Cars are fun, but gatherings where car people can get together, show off their rides, share stories, and make new friends are even more fun. The thing is, for every Pebble Beach, there are hundreds of awesome local events that don’t get the same publicity as the big ones in the global automotive sphere. Enthusiasts are still putting in the work to pull them off, so let’s give them some recognition. Today, I want to ask you what car event you think more people should know about.
Living in Toronto, car season isn’t year-round but it sure is vibrant. Pretty much from May to October, weekends are filled with shows, casual group drives, track events, and everything in between. From Kaleidoscope’s celebration of Porsches and colors to The Vaulture packing venues full of amazing European cars to the mid-winter reset of Motorama for the muscle car crowd, there’s a little bit of something here for everyone. However, I want to highlight one car event in particular that’s spawned a lot of memories.
The big one for a lot of people is Oblivion, a car and culture show celebrating the ’80s and ’90s. Sure, it’s a concept that’s been done before, but beyond the outfits and cars, there’s a level of higher planning that goes into making each installation so memorable. The first Oblivion I went to was the second one, and it was held at Ontario Place before the province tore it down. Formerly a summer theme park with a cinesphere, it was a highlight of many Ontarian kids’ summers, and I was lucky enough to drive an E39 M5 right in.
Since then, the show’s cycled few several venues and themes. A summer camp, a mall, a wedding, and last year, a field trip to an agricultural museum. Beyond the nostalgic venue and involvement of Volkswagen, the sheer array of machines people brought was absolutely epic. I mean, take a look at this Daihatsu Charade De Tomaso. Yes, that De Tomaso. The guy behind the Pantera.
Or how about something more nursing home-spec? Check out this absolutely pristine Oldsmobile 98, immaculately preserved with gleaming chrome and an aftermarket set of Vogues.
Want mo’ late-Malaise? Boom. As far as I can tell, Ford never made an LTD shooting brake, but this glorious mashup of Fox Body components is done so well that it almost seems factory. I’m kind of amazed more eyeballs weren’t on it, but the amount of work needed to make an idea this crazy slide under the radar is enormous. Props to the builder for pulling it off.
Fancy a French connection? This Peugeot 106 is incredibly charming, a lovely example of a sensible yet fun hatchback. I know it’s easy to look back with rose-tinted glasses, but it wasn’t that long ago when much of the world could buy inexpensive new cars that were still fun.
Yes, even North Americans. This beautifully kept Neon is a great example of a car that used to be everywhere but is now an uncommon sight. Two-door coupes, fun colors, economy cars with stick-shifts and peppy engines, that used to be us. It’s easy to blame it all on the EPA’s footprint rule, but for now, I’ll just admire this magenta machine.
This year, it’s returning to the same venue as last year but shifting the time and theme. Instead of a daytime show, it’ll run from the afternoon into the evening with a drive-in theater theme. Car registration opens up on Saturday, here’s hoping the Boxster makes it in. So, what car event near you should more people know about? Let me know in the comments below.
Top graphic credit: Thomas Hundal
The Lone Star Roundup car show in Austin, Texas is technically a traditional rod and kustom show, but the whole weekend is a great automotive event. There are two days of show and swap meet at the Travis County Expo Center, then a cruise on South Congress on Friday and Saturday evening. Plus other events for the show car owners, and there’s excellent live music at the venue and many affiliated shows in town those evenings.
I meet people from all over the world there, and people whose car/truck interests and vehicles are all over the spectrum. This year it was in early May but next year it’s back in mid April. This show started out at a high school football stadium with around 100 cars, and has really grown over 23 years. Still a great vibe though and my family looks forward to it every year.
I need you to help create a small van event featuring all types of small vans like our transit connect..
The Picnic at Hanging Rock Classic Car Show at Hanging Rock, near Woodend, 80kms out of Melbourne, Australia.
One of the biggest all-makes car shows in Australia, with lots of individual clubs attending, plus anything else you can imagine.
It’s the only place I’ve seen a Devaux, and the time I took our Fiat 850 Sport Coupe there were more of them in attendance than at the Victorian Fiat Car Club show I attended the same year! Cars are parked in the order in which they arrive, to allow clubs to convoy together and park together, and on the way up I passed two other Fiat 850 Coupes driving together, who sped up to follow me, so we all ended up parked together despite not knowing each other, and so ended up with all the Coupes at the show in the one spot!
Newport (Indiana) Antique Auto Hillclimb, first weekend in October.
The Best of France and Italy in Van Nuys, CA in September. It’s a very relaxed and casual gathering o the weird ad wonderful, form running daily project cars and drivers to mega rare exotica and funkiness.
My favorite show is the Carlisle (PA) Import and Performance show, usually held around the middle of May.
Where else can one see Peugeots and Citroens, hundreds of Saabs and Volvos and oddities including a Trabant, an art car Deux Chevaux, a Panhard 24 BT, and a rodded yellow Australian Valiant with an multi-carburated inline six (not a slant six)?
There is even a car limbo contest.
I’m hoping to make a road trip to this next year with my 200SX
I’m wondering what model the Australian Valiant is. The non-Slant inline six would be the Hemi engine (not truly a hemi, but still got the name). It was originally developed to be a replacement for the Slant Six in Dodge trucks, but never got past the prototype stage in the USA. Chrysler Australia developed it as a Slant Six replacement from 1970 onwards, and triple Weber sidedraft carbs were factory fitment on some race homologation option packages.
ARA Rally events!
I went to Sno Drift for my first time this year and most of the people I talked to were from Michigan but had no idea that the ARA season starts and finishes here
Michigan is a great place to live if you want to volunteer at/spectate/race ARA events. You’ve got a bunch of really fun races within a reasonable distance.
Check out https://sneakattackrally.com/ARACombinerThing/schedule.html for a map of the North America rally events.
The Vintage in Asheville NC, vintage BMWs, the show is awesome, but the half the fun is the Clarion hotel parking lot the Friday before the show. The diversity of cars and people is off the hook, everything wild customs, race cars, pre-war, clapped out rusty projects. The vibe is super welcoming and friendly.
The Antique Truck show in Macungie PA…which so happens to be this weekend. Put on by the ACTA its a free show, and gets a great turnout