The “Shoe Box”

We are in our busiest time of the year at the moment. I have one day in the office between the NSRA Nationals and Hot August Nights.

As always, we go to these shows looking at the future trends. I have observed that the early ‘50’s cars have certainly had many discussions in our booth. It is an easy fit for a steering column! But it really surprises me. I have nothing against Fords, but ’51 and ’52 are not their best body years! It is really hard to get any aero dynamics out of a shoebox! Putting on fender skirts, or chopping the top is interesting, but you still have a “shoebox”. You can give them dark glass, but you cannot really lay the posts back. I have not seen a shoe box station wagon, but I think it might look like the newest body style Ford just introduced, the “Flex”. What a thought!
To be fair to all you “shoe box” owners out there, I have seen some very nice ones finished. Posie has a great one. They have an excellent ride. They travel well, even unchanged. But, they are still my grandfather’s car!

If you are interested, the trends we are hearing are going towards the Tri Five Chevy, the Camaro, the 50’s pickup trucks, and the late ‘50’s, early ‘60’s Pontiac and Olds. (They are so big and fat, they are the beauties of their owners eyes.)

I hope to have a blog for you next week after I return from Reno. It should be an interesting trip!

Jane

On the Road Again!

We went, for the first time, to the Right Coast Nationals in Syracuse, NY. Well, that was an adventure! The last time we were in Syracuse was at the NSRA Nationals in 1995. I swore I would never go back (and NSRA never did!) It was 104 degrees! The fairgrounds were crowded with buildings. It was hard to tell which building had exhibitors and which one did not. We had nnnnno business. Our hotel was next to an abandoned warehouse with broken windows and the view from our room was under a highway overpass! There was only one redeeming feature, the people there were great to us. They could not have been more friendly or helpful.

Now, 13 years later, we had to put all that behind us. Our sales manager, Marty, kept insisting that this show was getting more and more attendees, and we should be there. Their promoters told us they had more than 7,000 cars last year. Now that is a number that perked my interest! I asked what years were covered. All I could find out was they let everything in! Okay, I told Marty, we will take a small booth at this show once to see what it is like.

Ken and I had so much fun looking at cars we had never seen before at a car show. Volkswagens, Corvairs, Custom Vans (with teardrop windows and shag carpet!). Of course there were hot rods and classic Chevys, but there were tractors with small block Chevy engines and wreckers from the 40’s. There were pin striping contests, burn outs (in a controlled environment), lawn tractor pulling, and snowmobile races in the grass! I have to say there was something for everyone! We are probably going to add this to our travels next year! Oh yea, we accidently stayed at the same hotel. The warehouse was demolished. A pretty little park was left in its place, so pretty, as a matter of fact; photographers were shooting wedding pictures there. Our room did not face the expressway. Life was good!

Next week is the NSRA Nationals in Louisville. We will be there in the middle of it all. This is the granddaddy of all shows. If you want to talk to a manufacturer, this is the best place to catch up with them. It is a long show, and we will be exhausted when it is over. Our sales staff loves going, and loves when it’s over. I am going to Hot August Nights in Reno on Tuesday of the next week. Then we go to Pleasanton CA. at the end of August. If you like these blogs stop by and tell me. I sometimes wonder who is out there reading. See you soon!

Jane