Unusually beautiful weather at the Fall Redneck Rumble

Twice a year, the Wilson County Fairgrounds becomes the site of one of the most unusual car events in town. The Redneck Rumble combines elements of a car show, swap meet, motorcycle racing, camping, and a big, crazy party. Usually it seems to rain, making everything that much grittier. But this time, sunny skies and mild temperatures ruled the day. I’ve never seen so many people lined up to buy tickets for this. There were a ton of vendors, there were a ton of cars, and there were a ton of motorized vehicles, scooters, bikes, and ATVs recklessly bombing through every conceivable road and path. This is not your normal parking lot cruise-in. It’s a manic spectacle that crackles with life from every direction.

2018 Lebanon High School Car Show makes good use of their parking space

Lebanon High School held their annual fundraiser for the marching band last weekend, and lots of great cars showed up to do their part. The sun was as bright as the sun could be, but the temperatures were fairly reasonable for Tennessee in July. A high school is a pretty good place to have a car show, because when the students and teachers go home, there’s a huge parking lot that isn’t being used on the weekend. Every empty parking lot should be filled with cool old cars. I have decreed it.

Early birds have all the fun at the BMS Cruise-In

Lately, Cars and Coffee-type gatherings are really picking up steam over the traditional night time car show. It makes sense. You get up early, spend an hour or three on a Saturday morning, and the rest of your day is free. The BMS Cruise-In is taking advantage of that trend. Last Saturday was cool and foggy, and there were still probably 150 cars and trucks out there. A lot of them are late-model Mustangs and stuff that are not usually what we cover here, but there are still plenty of very cool older rides if that’s what you’re into.

6th-Annual Tennessee Motorama moves to Lebanon in 2017

Tennessee’s first snow of the season took place this week, which means it’s time for the 6th-Annual Tennessee Motorama. This indoor winter car show moved from its original home in Murfreesboro to the new the Wilson County Expo Center in Lebanon. And although the salty, snowy roads kept a few show cars away, there were still several vendors there selling a nice variety of automobilia. It might not have been the biggest turnout based on the circumstances, but it was still worth the short trip north of Nashville. I know I’ve been getting a little stir-crazy for a local car show.

2016 O'Reilly Auto Parts Customer Appreciation Car Show

Last Saturday, the O’Reilly Auto Parts location on Lebanon Road in Mt. Juliet held a customer appreciation day that featured a car show. Well, I’ve been an O’Reilly customer many times over the years, and I definitely appreciate a good car show, so I guess they achieved their goal on this one. And for such a small parking lot, this actually was a pretty good car show. There were several very nice cars in the lot, and every spot was filled. Plus, if someone couldn’t get their car started after the show, they could walk right into the O’Reilly and grab a new battery. Everyone wins with a deal like that.

2015 Nashville International Auto Show

November means auto show season in Nashville, so we headed out to the Music City Center last weekend for the 2015 Nashville International Auto Show. This is one of the smallest new car shows I think I’ve ever been to. It also boggles my mind that Elvis’ Solid Gold Cadillac is on display just down the street from here at the Country Music Hall of Fame, and there was not one trace of Cadillac at this show. There were also quite a few more cars than I have pictured, but I made the determination that they were not interesting enough to feature. If you want to see Hyundais and Hondas and stuff like that, you’ll have to hit this show yourself next year. If you like sports cars and American pickups, you’re in the right place.

28th-Annual McKendree Village Car Show in Hermitage

For 28 years, the Exchange Club has been hosting their annual car show, and when I found out it was at McKendree Village in Hermitage, just five minutes from my house, you can bet that I was in. Not only was it convenient, but it had a bunch of nice cars. And not only did it have nice cars, but it had nice weather. And not only did it have nice weather, but it raised money for the Exchange Club, which helps abused kids. This is the kind of situation that’s impossible to pass up. Of course, if you couldn’t make it, don’t worry. I’ll show you some of the stuff that was there in this story, and you can make sure to attend the 29th-Annual Exchange Club Car Show next year.

Tuesday night at Tom's Cruise in Germantown

I’m spending more time in the Memphis area for work lately, so  last Tuesday night I checked out Tom’s Cruise in Germantown. As is the norm these days, it was an incredibly hot day, which may have had an impact on attendance. That being said, there was still a good number of nice cars at this cruise, and most of them stayed there for quite a while. High heat isn’t enough to keep real car folks at home. They just pack a few more bottles of water. Let’s take a look at some of the rides they packed that water in.

Highlights from the 39th-Annual Hunter's Custom Auto Show

The 39th-Annual Hunter’s Custom Auto Show at the Tennessee State Fairgrounds marks the last big car show in the area before the calendar flips over to spring. 2015’s event featured four buildings worth of customs, muscle cars, and classics to suit the tastes of any car aficionado. And even though the festivities took place indoors, the weather was still nice outside. It was a great weekend for both participants and spectators alike. Let’s take a look at some of the standouts.

Personal luxury abounds at the Fontanel Cruise

The picturesque Fontanel in Whites Creek has become a family favorite of ours, and the Thursday night cruise is one of the best around. The event flyer made it seem like last Thursday was the last one of the year, so we made a quick stop over there to have some dinner and check out the cool rides. Luckily, it sounds like they might have a few more car events at Barbara Mandrell’s old mansion, so we may just get to come back out here while the leaves are changing. But for now, let’s take a look at the nice stuff that was there while the sun went down.

Surprise cruise at the Mt. Juliet Chick-fil-A

Normally I go out of my way to find car events, but sometimes I find them by accident. Such was the case Saturday night when we went to see How to Train Your Dragon 2 in Mt. Juliet, Tenn., and just happened upon the Mt. Juliet Cruise-In in the Chick-fil-A parking lot. I do like going to the movies, but when I get to see a car show before I go into the movie theatre, well, that’s pretty hard to beat. And although this wasn’t the biggest event I’ve been to, the quality made up for the quantity. Here’s some of the good stuff.

Hendersonville Cruise In is worth fighting the traffic for

I’m starting to get settled into Nashville a little bit at this point.  You can tell, because I’ve been hitting the local car cruise scene pretty hard the last few days.  Friday night it was the Hendersonville Cruise In, which takes place behind the Regal Cinema Theatre.  When you drive up to this, it doesn’t seem like there would be a car cruise back there.  It’s a busy shopping and restaurant area that is absolutely clogged with oppressive traffic.  But once you get behind the theatre, the clouds part, and you are greeted by more than 200 old cars and trucks.

Basehor Boys get an early start to the Kansas City car cruise season

The Basehor Boys Car Club is one of the earliest to begin their cruise season, and one of the latest to wrap it up.  These guys love to get together, and it showed once again during their season-opener last Friday night at the Sonic off State Avenue.  It was a surprisingly nice night, and there were quite a few cars that emerged from winter hibernation.  I made sure to bring my camera, even though decent photos were a little hard to get amid the harsh setting sun.

Vintage cars from the 2014 Greater Kansas City International Auto Show

When you go to an event like the Greater Kansas City International Show (GKCIAS), you expect to see the latest and greatest new cars, trucks, and SUVs.  What you might not expect to see is a first-rate classic car show.  But if you were in Bartle Hall over the weekend, that’s just what you saw.  Several groups had vintage iron on display, including the Kansas City Automotive Museum (KCAM), the Art of the Car Concours, the Heart of America Corvair Owners Association (HACOA), and the auto show itself.  So if you’re one of those people that says, “they don’t make ‘em like they used to,” there was still something for you at this event.

Winding down the season at the Mafia's Pizzeria Cruise in Overland Park

We really have just about run out of car cruises around here this year.  That’s too bad, because I know there are a lot of car guys just itchin’ to display their rides one last time.  Luckily, there are a few late-season events, like the Mafia’s Pizzeria Cruise, which took place last Sunday in south Overland Park.  Quite a few owners brought their cars out to take advantage of food discounts and T-shirt giveaways.  It was a little overcast; a little breezy.  But it was still nice enough to enjoy a great afternoon of fun.

Keeping the flame lit at the Fritz's Cruise in Shawnee

The opportunities to attend a cruise night in Kansas City are just about over, but Dick and Judy Rule are doing their best to extend the season as long as possible.  They organize these gatherings at restaurants all over Johnson County, and usually work in some kind of food discount to participants.  Last Sunday, the action took place at Fritz’s hamburger joint in Shawnee.  So while the cars were gleaming in the late-day sun outside, folks were getting their food delivered with a model railroad train within.  Now that’s an unbeatable combination.

2013 Turner Days Car Show - good news/bad news

I always feel mixed emotions when I go to the annual Turner Days Car Show at Turner High School.  On one hand, I’m happy, because there are always a bunch of really cool cars and trucks out there.  But on the other hand, I’m sad, because it usually means we’re getting to the end of the car show season here in Kansas City.  But for the purposes of this story, let’s focus on the positive, and take a look at some of the rides on display at Sunday’s big event.

12th-Annual Mid-America Chevelle Show. Shimmering Chevelles in Shawnee

The 12th-Annual Mid-America Chevelle Club Regional Show was held last Friday and Saturday in Shawnee, Kan.  If you like Chevy’s popular intermediate, this is the place to go.  Unfortunately, everyone knew ahead of time that Saturday was going to be rainy.  I don’t really like trudging around in the rain, so I swung by the show on Friday afternoon.  I was pleasantly surprised to see that the turnout was very respectable in the lot behind the Westglen Movie Theatre.  There were several of them there that tripped my trigger.  Let’s take a look at a few of them.

West Bottoms Car Show rises from the dead

Last May, the folks down in the West Bottoms decided to throw a car show.  The expectations weren’t all that great; maybe they’d get 20 or 30 cars.  But it turned out to be one of the biggest car gatherings of the year.  So when organizers decided to hold another one last Saturday, they thought it would be a sure-fire hit.  They must have handed out 100,000 flyers.  They had vendors and contests lined up.  There’s no way it could have missed.

KCI Airport Cruise: nice cars, nice prizes, nice weather

As summer comes to an end, we start getting more “must attend” car events to wind up the season.  One of those is the KCI Airport Cruise, which took place last Saturday night at the Ambassador Building near the airport.  As usual, there were tons of cars and tons of great door prizes.  Add the beautiful weather, and you’ve got the recipe for a huge event.  The Hovers did their part, as my dad brought out his old Corvette and parked it right next to my truck in the crowded parking lot.