Stolen '57 Chevy returned after 30 years with complimentary restoration

Stories like this are too rare. Skip Wilson, 65, took delivery of his fully restored, 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air last Monday. That's not the cool part - he hadn't seen the car in over 30 years.

Wilson's two-door Bel Air (not shown above) was purchased in 1975 for $375, and after years of work on it, was stolen in 1983. The car was recovered, but was missing its engine and transmission. Before the northern California resident had a chance to source a new powertrain, the car was stolen again, not to be seen until it arrived outside his house sporting a new coat of Competition Orange paint and a 350-cubic-inch V8 fed by a Holley four-barrel carb.

It turns out that over the 30 years since it was stolen, the car had seen four different owners, one of whom had completely restored it. There was supposed to be a fifth owner, in Australia, until US Customs inspectors discovered the car in a shipping container in the Port of Los Angeles. After notifying the National Insurance Crime Bureau, which had the car's VIN on record, it was seized by the California Highway Patrol and returned to Wilson.

The entire story, published by the Santa Rosa Press Democrat is really worth a read. While Wilson is wondering how his Chevy was registered by four different owners when its VIN was on record with the NICB, he just seems happy to have it back. "Somebody put a whole lot of work and money into that car," Wilson told the Press Democrat. "I imagine somebody in Australia must be awful upset."

This post originally posted here.

Subaru offers glimpse of Viziv 2 Geneva concept

Subaru clearly sees something special in its Viziv crossover concept. After debuting it at last year's Geneva Motor Show and evolving it for the Tokyo Motor Show, the Japanese brand is bringing a Viziv 2 concept to this year's Geneva show on March 4. It also has a few other cards up its Swiss sleeve, too, as it has plans to display its new WRX STI road car and racecar for the Nürburgring 24 Hours this summer.

The third iteration of the Viziv gets reshaped boomerang headlights and new LED foglights, but that's all we know for the moment, because Subaru has only released a single teaser rendering along with a tantalizing claim that the showcar "signifies a future path" for the brand's next models.

The powertrain for the Viziv 2 is also still a secret. Both previous concepts used three-motor hybrid systems matched to continuously variable transmissions. In the first concept, primary power came from a diesel engine, while gasoline power was said to motivate the second evolution in Tokyo.

Both street and racing versions of the STI have already been revealed, and we've even driven the road car, but Geneva will be the first chance for Europeans to check them out. We will have to wait and see if Subaru has done any more to the Viziv 2 other than the new front end, but for now, we're intrigued. If you are as well, scroll down to read the entire brief press release.

This post originally posted here.