With the car show season just about to tip off, we were invited to be “The Judge” for the Ballyshaners Old Town Alexandria St. Patricks Day Parade Car show in March.
Originally scheduled the first weekend of the month, a storm blew into town. Thus it was postponed until the St. Paddy’s Day weekend. While the original show had quite a long list of interesting cars, getting them to make a reappearance was not so easy, so only a dozen or so showed up for the rescheduled judging.
The dozen that came out under a bright but chilly Sunday were mainly American Muscle droptops of the 1970’s, and a convertible is great for a parade because that way the celebrities can ride and wave from the deck lid of the back.
Hotrods, Boulevard Cruisers, and Rat rods
Always fun to see what shows up at such a display, and there were a couple of what I consider rat rods, anomalies built on one chassis and powered by something from another brand.
Dogs and Soldiers
Part of a good car show is the people watching, and any good car show allows dogs, kids, and soldiers. While a car show is all about the cars, it attracts young and old. People remembering what was, and some learning what they may never have known before. Like the little girl who could not keep her hands off anything, and the car’s owner had to ask, nicely, not to touch.
And the Winner Is
While none of the entrants were garage queens and none of these cars would have even been thought of for Pebble Beach. I took a look at how each car was presented. While one was nothing more than a sales promotion, and a couple were cobbled together.
The 1970 Oldsmobile 442 was well turned out, nothing flashy, nothing more than what it would have been when it rolled the streets the first year with it’s top down and all of the classic American Iron Glory.
Queer 4 Cars Celebrates the Automotive Lifestyle. 