The Galpin/Autopian Car Show Was A Success And David Only Hit One Rock In The Autozam

We did it! Well, by we, I mean the large and well-organized staff of Galpin Motors, all the volunteers who brought their amazing cars, the city officials who made sure traffic didn’t turn into absolute chaos, our Autopian readers who showed up to say hello and/or brought their amazing cars, and then, quite lastly, David, Matt, and myself. But we did it, and by “it” I mean the Galpin/Autopian car show, which had over 900 cars and who the hell knows how many people and was an absolute blast.

Our little corner of the car show felt truly wonderful this year, even if we didn’t have the scaffolding to hang our banner and had to drape it over a low wall, below Our CrossCab, which we drove onto a rock and watched the body torque and twist like a very comfortable sleeping cat.

Still, I think it made for a compelling view, all the same:

The day started at about 5am, and started a little rough, because I don’t think we ever manage to do anything smoothly. The Autozam AZ-1, which we wanted as the sort of centerpiece for our corner, had a very dead battery:

I did manage to hunt down the big jump box, drag it down the street, and finally jump the little gull-winged car. But that was hardly the only drama we had with the Autozam, because while re-positioning it, David accidentally smacked it into an unexpected yet permanently-mounted rock:

This rock, in fact. See those little bits of paint? Those delicious paint chips? They came from here:

Ouch. Still, David really couldn’t have picked a better car to accidentally drive into a rock, because this one is getting a special body kit, so that bumper was going to go in a matter of weeks, anyway. The rock was in a weird spot, and David couldn’t have seen it where he was. It’s all fine, but it’s also pretty funny. [Ed Note: The only time I’ve ever driven an Autozam AZ-1 is three feet, directly into a rock. -DT]. 

No matter what, the Autozam was a hit and everyone loved to see this exuberant little beast, including, as you can see there, some of the local gearhead Buddhist monk community. Everyone loves an Autozam!

Also, look how high the rear wheel of the CrossCab is off the ground; you could fit, say, a whole birthday cake, with candles, under there.

And look at some of the amazing cars our Autopian readers brought! An MR2, an incredible Model A hot rod with a Nissan 350Z engine, a 1952 Mercedes-Benz with the most dainty air vents I’ve ever seen:

Seriously, look at those. They’re like the size of quarters. It had good taillights, too:

We also had a fantastic Subaru BRAT show up (we’ll have a fun video with that soon!) and it had one of my absolute favorite factory car lighting details:

The cyclops light! I unashamedly love these.

As always, we had some fun microcars, including the Paul Vallée Chantecler (front), a Spanish Biscuter, and then that red car, known as the Volpe, which has an interesting story.

This is just one of two surviving cars, out of about a dozen made around 1947, none of which had engines because the company turned out to be something of a scam. Or at least a massive failure. We’ll have a little reel about it soon.

Of course, there was so much more. The air-cooled VW section I think was even better than last year, with wonderful Type 2s like this oddly-appetizing looking vision in earthtones and yellow headlights.

There was this remarkable bare-metal Type 2 crew cab pickup with a massive turbocharger:

…a minty 2003 Última Edición, from the very last series of original, air-cooled Beetles ever built:

…this fantastic Brazilian VW Brasilia, the only true Beetle replacement built with old-school air-cooled VW mechanicals, and many of these ran on sugar cane-alcohol:

…but I think my favorite thing was the 40% enlarged Beetle, something I’d seen online but never in person:

We made a reel on this one, and, honestly, I’d like to do a much deeper-dive video in the future:

 

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There was so much more! Have you ever seen the dashboard of a Lamborghini Espada? It’s this amazing double-decker wonderland of leather and gauges:

And, of course, whenever I see an Espada, I have to point out my favorite bit of trivia about the car’s unique badging, even if David tries to stop me:

 

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I’ll never quit.

I’ll also never get tired of looking at the pleasingly complex rear ends of old Bentleys, with their diving-helmet taillights and colossal fuel fillers:

Also, does that funny bit of text on there count as a bumper sticker even if there’s no real bumper, and I’m not sure that’s actually a sticker?

Multiple entire city blocks were just temporarily filled with interesting cars, like this beautiful Citroën DS (maybe an ID?) that glided by, hydropneumatically.

There are a couple non-automotive observations I’d like to share with you before a fling myself into the warm, waiting arms of sleep: like this strange whatever that was found in the Autopian corner:

The hell is this? Some weird sculpture of a headless cherub (I imagine he was originally sporting a head) riding…a stork? Did some baby go in that bundle/bindle there? What was this doing hiding in the shrubs?

And finally, I’d like to share this sign I saw in the elevator of the hotel I’m in:

“Ha ha ha ha ha eggs ha ha ha ha ha bacon ha ha ha HA HA HA eggs oh my god ha HA HA HA eggs can you believe it eggs ha ha eggs ha eggs eggs eggs!”

The hell is wrong with these people? Yes, eggs are funny, and paired with bacon, hilarious, but get a grip, dummies.

Anyway, the Galpin Car Show was fantastic, and thank you so very much to everyone who came out, and everyone who said hello and was so supportive and kind! You’re why we do this!