Thirty-sixth Annual Rollin' On the River Car Show

 

A cool summer day with intermittent sprinkles didn't keep away too many folks as about 400 cars and trucks rolled into Fernbank Park for the 36th Annual Rollin' on the River Car Show. The event supports a number of local children's charities. This is always a large show that draws a lot of great vehicles. Among this year's entrants was a Chevrolet Chevelle, an Oldsmobile Cutlass convertible, a souped up 1953 Ford Custom, a 1947 Mercury Eight convertible, a Ford Galaxie 500 convertible, a Chevy Malibu, and two Chevy Corvair models. 

Wrapping Up the Back the Heroes Rumble for Now

 

Today I am wrapping up my coverage of the Back the Heroes Rumble. At least for now. With over 150 cars and trucks rolling onto the campus of West Clermont Schools in order to support the area's first responders, there are plenty more vehicles to post. But I need to move on to get to some other shows. As always, let me know what you thought of this event by either leaving a comment (no ads, please, they will just be deleted) or by dropping me an email at turnerbudds@yahoo.com. For today, we have a 1970 Dodge Charger, a Chevrolet Siverado pickup truck, a Chevy 3100 pickup, a 1978 Ford Pinto, a 1987 Dodge Diplomat police cruiser, a 1924 Ford Model TT truck, and a 1954 Ford Customline. 

Corvettes Backed the Heroes

 

Soldiers coming home from Europe after World War II had gotten a taste of the small sports cars countries such as England and Italy had to offer. They liked the performance, the speed and the agility of those automobiles. Detroit knew it had to respond with their own versions of a two-seater sports car. General Motors was the first to take up the gauntlet when, in 1953, they introduced the Chevrolet Corvette. The Vette wasn't an instant success, but Chevy knew the problems and started to address them. Now, eight generations in, it's all but impossible to go to an open car show and not see a number of Corvettes, generally crossing multiple generations. The Back the Heroes Rumble was no exception. Here are just some of the Vettes on hand to help support the local first responders at that event.

Camaro Came Out to Back the Heroes

 

Introduced in 1966 for the 1967 model year, the Chevrolet Camaro was General Motor's direct competition to the surprisingly popular Ford Mustang. At the unveiling, a reporter asked one of the Chevy marketing executives "what is a Camaro?" Supposedly the exec replied that it was a "vicious creature that eats ponies." Whether that's 100 percent true or not it still makes for a good show. And it made for good sales, too. The Camaro has now been around for six generations. That could be why there was a generous supply of them on hand for the 8th Back the Heroes Rumble. Here are just a few that were present that day.

A Car Show to Support First Responders

 

For the eighth year the Back the Heroes Rumble held on the campus of West Clermont Schools raised money to support the area's first responders. This year over 150 cars and trucks showed up on a beautiful summer day. Among them was a 1965 Plymouth Fury III, a Chevrolet Monte Carlo, a concours quality 1961 Studebaker Hawk, and a custom 1948 Chevy delivery van. 

A Few Rarities at Back the Heroes

 

The Back the Heroes event held on the campus of West Clermont Schools raised money for first responders, those rare folks who look out for all of us. The event drew over 150 vehicles including some equally rare cars and trucks. Among those on hand was an actual surviving Ford Pinto, a concours quality 1938 Chevrolet Master Deluxe, a Ford F-150 pickup truck, a concours quality 1988 Porsche Carrara, a Volkswagen Type One (commonly called a Beetle) convertible, a Plymouth Road Runner, a 1969 Ford Cobra, a pair of Chevy Chevelle Super Sports, and a 1972 Oldsmobile Cutlass convertible. 

Mustangs Rode to Back the Heroes

 

On April 17, 1964, the Ford Mustang became the second "pony car" to be introduced to the public. But though it was beaten to the market by the Plymouth Barracuda, which was introduced on April 2, the Mustang became the face of this automotive trend. With a long nose and a short back deck, the Mustang was an inexpensive sports car designed to attract a younger crowd. It did just that, surprisingly selling over four times its predicted 100,000 cars in the first year. It has continued to be popular ever since. Perhaps that is why there were so many Mustangs, old and new, on hand for the 8th Back the Heroes Rumble held on the campus of West Clermont Schools. Here are just some of those Mustangs.