Several trucks and a few cars at the Sonic Cruise in Bonner Springs

I decided to visit a car cruise that I’ve never been to before, so we loaded up the truck and headed to Bonner Springs and the Sonic cruise hosted by the Genuine Chevy-GMC Truck Club of Kansas City.

It was hot and sunny out there late Saturday afternoon, and the boiling temperatures probably kept some of the cars away. It was a fairly light crowd. But those who were there seemed to be enjoying the music, snacking on mozzarella bites, and savoring cool confections from Sonic’s ice cream menu.

In spite of the smallish car count, there were several great things to look at. One was a nice ’64 Plymouth Barracuda, which appeared to be mostly original. On the dash were two Barracuda promotional models, which definitely caught my eye. You know I love those little cars, and they make a neat display accessory. Of course, the actual 1:1-scale car was no slouch either.

Since this was hosted by the Chevy truck club, that make and model dominated the show field, as you could probably imagine. My old truck was right at home, as there were more ’63-’66 trucks here than you would normally see in one place. I think the nicest was a red ’66 short bed with a later-model V8, air conditioning, and other accouterments. It was a pretty little truck—maybe too pretty. I’d love to drive it thanks to all the creature comforts, but there’s no way I’d let anyone throw junk in the back and mess up all that nice wood.

Other handsome haulers included a slick little lowered ’70 Chevy short bed, complete with bucket seats and a console. There was also a ’50 GMC that was painted, lowered, and pampered to a level that was never dreamed of when it was new.

On the car end of things, there was a super nice ’64 Thunderbird. It was finished in a beautiful pinkish color called Samoan Coral, which contrasted perfectly with its white interior. There was also a ’57 Corvette (you can’t go wrong with one of those), and a ’67 Camaro convertible that had remarkably lived this long while still retaining its 250-c.i. inline six-cylinder engine.

This show also marks a first for me—I almost ran out of gas. In 25 years of driving, I have never drained a tank dry. But as I was leaving, the old Chevy began to sputter. Luckily, we made it to the station a mile or so down the road, but it was a close one. I’ve learned that a quarter-tank on the gauge does not necessarily mean a quarter-tank in the tank. I’m just glad I made it, because my wife and son never would have let me live that down.

As usual, I’m leaving you with a 70-photo slideshow below.

Or, if you want a little nicer version of the slideshow, click this link.