Thursday, April 19, 2018

First Hendersonville Cruise-In of 2018 is a big one

Nashville’s weather has been all over the place lately, but spring made a welcome appearance last Friday night for the kickoff of the Hendersonville Cruise-In. You could tell people were ready to get their cars out, because the lot was packed from one end to the other with virtually every kind of car imaginable. I like it because it’s about ten minutes from my house, so it’s kind of like the car show comes to me for a change. It was also the first time we drove our “new” ’93 Corvette anywhere, so it was fun to bring something out for its car cruise debut.

My favorite car was this ’65 Cadillac Eldorado convertible. Just look at how pretty this thing is with its Aspen White paint and matching white leather interior. Cadillac didn’t offer those wire wheels from the factory after 1956, but you can buy aftermarket versions for these later cars. I can see why you would—they’re gorgeous wheels. Everybody knew the Eldorado was the top dog Cadillac convertible back then, which is why it cost $1,100 more than a DeVille ragtop. But in 1965, there wasn’t a super drastic difference in appearance between the two. That might be why they sold more than 19,000 DeVille convertibles, but only about 2,100 of these fancy Eldorados.

You know the owner of this ’62 Impala coupe saved his pennies and saved his dimes, because it was a real life four-speed, dual-quad, posi-traction 409. It was looking real fine with its Ermine White paint contrasting with that Roman Red interior. Back in the day, this steel wheel and little hubcap look made you think “sleeper,” because all the cheap six-cylinder cars looked just like this. But now there aren’t many cheap old six-cylinder cars left, so this look just means business. Nothing can catch her, and nothing can touch her.

’55 Chevy Nomads always look good, and this one was no exception. This Sea Mist Green with India Ivory top example was a pretty example of what could arguably be the most beautiful station wagon ever built. You know, the original concept for the Nomad was done on a Corvette. It actually was pretty attractive too, but I’m kind of glad they didn’t go that direction. These two-door wagon Tri-Five Nomads had that concept car look anyway. I can’t imagine how exciting it must have been in 1955 for them to come out with a striking new car, an incredible new powertrain, and then slam the public with this radical wagon. I’ve never seen a new car introduction like that in my life.

Here’s something that has become sort of a surprise status symbol in the past few years, especially in the northeastern United States. This is a 1984 Jeep Grand Wagoneer, finished in a very expensive sounding Champagne Metallic paintjob. I don’t know that I would have ever thought these would be the breakout sensation they are now back when they were new, or that I would ever see one at a car show, but here we are. By 1984, the bones of this vehicle were more than 20-years-old, but Jeep finished them off pretty nice with thick carpeting and high-quality materials. Some had very plush leather, although this one was finished in comfy cloth. One thing’s for sure, this was a nice one.

I don’t know that I’ve seen this ’79 Silverado long bed around before, but I’m glad it showed up. The odometer showed just over 30,000-miles, and I can believe it. It was about as nice and new as a 39-year-old truck can be. That’s especially remarkable, because you could usually see through the rust holes in the bedsides of these when they were a couple years old. I’ve always loved these old trucks, though, and I really love this one because it somehow remained bone stock after all these years. Even the Strato White paint and blue vinyl seat still represent their era. The “Big 10” was a heavier-duty half-ton that came without catalytic converters, and definitely the one you want today.

What you want right now are pictures. And of course, I can oblige. I took 378 of them for the kickoff of the 2018 Hendersonville Cruise-In, and you can see them all by clicking this link.

2 comments:

  1. Craig, I can so remember when the 1955 Chevys came out with an OHV V8. It was so exciting and we had two of them we hid in our garage at home for the two weeks before the Grand Opening. One had a powerpack with a 4 barrel and dual exhaust. Later we had an identical 1955 Nomad to the one you have pictured. My brother Dwayne took the lower dash from a 56 Chevy with AC outlets and put it in the 55, as the original 55 dash didn't have AC outlets in the dash. It looked factory original. Roger Grotewold, Grotewold Motor Co. in Larchwood, Iowa.

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  2. That's what I'm talkin about--pretty cool, Roger!

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