Yesterday there was a rally of sorts held on a closed-off street in Raleigh. It was actually really a car show, but who cares, it was fun and there were some great cars for people to gawk at.
Car shows are fun and especially on a nice sunny day when the temperatures are in the mid-seventies. People enjoyed the variety of vehicles.
A favorite for me is when rat rods are on display.
They harken back to the very early days of post-WW II hot rodding when an aftermarket supply of parts was practically non-existent. Rodders just made things up as they went along. They knew you had to get the cars lower, make the engines more powerful, and thrill the girls with the noise and spectacle of it all.
Yes, that is the fuel gauge.
How is that for a brake pedal?
Of course there was a lot more in the way of eye candy parked for your enjoyment.
Here are some classic vehicle styles that have disappeared from the new car lots…
Above is a full-sized van. Big enough to live out of as you wander about the countryside .
It’s a station wagon. The perfect family vehicle. Ignore the current air-bag ride and take a look at the capacity of this in terms of facilitating the post-WW II nuclear family…
That’s a tailgate folks, and inside is…
A rear facing back seat. The coveted place for the pre-teens of the day. You were in your own world and had a panoramic view of the retreating world.
The inside expanse of the station wagon is to be envied by the current SUV owners…
People were really enjoying the show.
The youngsters, too.
But wait, there were many more cars to see.
How about this air-cooled beauty from 1971? I wish that it had been within my budget back then.
The design of these wheels was a masterpiece from Porsche.
Air-cooled, the way it was meant to be.
Yes, a Packard 120. Art Deco was the style in this pre-war design.
Who wouldn’t want to glide about in a Packard – “Ask the man who owns one”.
Now here is a classic from the early 1970’s:
The Opel GT was an import from GM of Germany. It had the lines and look of the Corvette of the day. The body was stamped and built by French companies. Chausson stamped them out and B&L (Brissonneau and Lotz) painted and assembled them complete with trim and wiring before sending them off to Germany to be mated with the drivetrain before being shipped to the US. Some said that the Opel Kadet was faster and better handling, but it was hard to argue with the sexy shape of the Opel GT.
The was this track-ready VW Rabbit.
The Pontiac GTO was the iconic muscle car of the sixties, but it was derived from the Pontiac Tempest, and if you knew how to order the right options you could end up with a real sleeper.
It was a fun show in the best weather possible. Raleigh did a great job by shutting down a street so that crowds could take their time and wander among the car while partaking of the eating establishments and watering holes that line Glenwood Avenue.
JIM'S GARAGE 
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