We are very excited to announce a new feature at About.com!  You can now show and tell us about your classic and collector cars.

You can submit as many cars as you like, and each week we will feature a readers submission on our blog.  We have created two categories for you to tell us about your ride.

1. Owner's Show and Tell

2. Restorations - Before and After

Just fill in the easy to use forms, upload your pictures and your done. Once we have approved your submission, your car and its story will be available for the world to see.

Okay owners, it's time to show and tell.

Top Gear is more than just a show that reviews new and old cars, it is essential viewing in our opinion.  And not just for gear heads!  It has a huge following among people with little or no interest in cars - both male and female. This is due to the show's irreverent approach to motoring, and the humor and the priceless chemistry of the show's presenters.

We came across a perfect example of  how the show attracts 3.5 million global viewers.  It's a YouTube clip of Top Gear's Richard Hammonds first time behind the wheel of a car he has always wanted own, a Dodge Charger.

Will it be a case of "you should never meet your hero" or "love at first drive"?  Check out Richard Hammond meets Dodge Charger to find out.

It's hard to believe that Christmas is just a few weeks away, especially because we still have some gifts to buy for our "car crazy" friends. We called various car catalog and online stores to find out their deadline date for placing an order that will arrive before Santa does. Most all of the sales agents gave us the same advice:

• Place your orders by December 14th for regular shipping
• Always talk to a live agent when ordering
• Make sure the product is in stock
• If in doubt, use expedited shipping
• Give your email address to receive your order confirmation and tracking numbers.

Hemmings Collector Car Marketplace has an online store with some great classic car gear, calendars, signs, books and subscription to their magazine.

For the British classic car enthusiast, we suggest taking a look at the Moss Motors online catalog. You can find lapel pins, watches, beer glasses, t-shirts and key fobs decorated with the emblem of your recipient's favorite marque.

Amazon.com has some wonderful coffee table books that any classic car enthusiast would be delighted to find under the Christmas tree. For those of you who like classic motorcycles, we would like to suggest our About.com colleague Basem Wasef's new book Legendary Race Cars. Amazon's website has a deadline of December 17th for the last day to use standard shipping, but we don't suggest you wait that long.

If you're not quite sure what your car lover may need for their classic, a gift that would fit any vehicle might be the ticket. AutoSport, the Automotive Outfitters has a good selection of car care products, accessories, covers and electronic gadgets.

Did you know that Hallmark has an American Classic Car ornament series?  There are 37 in total and range from Cadillacs to Corvettes.

If you still can't find what you're looking for after checking out these online stores, a classic car magazine subscription is always a sure winner. Best of all, it's easy to wrap.

We love looking through the Other Makes category in eBay Motors because you never know what you might find, and there always seems to be a marque you don't get to see very often.  This week we found a 1956 Messerschmitt KR200 Bubble Car, and by the number of bids on the listing to date, we're not the only ones.

Messerschmitt built Luftwaffe airplanes in Germany during WWII including the world's first operational jet fighter but as you can image, it was prohibited from making aircraft after the war.  With the European economy being shattered,  the company turned to producing an affordable micro car.

According to the Examiner.com, "The Messerschmitt KR200 was termed a kabinenroller or cabin scooter and that's exactly what it was, an enclosed motorcycle with an extra wheel in the front and seating for two under a plexiglass bubble".

The Messerschmitt KR200 that is for sale on eBay looks to be in very good condition, particularly the canopy or "bubble" which accounts for the entire roof and back window.  Maybe that's why at the time of the writing, the bidding has reached almost $12,000.

You can see the entire listing for the Messerschmidt on eBay Motors.

Christmas is just around the corner and if your family is looking for some goodies to stuff in your stocking, we've got some ideas you can pass on to them.

Coffee Cup Gadget Charger - This is very innovative charger is shaped like a coffee cup that plugs it into your cigarette lighter and sits in your cup holder. It converts the DC power from your vehicle into two 120-volt AC outlets and a USB port.

Gliptone Liquid Leather Scuff Master Kit - Many older vintage and classic cars have leather seats or trim that will age and need to be freshened or restored. We use to this leather touch-up dye to cover unsightly marks and worn spots.

Recovery Straps & Tow Straps - Hopefully your classic will never have to be towed, but this might be a helpful product to have the day your fellow classic car owner fails to start their engine.

Adam's Detail Spray - There are some very  good detailing sprays available which can be used as a waterless car wash, we just happen to like the Adam's product line.

Meguiars Hot Rims Mag and Aluminum Polish - We find the product works well on all our auto's bright work, as well as our copper and brass bits around the house.

Microfiber Cleaning Cloths - If you own a classic car, you can never have enough cleaning cloths. Microfiber is a great cleaning material that can be used without using detergents on your cars surface.

Digital Tire Gauge - Properly inflated tires can help save gas and ensure better handling from your automobile.

Now you just have to make sure that you have a stocking big enough to hold all this great stuff.

Happy Shopping!

Last Thanksgiving, with tongue in cheek, we joined President Bush in pardoning a turkey; only we chose the Edsel. We personally believe that this annual event was George W's apex as President, and this year we are electing to do the same under the leadership of President Obama.

We are not going to set up any competition of which year saw the bigger turkey.....we'll just get down to the brass tacks - this year we have want to pardon the Chevrolet Corvair.

The Corvair was was the innovation of Chevy boss Ed Cole and he had nearly two million buyers in its 1960-69 life. The car had an imaginative low profile body style and a rear-mounted aluminum air-cooled engine, which flew in the face of conventional U.S. cars which were large behemoths with chromed bodies with tailfins, and classic front-engine designs with cast-iron, water-cooled motors.

We've always intrigued by the Corvair, but in those early years the design and the execution were flawed, and then college professor Ralph Nader leaped on the issue and published his book: "Unsafe at any Speed". Maybe the most dramatic revision was Chevrolet scrapping the Corvair's original swing axle suspension in favor of the fully independent suspension found in the Corvette. The swing axle type was what Nader said caused oversteer and raised concerns that the vehicles could flip over. Now Nader was immediately branded as a communist and anti-American but he really did us a favor because the car's suspension was redesigned by 1964 and after this redesign the car performed with reasonably good handling.

So our contention is that the original car was a veritable turkey, we British car drivers being somewhat arrogant on the way that cars handle, but that the version 2 turkey (post 1964) was actually a pretty good car that unfortunately continued to carry the Corvair stigma. In fact during the 10 year production life there were 9 models of the Corvair produced, and a total of  1.9 Million vehicles.

So based on this reasoning, and also the fact that a NHTSA report, released three years after Corvair's demise, would exonerate Chevrolet of all charges concluding that the Corvair was no more prone to accidents than any other comparable car of the period is why we find merit in pardoning the Corvair turkey and placing full support behind the enthusiasts at the various regional and national Classic Corvair Clubs at www.corvaircorsa.com.

The guillotine rests.............

Happy Thanksgiving to all.

It's that time of year again when the weather is getting  too nasty  to cruise in your classic, and it will stay that way for the next few months.  That means putting the car away for its winter's nap.

Because cars and trucks were made to be driven regularly, any prolonged period of non-use can really take its toll.  Veteran car owners will tell you it's just as important to take care of your vehicle when you're not using it, as when you are.  We've all seen cars that have received much more damage from bad storage than hard use, and cars that are improperly put into long-term storage tend to stay there indefinitely.

Fortunately, with a little bit of work on your older car before you put it away can pay huge dividends when spring arrives and it's time for that first drive of the season.  Read more...

You've probably seen it in the automotive stores, the red bottle with the nostalgic looking label. But who would ever think of using an oil and fuel additive called "Marvel Mystery Oil" in your precious older car. Well, we do. For some, MMO is a mystery, but to many others, it's a marvel.

Marvel Mystery Oil claims it "combats internal motor rust and corrosion, lubricates valves, piston rings, upper cylinder walls, and eliminates valve sticking. Keeps rings free and reduces piston and cylinder wear. Also keeps a fuel pump and carburetor parts clean, eliminating the need for frequent adjusting. Marvel Mystery Oil retards formation of power dissipating motor deposits, such as gums, varnish, and sludge.

As good as that sounds, if you decide to try it in hopes of stopping that "ticking" valve, we suggest you follow the manufacturers' instructions. Overuse of solvents, such as this, are reported to cause harmful metal-to-metal contact within your engine.

The Marvel Oil Company was founded in 1923 by Burt Pierce, inventor of the Marvel Carburetor. His carburetor was standard equipment on eighty percent of all vehicles produced after World War I.

Why did he give it the name Mystery Oil? Is it said that Burt Pierce refused to divulge the formula for his new product and, when asked about its ingredients; he would say "It's a Mystery", and the name caught on.

You can find more information on Marvel Mystery Oil and it application here.

Some Amphicar owners have been quoted to say, "It's not a good car and it's not a good boat, but it does just fine" and "We like to think of it as the fastest car on the water and fastest boat on the road."

Another thing they will tell you is that the most difficult part about driving an Amphicar is that they can't take it out for a cruise, on land or by sea, without being bombarded by questions about the car from whomever they come in contact with.

We understand the curiosity as this was the only amphibious car ever mass produced for personal use, albeit in small numbers, and want to know more about how it works as well.

So with the help of some Amphicar owners, we've put together a list of answers to their most frequently asked questions.  In doing so, we have acquired a new appreciation of how special this little amphibious car really is.

Read more on The Most Frequently Asked Questions About an Amphicar.

Photo - Getty Images

The next best thing to paging through our newly delivered classic car magazine is reading an old new car magazine, like the February 1959 printing of Motor Trend we just found. This particular issue caught our eye because of the caption "Electric Cars Are Back."

On page 48, reporter Bob Rolofson writes enthusiastically about his test drive with the Charles "Town-About" concept electric car with rave reviews using terms like light, safe, noiseless, odorless, clean, durable, comfortable, simple in operation and ready for production.  Where have we heard that before?

In 1959, the Town-About was the newest automobile manufactured by the Stinson Aircraft Tool & Engineering Co. of San Diego, California.  And according to the Motor Trend article,  Stinson owners had secretly developed this electric car and built a factory designed to mass produce it, but when word got out, the company was inundated with mail from brokers, dealers seeking franchises and privates parties asking for stock quotes. Rolofson was even shown a pile of four-digit certified checks from power and light companies ordering cars for trial.

So why aren't we driving a Charles electric car today, or better yet, why haven't we even heard of it?  Howstuffworks.com was the only place we found any information about the "Town-About" and why it faded into the mists of electric car history. Read more here...1959 Charles Town About Concept Car

Photo - Michele Hamer