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.

Manheim Nashville employees show off their rides

When I’m not going to car shows, I actually have a paying job where I rep General Motors vehicles at the dealer auctions in Memphis and Nashville. Recently, my car show world and my professional world combined when Manheim Nashville had an employee Spring Fling and car show inside the gates of their massive campus in Mt. Juliet. Rain in the area probably kept several cars away, but a little water never hurt my old truck, so of course, I was there. The auction had set up a really nice event for their employees with lunch, games, and prizes, so I was really happy that they let me attend. What’s more, some of the people that work there have some really nice cars!

2016 Nashville International Auto Show

If you were reading an article about an auto show that took place in 1969, complete with photo slideshow, you would think that was pretty cool, right? That’s why I keep covering the local new car show. Someday, someone is going to look back on this, and they’re going to love it. In the context of today, the Nashville International Auto Show is fairly weak. Several key manufacturers didn’t even bother to participate. There were no concept cars. The most interesting display was the “DuPont Registry Live” exotic car collection, and you had to subscribe to a $45 magazine to get close to it. Sure, there were some cars there that any red-blooded enthusiast would like to have, but come back to this in 50 years and you’ll really appreciate it.

Bellissima! The Italian Automotive Renaissance inside Nashville's Frist Center for the Visual Arts

Nashville might not be the first place that comes to mind when you’re thinking about fine Italian automobiles, but that’s just what’s on display in the Frist Center for the Visual Arts during their current exhibit, “Bellissima! The Italian Automotive Renaissance, 1945–1975”. This is an art museum, so the cars are presented as art. That makes sense, because most of these coachbuilt automobiles have transcended the term “vehicles” and moved right into the “works of art” category. There are 19 cars and two motorcycles on display, and each one is among the most valuable and exclusive cars in the world. This ain’t your normal Friday night car cruise.

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.

Sporty things from the 2014 Nashville International Auto Show

As the weather gets colder, new car show season is heating up. The Nashville International Auto Show was this weekend at the Music City Center, and spectators got a chance to enjoy the heart of the auto industry in the heart of country music. This wasn’t a particularly large auto show (weird that Cadillac didn’t have a display in Johnny Cash’s hometown), but it sure brought out a lot of people. There were so many folks looking at the cars that taking pictures proved to be very difficult. I still managed to click off a few of my favorites, though. Let’s take a look.

Brentwood High School Car Show was fancy schmancy

Nashville is the center of country music, and home to many big-name country stars.  Now, these people do not live in the same neighborhood as I do.  Once you sell a few gold records, you can distance yourself from the middle class a bit.  I was breathing some rarified air on Saturday when I found myself in the parking lot of Brentwood High School for their annual car show.  This pristine school is surrounded by some of the most beautiful Southern homes I’ve ever seen.  And the cars that showed up to this event were, well, not your normal Friday night cruise-in standards.

Fast Fridays at KC Trends showcases a new breed of car enthusiast

If you think about young car enthusiasts in the early 1950s, images of hopped-up ’32 Fords and modified Model Ts might come to mind.  Kids got what they could afford.  Sometimes they were jalopies; beaters that they bought for $10 out of their neighbor’s field.  Times were different back then.

Went to Roxanne's for breakfast and a car show broke out

So Saturday we were eating breakfast at Roxanne’s Cafe in Parkville when a bunch of people showed up with Ferrari outfits on.  One guy even had a Ferrari logo on his phone.  It was pretty obvious that there was going to be a bunch of Ferraris parked outside.  So, when we finished eating, we went around the corner, and there they were.  Bam.  Instant car show.

Seventh-Annual Art of the Car Concours brings fine cars to the Kansas City Art Institute

Every weekend throughout the summer we visit car shows and cruises full of run-of-the-mill muscle cars, old trucks, and rat rods.  And I do love all of these events, which is why I keep going back.  But once in awhile, it’s nice to class it up a bit and check out some really fancy stuff.  The annual Art of the Car Concours is just such an event.  This is an opportunity to see local and national fine automobiles that rarely see the light of day.  But here they were, all on the manicured lawn of the Kansas City Art Institute for everyone to see.  Yeah, it was hot, muggy, and even a little rainy.  But it was worth a little discomfort to experience this very special show.

Exotic cars and chicken spiedini at the Fiesta Italiano Car Show in Zona Rosa

It’s not too often that I go to a car show and know virtually nothing about any of the cars that are on display there, but I stepped outside my wheelhouse a bit for the Fiesta Italiana Car Show at the Zona Rosa shopping center over the weekend.  The car show was part of Fiesta Italiana, which was a celebration of all things Italian.  They had everything from wine experts to spaghetti eating contests.  Oh, and the food—lots and lots of food.  I know the Hovers all left the event pretty stuffed after sampling several of the vendors’ offerings.

The Armacost Museum is a Studebaker paradise

Last year, HMC reader Dan McConnell provided some pictures from the incomparable Armacost Museum in Grandview, Mo. From that time on, I really wanted to see that collection for myself. And last weekend, I finally got my chance.

People who had a car on display at the 6th Annual Art of the Concours were given the opportunity attend a private showing of the museum, and since my dad’s car was in the show this time, I tagged along with him. I’m glad I had that chance, because even though looking at pictures is nice, it doesn’t tell the story quite like seeing this great collection in person.

Fiesta Italiana Car Show. That's amore!

The smell of fried ravioli was in the air during the Fiesta Italiana at the Zona Rosa shopping area. And although most people were there for the live music, the street vendors, and the cannoli eating contest, there was, in fact, an Italian car show tucked quietly in one of the side streets.

I actually didn’t even know about this one until I saw a poster hanging in an Italian restaurant the night before. That’s why it wasn’t in my weekly calendar. And I didn’t really know what to expect.

The Lorax hates Vipers

Something interesting caught my eye on the way to see The Lorax at the Legends Theatre. More on that in a minute.

The Lorax is an animated movie that tries to deliver the message that it is bad to cut down trees for short-term personal gain, which is a nice message, I suppose. But then it turns its attention to the evils of big business and successful entrepreneurs. People should leave the environment alone, renounce large corporations and money, and live in a perfect utopia of cottony trees and adorable forest creatures under sun-drenched skies. Danny DeVito voices the Lorax, protector of the forest.