JC Cruiser Car Show 2009

I enjoyed the car show on Saturday as much as someone who has little knowledge of or interest in cars can enjoy a car show. For me a car simply a means of transportation, a view that sets me outside the mainstream of America and far from those who spend hours lovingly restoring or customizing old cars.

The picture I had of the trophies in an earlier post was in progress. Later in the day the trophy table was a lot more crowed. I did not look carefully to see all the possible categories, but cars of different ages competed separately.
I liked the older cars. The tag on the front said it was a 1931 Model A Tudor Sedan.
Below is the interior. When I was seven or eight years old, we had a neighbor who ran a scrap yard. He had old cars like this waiting to be disassembled, and his son and I would sit in them and pretend to drive. One thing that a lot of the old cars had that this one does not is a knob on the steering wheel that I think it made it easier to steer with one hand. I remember a lot of those knobs on the old cars.Most of the cars were much newer. There were a lot of fairly recent sports cars. Notice how the hoods are up, inviting you to inspect their private parts (engines).
I was amazed at how clean the motors were. They looked like they were just off the production line.
What a big air filter you have, grandcar! I remember when cars had engines that did not fill the entire compartment, and I could understand what each part did. I bet this old Ford was not painted baby blue when it was new.
Here is a fun paint job on a truck as it entered the arena.
I do not understand why these old cars are not black. Didn't Henry Ford tell his customers that they could have the car in any color they wanted as long as it was black? The decorative bullet holes in the car on the left were a humorous touch.
A sign in front of the car below said it was a 1940 Ford coupe. Styles changed and curves were in, curves that were supposed to remind people of airplane aerodynamics.
The picture below shows some of the variety being exhibited. I think the car closest is from the 1950s. We may have had a car like that when I was a kid. I think we had a Mercury for a while in the 1950s and then a couple of Chevies. I do not remember years or models, nor do I remember if my father bought them used or new. As I said, cars just did not interest me much.

My brother had a Volkswagen as his first car. You can see a yellow love bug in the second row.

When was the golden age of tail fins? Was it somewhere in the 1960s, or was it in the 1950s? Below is a good example of that fad. Are the contemporary equivalents the spoilers on the backs of cars?
The sign says this is a 1968 Chevy Impala. I thought the drive-in tray on the driver's window was a nice touch. My first car was a black 1970 Chevy Nova, but I did not see any no vas there or I would have taken a picture.
I do not know how a scooter or motor bike got into a car show, but there is. The car next is an extreme customization. There is not much of whatever was the original car.
I have more to write about the car show and cruise night, but it will wait for another post. This one is too long already.

Do you go to car shows? If you do, what do you look for? What brings a smile to your face when you see it?