Pod Rods: classic pickups on US stamps; WWII-inspired Jeep; and some 50th anniversaries

This weekend's Pod Rods looks at some cool trucks that will soon be flying on the U.S. mail; a really cool and patriotic Jeep concept; the Ford GT in action - standing still; and a Mercredes-Benz golf cart?

It's all in Pod Rods, along with a complete car event calendar:

-- Ford fans can now send their first-class mail with stamps featuring the truck brand that has been the No. 1 seller in the United States for 39 years. The U.S. Postal Service is selling four new stamps that celebrate the history of pickup trucks, two featuring the 1948 Ford F-1, the first-ever F-Series truck, as well as the 1965 Ford F-100. USPS art director Antonio Alcalá designed the stamps with original artwork by Chris Lyons.

-- Jeep celebrates its first with a commemorative Wrangler 75th Salute concept that honors its military heritage, introducing the military green 2-seater on July 15, the date Willys-Overland Motor Co. was awarded the U.S. government contract in 1941 to build the first Willys MB. That concept was built on the same assembly line in Toledo, Ohio, that has produced Wrangler for decades. It's based on a Wrangler Sport, powered by a 3.6-liter V-6 engine with six-speed manual transmission. It gets some serious heritage design cues, like the absence of B-pillars and doors and an olive-drab color scheme first seen on military vehicles 75 years ago. It rides on 16-inch steel wheels wrapped in 32-inch military non-directional tires, with hood latches, a rear-mounted spare tire, steel front and rear bumpers with tow hooks and low back canvas seats that all echo the original military Jeep vehicles.

-- The first new Ford GT was unveiled at the 2015 Detroit motor show, powered by a 3.5-litre twin-turbo EcoBoost V-6 with more than 600 hp. Then the race version won its class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans a few weeks ago, repeating the Ford GT40's legendary win 50 years earlier. Now Ford has released a video that shows of the latest GT's aerodynamic systems work at speed, and the car never moves an inch. Instead, it's in wind tunnel testing at Ford's plant in Allen Park, Michigan, doing 125-mph standing still as smoke swirls around its aero-active rear wing. Here's the video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0hK7R6qSXU

-- Speaking of Ford, it's one of the major carmakers celebrating 50th anniversaries in distinctly different ways.

First, the folks at Ford in Dearborn are celebrating the 50th anniversary of their Ford GT 40 racing team finishing 1-2-3 at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the biggest global stage in motorsports. And they have another event to celebrate - 50 years later to the day, Ford and Chip Ganassi Racing won the famed French endurance race again with the 2017 Ford GT race car, with another coming in third.

So what's a major car company to do to celebrate? Like it did 50 years ago, the company illuminated the World Headquarters building in Dearborn with the message "GT Wins at LeMans." The lighting will also be used to honor its drivers and team that will be coming to the area.

-- Meanwhile, the gang and Chevrolet are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the original unveiling of the Camaro name with activities this summer during the Woodward Dream Cruise, and a special edition of the car.

For example, a celebration will be held along with tours of the Lansing Grand River plant, where the Camaro is built, on Aug. 18. Chevrolet will hold a "Camaros and Coffee" cruise-in in Detroit, on Aug. 19, with a special Camaro heritage display at Chevrolet's Woodward Dream Cruise site on Aug. 20, with rare and milestone examples from the car's six generations, including the all-new 2017 Camaro ZL1 and 1LE models.

As for the 50th Anniversary Edition Camaro, it gets a black and orange stripe package over a Nightfall Gray metallic paint, its 20-inch wheels wearing 50th anniversary center caps. Inside, black leather and suede.

FYI - Chevrolet claims that when a reporter asked 50 years ago what "Camaro" meant, some company managers reportedly said it was a small, vicious animal that ate Mustangs.

A special media site - www.camarofiftymedia.com - will offer historic images, design illustrations and historic information.

-- Mazda has released an updated Mazda3, which goes on sale first in Japan this weekend. The new Mazda3 features G-Vectoring Control (GVC), the first in a series of new SKYACTIV-VEHICLE DYNAMICS technologies that provide integrated control of the engine, transmission, chassis and body. The 2017 Mazda3 goes on sale in the U.S. later this year.

-- One of the rarest land-speed record cars ever made, and one of the sexiest, is making its first appearance on the auction block in 56 years at Gooding and Company's Pebble Beach Auctions on Aug. 20 and 21. First shown at the 42nd Turin Motor Show, the 1960 Abarth 1000 Bialbero Record Car "La Principessa" was designed by Italian coachbuilder Carrozzeria Pinin Farina, its sleek shape honed in the wind tunnel at Turin Polytechnic University tobreak the world record for highest sustained speed over the longest period of time. With a drag coefficient of just 0.20, La Principessa went on to set nine world records including 10,000 kilometers with an average speed of 118.7 mph, as well as 72 continuous hours at an average speed of 116 mph. This unrestored car has been with the same private owner for decades and is being offered for public sale for the first time. No estimated sale price so far, though.

-- Forza Motorsport 6 has added seven new racing vehicles in its latest monthly update, and someone has a wild imagination. How would you like to race a 1957 BMW Isetta 300 Export s with a whopping 13 hp? Or how about our favorite - a 1,050-hp 2015 Mercedes-Benz Tankpool24 Racing Truck? The game pack has three street and four track cars from Germany, Italy, the U.S. and Britain. Some of the others in the racing game include the 1969 Indy 500-winning Ford Brawner Hawk III and the Chevrolet Cruze World Touring Car Championship. The car pack is $7.

-- Some extremely rare and unusual cars are set for display at the 11th annual Salon Privé Chubb Insurance Concours d'Elégance on Sept. 1 to 3 at England's Blenheim Palace. Among the 65 extremely rare cars and 20 exceptional motorbikes is a unique 1924 Alfa Romeo RL Normale Coupé de Ville by Farré, and a very unusual 1923 Voisin Type C6 Laboratoire. A rolling laboratory for Voisin's experimental technology, the Type C6 car's aerodynamic profile was inspired by the wing of an airplane and was entered by California's Mullin Automotive Museum.

-- Lots of folks drive their Mercedes-Benzes to golf courses to play. Now the German automaker has one that folks can drive "on" the golf course. The Mercedes-Benz Style Edition Garia Golf Car transfers the company's "design idiom of sensual purity" to a premium-class golf cart, according to its news release. The result of a cooperation between Mercedes-Benz designers, Daimler's Think & Act Tank Business Innovation and golf cart manufacturer Garia, the new golf car sort-of looks like M-B's Smart Car. It gets a carbon-fiber roof, a small rear spoiler that acts as a golf bag holder and an integrated onboard touchpad screen showing its electric drivetrain's remaining range, vehicle speed, power consumption, layout of the golf course and electronic score card. It has a range of up to 50 miles.

-- Finally, in this weekend's online edition of RM Sotheby's "Stay Connected" newsletter, the Amelia Island Concours's official auction house has details on a 1955 Jaguar D-Type and 1927 Pierce-Arrow Model 80 Four-Passenger Touring up for sale soon at its Monterey and Detroit auctions respectively; a video look at the Ford Performance Icons for sale in Monterey that include the 1962 Shelby 260 Cobra "CSX 2000" offered from the Carroll Hall Shelby Trust, and other special cars driven, owned or made by Shelby. Here's the link - https://rmsothebys.com/?_cldee=ZGFuLnNjYW5sYW5AamFja3NvbnZpbGxlLmNvbQ%3d%3d&urlid=0

Hot summer weekends mean some car events, and here they are:

Car events:

Green Cove Dragway - The eighth-mile IHRA dragstrip is at 1010 Worthington Ave. in Green Cove Springs, off Florida 16 in the Reynolds Industrial Park. The track hosts a Run What Ya Brung event at 6 p.m. Saturday, admission $12 for spectators; competitors are $25 for test and tune runs, or $50 for combo entries. At 7 p.m. on Friday, July 22, its Under the Lights drag racing, with spectators admission atv $12 per and Test and Tune registration $25 per vehicle. For more information and a full calendar of events, including the Aug. 6 Randy Heath Memorial Race, go to http://greencovedragway.com.

Car shows:

¦ All American BBQ Car and Truck Show - 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, July 16, at Bonos barbecue at 731 Duval Station Road. Free for spectators and $25 per show vehicle.

¦ Adamec Harley-Davidson Summer Car and Bike show - 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, July 31, at Adamec Harley-Davidson at 1520 Wells Road in Orange Park. Free for spectators and $20 per show vehicle. d by Callahan Cruisers, with live music.

Cruise-ins:

¦ Informal cruise-in - 7 to 9 a.m. every Saturday at Krispy Kreme, located at 11117 San Jose Blvd. in Mandarin.

¦ Clay County Cruzers - 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday at Taps Bar and Grill, 1605 County Road 220 in Fleming Island.

¦ Amelia Cruizers - 5 to 8 p.m. Saturday at Dicks Wings at 474313 Florida 200 in Fernandina Beach

¦ St. Augustine Cruisers - 5 to 8 p.m. on Saturday at Hobby Lobby at 200 Florida 312 in St. Augustine.

¦ Callahan Cruisers - 5 to 8 p.m. on Saturday at Kmart, 1501 Normandy Village Parkway in Jacksonville.

¦ Jax Beaches Cars and Coffee - Classic Car Cruise from 5 to 8 p.m. every third Tuesday at the Sea Walk Pavilion and Latham Plaza between 1st and 2nd Street. Information - www.betterjaxbeach.com.

¦ Aw Shucks Cruise-in - 4 p.m. every Friday at the restaurant, located at 9743 Old St. Augustine Road.

Send information on automotive and motorcycle events to dan.scanlan@jacksonville.com or Dan Scanlan, Florida Times-Union, 1 Riverside Ave., Jacksonville FL 32202.