Newtown, PA Car Show, a 35-minute ride from home / Visit with the Demings

Detroit, the auto capital of America for nearly a century, just declared bankruptcy.

"See the USA... in your Chevrolet..." sang Dinah Shore.

Most of the vehicles Scott and I saw today came from Detroit, but certainly not all.

I took loads of photos. Henry Ford made his first Model T in 1908

I will build a car for the great multitude. It will be large enough for the family, but small enough for the individual to run and care for. It will be constructed of the best materials, by the best men to be hired, after the simplest designs that modern engineering can devise. But it will be so low in price that no man making a good salary will be unable to own one ...

While the T was a handsome car, with its chrome front and white-wall tires, over the years automobile design and beauty became the trademark for all brands of cars. When I was a kid I loved the Avanti, made by Studebaker, a firm out of South Bend, Indiana, which orig made farm wagons.



When I was married to Mike and living in a rowhouse at Castor and Cottman in Philly, his dad drove up from Arkansas to visit us.

He drove a green Studebaker station wagon.

The weather was perfect for today's car show, which I'd estimate had 175 cars. It was certainly hot but not dreadfully so.

 Nice turnout of all ages and all breeds of dogs. Nice blue Chevelle near one of those gas lamp posts.

 This was the first Shelby Cobra we saw. Pete bought it ready-made from the factory. You can buy a kit and make it yourself.

 Love the color.

 Here's the blue n white model which Scott and I saw prancing down our street. That's what stirred me up to find a car show.

 Stop, said Pete, proud owner of the Shelby. I'm in the witness protection program.

Come too close and I'll eat you up!

Pete drives a Ford pick-up. Quelle difference when he gets behind the wheel in his Cobra. He wants it just the way Carroll Shelby (1923-2012) designed it. No power steering or power brakes.

The fastest Pete has driven his Shelby is 85 mph. He can't wait to get it onto a race track and let her go.

Shelby had been a performance car designer at Ford - the AC Shelby and the Mustang - and went out on his own in 1962.

Bruce Uhrich's Checkers Cab.

Bruce works at the Doylestown Hospital Wellness Center, which is how I know him. Bought his 1955 cab in the late 90s and had someone fix it up to perfect specifications which took five years.

Now it gleams and glistens and is a thing of beauty. I heard many people saying, "I gotta see that Checkers Cab." From Wiki...

Checker Taxi was an American taxi company. It used the Checker Taxi Cab produced by the Checker Motors Corporation of Kalamazoo, Michigan. Both Checker Taxi and its parent company Checker Motors Corporation were owned by Morris Markin.^[1]
The "Checker", particularly the 1956–82 A8/Marathon, remains the most famous taxi cab vehicle in the United States.

Photo of Marilyn Monroe entering taxi in NYC.

May I rumble your seats?

See the meter? Unset as yet. But once she goes, she really takes off.

A cab medallion is costly. Twenty years ago, a family friend Julio Guerrero paid 50 grand for his.

Alfa Romeo anyone?

Well, I'll take it if YOU don't want it. Always wanted to drive a sports car.

Scott! Where are thou when I need ya! Quelle qe c'est?

A couple of Scott's friends had Chevelles as kids.

The Chevelle owner is quite comfy under his unbrella.

Dodge station wagon. 

WIKI with my comments inserted -- Founded as the Dodge Brothers Company by brothers Horace Elgin Dodge and John Francis Dodge in 1900, Dodge was originally a supplier of parts and assemblies for Detroit-based automakers and began building complete automobiles in 1915, predating the founding of Chrysler Corporation.

The Dodge brothers - who were inseparable - died suddenly in 1920 and the company was sold to Dillon, Read & Co. in 1925 before being sold to Chrysler in 1928. Dodge vehicles mainly consisted of trucks and full-sized passenger.... The 1973 oil crisis and its subsequent impact on the American automobile industry led Chrysler to develop the K platform of compact to midsize cars for the 1981 model year. The K platform and its derivatives are credited with reviving Chrysler's business in the 1980s

Jeremy loves the sound of his Lamborghini. Let's listen to it here.
Sorry, Jeremy, I've heard better.

You're so young to have a Lamborghini, I said. He's had em all, all different sports cars.

Jeremy and friends.

This is a Tiger Sunbeam.

Or a Sunbeam Tiger. Better view below.... 



The Sunbeam Tiger is a high-performance V8 version of the British Rootes Group's Sunbeam Alpine roadster, designed in part by American car designer and racing driver Carroll Shelby and produced from 1964 until 1967.

Look at this beauty!

See if you can guess what this is?

This is what they looked like 25 years ago.

The car show stretched for three or four long blocks.

Hope you like my new red hair. I tried Vidal Sassoon this time insteada Clairol. I think the color company buys the name and Sassoon has nothing to do with it.

Go your own way, boys, he says. Just don't kill anyone with the dye or there'll be hell to pay.

A good way to make heads turn is to wear a bridal dress. Mine cost $5 and was an irregular from Evan Piccone. Perfect for an irregular bride and individual.

Taxi stand!

This is a famous restaurant with a glass-enclosed eating porch. The worst thing about Scott is he doesn't like to go out to eat except if it's our anniversary.

Captions will appear when I talk to my beau. The beau of Cowbell Road.

Note the flask on the seat. Just a tiny nip for me, please. Ah, it goes down sooo smooth.

This may be a Plymouth. Ply-mouth. What a strange word.

However, the Plymouth brand name came from Plymouth Binder Twine, chosen by Joe Frazer for its popularity among farmers.^[1] (Plymouth Binder Twine was a common household item that was used to tie up various items.)

Two-door Ford station wagon, with huge trunk below.

What do YOU keep in your trunk.

I keep a rain hat, umbrella, and two boxes of the Compass.

Ye old hippie and family.

Owner of the Ford Fairlane below.

Ford Fairlane, tho it says Victoria on the side. My mom learned to drive at age 39. Dad bought her a car like this. Scott was surprised by how big it was.

Those were the days when all the cars were big - very long.

I used to drive a Ford LTD, a family cast-off.

Remember the push-button door knobs.

Ford Logo.

The next two may be Packards. Don't quote me.

This Chalmers Motor Car is high off the ground, hence the convenient step-up.

Chalmers Motor Company -

Chalmers Motor Car Company was a United States based automobile company located in Detroit, Michigan. It was named after Hugh Chalmers of the National Cash Register Company. The brand is owned by Chrysler.  1908-23.

My, you've got big head lights, said the wolf.

This is called a 'bow-tie' logo of Chevrolet, or italicized bow-tie.

Hello Max! A baby will root for the breast of both men and women.

Grace doesn't like her picture tooken.

 Find the kitty! This is Nudge.

Dan roots around for something in the fridge, Max on his shoulder.