Hot Rods on Beale Street still singin' the Blues in 2018

There are lots of good car shows and cruises around the country, but few take place at a more famous location than the monthly Hot Rods on Beale Street Cruise in Memphis. The Home of the Blues is completely lined with beautiful cars and trucks that are there by invitation only. There’s no D.J. or food trucks at this cruise, because the air is filled with wall-to-wall live Blues music and soul food. It’s like nothing else I’ve ever been to. I’m in Memphis fairly regularly, but my schedule only meshed with the June and July editions of this event, so I’m combining them together for this story.

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.

Cars on display at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C.

A new president takes office this week in our nation’s capital. And it so happens that we were recently in Washington, D.C., so I’m using this as a tie-in for a car-related story. The Smithsonian’s Museum of Transportation is usually included on lists of car museums, so naturally we had to go here. Truth be told, there weren’t many cars to look at, though. Cars are presented as appliances here. They have a collection of cool cars hidden in their catacombs, but they aren’t available for public viewing. Really, all of Washington, D.C. comes across as anti-car culture. The streets are jammed with hideous red and silver taxicabs, police cars, and black SUVs. Personal cars are typically rough, beat-up hoopties that reflect the harsh traffic and parking issues that clog the streets. I snapped a few pictures, though, and there are a few interesting things if you squint hard enough.

The Class of 1957

Not long ago, I put up an article about the cars of 1947. It wasn’t the most dazzling time in automotive history, as most of the cars featured were rehashes of cars that originally appeared on the market before World War II. I thought it would be interesting to jump ahead ten years and take a look at 1957. In just a decade, there was an immense change in the automotive landscape. Gone were the drab, muted designs of the ‘40s. Suddenly, things were brighter, more colorful, and more stylish. It was one of the most extroverted, optimistic periods in automotive history. Let’s take a look at some of the standouts.

Music City Fall Classic Auction in Murfreesboro is a great car show where everything's for sale

I obviously go to a ton of car shows, so I get to see a bunch of great cars. But sometimes, the most interesting old cars that I see are someplace other than car shows. I’m talking about collector car auctions. If there’s one anywhere near me, I’ll always try and hit it. You know cars are often at their best when someone is trying to sell them. No questionable personalization. No door prizes. No disk jockeys. What you get is a straightforward variety of cars, all cleaned up and presented in a way that should appeal to the greatest number of buyers. Take a look at some of the cars that were at the Music City Fall Classic Auction in Murfreesboro and see what I mean.

Quality trumps quantity at the Grace Church Car Show

I’ve been itching to check out a good car show lately, so I was pretty excited to see a listing for the annual Grace Church Car Show in Nashville. This wasn’t a huge event, but the cars that were there were definitely worth looking at. If I know there’s going to be a ’54 Corvette on the premises, that’s an automatic must-attend event right there. So, BHo and I jumped in the Camaro (it was an air conditioning-type day) and headed to church. Here’s what we saw.

C.A.R.S. Car Show at McPherson College was very educational

McPherson College in McPherson, Kan., is well-known for their automotive restoration program. So it stands to reason that they would have an extracurricular club devoted to the subject. For the past 15 years, C.A.R.S. (College Automotive Restoration Students) has put together a big car show at McPherson College that brings together an exceptional collection of cars from throughout the Midwest. This year, my mom and dad met up with our good friend from Colorado Pat Casey to check out all the happenings. Pat was kind enough to send some pictures to share with HMC readers.

Cars of the 1980s

I was born in 1973, but I really started to notice cars in the 1980s.  There are plenty of valid arguments about how bad the cars from this decade were, but I still get excited about them.  Car companies were trying to meet new fuel and safety standards, but still satisfy the demands of enthusiasts.  It was a tough task, but they somehow made it happen.  Sure, the top-of-the-line Camaro Z28 only had 165-hp in 1982, but it looked good, it sounded good, and the advertisements were totally awesome.  The Heartbeat of America?  We Build Excitement?  Pure genius. 

41st-Annual AACA Car Show is rich with history

One of my favorite car shows happens each year about this time in Lawrence, Kan.  Yes, I like hot rods, customs, muscle cars, Corvettes, and so on.  But the Lawrence Chapter of the Antique Automobile Club of America (AACA) is something different.  This is where you find older, mostly original cars.  You aren’t going to see people doing burnouts when they leave the parking lot of this one.  And with this crowd, no one has to remind them not to.  This caters to a more mature clientele.  These are the guys that have been in the old car hobby longer than the rest of us, and know how to take care of an old car better than most of us.

Cars of the 2013 Parkville Days Parade

As residents of Parkville, our family likes to try and hit some of the local parades and festivals.  Each year, they have Parkville Days, which includes a carnival, vendor booths, and a parade down Main Street.  The parade consists mostly of area high school bands, but between the tuba playing and baton twirling you might actually see an interesting old car or two in there.  So as per usual, here’s a look at a few of the noteworthy rides that braved the heat last Saturday morning.

Cruise to the K brings good luck to the Royals

It’s always fun when a car show is tied into one of Kansas City’s major attractions, and that was the case on Sunday when hundreds of old cars headed to Kauffman Stadium for the 4th-Annual Cruise to the K Car Show.  And even though this was one of the hottest days so far this year, a majority of the car show folks stayed for the Kansas City Royals vs. Washington Nationals game.  All-in-all, I’d say it was a pretty successful event.

Cadillac Ciel Concept recalls former flagship, Cadillac's "Golden One," the timeless Eldorado

At the exclusive Pebble Beach Concours over the weekend, Cadillac introduced the Ciel Concept Car, a radical, highly-stylized convertible that might hint at a future Cadillac flagship. The opulent Caddy features suicide doors and a direct-injected 3.6 V6 paired up with a lithium-ion hybrid battery system. Cadillac states in their press release that the Ciel is a “new expression of Cadillac’s historical grandeur, as well as a celebration of open-air motoring.”

History of the Cadillac wreath and crest logo, and never-before-seen photos of the Cadillac and LaSalle Club Grand National Convention

I admit, I do think old Cadillacs are cool. They just have so much chutzpa. Not many companies could pull off the outrageous fins of the late-‘50s, the Texas oil man swagger of the Eldorado in the ‘70s, or the “I don’t give a crap get out of my way” Escalade of today. But Cadillac makes it work. And they have been for more than 100 years.

Even Cadillac’s logo is audacious. While most cars abandoned using someone’s chrome-encrusted family crest decades ago, Cadillac’s complex, ornate jigsaw puzzle of boxes and rectangles in a Superman-like shield surrounded by laurels does not suggest “subdued” by any means.

Cadillac Club pours on the glamour during the Art of the Machine display in Kansas City's City Market

Old Cadillacs are certainly photogenic. The fins; the chrome; the ornaments; the leather—these cars were unabashed eye candy. So when you have a chance to see a few pristine examples parked together in a neat little row, you take it.

Kansas City had just such an opportunity when the City Market Square hosted the Kansas City Cadillac Club during their eclectic Sunday farmer’s market. While the health-conscious perused the locally grown veggies, and the bargain-hunters sifted through the Community Yard Sale, the car-lovers marveled at some of the most opulent vehicles ever to travel America’s highways.

Mecum Indy event offers rare chance to see 1953 Fiesta, Eldorado, Skylark, and Corvette all in one place

I’ve mentioned before that I think 1953 was the ultimate year in General Motors history. Never mind that it was twenty years before I was even born. The products, legacy, and accomplishments from that year speak for themselves.

But you can’t really get the full impact of just what GM was able to produce just by reading things. You really need to experience the crown jewels of the 1953 GM lineup firsthand. The Mecum Spring Classic Auction in Indianapolis is providing a rare, rare opportunity to do just that. Crossing the block will be the ultimate quartet of GM’s most ambitious and sought-after cars; a 1953 Chevrolet Corvette, a 1953 Cadillac Eldorado, a 1953 Buick Skylark, and a 1953 Oldsmobile Fiesta.