet, while others are already moving forward with orders for 2016s. BMW tops the list, offering manual transmissions in 14 models. Its closest competition in the Stick Shift Games are Nissan and Volkswagen, who each offer 7 models with a manual option.

What follows is a list that details the year, model, transmission, engine capacity, and starting price for each car. Information specific to trim availability is included below these descriptions.

Acura

2015 ILX: 6-speed manual, 2.4L I-4, $27,050

Aston Martin

2015 V8 Vantage: 6-speed manual, 4.7L V8, $123,695

Audi

2015-2016 A4: 6-speed manual, 2.0L I-4, $35,900

2015-2016 A5: 6-speed manual, 2.0L I-4, $40,500

2015-2016 S4: 6-speed manual, 3.0L V6, $49,200

2015-2016 S5: 6-speed manual, 3.0L V6, $53,100

BMW

2015-2016 228i: 6-speed manual, 2.0L I-4, $32,850

2015-2016 M235i: 6-speed manual, 3.0L I-6, $49,745

2015-2016 320i: 6-speed manual, 2.0L I-4, $33,150

2015-2016 328i: 6-speed manual, 2.0L I-4, $38,350

2015-2016 340i: 6-speed manual, 3.0L I-6, $45,800

2015-2016 M3: 6-speed manual, 3.0L I-6, $63,200

2015-2016 428i: 6-speed manual, 2.0 I-4, $41,850

2015-2016 435i: 6-speed manual, 3.0 I-6, $48,150

2015-2016 M4: 6-speed manual, 3.0 I-6, $65,400

2015-2016 M5: 6-speed manual, 4.4L V8, $94,100

2015-2016 M6: 6-speed manual, 4.4L V8, $112, 400 

2015-2016 M6 Gran Coupe 6-speed manual, 4.4L V8, $116,200

2015-2016 Z4: 6-speed manual, 2.0L I-4 or 3.0L I-6, $49,250

-No diesel BMWs available with manual transmission. Additionally, the M5 and M6 are the only models in the 5 and 6 series lineup to offer manuals. 

Buick

2015-2016 Regal: 6-speed manual, 2.0L or 2.4L I-4, $27,065

2015-2016 Verano: 6-speed manual, 2.0L or 2.4L I-4, $21,065

Cadillac

2015-2016 ATS: 6-speed manual, 2.0L I-4, $33,215

2015-2016 ATS-V: 6-speed manual, 3.6L V6, $60,465

-Cadillac will no longer offer a manual option with the 2016 CTS-V; strange, considering it shares a lot with the Chevrolet Corvette and Camaro, which both offer manual options.

Chevrolet

2015-2016 Camaro: 6-speed manual, 2.0L I-4, 3.6L V6, 6.2L V8, $25,700 ($33,505 for V8)

2015-2016 Corvette: 7-speed manual, 6.2L V8, $55,400

2015-2016 Colorado: 6-speed manual, 2.8L I-4 (diesel), 2.5L I-4, 3.6L V6, $20,100

2015-2016 Sonic: 5-speed manual, 6-speed manual, 1.4L and 1.8L I-4, $14,345

2015-2016 Spark: 5-speed manual, 1.4L I-4, $12,660

2015 SS: 6-speed manual, 6.2L V8, $45,745

Dodge

2015-2016 Viper: 6-speed manual, 8.4L V10, $87,895

2015-2016 Challenger: 6-speed manual, 5.7L, 6.2L, 6.4L V8, $31,995

2015-2016 Dart: 6-speed manual, 1.4L, 2.0L, 2.4L I-4, $16,995

-Dodge hits two opposite ends of the spectrum. Their fire-spitting Viper is only available with a manual transmission, while the Hellcat trim Charger, or any Charger for that matter, can only be had with an automatic.

Fiat

2015-2016 500: 5-speed manual, 1.4L I-4, $16,995

2015-2016 500L: 6-speed manual, 1.4L I-4, $19,495

2016 500X: 6-speed manual, 1.4L and 2.4L I-4, $20,000

Ford

2015-2016 Fiesta: 5-speed manual, 6-speed manual, 1.0L I-3 and 1.6L I-4, $14,580

2015-2016 Focus: 5-speed manual, 6-speed manual, 1.0L I-3 and 1.6L I-4, $17,225

2016 Focus RS: 6-speed manual, 2.3L I-4, $36,605

2015-2016 Focus ST: 6-speed manual, 2.0L I-4, $24,425

2015-2016 Mustang: 6-speed manual, 2.3L I-4, 3.7L V6, 5.0L V8, $23,895

2015-2016 Shelby GT350: 6-speed manual, 5.2L V8, $47,795

Honda

2015-2016 Accord: 6-speed manual, 2.4L I-4, $25,480 (only in EX, LX, and Sport trims)

2015-2016 Fit: 6-speed manual, 1.5L I-4, $15,790

2016 HR-V: 6-speed manual, 1.8L I-4, $19,115

2015 Civic: 6-speed manual, 1.8L and 2.4L I-4, $18,290

2016 Civic: 6-speed manual, 1.5L or 2.0L I-4, $19,575

2015 CR-Z: 6-speed manual, 1.5L I-4, $20,145

-The 2016 Civic, the first with a turbocharged engine, keeps its manual. The HR-V crossover is a newcomer, and also packs a manual.

Hyundai

2015-2016 Accent: 6-speed manual, 1.6L I-4, $14,745

2015-2016 Elantra: 6-speed manual, 1.8L and 2.0L I-4, $17,250 (only in SE, Sport, and Value trims)

2015-2016 Elantra GT: 6-speed manual, 2.0L I-4, $18,800

2015-2016 Veloster: 6-speed manual, 1.6L I-4, $18,000

2015 Genesis Coupe: 6-speed manual, 3.8L V6, $26,750

Infiniti

2015 Q60: 6-speed manual, 3.7L V6, $40,950

-Many of the 2016 Infinitis have not yet been released. Interestingly, and unfortunately, the IPL-tuned Q60 does not come with a manual option.

Jaguar

2016 F-Type: 6-speed manual, 3.0L V6 and 5.0L V8, $65,000

-The F-Type is the only remaining big cat to sport three pedals. And no manual option was offered in 2015

Jeep

2015-2016 Compass: 5-speed manual, 2.0L I-4, $19,4995 (only in Sport trim)

2015-2016 Patriot: 5-speed manual, 2.0L I-4, $17,495 (only in Sport trim)

2015-2016 Renegade: 6-speed manual, 1.4L and 2.4L I-4, $17,995 (only in Latitude, Sport, and Trailhawk trims)

2015-2016 Wrangler: 6-speed manual, 3.6L V6, $23,495

Kia

2015-2016 Forte: 6-speed manual, 1.8L I-4, $15,990 (only in LX trim)

2015-2016 Rio: 6-speed manual, 1.6L I-4, $14,165 (only in LX trim)

2015-2016 Soul: 6-speed manual, 1.6L I-4, $15,690 (only in LX trim)

Mazda

2015-2016 CX-5: 6-speed manual, 2.0L I-4, $21,795 (only in Sport trim)

2015-2016 Mazda3: 6-speed manual, 2.0L I-4, $17,845 (only in Sport trim)

2015-2016 Mazda6: 6-speed manual, 2.5L I-4, $21,495 (only in Sport trim)

2015-2016 MX-5 Miata: 6-speed manual, 2.0L I-4, $24,915

Mini

2015-2016 Countryman: 6-speed manual, 1.6L I-4, $21,700

2015-2016 Mini Hardtop: 6-speed manual, 1.5L and 2.0L I-4, $20,000

2016 Paceman: 6-speed manual, 1.6L I-4, $23,550

2015 Coupe and Convertible: 6-speed manual, 1.6L I-4, $22,000

Mitsubishi

2015 Lancer: 5-speed manual, 2.0L and 2.4L I-4, $17,395

2015 Lancer Evolution: 5-speed manual, 2.0L I-4, $34,495

2015 Mirage: 5-speed manual, 1.2L I-3, $12,995

2015 Outlander Sport: 5-speed manual, 2.0L and 2.4L I-4, $19,595

Nissan

2015-2016 370Z: 6-speed manual, 3.7L V6, $29,900

2015-2016 Frontier: 5-speed manual, 6-speed manual, 2.5L I-4, 4.0L V6, $18,090

2015-2016 Juke: 6-speed manual, 1.6L I-4, $24,830 (only in NISMO and NISMO RS)

2015-2016 Versa: 5-speed manual, 1.6L I-4, $11,900

2015-2016 Versa Note: 5-speed manual, 1.6L I-4, $14,180

2015 Sentra: 6-speed manual, 1.8L I-4, $16,480

2015 Xterra: 6-speed manual, 4.0L V6, $23,660

Porsche

2015-2016 911: 7-speed manual, 3.4L, 3.8L, 4.0L H-6, $84,300 (no 4.0L option in 2015)

2015-2016 Boxster: 6-speed manual, 2.7L, 3.4L, 3.8L H-6, $52,100 (no 3.8L in 2015)

2015-2016 Cayman: 6-speed manual, 2.7L, 3.4L, 3.8L H-6, $52,600 (no 3.8L in 2015)

RAM

2015-2016 2500: 6-speed manual, 5.7L V8, 6.4L V8, 6.7L I-6 (diesel), $32,980

2015-2016 3500: 6-speed manual, 5.7L V8, 6.4L V8, 6.7L I-6 (diesel), $32,090

Scion

2015-2016 FR-S: 6-speed manual, 2.0L H-4, $25,305

2015-2016 iA: 6-speed manual, 1.5L I-4, $15,700

2015-2016 iM: 6-speed manual, 1.8L I-4, $18,460

2015-2016 tC: 6-speed manual, 2.5L I-4, $19,385

2015 xB: 5-speed manual, 2.4L I-4, $17,120

Subaru

2015-2016 BRZ: 6-speed manual, 2.0L H-4, $25,395

2015-2016 CrossTrek: 5-speed manual, 2.0L H-4, $21,595

2015-2016 Forester: 6-speed manual, 2.0L and 2.5L H-4, $22,395

2015-2016 Impreza: 5-speed manual, 2.0L H-4, $18,295

2015-2016 WRX: 6-speed manual, 2.0L H-4, $26,595

2015-2016 WRX STI: 6-speed manual, 2.0L H-4, $34,695

Toyota

2015-2016 Corolla: 6-speed manual, 1.8L I-4, $17,230

2015-2016 Tacoma: 5-speed manual, 6-speed manual, 2.7L I-4 and 3.7L V6, $23,300

2015 Yaris: 5-speed manual, 1.5L I-4, $14,845

Volkswagen

2015-2016 Beetle: 5-speed manual, 6-speed manual, 1.8L and 2.4L I-4, $19,795

2015-2016 CC: 6-speed manual, 2.0L I-4, $31,570

2015-2016 Golf: 5-speed manual, 1.8L I-4, $18,495

2015-2016 Golf GTI: 6-speed manual, 2.0L I-4, $24,995

2015-2016 Golf R: 6-speed manual, 2.0L I-4, $35,650

2015-2016 Golf SportWagen: 5-speed manual, 1.8L I-4, $21,625

2015-2016 Jetta: 5-speed manual, 6-speed manual, 1.4L, 1.6L, 2.0L I-4, $17,680

-The SportWagen is the only wagon on this list. Former manual wagons include the Cadillac CTS-V wagon from several years ago, and.. well, that's about it. 

And there you have it. This list is representative of any three-pedal car you could walk into a dealership right now and buy brand new. It doesn't include factory speed shop stuff, like the Caterham Seven or a Morgan Three-Wheeler, but most of those cars are waiting-list-only anyways.

All-in-all, that's 105 cars ranging from the downright dreary to trucks with the towing capacity of small planets. Pretty impressive in an age dominated by dual-clutch gearboxes with fancy names.