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Der Dutchman Falls Short of Goal But Has Best Attendance of Year.

Der Dutchman in Plain City, Ohio failed to meet its goal of 300 cars on Thursday evening. Despite missing the goal, the restaurant still managed to have its best attendance of the year. The weekly cruise-in registered 243 vehicles. Forty-seven of those were first-time participants.

One of the first-timers was Matt Rittenhouse and his 2017 Camaro ZL1.

Creative Mobile Interiors and their 1972 Chevy C-30 custom camper was another first-timer.

Jeff and Lynne made their first appearance in a "slightly altered" 1973 Ford Econoline.

Barry Burdett arrived at the cruise-in with a shredded rear, driver-side tire on his 1966 Chevy C-10 pickup. Unfortunately, his pickup didn't leave the cruise-in on its own power.

Here are some more scenes from the evening:

Thursday's cruise-in was the third time this season attendance hit or exceeded the 200 mark. With only two cruise-ins left, I think it's already safe to say 2019 will be another successful year for the Der Dutchman Cruise-in.

Creative Towing/Advanced Auto Parts

The award for the most relaxed car show of the season will go to the September Creative Towing/Advanced Auto Parts event. With temperatures in the low 90's Friday evening, the majority of cars arrived much later in the evening than usual. This gave the early birds time to sit in the shade and BS for a while.

The three award winners Friday evening were Jerry Covort with a 1947 Dodge WC pickup,

A numbers matching 1971 Dodge Challenger convertible belonging to Gary Lyons,

And a 1965 Chevy II Nova.

Caffeine and Gasoline at the ICC

The International Center for Creativity (ICC) held its Caffeine and Gasoline event on Saturday morning.

Located in Powell, Ohio, the ICC is partnered with Cedarville University to produce industrial and creative design majors.

Coffee and donuts were provided for all car owners and guests. Just like last year, Boris Fabris, an automotive designer from Turin, Italy, gave an informal presentation on modern automotive design.

A few regulars from the Central Ohio car show scene brought their vehicles to Saturday morning's event. Besides yours truly, Kevin Martin was there with his Chevy pickup, Rick Levine brought his 1970 Oldsmobile 442, Anthony Marcello showed up in his 2018 Camaro ZL1, and Todd Cooperider, the owner of Esoteric Fine Auto Finishing, arrived in his new Corvette ZR1.

The most interesting vehicle of the morning was a Nissan Figaro. The car is a front-engine, front-wheel-drive fixed-profile convertible. It contains a one-liter turbocharged engine rated at 75 horsepower. The transmission is a 3-speed automatic.

Only 8000 Figaros were manufactured during the 1991 model year. A little more than 3000 are still registered in the United Kingdom.

I attended this event last year and it turned out to be a fun way to spend a few hours on a Saturday morning. I can also say the same thing again this year. I stuck around until 11 AM and then headed off to watch the OSU football game.

Pearl Classic Memorial Car Show

Dave Bratton and his partner Lou in conjunction with Auto Smarts Radio hosted the first-ever Pearl Classic Memorial Car Show at the Franklin County Fairgrounds in Hilliard, Ohio on Sunday.

For those who don't know, Pearl was Lou and Dave's beloved dog who passed away last summer. Over her 16 years, Pearl attended more than 500 car shows with the two of them. Sunday's car show was in her memory and a way to raise money and awareness for Columbus Humane.

In all my years of participating in car shows, no one has worked harder to promote an event than Dave and Lou did for this one. Dave estimates he and Lou passed out more than 7000 flyers over the summer. I'm told Dave had to take out a second mortgage to pay for all those printers cartridges he used to print those 7000 flyers (just kidding). At any rate, the hard work paid off as the show registered 162 vehicles.

Here are Boots, from Auto Smarts Radio, and his special helper registering cars:

Besides door prizes and a 50/50 raffle, the show also included a silent auction to help raise money.

Jim McGruder spun the tunes and students from Tolles Technical Center helped direct cars. Haggerty Insurance and Columbus Floor Coating had booths at the show.

The MessHall and an Ice Cream vendor were on site providing food and refreshments.

The Awards

The show presented close to 100 laser cut metal awards on Sunday. Along with the usual Jegs, Pepsi and Auto Smarts picks, the Tolles Technical Center and Columbus Humane also picked their favorite vehicles.

Here's a sampling of the Auto Smarts, Tolles and Humane Picks:

Jegs Picks:

Pearl's Picks:

Best Exotic
2002 Porsche 911 Turbo
Owner: Matt Gray

Best GM
1962 Chevy Impala
Owners: Mark & Patty Enyart

Best Street Rod
1937 Ford Coupe
Owner: Dave Benson

Best Muscle Car
1970 Oldsmobile 442 Convertible
Owner: Rick Levine

Most Unique
2000 Ferrari Modeva
Owner: Mark Gray

Best AMC
1967 Rambler American
Owner: Mark Jasinsky

Best Truck
1957 Chevy Apache Pickup
Owner: Chris Fannin

Best Import
2015 Alfa Romeo 4C
Owner: Josh Graham

Best Mopar
1964 Plymouth Belvedere
Owner: Mike Hermann

Best Ford
1940 Ford Panel Delivery
Owner: Harry Ours

Best Chevy
1962 Chevy Bel Air
Owner: Pete Leib

Best Paint
1989 Chevy C1500 Pickup
Owner: John Ressler

Best Interior
1957 Chevy Bel Air
Owner: Bill Erlenback

Best Engine
2004 Chevy SSR
Owner: Mark Mitchell

Best Corvette
1969 Chevy Corvette
Owner: Quentin Sayer

Best Camaro
1967 Chevy Camaro
Owner: Chuck Smith


Best Mustang
1965 Ford Mustang (All original including owner)
Owner: Bud Norris

Best Modern Ford
2014 Ford Mustang Shelby GT 500 Convertible
Owner: Bill Troyer

Best Modern GM
2000 Chevy Corvette
Owner: Frank Deering

Best Modern Mopar
2010 Dodge Challenger SRT
Owner: John Kern

Cruisin' Classic Pick
1967 Ford Mustang
Owner: Annette Leib

Pepsi Pick
1936 Chevy 2-Door Sedan
Owners: Steve & Janet Bechtel

Boot's Pick
1968 Chevy Chevelle
Owner: Andrew Van Ert

Best of Show
1967 Ford Mustang Fastback
Owners: Ken & Thelma Farmer

Final Thoughts

No question for a first-time show, the Pearl Classic Memorial Car Show hit the 3Gs, Great Cars, Great Weather, and a Great Cause, dead on. I spoke with Dave and it doesn't sound like this will become an annual event. Although it's a shame there might not be a second Pearl Classic, I fully understand. It's a lot of work to put on a show of this magnitude. Good Job Dave, Lou, and the Auto Smarts team!

1 thought on “Der Dutchman Falls Short of Goal But Has Best Attendance of Year.

  1. Jeffrey Shankle

    Kim sorry I diddn't get back to you sooner but the 71 Challenger belongs to Gary Lyon's and the nova belongs to Darrel not sure last name but talked to him.Thanks Jeff btw GREAT reporting and pics

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