Wrapping Up Wheels Back On Monmouth

 

 Today I'm wrapping up my coverage of this past fall's Wheels Back On Monmouth show held in Newport. The event drew almost 300 cars and trucks that lined the city's main street for eight blocks, even spilling into parking lots and down some side streets. The event is the re-birth of the Rides On Monmouth show that was always one of the summer's highlights. Like a number of events, though, the show never fully recovered after the covid pandemic. The local police used the event to raise money to help support various events sponsored by the National Night Out which builds relations between the police and the community. As always, feel free to let me know what you think of this event by leaving a comment (no ads, please) or by dropping me an email at turnerbudds@yahoo.com. Among the cars on display was a very nice 1970 AMC Javelin, a Plymouth Prowler, a newer Cadillac El Dorado convertible, a Chevy Corvair, a Chevrolet HHR, a Cadillac hearse, and an Acura.

Vettes On Monmouth

 

Not that many people are aware that a corvette is the smallest class of warship. But in 1953, less than a decade after the end of World War II, plenty of people probably knew that. That is one reason why, when Chevrolet wanted to introduce a two seater sports car to compete against the influx of European imports, the name Corvette was chosen. Today the Vette continues to be one of the most well known automobiles in the world. There are always plenty that show up at any open car show and that was the case at the Wheels Back On Monmouth show in Newport. Here are just some that were among the nearly 300 cars and trucks that attended the event.

 

 

Customs On Monmouth

 

Any good open car show is going to have a wide selection of different types of vehicles. Among those are going to be those that have somehow been customized. Whether it's a minor restomod to bring it up to date with things like breaks and suspension or a full blown creative re-build, customs are amazing to see what someone's vision for a car can be. The Wheels Back On Monmouth show in Newport brought in nearly 300 cars and trucks and quite a few that could be catalogued as customs. Here are a good chunk of those.

 

Some Real Oldies Rolled On Monmouth

 

It's always fun when a car show attracts some very old automobiles, especially pre-war gems. When an event the size of Wheels Back On Monmouth, which brought in nearly 300 cars and trucks to the main street in Newport, the odds are pretty good that there will be some old timers on hand. So how about a 1929 Cord, a 1929 Packard speedster, a 1927 Ford Model T, a couple Ford Model TT pick up trucks, and a couple of Ford coupes.

 

Pontiacs Were On Hand In Newport

 

From it's inception, General Motors attempted to have a car brand slotted for everyone's budget. They had purchased the Oakland Motor Car Company in early 1909 and slotted it in the middle of their line up, just below Buick. In 1926 they decided to start up a companion company to Oakland. It was Pontiac. Within a year Pontiac was outselling Oakland and by 1931 Oakland was discontinued. Pontiac thrived as an affordable family car in between Chevrolet and Oldsmobile. By the mid 1950s Bucky Knudsen became the brand's general manager and began to re-work the image. With the help of young renegade engineers E.M. Estes and John DeLorean (yes, that guy), Knudsen began turning Pontiac into more of a performance line. By the 1960s, Pontiac introduced what would become the muscle car by dropping a high performance engine into a mid-sized car. While many can trace the muscle car back to the 1950s with the Oldsmobile Rocket 88 (actually released for the 1949 model year), this was a full sized car. It was when the top of the line trim for the Pontiac Tempest, the LeMans, got a 389 cubic inch V8 in the car's second generation, that the muscle car was truly born. There were plenty of muscle cars and lots of Pontacs on hand for this past year's Wheels Back On Monmouth show in Newport. Among them were a few beautiful Firebirds (that the odds are good that my uncle had a hand in building), a Trans Am, and a later GTA Firebird.

 

 

Mustangs Galloped Along Monmouth

 

The Ford Mustang is, without a doubt, one of the most iconic American cars. Created to attract a young audience, the 'Stang was an instant and overwhelming success. It continues to attract fans and plenty of those cars took part in the Wheels Back On Monmouth show in Newport this past fall. Here are just a few that were part of then nearly 300 cars and trucks on hand.

 

Impalas Roamed the Streets of Newport

 

Chevrolet introduced the Impala in 1958 as their top of the line full size car above the Bel Air. It holds the distinction of being introduced three different times. In addition to its first run, that lasted through the 1985 model year, it was retired until 1994 when it was re-introduced and ran for two years. Then in 2000 Chevy brought the Impala name back and saw a successful run through the 2020 model year. Not as popular at old car events as some other Chevy products, the Impala still shows up as it did at the Wheels Back On Monmouth show in Newport. Here are the Impalas that were on hand that day.

 

Some Foreigners Rolled Into Newport

 

The Wheels Back On Monmouth show in Newport drew in nearly 300 cars and trucks so it's little wonder that some of them were imports. The foreigners came from both Europe and Japan and included a sweet little Porsche 914, a Mitsubishi 3000GT, a Volkswagen Beetle, a Honda Civic, and a Toyota pick up truck complete with a cab.