MFT Magazine Volume 1, Issue 2 | страница 4

Let's Hit The Road! by Carolyn Barlett, contributing author

August is one of the hottest months of the season. Car shows and cruises are in high swing during this time where you can find several events every weekend. The best way to know what events are scheduled is to join a car club, follow one of their Facebook pages, attend a car event and ask fellow car show participants, and/or talk to a pin up model at a car show.

One of my favorite things about the summer season is dressing in pin up and posing with the beautiful cars. It makes me feel amazing and builds my self-confidence. There is nothing more exciting at a car show than looking at great cars and watching photographers take pictures of pinup models to showcase the automobiles.

The Treasure Valley has a huge following in the hot rod community. When you attend car events you can expect to see Chevrolet, General Motors (GMC), Oldsmobile, Ford, Buick, Dodge, Pontiac, Chrysler, and so on. A car is considered “classic” when it is older than 30 years. Can you believe that 1984 was 30 years ago? The most common vintage you’ll see is cars from 1940s-1970s.

During the 1940s car production experienced setback because of World War II. This decade was the most unusual where there were virtually no cars made for 3-4 years (1942-1946). Popular cars during this period include the Delahaye 135 convertible. During the 1950s cars became lower, longer and wider; we also saw the rise of chrome use on cars when we were recovering from World War II. The 50s were also considered the “jet age” and aerodynamics, curves, forms, and concepts were adopted into car diversity. Some popular models were: Ford Thunderbird, Chevrolet Bel Air, Ford Fairlane 500 Skylineer, Cadillac Series 62, Chevrolet Corvette, Plymouth Fury, Studebaker, Willys, Kaiser-Frazer, and GM LeSabre. During the 1960s, when the hot topics were on Civil Rights, Women’s movements, the U.S. going to outer space, and the Beatles and Elvis topped the billboards, cars were also changing. Cars of this era were classified in three categories: economy, muscle, and pony. Automakers include smaller sized cars to complete with the growing foreign market. Popular autos of this era were the GM Corvair, Ford Falcon, Ford Thunderbird, Chrysler Valiant, Buick Riviera, Buick Special, American Motors Rambler, Oldsmobile F-85, and Pontiac Tempest. During the 1970s the car makers had to consider the reality of the gas epidemic and the new air quality standards. Consumers shifted to purchasing smaller, imported vehicles since American automakers were slow to keep up with the changing demands. The AMC Pacer, Buick Riviera, Cadillac Eldorado Convertible, Chevy Monte Carlo, Chevy Nova, Chevy Camaro, Cadillac Seville, Plymouth Cuda, Plymouth Duster, AMC Rebel, Oldsmobile 442, and the Lincoln Continental Mark IV, were among the most popular.

This list will help you to get familiar with the different makes and models of the most common classic cars that attend car show events. Feel free to contact me on where and when the Treasure Valley shows can be found. Let’s hit the road!

Carolyn Bartlett is an Administrative Assistant, Avon Representative and entrepreneur in Boise, Idaho. Along with her husband of 8 years, Carolyn owns Browns Auto Repair. Together they have a 12 year old son and two furry kids Rowdy and LIzzie. When not attending car shows and working on cars, she enjoys gardening, cooking, homesteading, DIY, continuing education/self-improvement, hunting, and fishing,