33rd-Annual Oktoberfest Classic Car Show at Wilson Bank & Trust ends the Mid-Tenn AACA 2021 car show season

The Mid-Tenn Region AACA finished off the 2021 car show season with the 33rd-Annual Wilson Bank & Trust Oktoberfest Antique Car Show on the Wilson Bank main campus. This is always one of the biggest car shows of the year in the Nashville area, and the car count and quality didn’t disappoint. With 553 vehicles entered, it was the largest turnout in the history of this show. Perfect weather and strong participation meant that there was something for everybody at this long-running event.

Light Up the Pike and Hendersonville Cruise-In offered choices last Friday night

Hendersonville was a busy place last Friday night if you were an old car geek. Did you want to go to the Light Up the Pike (LITP) Car Show at Long Hollow Church, or did you want to go to the always popular Friday night Hendersonville Cruise-In? Either choice was a good one. I popped-in at both of them to see what was what. The Long Hollow Church show probably got the most attention. In addition to the car show, they had all kinds of family games set up, and they set off a huge fireworks show at the end of the night. The weekly Cruise-In was a little light on attendance, but there were still plenty of good cars there to check out.

You can't lose with the Hendersonville Cruise

It has been awhile since I did a story about the Hendersonville Cruise, but it is still one of the best around. Last Friday, a nice group of classics rolled into the Glenbrook shopping center as the sun set. Perfect weather, a live D.J., and free ice cream sandwiches probably didn’t hurt the large turnout. This is the best time of the year to go to these events. It is the rare point in the season where it isn’t too hot or cold. Many car show have been cancelled this year, so you probably aren’t burned out on these types of events yet. Plus, the season will end before you know it, so it’s a good idea to get out while you can.

32nd-Annual Wilson Bank Oktoberfest Car Show brings the best of the AACA to Lebanon

For 32 years, Wilson County Bank has hosted the big Oktoberfest event at their main branch in Lebanon, Tenn. That tradition continued last weekend, including the big AACA car show on Sunday. The car show season tends to wind down quite a bit after this weekend, but not before 451 entries converged on about four different parking lots to make up this last-ditch blowout. I’ve been to this show before, but this was the first time I entered a car. Not only did my car take home a class award, but I got to spend the day hanging out with my teenaged son, and we were able to take our time studying all the nice cars and trucks on display.

Nashville Corvette Club hosts the Touch of Gold Car Show

Last Saturday I thought it would be fun to go on down to Brentwood, Tenn., for the Touch of Gold Car Show, which was held at the Tennessee Baptist Children’s Home. I figured if I went to the other side of town, I might see some cars that normally don’t hang out in my neighborhood. Also, since this show is hosted by the Nashville Corvette Club, it seemed like a good place to take my old ’93 Corvette. As you might expect, there were a lot of Corvettes there. That’s not all there was, though. Probably half the entries were other kinds of cars, so there was a little something for everyone. I actually attended the Tough of Gold Show a few years ago at a different location, and then as now I was impressed with the quality of entries that make it to this event.

6th National Corvette Caravan and 25th-Anniversary of the National Corvette Museum - Now that's a lot of Corvettes!

If you were anywhere near Bowling Green over the weekend, you know there was something big happening with Corvettes. You could not pass a gas station, restaurant, parking lot, or hotel without seeing dozens of them. That’s because the National Corvette Museum was hosting the National Corvette Caravan for the 6th time. Corvette enthusiasts from all over the United States, and some from other countries even, traveled in huge groups to meet-up at this event. Some reports estimated that as many as 10,000 Corvettes made the trip. When they got there, the museum was celebrating its 25th anniversary, so there were lots of cool displays and activities to keep everyone well entertained. I was able to drive my ’93 Corvette up there on Friday. I’m sure that wasn’t the biggest day of the weekend, but I walked a million miles, and I think I saw more Corvettes in one place than I’ve ever seen in my life.

8th-Annual 2019 KCCA Vettes on the Plains Show draws rare Corvettes to Bass Pro in Independence

When I was five years-old, my dad bought this ’61 Corvette. This unrestored, original car has been a part of our family for more than 40-years now, but lately, it was feeling neglected. Dad hadn’t been able to drive it for more than a year, so I thought it would be fun to drive up to Kansas City from Nashville to get it ready for the 8th-Annual Vettes on the Plains show, which was held this year at the Bass Pro Shops in Independence. Not only did we have a great day hanging out together, but dad’s Corvette earned a trophy—the first one he’s ever gotten for it! This wasn’t a huge show; maybe 90 cars total. The lower car-count probably had a lot to do with a last-minute change in venue. But it was still enough to raise some healthy donations for St. Jude and Camp Quality. And if you like looking at nice Corvettes, this was definitely the place to be.

C4 Corvette Gathering and Revin' Up for Kids Car Show collide at the National Corvette Museum

There was so much going on last weekend at the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Ky., that you are about to read a triple story. First of all, I brought my ’93 Corvette up there to be a part of the annual C4 Corvette Gathering, which drew fourth-generation Corvettes in from all over the country. While I was there, I entered the Revin’ Up for Kids Car Show, a multi-make show that raised money for foster kids. And finally, I made a tour of the National Corvette Museum itself, where I was able to see some of the most significant Corvettes ever, including a display of Corvettes that belonged to U.S. astronauts. It was almost automotive overload. I was just barely able to handle it all, and I will surely never be the same.

Hendersonville Cruise-In kicks off 2019 at its new location

As a Hendersonville resident and a car cruise guy, I’m always happy when the Hendersonville Cruise-In kicks off for the season. This year, the location moved to the old World Market parking lot, which is basically the Target store off New Shackle Island Road. They hold this event every Friday night during the summer, and they always have lots of really nice cars to look at. I’m always amazed that they can hold this event this often and still draw in so many different and interesting cars each time. Naturally, we took the old truck there for opening night, and came home with a bunch of pictures and stories about the neat stuff in attendance.

Nice start to the Tennessee Speed Sport Cruise

Tennessee Speed Sport is a cool, old-school speed shop in Goodlettsville that has been serving Nashville’s hot rod and racing community since the 1960s. It makes sense that they would start up a monthly cruise night, and so they have. The inaugural event was last Saturday night, and they had a pretty strong turnout for the first time. I even like their old sign, and my truck looks right at home next to it. The only thing I might change would be that they open up the store during the cruise. If you can get 100 hot-rodders in the parking lot of a speed shop, who knows—you might just sell them something. At any rate, let’s check out some of the stuff that was sitting outside that locked building. 

Humongous turnout for Nashville Cars 'n Coffee

I don’t get out to the Nashville Cars ‘n Coffee event often enough. It happens early on Saturday mornings. It’s almost an hour away from my house. I don’t have an exotic car to show off. But when I do drag my sorry butt out of bed, this event never disappoints. The movie theatre in Franklin, Tenn., fills up with thousands of cars. And while not all of them are really what we normally cover on this blog, there are so many different things that everyone gets to see what they like. And so, BHo and I set an alarm last weekend, and cruised on up there in my decidedly commonplace ’93 Corvette to hang out with the other half for a while.

Great Smoky Mountain Auto Fest was a nice surprise

For fall break this year, we decided to head down to Dollywood in Gatlinburg. Our hotel was right across the street from the Tennessee Smokies baseball stadium. Unbeknownst to me, the Smokies were hosting the Great Smoky Mountain Auto Fest the very same weekend! How does this happen to us? Crazy. So of course, I walked out of the hotel and over to the car show to see what this part of the state has to offer. The featured marque was Corvette this year, so of course they had some really nice Corvettes. But there were plenty of other great cars if Corvettes aren’t your thing for some inexplicable reason. I was there pretty early, so it’s possible that more cars showed up later, but the ones that were there seemed pretty good to me.

Vettes, Hot Rods, and Families brings 'em back to the Corvette Assembly Plant

Corvettes. You know I love ‘em. So when I heard that there was a car show at the Corvette Assembly Plant in Bowling Green, the birthplace of every Corvette since 1981, you know I had to check it out. I even entered my own ’93 Corvette in the show, even though there was no chance that I was going to win one of those awesome trophies. It was just cool to be in the shadow of a place that produced so many cool cars. The Vettes, Hot Rods, and Families Car Show had a pretty decent turnout, and the entry fees went to the American Cancer Society. It was a good way to spend a Saturday.

1984-1996 C4 Corvette history and memories. The secret's out!

When the “C4” Corvette debuted in 1984, I was certain that it was, without a doubt, the most amazing car I had ever seen in my life. At the time, it was state-of-the-art in every way. The suspension was like a work of art. The liquid crystal gauges were at the height of high-tech. Everything, from the unidirectional tires and wheels, to the shape of the optional lumbar adjustable leather seats, to the design of the air filter cover was just perfect. My dad brought a few of them home as company cars when they were new, and I thought riding in them was absolute heaven. I’m not the only one who has great memories of these cars, though. The fourth-generation Corvette, which was produced between 1984 and 1996, is becoming more popular all the time. Right now it’s one of the biggest bargains out there, but get it while you can. The secret's out, and they’ll never be worth any less than right now.

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.

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.

2018 Hot Rod Power Tour begins at Bowling Green

They say the Hot Rod Power Tour is the largest traveling car show in the world. It draws in more than 6,000 cars as the gigantic caravan hits seven cities. At every stop, there are giant manufacturer displays, drag racing, autocross, and more. For 2018, the first stop was in Bowling Green, Ky., at the Beech Bend Raceway Park. Naturally, it rained while I was there, but there were still thousands of cars on display waiting for breaks in the weather. With so many to choose from, there were bound to be some interesting things to check out. Let’s take a look at a few of them.

Nice start to the KSI Auto Show

The KSI Auto Show took place this weekend at Hendersonville High School. Kevin Stephens Interiors and a handful of sponsors came up with quite a bit of prize money for participants, and a portion of the proceeds were to go to the Hendersonville High School football team. There was great participation from the football team, and relatively decent participation from car owners. This was the first shot at this show, and it has potential. They could maybe offer more different classes, and tighten up the schedule a little bit. But the lot is actually very well suited for this, and the Hendersonville Cruise-In confirms that there are plenty of cars in the area. There were some pretty nice ones at this show to be sure.

Perfect conditions for the 23rd-Annual AACA Spring Meet at the Wilson County Bank in Mt. Juliet

I’ve been attending the AACA car show at Wilson Bank in Mt. Juliet for a few years now, and I liked it so much that I finally decided to enter a car. This is one of those events that always seems to be blessed with nice weather and a great turnout, and this year followed that trend. The Mid-Tenn AACA chapter reports that 156 entries made it to the show field, and there were several of them that really tripped the meter. My only regret was that I underestimated the sunshine and forgot to wear sunscreen. Hanging around at a car show is not for the weak.

This cruise-in puts the "Good" in "Goodlettsville"

If you’re a car nut in Goodlettsville, you know that the Goodlettsville Cruise in the Publix parking lot is the place to be on Saturday nights. Beautiful weather sparked some healthy participation last weekend, with a nice selection of classics and future classics. I brought the old truck out and snarfed down a Firehouse meatball sub. That might not be everyone’s idea of a Saturday night party, but it suit me just fine. There was also a D.J. on hand for a little auditory entertainment, and of course, there were the cars. That’s what we’re mostly interested in here, so let’s take a look at some of them.