We’re deep into summer, and that means it’s car show season. I’ve been to a couple with my young kids, as they love cars. I went to one that really put things into perspective for me.
This particular car show was virtually all-American cars, from modern muscle like Dodge Hellcats and Ford Mustang GTs to vintage pieces from America’s glory years, like Ford Coupes, GTOs, and Chevelles. Most of these vehicles were all lovingly maintained and improved from their original manufacturer. The vintage cars were especially impressive. These were almost all owned by Boomers. It makes sense. Vintage cars require a lot of time and money to restore and maintain properly. Other shows feature rare cars, often foreign, that the owner had to hunt down and acquire. Sometimes, they feature interesting cars that require some nuance and understanding of the automotive hobby to appreciate.
There was, however, another class of car at this particular show. There were at least six brand new Corvette Stingrays and even a few Z06s gleaming in the sunlight with their Boomer owners grinning proudly next to them. These are, of course, the Corvettes that are built to look like modern Lamborghinis or Ferraris in the squat-and-wide shape rather than the long-and-thin shape everybody remembers the Corvette for. In all likelihood, these cars have less than 10k miles on them and nothing beyond an oil change in terms of maintenance, much less modification. The drivers likely require assistance getting in and out of them.
These Boomers, being superficial, fundamentally misunderstand the nature of a car show. They see it as a place to show up and flaunt an impressive piece of 4-wheeled machinery that other people envy. What they miss is why people envy the owners of the other cars. Vintage cars hearken back to a better age in the United States, and the dedication required to keep them running demands its own appreciation. Modern cars that people have modified to make faster or better looking also require a decent amount of mechanical inclination. It’s not just envy of the machine, it’s envy and admiration of the drive possessed by the owner to maintain and improve the machine and their eye for the uniqueness of the vehicle.
Nobody is impressed by Bob Smith driving down to the Chevy dealership, picking one of the dozen Corvettes they have on the lot, paying cash for it from his reverse-mortgage, and driving it out to impress everybody else. There are a lot more interesting cars you could get for $70k or $115k. It almost reminds one of the newly enlisted private who buys a new Camaro for 30% APR thinking it will make him cool, at least until he drives it back to the barracks parking lot and pulls in next to all of the other Camaros, Mustangs, and Chargers. Meanwhile, the car dealer laughs and the platoon sergeant cries.
Driving back, we saw another car on the road. It was a heavily modified fifth-generation Nissan 350z with custom exhaust, a body kit, and no doubt some work under the hood. A White millennial drove it. I don’t think it would have gone over well at the car show. The show was America-themed and there were less than five Japanese cars there. All of them were over 40 years old and considered “vintage.” Even if all of the entrants weren’t Boomers, the vast majority were, and the “American muscle” vibe was prominent. That said, this car exhibited far more of the “pride in your ride” attitude and sense of craftsmanship than all of the late-model Corvettes put together. It wasn’t as obviously “draped-in-the-American-flag” as the vaunted Corvette, but it was draped in something else: the ingenuity, dedication, and pride that made America worth something in the first place.
I hear you. There is a breakfast eatery not far from where my daughter rides horses and it is a popular spot for locals who take their classics out on the weekends and want to grab some chow.
This past Saturday we were there and as you said, someone was there with a current model year Vette and there were a few people talking with the owner and eyeing the car. Then a guy pulls in (You could hear him coming from almost a quarter of a mile away because of the side pipes) with a ‘66 Stingray drop top. It was candy-apple red with a black interior and as I said, a nice set of side pipes. The second he pulled in, everyone who had been checking out the new Vette, immediately walked over to check out the ‘66. The owner of the new Vette kind of just stood there not sure of what to do.
My daughter couldn’t understand why and I explained to her pretty much what you stated in your article, with an added item. I explained to her that the cars of today, especially performance cars, are designed with a lot of goodies to make sure that the car stays on the road. You have to do something incredibly stupid to wipe out. Not so with cars of yesterday like that ‘66, I told her that you had to know how to drive the car to the limit and that meant driving it and driving it until you memorized it’s habits, both good and bad. I told her that cars of the past, they could very easily get away from you and you’d be in trouble. I pointed to her grandfather as a perfect example. When I was a kid, my father used to race his ‘63 Stingray on a frozen lake not far from our house. He still has most of the trophies he won, as well as his pearl-white helmet. He would never let any of us kids drive the car, the first time I asked to take it out for a spin, his answer was, “Not a chance. You have no idea what that car is capable of, you’ll kill yourself in it.” and he was correct. I’ve always had a great deal of respect for people who can push those classics to the limit. That, like a number of other things is a dying art and it represents an investment in a perishable skill.
God bless and keep the faith!
Another essay at IdentityDixie.com denigrating ‘Boomers.’ Maybe y’all might consider trashing another generation for a change. We have not caused all the problems in the world, contrary to what you have been told.
The only boomers who were insulted in this article were the ones who thought they’d be seen as cool at a car show for buying a commonly-available new car off a lot and having the hubris and poor taste to enter it in a car show. I don’t see any other generation doing that. If anything, the boomers who work on vintage vehicles were praised.
The Boomers were not in charge in the 50’s, 60’s or 70’s. The people who gave us all the nonsense of that time were their parents and grandparents, the Greatest and Silent generations. Go piss on their graves.
As to the ‘Vettes, I’m imprinted the 57/58 C1’s. Also the Jag E series. The whole Sterling Moss/Graham Hill thingy.