The heat was on at the Operation Stand Down Car Show at Cornerstone Church

If you wanted to see a bunch of cars, Cornerstone Church was the place to be last Saturday. This one was a fundraiser for Operation Stand Down, which is an organization that helps homeless veterans get back on their feet. I’d say the majority of the entries here were late model Mustangs and Camaros, thanks to some pretty strong club participation. But there were plenty of other nice things to look at if Pony Cars aren’t your thing. It was very hot over the weekend, but that didn’t stop people from getting their cars out. The drive-through judging looked like it was running a little slow based on the long, stagnant line, but I guess that’s why they call these “car shows” and not “car races.”

Mt. Juliet picks up the American Jewelry Cruise-In

The weekly cruise at the Mt. Juliet/Providence Chick-fil-A was still going strong right up until they decided to stop doing it last season. The demand never went away, however, and now there’s a new place for the car nuts to go on Saturday nights. The new Mt. Juliet Cruise is still in the Providence area, just moved to the American Jewelry parking lot. It’s still in the early stages, so they don’t have any music or D.J. or anything, but the turnout was pretty strong, and there is definitely some good potential here. And this was all happening on the same night as a Predators game, so that ought to tell you how bad people around here want to get their cars out.

Even non-car folks like the Fontanel Concert Cruise

As you know, we’re big fans of the Fontanel Mansion Concert Cruise around here. For the June edition, my wife actually encouraged some non-car people to meet us out there. None of them strolled into the car show area even for a minute, but that’s the beauty of the Fontanel. You can go out there and enjoy the lush scenery, eat a nice dinner, and enjoy some quality music. Now for me personally, the car show is still the main attraction. I like the scenery and all, but cars are where it’s at. So I ditched the company for a while and perused the show field. As usual, there were plenty of nice rides to keep my attention. Let’s take a look at a few.

5th-Annual Tennessee Motorama brings Nashville cars out of hibernation

The 5th-Annual Tennessee Motorama opened up at 10:00 a.m., which was right about the time we pulled into the parking lot. Already, there was a quarter-mile-long line of guys standing at the door waiting to get in. Clearly, people are ready for some kind of old car action. All it takes is a modest indoor car show and swap meet to bring everyone out of hibernation. And as each one of them plunked down their ten-dollar admission, they were greeted to a number of interesting cars and potential treasures in the Mid-Tenn Expo Center in Murfreesboro. Don’t let the ritzy Park Avenue address fool you. This place was down-to-earth enough to host a few rat rods on a nice January day.

Spring Hill High School Car Show brings beautiful cars to Saturn country

For most people, Spring Hill, Tenn., is famous for one car—Saturn. Back in the day, the state-of-the-art assembly plant in Spring Hill cranked out hundreds of thousands of these plastic-paneled eco-mobiles to what was at the time a rabid fan base. There were people out there who loved these cars. They loved the no-haggle pricing strategy. They lovd being part of the Saturn family. Don’t believe it? Back in the 1990s, as many as 50,000 Saturn owners and lovers would converge on Spring Hill for the annual Saturn Homecoming shows.

2014 Volkswagen CC R-Line test drive review. Much better at delivering to a food pantry than a Camaro

My 10-year-old son has a December birthday, and we usually throw a party for him.  But instead of asking for presents, I am very proud to report that for the past five years, he has asked his friends to bring canned food items instead of gifts.  Last year, he collected a record 442 items.  This year, he shattered his own record with 674 items!  People are really getting behind his efforts, and he gets a good feeling from taking his donations to the St. Vincent DePaul food pantry each year. 

2013 Basehor-Linwood Project Grad Car Show: Better late than ever

Organizers at the Basehor-Linwood High School Project grad Car Show had a big decision to make.  Keep the original Saturday date, or listen to the rain-soaked weather forecast and move it to Sunday up against the Chiefs Game.  They chose the latter option.  And even though the turnout was a bit lighter than in years’ past, it was still a nice bunch of cars.  Saturday indeed ended up being a washout, and Sunday was one of the most beautiful days of the year.  They clearly made the right decision.

2013 Volkswagen Beetle TDI Convertible test drive review. Herbie's long, lost cousin

As a child of the ‘70s, Herbie the Love Bug was part of my cultural upbringing.  Disney’s plucky Volkswagen kind of gave every Beetle a little more personality.  So when I recently got the chance to spend a week behind the wheel of a 2013 Beetle TDI convertible, I thought that sounded like a good deal.  This latest iteration of the Beetle draws even more design cues from the original than the previous generation, and my persona could use an infusion of cuteness.

How do I get this car out of second gear?! The Micro-Mini Car Show invades the Westwood City Hall

In 1958, the novelty music group known as The Playmates went to #4 on the Billboard music charts with a crazy little tune called “Beep Beep.” You’ve probably heard it, but if you haven’t, here’s the gist. A guy in a Cadillac is driving along when someone in a little Nash-Rambler appears to challenge him to a race. The song’s tempo gets faster and faster as the guy drives faster and faster to try and outrun the Nash.

The San Diego Auto Museum is interesting, but not overwhelming

I just got home from a little field trip to sunny San Diego. And although there are all kinds of beaches and attractions that would appeal to normal people, I went ahead and spent my leisure time checking out a few car-related destinations.

One of them was the San Diego Auto Museum. Located in an area with several other museums in Balboa Park, the San Diego Auto Museum is a combination of spectacular and not-so-spectacular.

Beetles and Busses. The story behind Volkswagen's air-cooled icons

The unmistakable smells of ether and gasoline fill the air. A turn of the key. A crank of a wrench. Another turn of the key; then a sputter. Followed by silence. Once more—a plume of smoke, and that distinct, air-cooled rasp wheezes to life. And if the driver is lucky enough to get out of his parking space without the engine dying again, the reward is a white-knuckled drive at a maximum speed of 42-mph.

Such is the life of a vintage VW owner. And you know what? They love every bit of it.