AACA Hershey Meet, 2006

February 12, 2023 RichardReina Car shows, Events AACA Hershey, GM Heritage Vehicle Collection

My 2006 visit to the AACA Fall Eastern Meet, better known as “Hershey”, was likely the 5^th consecutive year I attended. Before that, most of my trips to eastern PA car shows were to Carlisle. However, Hershey’s focus on original cars which were 25 years and older was becoming a more attractive proposition to me.

Hershey has had a long history with mud. Ask any oldtimer, and they can regale you with stories of mud up to the knees, and classic cars buried in mud up to their axles. While more and more of the field area was gradually becoming paved, in 2006, not all of it was on asphalt yet. One photo in particular documents what appear to be Car Corral vehicles parked across the street from Hershey Park, on the lawn in front of the Hotel Hershey. There’s lots of sunshine as well so the infamous and soon to be gone Hershey mud was not a factor that year.

Ever since my rally brother Steve and I discovered it in the late 1990s, the spectacle of witnessing the Saturday morning parade of show cars has been a must-see part of the Hershey visit. Several of these photos capture that parade, as disorganized as it may appear! Take a note of all the spectators alongside the cars, enjoying the same sights as I was.

The big surprise of 2006 was the special display trucked in by General Motors. They dipped into their “GM Heritage Vehicle Collection” and brought a number of cars and trucks which were set up in a special area near the Giant Center. The most outstanding of them, in several ways, was the GM Futurliner. I had been reading articles about these massive vehicles for years. In January of 2006, a Futurliner sold at a Barrett-Jackson auction for $4 million. More shocking to me was their size, something difficult to capture in photographs. It makes me wonder how GM was able to move it; but of course, being GM, they have all kinds of vehicles and equipment at their disposal. And if you’re asking yourself “why is there a Saab near the Futurliner?”, it is because GM had purchased Saab and included several of the Swedish brand’s models in its display. A stretch? I thought so then, and still think so now.

The Car Corral drew a nice crowd of tire-kickers

A couple of Ford “Squarebirds”, aka 2nd gen T-Birds, sit side-by-side

A Jaguar E-Type heads toward the show field – Note the Futurliner in the background

A 1968 Ford Mustang California Special, similar to the one I owned

The VW Bug can be seen between the Cadillac and Buick

Orphans: the green Studebaker Lark and the red AMC Marlin

The GM Futurliner; the man by the rear wheel gives some sense of scale

GM decided they had the right to include Saab in their Heritage Display – note the windshield decal

The 2012 AACA NJ Region Annual Car Show

February 5, 2023 RichardReina Car shows, Events AACA, AACA NJ Region, Automatic Switch car show

In 2012, the NJ Region of the Antique Automobile Club of America (AACA) held its 59^th annual car show on its traditional date, the first Sunday in May. The show was held in the parking lot of the Automatic Switch Company in Florham Park, NJ. The Region had been using this location as far back as anyone could remember, possibly since the 1960s. However, just a few years after these shots were taken, the Automatic Switch lot was no longer available and the Region was forced to find a new locale.

These photographs were taken with a film camera, and since I don’t have any record of digital pictures from this event, the ones below are the only photos I have of the show (see sidebar if you’re interested in details about the camera and film used).

At its peak, the NJ Region’s annual show was known to attract between 250 and 300 automobiles. Without knowing the time of day my photos were snapped, don’t be too judgmental about the ‘gaps’ in the parking lot. It may well be that I took my photos in the morning as cars were still arriving. Since I was in charge of setting up and running the PA system for the club at these shows, I had work to do and did not have the luxury of wandering the show field all day.

As the scanned photos are smaller than the digital photos you’re used to seeing here, you many find it especially helpful to click on each photo, then click on it again to enlarge it to fill your screen.

From this vantage point, we can see mainly cars from the 1960s and ’70s.

I don’t exactly recall the point of the doodled-up truck, but it may have served as an attraction for any children in attendance.

This out-of-focus shot features what look like Ford Model A’s.

1967 Buick Wildcat convertible

Mercedes-Benz 190 SL roadster

Alfa Romeo 1750 Spider

Detail of 1958 Mercury tail light

Detail of wood on a Chrysler Town & Country

Jump seats in what I recall was a stretched-wheelbase early ’50s Chrysler

Huppmobile (note the “H” on radiator shell and as hood ornament), early ’30s?

My friend Ron with his 1936 Packard convertible

The trophy table, awaiting the announcement of the day’s winners

SIDEBAR: The Ciro-flex 120 film camera and Kodak VC160 film

I’ve been collecting film cameras for about 15 years, and I actually take pictures with the ones in my possession. This Ciro-flex camera, made in Delaware, Ohio, is the only non-Kodak U.S.-made camera I own, and luckily, it takes the readily-available 120 film size, rather than the 620 film that Kodak forced consumers to use (Kodak made out because they were the ones producing the 620 film).

I bought the camera at the Rose Bowl flea market in California, I think in 2009, and paid $25 for it. It’s a dual-lens reflex camera. The top opens, and one gazes into a ground glass while holding the camera at about waist level. It can be manually focused, and both the aperture and shutter speed are adjustable. The focal length is set at 85 mm.

For these shots, I used Kodak’s VC160 film. “VC” stands for “vivid color” (as opposed to “NC” film, or “neutral color”). It’s a bright film, and while I’ve read that some photographers find the colors to be over-saturated, I like the look. The 160 in the film name refers to the film speed. When I was shooting 35mm almost exclusively, most film I used was either 100 or 200 speed, so the 160 is almost exactly in between.

Focusing the Ciro-flex is tricky. The ground glass is hazy, and you get a clear image in it only in the brightest lights. As you can see, the focus is better in some photos than in others. In a perfect world, I’d use the camera often enough to become more accustomed to it, when in fact I use this one sporadically. Overall, though, I greatly enjoy shooting with film, because it forces me to slow down the process, think before pushing the shutter button, and delivers photos with that old-world quality look which I just don’t get from digital.

The 2014 Lime Rock Vintage Race Weekend

December 26, 2022 RichardReina Car shows, Events Fall Vintage Weekend, Lime Rock Park

In 2014, for the first and (so far) only time, I traveled up to Lime Rock for their Labor Day Vintage Race Weekend and took advantage of the ‘Gathering of the Marques’, which allows owners of certain automobiles to put their cars on display. That year, I drove my Mazda Miata to the show, and although I still had to pay full price to enter, I was allowed to circle the track, find the Miata group, and park with them.

There were several special treats this year, including displays of Fiat 500s, Fiat Abarths, and a personal appearance from famed race car driver Sir Stirling Moss. As is typical for Lime Rock, some of the cars in the parking lot are just as interesting as the ones in the show, and the paddocks are open to allow spectators to roam freely (but no touching!).

Another unique element to my visit is that I stayed overnight locally, which enabled me to take in some racing action. Photographing speeding vehicles is an art unto itself, and one that I need to practice more. Nevertheless, I was able to fire off a few shots of cars at speed that I trust my readers will find of interest.

ITALIAN

MY MIATA

BRITISH

My dear friends Ann Marie and Dennis Nash, with their Bentley. They both have passed on.

GERMAN

Mercedes-Benz 300SLs; note tail light differences between coupe and roadster

SIR STIRLING MOSS

RACING!

The Auburn, Cord, Duesenberg Club Annual Reunion, 2002

December 18, 2022 RichardReina Car shows, Events ACD Club, ACD Museum, Auburn, Cord, Duesenberg

The ACD (Auburn, Cord, Duesenberg) Club supports all 3 long-expired car makes with a series of shows and events throughout the year. The Club’s Annual Reunion is traditionally held each Labor Day weekend in Auburn, IN. I’ve long known about this Reunion from articles in the car magazines I regularly devour, and in 2002, I somehow convinced my wife that we should take a vacation including stops in Corning, NY at the Corning Glass Museum, Cleveland, OH for a visit to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Museum, and “since we’re so close”, a stayover in Auburn that just happened to land us there on Labor Day.

I had forgotten that I had these photos (taken with a film camera) and so I’m now sharing them on my blog for the first time. We were not registered for any events, so our participation involved entering the ACD Museum (an original ACD sales dealership) and wandering the nearby streets which were quite literally jammed with old cars.

Adding to the crowds was a Kruse auction running at the same time, so the automotive eye candy was not limited to the three featured marques. Nevertheless, my long fascination with Cords, combined with their abundance at the show, meant that most shots included them, with a few Auburns here and there (Duesenbergs were thin on the ground).

According to Wikipedia, the Cord L-29, introduced in 1929, was the first front wheel drive vehicle offered for sale to the American public. (However, a recent article in Hemmings Classic Car would seem to dispute that. The ‘splitting of the hair’ may come down to what is considered mass-produced. It’s also well-known that many racing cars which predated Cords were FWD.) The L-29 was somewhat traditionally styled so that its FWD underpinnings were not obvious. The succeeding model, the 810/812, was designed by Gordon Buehrig and was truly revolutionary, looking like nothing else on the road with its hidden headlamps, ‘coffin’ hood, and deleted running boards. These 2^nd generation cars were built in convertible, phaeton, and sedan body styles for only two model years (1936-1937) before Cord went under. They are some of the most distinctive pre-war cars produced, and remain highly collectible among hobbyists today.

THE MUSEUM

The stunning Art Deco design has been almost completely preserved compared to its original 1930s construction. A variety of vehicles are packed rather tightly within, including some non-ACD models (note the green ’56 T-Bird). A mezzanine afforded me the opportunity to take the overhead shots.

THE STREETS

Vehicles were parked everywhere, and it was easy enough to take photographs. One got the sense that, like Bentley or Alfa Romeo owners, Cord owners are not reticent about driving their cars. If you reflect back to the vehicles seen in my post about the recent Glidden Tour, imagine driving a new Ford or Buick in 1936 and having a new Cord pull up next to you; the effect must have been paralyzing!

Lime Rock Park Vintage Race Weekend, 1990

December 11, 2022 RichardReina Car shows, Events Fall Vintage Weekend, Lime Rock Park

I’m almost certain that 1990 was my first visit to Lime Rock Park in Salisbury CT for its Labor Day Fall Festival weekend. The tip likely came from a fellow employee at Volvo Cars North America. The racing photos prove that this visit was either the Saturday or the Monday of that weekend, as by local ordinance, there is no racing allowed on Sunday. My recollection is that I “took a ride” just to see what I might see, and I did indeed stumble upon something wonderful.

Judging by information on the www.limerock.com website, the Vintage Racing weekend would have been in its eighth year in 1990, meaning we were there near the beginning of it all. Paying guests are allowed to wander throughout the paddocks, and my photos reflect an interesting variety of classic machinery, some of it quite valuable in 2022. For instance, the red Jaguar XK-120 would have been worth around $50,000 in #2 condition (according to my 1990 copy of Krause’s Standard Catalog of Imported Cars). My most recent copy of the CPI (Cars of Particular Interest) Value Guide shows that same car valued today at $165,000. That Maserati 3500 GT Coupe is pinned at $15,000 by Krause in 1990; CPI says today’s value is closer to $225,000. Want to take a guess on the BMW 507? According to the respective value books, in 1990: $105,000. In 2022: $2.3 million. Among these 3, the 507 wins the ‘percentage increase’ contest. If only we had a crystal ball….

This initial visit lit a flame in me that burns to this day. Especially in more recent years, I’ve almost never missed a visit to Lime Rock during Labor Day weekend, although, as I’m not a big racing fan, my visits are almost always to attend the “Sunday in the Park” static car show, about which I’ve posted numerous times (2022, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017). While Lime Rock is not on the beaten path, it’s worth going out of your way for it if you have not been there.

Messerschmitt on trailer, probably in the car corral

The 1990 Carlisle Import Car Show

November 27, 2022 RichardReina Car shows, Events Carlisle Import Show

It was shortly after entering the automobile industry in 1978 that I learned about “Carlisle”. It’s the name of a town in Pennsylvania, but to car buffs, “Carlisle” more specifically refers to the hobbyist flea market/car corral events which have been conducted at the Carlisle Fairgrounds since 1974.

At first there was Fall Carlisle in October, followed shortly by Spring Carlisle in April. Then came the additions: GM, Ford, Chrysler, Corvette, Import/Tuner, Truck. Auctions were added, as were winter shows held in Florida but still under the Carlisle name. You can read about Carlisle’s beginnings at this link here.

I attended my first Carlisle event in 1979, observing that the flea market offerings were about 90% in support of domestic cars, understandably so. When the Import Show was added sometime in the late 1980s, I was excited at the prospect of what might be there. Some photos from the 1990 Carlisle Import Show were included in my blog post about attending the 2008 Carlisle Import Show with my Isetta, the one and only time I brought the Isetta there. Going through my pictures, I decided that the 1990 show deserved a post of its own.

These snaps are of a decidedly different quality, and my faint recollection is that they were taken with a Kodak disposable camera, which were in vogue at that time. A deluxe version had a switch allowing panoramic photos, which was put to good use here as a way to capture a vehicular lineup. Note how spread out the cars are parked, and how much empty space is behind them. Compared to Spring or Fall Carlisle, this Import show was a much more lightly-attended event.

Those of you who think that my Alfa obsession is a recent phenomenon would be mistaken; here is a photo of a late ‘50s/early ‘60s Alfa Giulietta Spider, taken as it sat in a row of Italian cars. Note the Fiat 124 Spider on the right, and note all the empty rows in the background! I believe that hill is the beginning of what is known as the North Field.

What have we here, an Isetta?? In 1990, I had not yet begun my restoration in earnest, so I’m sure that I was thrilled to stumble across this. From this photo the car appears to be all there, although the red engine paint is incorrect. The sign in the window reads “Warning Health Hazard”.

A large part of the success of these early Import shows must be credited to club support, as this photo of Volvo P1800/1800S models makes clear. I count 8 of them here, but am unsure if Irv Gordon’s car was among them.

A potpourri of German and British cars, including Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Porsche, Morris, and Jaguar.

Qu’avons-nous ici, des voitures françaises, toutes des Citroën

More Volvos, this time, mostly 122s.

This is the only known photo in my collection of a Volvo 1800 convertible. It’s a bit ungainly with the top up. As you may know, this is not a factory convertible. Most, perhaps all, such conversions were done by a Long Island dealer, Volvoville. They ran ads for the cars in the back of many of the car magazines of the day. It is also interesting to note the 700-series wagons in the back, which in 1990 would have been no more than about 5 years old.

Three very different Triumph sports cars, from left to right: TR4, TR3, and Spitfire.

Jaguar E-Types (also known as XKEs) have always been desirable and worth preserving, going back to their launch in 1961. This is a Series I model (1961-1967), as evidenced by its covered headlights and above-bumper front turn signals. Note the VW bus lacking side windows behind it, most likely originally intended for commercial use.

It looks like a downsized two-seat Thunderbird, but its official name is DKW Auto Union 1000 Special Coupe. My copy of the Standard Catalog of Imported Cars 1946-1990 states that this model DKW (Das Kleine Wagen, German for The Little Car) was introduced on our shores in 1958, with a 2-stroke 3-cylinder engine, displacing 980 cc and producing 50 HP. List price was $2,495, which may sound pricey when many full-size American cars were starting around the $2,000 mark. However, if one wanted something with sporting pretensions, T-Birds and Corvettes were $1,000 more. Perhaps the closest competitor to this car would have been the VW Karmann Ghia coupe, priced at $2,445. DKW and Auto Union eventually became Audi.

Sunday Morning Cars & Coffee, Oct. 23, 2022

November 6, 2022 RichardReina Car shows, Cruise nights, Events Cars & Coffee, Dunkin' Donuts

On Sunday, October 23, 2022, we once again took advantage of a spacious parking lot adjacent to a Dunkin’ Donuts facility to host our own Cars & Coffee event. No driving was included in the plans, and we had a small but enthusiastic group of eight people (plus two VCNA retirees who were surprise guests) willing to mill about on what turned out to be a beautiful autumn morning.

The Dunkin’ Donuts on MacArthur Blvd. in Mahwah did its usual fine job in serving us bagels and coffee, and plenty of Sunday morning visitors were distracted enough by our vehicular lineup to break their routines and come over for a chat.

Cars in attendance included two Corvettes, a Chevy Nova, two Porsche 911s, a Mercedes-Benz turbodiesel, a well-preserved and rarely-seen Volvo S70, and your author’s Alfa Romeo. Interestingly, the imports outnumbered the domestic entries (3 Chevys versus 3 Germans, 1 Swedish, and 1 Italian), something we normally don’t see at our gatherings.

We may try to squeeze in one more driving event before the weather turns inhospitable for the winter. If not, we shall see what 2023 will bring!

Nothing but nothing looks like the back end of a C2 coupe

AACA Hershey, October 2022

October 23, 2022 RichardReina Car shows, Events AACA Hershey

Hershey this year was a one-day visit for me, so I spent most of the morning canvassing the car corral, had lunch, then headed over to the RM Sotheby’s auction at the Hershey Lodge. I was there on Thursday October 6^th, and the weather was great for an outdoor car show. The hobby continues to evolve and change, and we have observed the ups and downs at Hershey over the years. This year’s car corral was approximately 50% full, and that’s a guess of course. But for those who have visited in the recent past, I can inform you that the parking lot alongside the Giant Center was completely empty this year. As recently as 2018 (based on my own blog report) it was completely full. To my thinking, websites like Bring A Trailer have shifted many collector car transactions to online formats.

Nevertheless, even with the smaller number of vehicles in the corral, there were a few that were of more than passing interest to me. I’ve listed those vehicles below in model year order. (I will have a report on the RM Sotheby auction as a separate blog post.)

1931 Ford Model A Roadster. Tan body, wheels, and top, black fenders, whitewall tires on wire wheels. Darker tan vinyl interior. Single side-mount spare, rumble seat, separate trunk out back. Sharp looking all round.

Asking: $22,500

One of the least-expensive ways to enter a Glidden Tour, and the top goes down to boot.

1931 Ford Model A rumble seat coupe. Taupe body, black fenders, yellow wire wheels, whitewall tires. Single spare mounted out back.

Asking: $19,500

This one makes the ’31 Roadster at $22,500 look like the better deal.

1936 Ford DeLuxe 5-window rumble seat coupe, black, tan cloth interior. Wide whitewalls, appears original and unmolested. Sign on car claims just removed from 30-year storage (that can be good and bad) and no rust ever.

Asking: $34,900

Smart-looking coupe, V8 is nice upgrade from a Model A, rumble seat a fun option to have.

1953 EMW 327 Cabriolet. That is not a typo. After WW2, one of BMWs factories ended up on the wrong side of the West Germany/East Germany dividing line, and they continued production of cars now badged “EMW”, with the blue/white roundel now red/white. Black and red paint, blue and white interior, convertible top MIA. Interior needs a lot of work, no indication that it runs or drives.

Asking: $85,000

This was on offer from a large dealer. Lots of scratch for what might be a project, but for the BMW collector who’s looking for something different, this is bound to be a hit at the next BMWCCA convention.

1956 Continental Mark II, pale beige body with taupe roof, black and white interior. Full wheel covers and wide whites. Sign on car claims “runs and drives well”.

Asking: $28,500.

This car was one of FOUR Continental Mark IIs on the grounds (including the RM auction). Don’t call them Lincolns! They were badged as “Continentals”. Everything I’ve read about them has stated that they are an expensive nightmare to restore, which rings true given that they were essentially hand-built cars. This was cheap for a Mark II, but as they say about cheap Ferraris and Jaguars, that initial purchase price is only the first of many checks to be written.

1957 BMW Isetta, red, beige interior, BMW hub caps, blackwall tires on white wheels. Door has deluxe vents but single wiper. Was seen running and driving in the car corral.

Asking $27,000

Sign on car claims complete restoration. A quick lookover by me didn’t find anything glaringly wrong with the correctness of the job. Isettas are way off their highs of 10 years ago. This was priced fairly.

1963 Chevrolet Corvair convertible, teal, matching interior, white top. Sign on car only states “turbo”. Transmission was not noted. Full wheel covers, redline tires. Not all body panels appear to match.

Asking: $14,900

There are better 1^st gen Corvairs for this kind of money.

1970 Jaguar E-Type roadster, silver, black top, red interior. As a Series II car, has the 4.2L 6 cylinder and 4-speed transmission. Blackwall tires on chrome wires. Look great in this color combo from 20 feet. Sign on car states: “usual rust in rockers, old paint with dings and flaws, body rubber dry”.

Asking: $69,000

Worth it only if you’re willing to drive it as is.

1971 Alfa Romeo Spider, red, black top and interior. Headlight covers, Campagnolo wheels; steel wheels also included. Sign on car claims total engine rebuild and new clutch in March 2022.

Asking: $21,500

Saw this car very early in the a.m.; there was so much dew on it that it was not possible to judge its exterior cosmetics. These early S2 cars which still had small bumpers are gaining in popularity, now that S1 Duettos are priced at two to three times the asking price of this one.

1977 Leyland Mini Cooper. Teal metallic, patterned cloth interior. Multiple driving lights, flared fenders over Minilite-looking alloys. Sign on car claims 1.3L 4-cylinder engine with fuel injection, 4-speed manual, big brake kit, performance exhaust, upgraded suspension, new tires.

Asking $19,995

This tiny thing looked like an absolute blast to drive, especially given the improved power-to-weight ratio. Might be a challenge to find this much fun these days for under 20 grand.

1985 Ford Mustang SVO, red, grey cloth interior. All SVOs had the 2.3L turbo 4 and 5-speed stick. Sign on car claims 66k original miles and no rust.

Asking: $14,250

I have had my eye on these for a while; they are an interesting, Euro-flavored alternative to a 5.0 Mustang. This one looked very clean, but the asking price is still higher than some recent auction sales which have been around $10k.

Lime Rock Park, Labor Day Sunday Concours, 2022

September 5, 2022 RichardReina Car shows, Events Fall Historic Festival, Fall Vintage Weekend, Lime Rock Park

It’s three hours to the minute to drive door-to-door from my home in central New Jersey to the gates of Lime Rock Park, in the rolling hills of northwest CT. The long ride is worth it, as proven by my almost-annual pilgrimage to this, likely my favorite East Coast car show, which I’ve been attending since the 1990’s. What makes the Labor Day Weekend Sunday Concours so special? It’s the quality and variety of the vehicles on display. I’m a regular at Carlisle, Hershey, Macungie, Mecum Harrisburg, Greenwich, and various AACA events in my area. Yet Lime Rock always manages to create displays of automobiles I almost never see anywhere else, and, they do it without dragging out the same vehicles year after year.

I will let the photos act as my ‘evidence’, and I dare you to disagree!

The Lime Rock crew does a nice job segregating vehicles based on age and country of origin. In addition, there are always special classes each year.

This rarely-seen Alfa Romeo 2600, with an inline 6-cylinder engine, was resplendent in its burgundy paint with red interior.

The Trans Am pony cars were the featured vintage racecars of the weekend.

The GM Heritage Collection brought a number of rare and valuable Corvettes to the show. The star among them for me was the Mako Shark. The sign omits any mention of the fish being painted to match the car 😉 . (If you don’t know the story, you can read it here.)

Nice to see one with blackwalls, as it might have worn when new

Hudsons, stock and in race livery

THE WORLD’S ONLY VOLVO 142GT?

This fellow Dave talked my head off, but, he was passionate and knowledgeable beyond belief. The car’s trunk was full of authentic VOA (Volvo of America) catalogs of racing parts, many of which were installed on his car. He started with a rust-free 1971 142, which he completely restored to the way he wanted it. Along the way, he added a competition cylinder head, dual Solex carbs, a GT grille with fog lights, a GT dash cluster, accessory wheels, “142 GT” emblems, and much more. He estimated that the engine is putting out about 180HP. He name-dropped Mitch Duncan and Bob Austin along the way, so he seemed credible. In essence, he built a hot-rod 142E, using 100% factory parts.

FIAT MANIA!!!

A rare (and valuable) Ferrari 288GTO

More German cars

Jaguar E-Types (called XKE in America) were another featured model

JAGUAR E-TYPE SPOTTERS GUIDE

Series 1 cars were built from 1961-1967. They are distinguished by their glass-covered headlamps, with front signal lamps and rear lamps mounted above the bumpers. At first, there were two body styles: FHC (Fixed Head Coupe) and OTS (Open Two-Seater). In 1966 a lengthened model called the 2+2, with a tiny rear seat, was added. The Coupe can be distinguished from the 2+2 from the side. Make note of the length of the door glass and rear quarter glass. In the Coupe, the two are roughly equal. In the 2+2, the door glass is notably longer.

Series II cars were built from 1968 part-way through 1971. (Some 1968 cars have a combination of Series I and Series II features and are sometimes referred to as “Series 1.5”. We will not get into the distinction here.) Series II cars have exposed headlamps. The grille opening is slightly enlarged, but still only wears a single horizontal bar. Front signal and rear lights are mounted below the bumpers. Side marker lights were added to U.S. models. The 3 body styles, FHC, OTS, and 2+2, continued.

NOTE: All Series I and Series II cars had smooth (non-flared) wheel well openings, and all were powered by Jaguar’s inline 6-cylinder engine, although displacement increased from 3.8L to 4.2L.

Series III cars were built from mid-1971 through 1974, the final year for the E-Type. There were some major changes: the only available engine was now a V-12. The 2+2 continued, and the convertible was now built on the longer wheelbase of the 2+2, making an optional automatic transmission available in all body styles for the first time. The shorter Coupe body style was discontinued. The grille opening was made larger still, and received an eggcrate insert. Front and rear fender flares were added (the flares can be the easiest way to distinguish between Series II and Series III cars from a distance).

The Tesla charging stations remained vacant all day on Sunday

Das Awkscht Fescht, Macungie PA, August 2022

August 6, 2022 RichardReina Car shows, Events Das Awkscht Fescht, Macungie

If there had been any doubts that eastern Pennsylvania is the center of the automotive hobby in these United States, my visit to Macungie, PA, this weekend to attend “Das Awkscht Fescht”, now in its 59^th year, removed those doubts. How fortunate am I, living in the metro NY/NJ region my entire life, that shows in the Pennsylvania towns of Macungie, Carlisle, Hershey, New Hope, and Harrisburg are all within an easy one-day round-trip drive? Add to that the longevity of these events: I first attended Carlisle in the late ‘70s, Hershey in the early ‘80s, and Macungie in the early ‘90s. New Hope’s website claims they are in their 65^th year. Mecum’s Harrisburg auction, a newcomer to these parts, began in 2015 and I haven’t missed one yet.

Yes, we know about “Monterey” in California, a long-standing tradition every August. It’s grown to gargantuan proportions, combining multiple shows and auctions into a jam-packed week. Amelia Island in Florida in March is referred to by some as the “Monterey of the East”, again with shows and auctions running back-to-back. However, these are once-a-year programs on the calendar, without any other nearby automotive events during the rest of the year. The Keystone State calendar starts with Carlisle in April, then the Hershey Elegance in June, Mecum Harrisburg in July, Das Awkscht Fescht and New Hope in August, Carlisle again in September, and concludes with Hershey in October. All these shows are well-attended by car owners and spectators alike, and the collector car club support acts as a backbone, ensuring consistency year after year. This tally doesn’t count the marque-specific Carlisle events, club-sponsored local shows, or the incredible museums in the state such as the Simeone in Philly.

Back to Macungie 2022: it’s a 3-day event and always has been, with some variety each of the days. Saturday seems to bring out the largest number of cars and so it was my choice again for this year. The weather was hot and humid, but the occasional breeze and some intermittent cloudiness helped alleviate the dog days of August. Attendance was excellent, even if some areas of the field never filled to capacity. (In fairness, I saw cars arriving as late as noon, so the field may have seen its ranks swell a bit.) While it’s mostly American cars, the pre-war turnout is strong. The decades of the ‘50s and ‘60s are also well-represented. Import vehicles, led this year by a special field of British cars, provided some variety.

Similar to what I’ve done at Hershey, I find it a huge advantage to arrive early and photograph vehicles as they drive in. The gates opened at 7:30 a.m., and I situated myself and my trusty Sony (this time using my prime 85mm telephoto lens) along the entrance path and snapped away. Later, I walked the entire show and captured many of the cars that I didn’t get to see drive in under their own power. While I was unable to enter a car of my own this year, I conversed with numerous friends on the field who had brought cars, and I hope to join the fun in a more engaging way for next year’s big 60^th anniversary!

WARNING! MASSIVE PHOTOGRAPHIC CONTENT AHEAD!

The Morning Parade:

Sometimes, the smallest cars make the grandest entrances:

On the showfield:

British cars were set apart from the rest in their own special part of the field:

Is the “new” Mini “mini”?

This car was parked among the Brits. When I teased the owner about it, he retorted, with a knowing wink in his eye, “well, the Smiths gauges are British!”

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