Huge turnout for the 25th-Annual AACA Wilson Bank Spring Meet in Mt. Juliet

I haven’t been to enough car shows lately, but I’m sure glad I didn’t miss the 25th-Annual AACA Wilson Bank Spring Meet in Mt. Juliet over the weekend. This is always a good show, and this year’s edition didn’t disappoint. There were cars crammed in every little crevice of that place. It has been quite a while since there was a local AACA show, and I think everyone decided to get out of the house. This was in spite of it being a cloudy, somewhat rainy day.

 

Fun at the 45th-Annual Frog Follies

The Frog Follies. Just the name sounds fun. And for 45 years, pre-1949 street rods have been converging on Evansville, Ind., for one of the biggest street rod conventions in the country. With more than 2,000 cars in attendance, the name isn’t the only thing fun here. Most entries here follow the classic street rod recipe—take the shell of an old car and replace everything with modern components to make it drive like a new car. But a few traditional hot rods sneak in, along with a stock (“before”) example or two. You might even find something newer than 1948 in the car corral or amongst the large swap meet. The fact is, with a show this big, there was something for everybody within the gates of the Vanderburgh County 4-H Center.

The cars are the best at the Gallatin Square Fest

The Gallatin Square Fest Car Show is always a fun time, so we threw the folding chairs into the back of my ’93 Corvette and staked-out a parking spot. Unlike most car shows where you’re basically on an island and have nothing else to see, do, or eat, this one is part of a festival that includes vendors and food trucks. That means there’s something for everybody at this show. They give out a lot of trophies (they gave a first-place class award to me for the Corvette), which seems to draw in a lot of very nice cars. I love car shows that provide both quality and quantity, so this was a good one to be a part of.

The 2017 Frog Follies - 43 years and still going strong

When it comes to car shows, the Frog Follies in Evansville, Ind., is no joke. 2017 was the 43rd year for this street rod extravaganza, and some 3,500 cars came to the party. Hosted by the E'ville Iron Street Rods Car Club, this event pulls cars from all over the country. The entries are limited to pre-1949 street rods, but there are plenty of later classics scattered throughout the extensive car corral and swap meet areas. We went up for the second year in-a-row, and had a great time once again. I’m going to take a look at a few show cars, cars that were for sale, and whatever else caught my attention.

Tons of stunners at the 2017 AACA Wilson County Fair Car Show

When you go to the fair you expect to see a lot of things. Giant watermelons. Big, fuzzy chickens. Shaky carnival rides. Mullets. What you might not expect to see is one of the best car shows of the year. But that’s exactly what you got at the Wilson County Fair during the AACA Car Show that took place last Sunday. I rarely go to an event that has this kind of quality. It’s like the Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale auction got dumped out in a field or something. There are so many top-notch restorations, so many desirable cars, and so many knowledgeable people that it’s an unusual situation indeed that you can get them all together in one place.

Wagner's visit marks 800th story on Hover Motor Company

Today’s story marks a milestone with the Hover Motor Company blog. This is the 800th post on here in six years. We have looked at a lot of cars. Of course, avid readers know that before I moved to Nashville, I lived in Kansas City. Last week I went back home, and I figured a visit to Wagner’s Classic Cars would be a fitting article to put here. I was able to go with my dad, which is always great. Plus, they had some interesting things on the showroom floor. So here’s a look at what we saw during our journey to Bonner Springs, Kan. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed going there.

Tri-Fives highlight the Fontanel Cruise

It’s summertime in Nashville, and that means the Fontanel Mansion holds their classic car cruise every Thursday night in Whites Creek. This week, the featured club was the Mid-Tenn Classic ’55-’56-’57 Chevy Club. So after a nice Italian dinner and live music at Café Fontanella, we walked outside for more live music and a neat collection of cars highlighted by shoebox Chevys. This is one of the more picturesque places for a car gathering. Normal people would probably be happy coming out here without the cars even. But I’m not a normal person. Let’s check out the cars!

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.

Wrecked old cars and crashes

Most of the new cars I have been reviewing lately are so loaded with safety features, you wonder how anyone can crash them at all.  I mean, with lane departure warning systems, traction control, backup cameras, and crash mitigation braking systems, what excuse do you have for running into another car?  And yet, we still manage to do it.  They don’t keep running those traffic reports on the news for nothing.  This is nothing new, though.  Take the old cars in these pictures.  They were equipped with nasty biased-ply tires, fail-prone drum brakes, and lethargic manual steering.  These weren’t the pampered classics we see at car shows today.  People drove these cars, and sometimes, they wrecked them.

Studebaker Driver's Club holds national meet in Colorado Springs

Each year, the Studebaker Driver’s Club holds a national meet at which Studebakers and Avantis from all over the world gather for a car show, driving tours, and camaraderie.  Often, this takes place in South Bend, Ind., home of the Studebaker.  But this year, the gathering was at the Hotel Elegante in Colorado Springs, Colo.  I wasn’t able to attend this one, but luckily our good friend Pat Casey was nice enough to send a disc full of pictures to share.

Liberty kickoff cruise. Nicer than people expected it to be

The Liberty Cruise is normally one of the bigger ones each month, so you might have thought that the 2013 kickoff would be a barn-burner.  Unfortunately, most of the day was cool, clammy, and rainy, which had an adverse effect on the cruise.  But even though the turnout was lighter than normal, there were still some nice cars and trucks that decided to go for it.

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.

The Armacost Auto Museum in Grandview is a little-known Kansas City treasure

When it comes to automotive culture, Kansas City will surprise you sometimes.

It’s easy to look at the beautiful coastal settings of Pebble Beach or Amelia Island and think nothing like that can happen here. But then we have the Art of the Car Concours as held last weekend at the Kansas City Art Institute.

It’s easy to look at Detroit and think we are not a mecca of auto manufacturing. But in fact, both Ford and General Motors build some of their most popular vehicles in the area.