Driving Americana

Have you ever reminisced about your first car? Have you ever dreamed about owning a car from a bygone era? What is it about those cars that make them so appealing?

One of the many Festivals you can find in almost any community throughout the United States is a classic car show. Not always a festival but a great time to enjoy looking at some great looking cars. Some of these classic car shows are held in parking lots of local establishments. In fact a few years ago I took my family to Culvers in Anoka Minnesota and there in the parking lot were 20-25 classic cars that you could stroll by and look at. You even got to talk to the owners of those cars.

Classic cars are an interesting phenomenon. You buy a new car and the value decreases the more you drive. If you can keep that car in pristine condition and even restore part of it you can increase the value after a number of years.

A 1970  skylark (not mine but similar)

If I still had my first car in mint condition it would be bordering on classic car. My first car was a 1970 Buick Skylark muscle car with pinstripe detailing on the body.  Soon I will be able to go to a classic car show and start to see those early 70s cars.

Most of those classic car shows have 50s and 60s cars. My all time favorite is a car that was made before I was alive. My dream car is a 57 Chevy convertible. I love to see those and dream of myself behind the wheel of one of those. Why I have a love affair with a car older than me in beyond comprehension.

I believe the true reason people love the classic car shows and love learning and enjoying those cars is for the stories. The stories that each car can tell gives us a bit of Americana, a bit of the life stories of those who drove it. That is what draws us in. It is the speculation and the mystique of those stories. The stories I could tell about my 70 Skylark, those crazy things you do as a teen, and the trips it took. Like the time I had 19 people in it or the time I drove backwards for 11 blocks on the streets of Minneapolis.

This summer, this weekend, go to a classic car show. Find out the stories, enjoy the history imagine yourself behind the wheel being a leader in the world of leisureship.