Excellent Classic and Custom Car Show in Oregon - Cruisin' Sherwood

There's a car culture in the Pacific NW that's pretty exceptional.  Maybe it's the rainy winters that allow people to hole up and prep their cars all winter, but when summer rolls around some beautiful classics and customs hit the street.  The Sherwood Cruisin' is hosted in the small suburban Portland town of Sherwood, Oregon and packs the town from one end to the other. It's not Monterey's car week, but it's free entrance for spectators a short distance from Portland brings out the crowds, and vendors. The town business' doors are open; expectantly hoping and I'm sure it doesn't disappoint (antique shops, museums, restaurants and coffee shops mainly).

I'm going to break a 10th grade rule of writing, and author this from the "I" perspective just to give you a flavor of what my experience was, in case you're thinking of attending in future years.

First, let's talk about culture.  The weather's started to turn summer-like (most the time) by June up here in the NW and there's a large rumbling of cars shaking off their garage dust and returning to the highways and raceways.  My friends that autocross or race on the track have already had a couple of turns at the wheel. Our semi-famous Beaches Cruise In at Portland International Raceway also started the first Wednesday in June.  The Cascade Car Clubs Friday Night Rally is on their fourth rally by June.

My project 1957 MGA is just coming together this year (registration last month - www.budgetmga.blogspot.com) and the night before I'd just competed in my first Friday night rally and had an absolutely great time.

The morning of Sherwood, our group of car enthusiasts that serve Jesus (Gearheadz Portland) got together for coffee and breakfast to, as the Hawaiians put it, "talk story"and discuss how we can help people this summer using the automotive skills and passions the Lord has graced us with (or possibly cursed if you ask our wives).  I left that meeting charged from being around some great guys with great plans.

I picked up my wife Kellie on the way to Sherwood.  About a half mile to mile out from town the spectator cars started to line the streets.  After parking the VW, I was glad I hadn't brought the MGA because we would have been quite a ways out of town and I still don't consider the MGA the most secure vehicle to lock up, even though it's the coupe. I'm pretty sure if you gave me a screwdriver and about 5 seconds I could be in the locked MGA.

On top of that, the parking lots were filled with other classics that people had drove to the show but like me, for some reason had decided that either they didn't want to pay the $25 car entrance fee or time didn't allow them to enter the show.  I saw 50's corvette's, hot rod Chevelles, various MOPAR badges and more gracing the parking lots outside of town.

On a whim I started calling friends to see if anyone else would be willing to come out.  A surprising number of people responded and said they'd meet us there and ironically, at the same time I received an invite from one of my good buddies.  We all decided to meet up at the nice coffee shop in town set up in an antique Craftsman home.

The coffee shop was a great place to wait for friends.  Sitting on the grounds of the coffee shop was an old oval window Bug (cool, but unfortunately just a year or two after they got rid of the flip-up side indicators).  The cars were lined up in front but you could still find a chair.  I talked quite a bit with a guy whose Camaro was sitting in front of us and learned a lot about the car (a custom 67).

After our friends joined us, we took a walk around the town.

Interesting Rear End

The Cruisin' Sherwood is a great showing of cars.  I appreciate that it doesn't pander to one crowd.  I saw rust bucket cars from the 20's but I also saw supercar modern Mercedes.  I appreciated that the show was more about what's interesting, rather than what's expensive, or perfect.

I like that the alternator is covered for rain the but the intakes aren't

One particularly interesting truck was made out of a RV.  He'd destroyed the body and put the running gear back together like a hot rod.  He mounted a vintage Mack grille on it, and some old rusty Montana farm trucks cab and had himself quite the unique little car.

I saw an Austin Healey painted the exact colors I want to paint my car, with the exact Rudge wheels I want to put on my car.  It confirmed what Kellie and I both thought; it'll be a great looking car when it's finished.  My wife decided this one was her favorite out of all the cars.  She has champagne taste on a beer budget I always say.

There weren't just American muscle cars either.  I passed a Fiat bus, beautiful 30's Packard convertible, military convoy trucks, rat rods, and one off customs.

I even ran into some friends from other car events.  In my last blog at VintageandClassicCar.Blogspot.com I mentioned that a gentleman and his son were showing a Bentley at cars and coffee but told me they also had a DB3 Aston Martin.  Well I ran into them with the Aston.  I had a good chat with the father.  He's got an interesting dilemma on his hands. In the 40 plus years he's owned the Aston he's polished it too much and he's starting to wear through the paint.  His paint guys told him to dust it only and not to apply anything to it moving forward.  I could tell this wasn't what he wanted to hear and he wasn't quite sure that just dusting it would achieve his goals of keeping paint on it.

In addition, there was a pretty good showing from the local vendors.  I had no idea that the shop that is locally called SoCal Speed Shop is truly licensed by both SoCal and Moon Speed Shop to sell their stuff!  After we buy this house, if I ever have money in my pocket again, I might have to stop by and pick up some fun stuff.  For now, a Moon ball will have to do.  Kellie and I (well, I hope Kellie too) have a fondness for Moon because on a visit to L.A. we stopped by one of their cruise ins and saw some wildly cool creations.

This last one was at Moon

The guys that do the vinyl wraps (basically a sticker instead of painting) were demonstrating their process by covering an 80s Ferrari in flat black.

Wrapped Camaro

I wandered up to a VW van that had been converted to a trailer.  Pretty cool stuff but the price tag's a little steep for my budget ($20k).
http://dub-box-usa.com/gallery

On the other side of the tracks there was a burnout competition.  Looks like a lot of people were really into it, but for some reason it just didn't catch my attention. I'm just not that into seeing people smoke dollars off their tires.  I compare it to hunting elephants for ivory; yes, hunting is useful and I'm all for people having game meat but shooting an elephant so you can pull off some decorations isn't something I can get behind.  Much the same way having a motor with some massive horsepower is awesome, but smoking your $500 dollar tires while chalked in one place doesn't seem productive.

Eventually we tired of wandering and sat down in one of the nice forested parks to hang out and catch up with our friends.

When we all parted ways I made another pass through the last couple of streets I hadn't seen.

We noticed several of the antique shops and pioneer museums were open so we made our way through them.  Standing on the top floor of the rickety wooden 1860 pioneer house with 20 other people scared me slightly as I could imagine at any second we would all be heading quickly for the 1st floor but luckily it held us.

In that same area I noticed they'd set up some fair type games for kids; probably a nice stop for those bringing kids along.

We ended up leaving about 3 and I was sorry it was over.  It'd been a really nice day and I felt really relaxed by the end of it.  If you get the chance, make sure you check out the future Cruisein' Sherwoods.  They're well worth the small effort to get to Sherwood.

As I was driving home, I was contemplating what made events like this so fun for people.  I think some would argue it's the evil materialism, but I think in most cases I would disagree.  Yes, sometimes people are just flaunting that they have money, but in the vast majority of the cases, I see people trying to show their God given talents.  I see the creativity and skill that our creator gave coming through in these cars.  The convenient thing about cars is you can take them somewhere to show what you've been up to.  If houses were mobile, or gardens, I think you'd see the same sort of thing. Don't get me wrong, I don't think you can hole yourself in your garage and work on your car and say you're serving God; it's very clear God wants us pursuing justice and caring for those others don't care for.  I am saying though, that in some ways I think building and customizing cars is simply a showcase of the work God did in us, giving us a creative mind and skilled hands.

The Future Middle Class Classics

The Future Middle Class Classics

Here’s a forecast of the cars I believe will be the future average Joe’s classic cars from this recent time period (1980 on). There’s been a lot of consideration regarding future classics lately, and frankly I haven’t seen one I’d put stock in so I decided to make my own. For example, although Jay Leno is a great ambassador for the collector car world, he recently named the first generation Ford Taurus, the Honda Insight and the Pontiac Aztek as future collectibles (you can see that article here).  As I flipped through a recent Classic and Sports Car magazine I noted a prominent hot rod designer guessed the Subaru SVX would become a modern classic largely in part due to it’s super-car-esque windows (you can see a similar prediction by Motor Trend here).

Leno's Picks - Honda Insight and Subaru SVX

The men making these predictions believe that cute or interesting now will equate to collectible down the road.  I beg to differ.  I’ll make my point by example.

First, see below Bricklin SV-1.  Note, the Bricklin employed a mid-engine layout, wedge shape, all resin body (no need to paint), was billed as one of the safest cars in the world, and had gullwing doors.  Innovative it was, to say the least.  And boy did it incorporate some of the key super-car features of the day (at the time of it’s production mid-engine super-cars were the hot ticket, including the Lamborghini Countach, Ferrari Dino and De Tamaso Pantera).

Bricklin

Did the Bricklin gain fame as a classic?  Not a chance.

Recently someone offered me a Bricklin in exchange for my MGB.  True, it was ratty, but so was my MGB.  And I didn’t take it (although sometimes I wonder if I’ll regreat that decision).

The Bricklin is a great example that incorporating super car elements does not make a future average Joe’s classic car.

Now, let’s address that argument for flat out unconventional and environmentally friendly cars becoming classics(such as the Honda Insight). Let’s look at the Chevy Chevette.  In a period of gas guzzling monsters it’s small body and fuel efficient engine achieved 28 MPG city and 40 MPG highway (Wikipedia).  Not only that, they were the top selling small car in America for 79 and 80.

Chevette and Honda Insight (Cousins?)

Where are they now? 

A quick perusal of Craigslist pulls up running Chevettes in my area for $500 dollars.  The outside the box design (perhaps not the right turn of phrase for a Chevette) and economical gas mileage did not make a future classic.

Goodbye Honda Insight, you will never be an average Joe’s collectible.

So what will make a future average Joe’s classic (by average Joe, I mean able to afford only 1 realistically priced recreational vehicle and, for the most part, not likely to stray into the unknown)?

To know where we’re going we must know where we’ve been.

Where have we been?

We’ve all heard that the much beloved Ferrari’s were often designed with a woman’s shape in mind.  Being that they originated in Italy, that’s not entirely suprising. When touring the art museum/school in Florence, much talk is given to the ideal S shape of the woman.  An S shaped figure will always have lasting appeal.

Look at those curves - Ferrari California

Also, classics have to be fun.  The MG Midget wasn’t brought to America by pilots that were stationed in England because they were economical or environmentally friendly. They looked like a blast and the pilots wanted to have that same fun when they got home. Some claim that this group of returning service men, and their newfound sports cars, triggered the sports car craze of mid-century America.

And the last of the historical key three ingredients to make a classic, they must be reliable or able to be worked on.  You can pick up an early 80’s 700 series BMW for next to nothing because no one can work on them and parts availability is lacking.  Contrast that with an ugly, simple Bug Eyed Sprite from the 50’s.  There’s nothing to a Bug Eyed Sprite and a poor example will still set you back $5000 because people are endeared to their simplicity of design.

Bug Eyed Sprite

Now an average Joe’s classic car doesn’t have to have all three (although the best do), but a heavy weighting in one or two can make up for a shortfall in a third area.

So what are my picks for 10 future, post 1980, classics?

In no particular order:

5^th generation Corvettes - A great s shape, and still with the hideaway headlights.  The 6^th generation ‘vettes Porsche-style headlights will make it less popular, but still sought after, in part due to amazing road holding capabilities.  The Corvette has always been the poor man’s Ferrari, and will continue to be such.

Mitsubishi 3000GT – Another great S shape, and many of them came in red.  Bulges and vents in the right places help the overall looks as well.  They are a poor man’s imitation super-car.  On top of that, they’re Japanese and lots of them were made so it’s not hard to find parts.

3rd generation Mazda Miata, but also the other generations – In a rare circumstance, a later car gained style that eluded it’s older brothers.  The third generation Miata’s curves elevate an already very fun car (rear wheel drive and a blast to auto cross) into the s curve class.  Reliable and easy to find parts for, these cars will be gracing sporting events for a hundred years if our bubble boy culture keeps racing.

The Honda S2000 – a curvaceous 240 BHP at 8300 RPM car, with a limited slip rear end, and made by the most reliable company on earth.  Need I say more?

The modern Mini-Cooper (post 2000) - Yes, every 55 year old in your suburban yuppie neighborhood with a little money to spend bought one because he remembered how fun the old Mini-Coopers were when he was young but wouldn’t actually own one.  But now that it’s made by their favorite, BMW, it’s game on.  And that’s exactly why they’ll live on.  Cause now their kids will believe their dad that a mini cooper is the most fun you can have in a car. The Mini Cooper is yuppie speak for sports car for generations to come.  Are they technically even a sports car?

Fifth and sixth generation Honda VTECs – Yes, we’re giving Honda’s a second helping. Why?  Because they were reliable and fun.  With the VTEC you could get a quick car with great parts availability for relatively cheap.  And drive them people did.  How many customized Honda’s did we see in the 90’s and early 2000’s (labeled tuners or rice rockets)?  That flame won’t die easily.  Even if you would prefer it to.

On a separate note, how did Honda lose that customer base?  It’s unfortunate but I don’t see the modern Honda’s being tuned as the older one’s were.  They may someday regret losing that market.  Although, it may be an economy issue.

Nissan 300 ZX – They have rear wheel drive, are tunable, exhibit a subtle s curve, and enjoy great parts availability.

The Ford Mustang – American men will always like Mustangs; they’re programmed to, and only the rebellious resist.  Highlights will be the 80’s 5.0’s because yes, although ugly as sin, they can run great and they’re easy to tune for big HP, and the post 2005 redesign cars because they got the shape right.

The Subaru WRX - Unlike the SVX discussed above, people drive the WRX and love it.  And when I say love it, they have pictures of it in their wallet.  With its rally success and street racing credibility, the WRX has brightened many a young man’s smile.

And to round out the group… you can’t mention Mustang without…

Camaro - Yes, they can be horribly tacky, but they can also be great.  I think you’ll see a small resurgence of popularity for the third generation Camaro due to it’s unique body styling that defined an era (and has been used heavily in circle and track racing since), relatively simple mechanicals, and good parts availability.  You’ll also see the fourth generation continue to slide in popularity and find itself with the late 70’s Camaros in terms of appeal.  Sure, a few SS cars will stand out but until the re-invention of 2009 Camaro had become an ugly word (literally) to the world.  So third generation and fifth generation Camaros will be popular with 4^th gens regarded about like 70’s Mustang IIs.

There are some notables left off my list; the Acura NSX, Toyota Supra Turbo and Buick Grand National.  All of them saw limited productions and are shooting upwards in value.  Although they will be collectible, they're unlikely to be an average Joe's weekend project, but rather an extreme hobbyists.

To be an average Joe's classic in 30 years, cars will have to be affordable, show an attractive shape, be tunable with good parts availability, and represent fun.  The 10 listed above have all of the characteristics of a classic, or a heavy weighting of at least one of the elements.  Don’t agree?  Then make your own list.  I’d love to hear what you think.  Even if it just makes me laugh; you’ll be in good company with Jay Leno and Motor Trend.