Holiday Auction Items Really Worth Having.(News)

Byline: Dutch Mandel

This time of year our job is to unearth exceptional, one-of-a-kind items we'd like under the tree with our name on it. You know: goodies not found on eBay or the Home Shopping Network. We've done it again, and we share them with you in our annual Championship Auto Racing Auxiliary/AutoWeek auction. Money raised goes to benefit a number of worthy organizations, including the Buckle Up Baby Program where at each CART and IRL race venue $2,500 is donated to a local hospital to buy child car seats for families in need. And then there is the Rich Vogler Memorial Scholarship, as well as the James P. Chapman Scholarship in communication studies at the University of Michigan. All good things, indeed.

As in the past, you can go to our website to see some of the items; others are self-explanatory. You must e-mail your bid to the lovely and talented Marianne Harris (mbharris@crain.com), AutoWeek's editorial gatekeeper. If you bid and Marianne notifies you that you've won, you must back it up with American dollars within four days of the auction's official close date, which is Monday, Dec. 8, at 5 p.m. Eastern time. If we don't have your money by Friday, Dec. 12, we'll get in touch with the next highest bidder. Our goal is to get these items out to you winners in time for them to go under your favorite evergreen tree. Got it?

Okay, ladies and gentlemen, start your bidding...

Item 1: Now, here's a way to start off the auction! A first-team great gift is this Ford Cosworth XFE engine/glass coffee table, as seen in the picture where yours truly usually has his furry mug. A minimum bid of $1,000 is ...