Trunk or Treat

          For the fourth year in a row, the Anderson Township Park District held their annual Trunk or Treat Car Show. The show is unique in that people who bring their cars for display are encouraged to decorate their rides for the season. And so there are all kinds of fun and wacky themes and decorations on some of the cars. Kids get to walk around and not only see the great cars on display but they also get some candy if they say, "Trunk or treat."
          Here are some of the great cars that were on display during this year's Trunk or Treat event.

Pumpkins at the Run

          As a one time owner of a bright orange car, a German built Mercury Capri from the late 1970s, I know what it's like to have people looking at you for the color of your automobile. Now in my case I got the Capri from my older brother who had just been given an Audi as a company car. He had bought the Capri off the lot and it was the one color they had with the options that he wanted.

          I drove that Capri a lot of miles. By the time I was finished I had sand from beaches along the Atlantic, the Pacific and the Gulf of Mexico; dirt from Canada and Mexico and from many states in the lower 48.
          At the Annual Pumpkin Run Nationals I think it is extra special when those owners of classic orange cars show off their rides. So here are a lot of those orange beauties that were on display at this year's event.

A Bunch of Do-Gooders

          The Fastiques Rod and Custom Car Club is like a lot of other car based groups around the country. They get together, do social events, go cruising, go to car shows. They also are the hosts and organizers of the Annual Pumpkin Run Nationals which is one of the Mid-West's largest vintage car shows.

          Putting together a show of this magnitude takes a lot of time and effort on the part of a large number of people. But other than a nice warm feeling that accompanies a major accomplishment, the members of the Fastiques don't get anything. All of the proceeds from this huge automotive event are donated to charity.

          Each year the club donates $50,000 to the Shriner's Burns Hospital for Children. To date, they estimate that they have donated in excess of three-quarter of a million dollars to that institution. In addition they make donations to a number of other charities, including St. Rita's School for the Deaf and the Clermont County Homeless Shelter.
          Not bad for a bunch of guys who enjoy tinkering with old cars.

More From the Pumpkin Run

          With around 3000 classic and collectible vehicles on display, the Annual Pumpkin Run Nationals really does require a long three day weekend to fully take in all of that is there to see. Despite this huge number of machines the members of the Fantastique Rod and Custom Car Club who sponsor the event really do a pretty good job of organizing the cars and grouping them, at least somewhat, so that if you are a fan of a certain make or model or style of car you can see lots of them together.
          I'm nowhere near as organized and my pictures are all over the place. But in my opinion that wide variety is part of the fun. I hope you enjoy it to as I post more pictures from this year's Pumpkin Run Nationals.

The Pumpkin Run

          On a sometimes brilliant, sometimes rainy three days in October, the 37th Annual Pumpkin Run Nationals, sponsored by the Fastiques Rod and Custom Car Club, was recently held at the Clermont County Fairgrounds. The show, which is the region's largest car show, drawing an average of around 3000 vintage, classic and collectible automobiles each year. What makes this staggering number of vehicles even more impressive is the fact that the Pumpkin Run is only open to cars built in 1970 and earlier.

          Running from Friday through Sunday, the Pumpkin Run is more than just one of the largest car shows in the Mid-West. In addition to the vast number of classic rides there are also a multitude of dealers selling everything the classic car enthusiast would ever want. Toss in a swap meet, great food, live music and dancing and it's easy to see why this event remains so popular year after year.
          Here is the first of a few entries for this great show with plenty more to pop up through the off season. Hope you enjoy these great rides as much as I did.

924 and 944

          By the mid 1970s Porsche was already looking for something to replace the less than impressive 914. The idea for that car was pretty radical and included a water cooled front mounted V 8 engine. As I documented in an earlier blog (http://turnerbudds-carblog.blogspot.com/2012/02/porsche-got-front-engine-right-944.html) the resulting 924 and subsequent 944 were that replacement.
          The recent Volkswagen and Porsche Reunion Car Show brought out a number of these fine cars; more 944s than 924s but with the history of these machines that's understandable. Here are some of those that were on display that day.