Sunday, July 31, 2011

Quite the variety at the July Liberty Car Cruise

You really couldn't blame anyone for staying home from the monthly Liberty car cruise Saturday night. Between all the road construction around town, the intense heat, and all the other things that people can spend their time with, standing around with your car might be the last thing you want to do.

I had just gotten back into town, and even I admit, I thought about staying home. But I'm glad I didn't, because I definitely would have missed out. It was one heck of a turnout, and there were lots of great cars to look at all around Liberty's historic downtown square.

With this many cars, it's hard to choose favorites. But I'll try to pick some standouts anyway. One of the stars had to be a '57 Ford Fairlane Club Sedan. This old car appears to be very original, and even featured a three speed. Plus, with all the Fairlane 500's you see around, this trim is even more appealing because it's different.

There was also a really nice, stock '39 Mercury coupe there. I used to not be that big of a fan of those, because the way the rear fenders covered the wheels always made them look sort of frumpy compared to a comparable Ford. Well, that, and a '39 Ford coupe had such a perfect roofline and everything that nothing really can compare. But I'm starting to like the Merc better all the time--especially when you see one as nice as this. Maybe I'm getting more open-minded as I get older.

I also really liked an old, blue '50 Chevy pickup that was sitting at the end of the line. It wasn't flashy. It wasn't shiny. It wasn't pretty. But it was so original, and carried its battle scars so well, it was hard not to appreciate the old beater's honesty. I mean, that old truck is old now, it had been used like, well, a truck, and yet, there it was, standing tall at a car cruise.

I'm also a big fan of GM mid-'70s midsize coupes, and there were at least three of them that caught my eye. There was a blue '73 Chevelle SS that I would have loved to drive home in. I just can't get enough of that sweeping Colonnade roof line. There was a positively lovely '72 Monte Carlo. And there was even a pretty decent white '73 Monte Carlo. I'm happy these types of cars are getting more popular, although that also means they're getting more expensive. They may already be out of my budget!

If you were into late-model Corvettes, or late-model Mustangs, or late-model Camaros, or late-model SS-R's, there were plenty of things like that to look at. Which goes to show the variety of different vehicles out there to see.

And speaking of seeing a variety of vehicles, here comes the photo slideshow. I took more than 200 pictures, so you should get a pretty good idea what things were like.  The only thing you'll really miss is how hot it was.


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