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
I live in Los Angeles so I’m staying out of this conversation… But what a fine selection of cool oddities you offered in this article, Thomas!
Not one of mine, bu definitely some cool shit going on here if you care to venture deep into the valley.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzBElyy3JWc
One of mine:
https://www.senatetheater.com/events-input/movie-motorama-film-festival-and-car-show
A car show at a vintage community-run movie theater in downtown Detroit with a car show too? If you’re in town, come by with or without a car to show.
SVRA vintage races. Tons of cool old cars, super-friendly folks in the paddock, and races that are a joy to watch. Seeing a bunch of Sprites and Minis going flat-out is bound to put a smile on your face, and the sound of a dozen big-block Corvettes and Mustangs thundering past is life-altering.
CSRG is a very similar race to SVRA but the first race is at Sonoma and is free for spectators and the other races they have ride along that you can buy. The open pits and parking lot alone is worth the drive. https://www.charityracing.org/
Oh man, Oblivion was SOOO GOOD. That blue Ford was parked next to my Slammed Sacco, down the row from you, if I remember correctly.
Local groups are where it’s at. An hour south of Ottawa, a friend of mine curates 3-4 events a year in the form of Cars & Coffee Cornwall . They do a spectacular job and the variety of the cars is staggering.
I also want to give a shout out to a local meet that a friend and I started, called the Burgers & Shakes Meet.
We all meet up in a supermarket parking lot and do a small cruise to one of the best burger joints around.
We go to their OG location, which is about the size of a postage stamp and has a driving range. No matter what day you show up, especially in summer, the place is lined up out the door.
We invite anyone and everyone, with the distinct rule of “don’t be a dick”. We’ve kicked a few people out. I’m closer to 40 than 30, and I don’t have time or care to deal with juvenile antics that get meets shut down.
Not cars, but motorbikes (so one for Mercedes). The Isle of Man TT races do not get the attention they deserve compared to other motor racing events. They are on all this week. Lap length of over 37 miles on closed public roads including through towns and villages at an average speed for the winners of the fastest categories of 130mph. Spectators inches from the action, rally style, and a pit lane that makes me think of F1 in the 1960s. Quite astonishing.
I low key love that Fox body shooting brake. I would definitely be talking for a while to the owner.
Vintage Torquefest! over near Dubuque, IA. This one is for anyone who likes earlier stuff with lots of DIY mods. Plenty of rat rods/Rat Fink type cars, but also a lot of “kustoms”, rare stuff, just plain old cars, etc. and a good selection of “newer” cars people bring in (it’s where I park my ’66 Biscayne). It’s the only show where I’ve come across what was basically a stock, daily-driven Kaiser Darrin. There’s also great live music, especially for anyone into Rockabilly/surf-rock/Johnny Cash type tunes, burn-out contests, mini-bike racing on the dirt-track, spectator drags, “chain-races”, vintage stock car racing, etc., etc.
That Olds on display up there is quite a site! It sure wears those Vogues nicely. I’ll always have a sweet spot for those as I bought a shade darker blue one than that back in the broke days for $650 that got our family through something of a rough patch. Purchased with 206,000 showing on the odo, we racked up another 50,000 miles on it before selling to next broke person for $550. Nice to see a near-perfect looking example.
The Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix! It’s the only vintage grand prix run on city streets. Huge car shows on Saturday and Sunday and lots of events for a week or 2 before. And it’s all for charity! My personal favorite is British Car Day on Saturday of race weekend. I’ll be there!
An Autopian tour of grassroots car gatherings would be great. Shoreline Cars & Coffee in North Seattle meets every Saturday 8-10am rain or shine. Plan your trip for December to meet some hardy souls.
I was on my way up a couple of months ago when a belt slipped. I mean to get up one day this summer. Lake WA C&C is a lot closer, but it’s outgrown its location and thoroughly unpleasant after about 10:15; I assume Shoreline is more relaxed.
Yep Shoreline is much more relaxed though it moved to the parking lot behind the casino and Aurora Borealis event space. 16708 Aurora Ave N, Shoreline, WA 98133 – It’s not as good as the old location but it works, This Saturday is the Greenwood Car show though (and great weather) so not to be missed!
Car event near me I’d like to see: Teenager decides to finally get license.
I’d settle for 30 year old getting license.
Short track, local, ARCA races. The engines in those care are ~$60K.
i would argue short track above arca. Arca just is a shell of what it used to be.
I agree. I’m not saying go to ARCA races, I’m saying go to ARCA races when they are at local Short Tracks. Those cars have $60K engines and seeing them at a tiny little local track will be a hoot. Then of course also go to the local short track when ARCA isn’t there.
Chop Top Challenge.
Take a non-convertible car and chop the roof off. Windshield too. Drive from Chicago in March (!) to Florida or somewhere, collecting points along the way. They don’t tell you how until you depart.
https://www.choptopchallenge.com/
I have never participated but discovered it by accident online a few years back. It looks sort of unhinged, seems like a nice fit for the community here.
At the end of July, there’s an all El Camino (+ Caballero) car show in Nappanee, IN.
It’s rumored there might be over 250 El Caminos there.
Google Elcofest 2025.
God, IDK what would be more interesting to watch, the cars or their owners. 250 El Camino owners in one spot?
Local SCCA (and other clubs too) RallyCross events. In terms of value for the money, it’s some of the best entry-level seat time you can experience. Unlike autocross and track days, RallyCross doesn’t chew through tires at the same pace. As long as your car is bolted together properly and the suspension bushings are bushing successfully, it’s a lot lower risk than other “sign up and drive your own car” types of events. Laps are short enough that you’re not at risk of overheating either.
We have all kinds of vehicles show up at the 2 local clubs running in SoCal, ranging from people’s daily-driven sedans, coupes, and crossovers, all the way to actual ARA stage rally cars, a built Cadillac SRX, and a Lamborghini Huracan Sterrato. I was shocked to see it too, actually driven as intended.
The spectator experience is also top-notch. Free ride-alongs (loaner helmets are usually available!) and the most welcoming community of any motorsport I’ve tried. It’s all good vibes and sideways fun.
There’s a huge gathering of Northern California low rider clubs in Sacramento on New Year’s day. Seems to happen each year in Land Park. We stumbled onto it a couple of years ago, and the cars were spectacular. Unfortunately, I don’t know what the event is called (so even I should know more about it!)
Eureka is Northern California Sacramento is middle California or something. Eureka is 8 hours north of Frisco.
Bad take. Nobody from CA in their right mind would say Sac isn’t in NorCal.
Fortunately California and right mind are two mutually different segments. JK
That Oblivion at Ontario Place (RIP) was technically my kid’s first car show at two weeks old (followed up by British Car Day in Burlington the next weekend). I haven’t coaxed him back to Oblivion since, but we’ll get back eventually.
I’m an admin in a Facebook group for Fox LTD fans and the owner of that blue LTD is in it. He combined an LTD wagon and Fairmont boxtop to create a 2 door wagon and it was incredibly well done.
All of the shows and events I’m big fans of – Radwood, 24 Hours of Lemons, etc. – are well known already.
I bet people come from tens of miles to attend this event
Actually, they come from all over Northern California. The Bay Area, Chico, etc. The level of care that goes into those things is amazing.
If you mean Oblivion, our crew traveled 750 miles ’round trip to attend the show last year. And will again this year. We have a buddy with a cottage 2 hours from the event, so we stay there before/after the show.
I learned about Oblivion a few years ago and have been trying to make it work to get up there for it ever since. I have family in Buffalo so that makes it semi-convenient. Just gotta get the timing right and have at lease one of my rad-era vehicles up to the trip at the same time.
Kansas City Art Institute used to do a really good car show called “Art of The Car.” Really interesting stuff shows up from all over the Midwest. I remember an NSU Spider with very complete documentation, this particular Spider was the very first VIN imported, making it the first Wankel Rotary powered vehicle in the USA. Even more unusual was the original owner was at the show that day too, he had lost track of the car, found it again on accident at the show and was attempting to buy it back. IIRC he had been some bigwig engineer at a local firm and was interested in the engine for research.
Sadly the Great Pacific North West Mini Microcar Extravaganza was cancelled last year and I see no signs of it happening this year, but the Micro Car Meet in Detroit June 20-22 looks like a lot of fun. I hope Mercedes gets to go.
I hadn’t heard about the cancellation of the GPNWMME. I first went in 2008 when it was at PIR:
https://live.staticflickr.com/4103/5072064860_40c4820cda_z.jpg
then a couple more times after it had moved to Forest Grove:
https://live.staticflickr.com/1285/4707392082_61eb1b465c_z.jpg
Mark always put on a good show.
I’m going to have to miss the Detroit show this time around; I did drive from Seattle to its predecessor in Illinois, the World Microcar/Minicar Meet in 2010. It was not a quick drive in either direction.
I don’t know if a story told in photos can be the COTD, but ^this^ should be COTD. And that sounds like a very…leisurely…drive.
I did find a kindred spirit in the Wall Drug parking lot on the way there, or at least a color-coordinated spirit:
https://live.staticflickr.com/3114/5716601092_6f14a25af6_z.jpg
OH MY GOD. I love it.
The annual “Rod Run to the End of the World” on the Long Beach peninsula in SW Washington, just across the river from Astoria, OR. Held in September every year. The peninsula becomes a massive procession of hot rods, classic, muscle cars, and everything in between.
Come check it out!
https://beachbarons.com/
THE PITTSBURGH VINTAGE GRAND PRIX, DAMN IT!
Beat me to it… just look it up.
I smell a contributor article.
Did you mean the Schenley Park antique Car Race and Automotive Show? Definitely an experience not to be missed
That’s it – it’s a full week plus now. They run the high power cars the prior weekend at Pittsburgh Intl Race Complex in Beaver County. Car shows all through the city all week and the Schenley Park Historics the final weekend.
I can wax poetic about the Grand Prix of Long Beach all day – but all I’ll say is that there is always something happening on-track, plenty of off-track (but still car-related) things to do, and the weather is always perfect.
So what’s up with the randomly placed wheels? Is that like the Canadian version of those weird dolls at the classic car shows I think is weird but can’t remember the name of?
I think it’s to show you still have the OEM set as well? That’s absolutely the stock Neon wheel, with its very memorable cover.
Yeah but I don’t think that’s the stock one for that Charade.
“Time-Out Dolls”? God, I hate those things!
The show creators want the event to be as time-warp-y as possible, so the more OEM, the better.
Tons of folks have their trunks and back windows loaded up with vintage toys/magazines/boomboxes and such.
Here’s some slightly more in-depth coverage from last year. You can spot my w126 in the background of the green SHO pic, flanked by the blue Ford shooting brake.
The Borgward Isabella
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borgward_Isabella