It’s Wild To See What Shows Up At An Autopian Meetup

The best part of doing an Autopian meetup is the people. That’s why any of us do this. People are what make cars interesting, not the other way around. That being said, when it’s an Autopian gathering, it’s also fun to find out what people are driving.

I’m currently sitting in one of the suites at Michigan International Speedway waiting to drive a series of custom Ford vehicles, which should be a lot of fun. As part of my journey here, I stopped over in Parma, Ohio to meet up with some readers.

Ohio, as they’ve done before, showed up to welcome us.

Right off the bat, I noticed a familiar face in an extremely familiar AMC AMX that was at our last Ohio meetup and looks absolutely perfect. Next to that, a manual Honda Civic Type R in a great color (it is Honda country, after all)

There were not one, but two, Cadillacs Blackwing (both kinds, Country and Western), also in excellent colors.

Oh, cool. An Acura TL with SH-AWD. I always have liked the way these looked and thought of them as an attractive and understated alternative to the BMWs of the era.

Wait, wait, wait. It’s a manual! It’s a Holy Grail. The one Thomas wrote about a couple of years ago. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen one in person. The owner also has a manual Acura ILX. That is very specific but incredible taste.

How is it possible that a Caprice survived this long in Ohio? I never got around to asking the owner as we were too busy talking about other stuff, but it’s a miracle.

Jake brought this Toyota Crown Royal Saloon, and there’s a very specific detail that I love on this car–a car made up of interesting details.

The lace on the seats has little crowns stitched into it! Incredible. Jake got this car in Japan when he worked there and imported it (and I hear another of his Japanese cars will show up at the Detroit meetup).

Before Slate put a JBL speaker in its truck, an Autopian reader beat them to the punch. Also, a manual transmission shorty Ranger is always a welcome sight.

Also, the Supervan shirt and a Transit Connect Custom tattoo? Perfect.

Somehow, I didn’t get a photo of the sweet modified Toyota Land Cruiser, unmodified Subaru Forester, and red Ford Transit Connect that showed up. As usually happens, we chatted the whole time, and I ended up scarfing down a BBQ sandwich in the Explorer after everyone left.

It’s so encouraging and invigorating to hear everyone’s stories and just talk cars with our amazing chill readers. Thank you for having us, Ohio, and see more of you tonight in Detroit!

All photos: Matt Hardigree