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Tag: auto smarts

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Published on 3 Comments on Upcoming Events (September 11 – 17)

For the first time this season, no new events have been added to the  Save the Dates Part Two page. I think all the shows and cruise-ins for the remainder of the season have finally been announced.

Quick Reminder: This Thursday Der Dutchman in Plain City, Ohio is trying to set a record of 300 cars at their cruise-in! If you're not doing anything that evening, bring your car out to Der Dutchman and be part of a record.

Wednesday:

Thursday:

Friday:

Saturday:

Sunday:

Monday:

Tuesday:

Other Resources
Rube's Cruisin' News - 614-274-6008

Central Ohio Forecast
77°
Partly Cloudy
07:1819:30 EDT
FriSatSunMonTue
min 67°F
86/64°F
87/68°F
76/54°F
76/54°F
Weather forecast Columbus, Ohio ▸

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Published on 18 Comments on USA Days Car Show: Second Week for Double Awards

For the second week in a row, several cars received double awards. This time it was at the Heart of Ohio USA Days Car Show in Centerburg, Ohio.

The show presented metal signs to the Top 100 cars along with four special awards.

Two of the special award winners also received Top 100 awards. As I've said many times before, giving cars multiple awards is a great way to kill future attendance at your show.

And speaking of attendance, the event on Sunday registered 250 vehicles.

That's down from 387 last year but not bad considering there was a discussion at last year's award presentation that the 2018 show might be the last. I know flyers for this year's show didn't appear until the middle of August, less than a month before the event.

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Published on 12 Comments on Labor Day Weekend: Two Car Shows and a Football Game

I managed to get two car shows and a football game in over Labor day weekend. I also got a little wet on Sunday.

Zucchinifest Car & Motorcycle Show

I started the weekend off with the Zucchinifest show on Friday evening at Fortress Obetz in Obetz, Ohio.

This was my first trip to the stadium. I failed to read the directions to the complex posted on the Festival's website and instead relied on Apple Maps to get me there. Big mistake! Apple maps insisted I enter the stadium from Williams Road, however, the Williams Road entrance was temporarily closed. The only way into the stadium was from the Alum Creek Drive entrance. Between Friday rush hour and holiday traffic, construction on I-71, and driving up and down Williams Road for 20 minutes, it took almost an hour to get to the stadium when it should have taken a little more than 30 minutes.

Once parked and my blood pressure back down to normal, Fortress Obetz turned out to be a pretty nice venue for a car show. The amusement rides and food vendors for the Zucchini Festival were setup in the parking lot outside the stadium while the car show took place inside around the main bleachers.

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Published on 6 Comments on Upcoming Events (June 12 – 18)

Here's this week's list of events.

I received word there will be "live" music at the Hilton Polaris Cruise-In on June 11.

For a list of future events, check out the Save the Dates Part Two page.

Wednesday:

Thursday:

Friday:

Saturday:

Sunday (Fathers Day):

Monday:

Tuesday:

Other Resources
Rube's Cruisin' News - 614-274-6008

Central Ohio Forecast
77°
Partly Cloudy
07:1819:30 EDT
FriSatSunMonTue
min 67°F
86/64°F
87/68°F
76/54°F
76/54°F
Weather forecast Columbus, Ohio ▸

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Published on 4 Comments on Sea Lions Move Colo’s Classic to Parking Lot

Construction of a sea lions habitat at the Columbus Zoo moved the 11th Annual Colo's Classic Car Show from Jungle Jacks Landing to the main parking lot.

This was my third time participating in Colo's Classic. The first two were inside the zoo. I must say that I preferred the parking lot over Jungle Jacks Landing.

In my review of last year's show, I complained that it took more than 30 minutes to get inside the zoo, and that cars were packed in like sardines in a can.  And in the process of parking my car, I inadvertently ran over someone's cooler.

There was none of that this year.  I waited less than 10 minutes to enter the show area.  The parking lot allowed plenty of space between cars so no one had to worry about door dings or running over something.  It also afforded plenty of room for canopies. You could even save a spot for a buddy if needed.

Cars waiting to enter the show at 8 AM

Now some will argue that there were no shade trees and that the black top was hot.  I'll grant them those complaints.  But I'll argue that it's rare for  temperatures to be in the upper 80's the first week of October. The easy access and ample parking far out weighed the lack of shade, in my opinion.

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Published on 2 Comments on Wife’s Shoulder Surgery Forces a Break from Car Shows

I was unable to attend any events this past week. My wife had shoulder replacement surgery on Tuesday which thrust me into the role of primary caregiver as well as nurse for the week. Her recovery is going well so I hope to get back out and attend a few shows this weekend.

Thanks to the Shankle's for once again sending me photos and info from the shows they attended.

I noticed that attendance seemed a bit down this week.  It could be that a lot of classic car owners were a little "burned out" from the two big shows the week before and felt the need to take a break.  This is also the peak time for summer vacations which may have been another contributing factor. Whatever the reason, the shows this weekend didn't seem to have big attendance numbers.

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Published on 2 Comments on Weather Forecast Once Again Cancels Weekend Car Shows

For the second week in a row, the weather forecast played havoc with car shows scheduled for the weekend.

After two consecutive months of record-breaking attendance, The Creative Towing/Advanced Auto Parts show on Friday evening in Marysville, Ohio got hit by area rain showers.  Only nine cars managed to dodge the rains drops and make it to this month's show.

A line of storms north of Marion, Ohio on Saturday morning put a damper on the two shows scheduled in Bucyrus, Ohio.

Sunday wasn't any better. The On the Rocks show in Dublin, Ohio and the Whitehall VFW Post 8794 show were postponed and cancelled because of the threat of storms in the afternoon. (As I write this at 2:14 pm on Sunday not a single rain drop has fallen).

It's just a fact of life that outdoor events scheduled during the spring months in Central Ohio run the risk of bad weather spoiling the fun.

INSIDE I-270 ON SATURDAY SAVES THE WEEKEND

Fortunately, the weekend wasn't a total bust. Two shows held at locations inside the  I-270 outer belt around Columbus, Ohio were able to avoid any bad weather.

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Published on 1 Comment on Richwood Bank Has Them Parking on the Grass

The Saturday morning cruise-in at the Richwood Bank in Delaware, Ohio had such a good turn out that parking had to be extended to the grass areas surrounding the bank.  The bi-monthly cruise-in saw more than 43 cars and trucks drop in during the three-hour event.

Some really outstanding vehicles made an appearance this month. Continue reading

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Published on 2 Comments on Lewis Center to Marysville to Upper Arlington

Despite a forecast of rain and storms, I managed to make it to three events over the weekend, one as a spectator and two as a participant. Best of all, not one drop of rain fell on my head.

Wholly Joe's Summer Cruise Nights

I started the weekend with a visit to Lewis Center, Ohio on Thursday evening for week two of Wholly Joe's Summer Cruise Nights.More than thirty cars showed up during the hour I was there. Because of the limited parking, the cruise-in is reserved for vehicles 25 years and older.

One of the vehicles to show up this week was this awesome Chevrolet Thriftmaster pick up. The truck was absolutely pristine!

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Published on

Saturday I  traveled south of I-70 to attend my first Purple Door Cruise-in at the Grove City United Methodist Church in Grove City, Ohio.  This show is part of the 2017 Auto Smarts Radio Cruise and Ride sponsored shows.  Dan "Boots" Longenette from Auto Smarts Radio was on hand to help with the judging and present the awards.

With just about perfect weather,  the show registered more than 130 automobiles.  There were door prizes, 50/50 raffle, DJ, and food provided by the church.

Registration was only $10 and included a raffle ticket for the door prizes, and a coupon to get a second sandwich free with the purchase of the first sandwich.  All proceeds from the show help to fund the work of the church's mission committee.

After the first hour, I thought I might have the only car above the above the year 2000.  By the end of registration, however, there were at least a dozen late-model vehicles entered in the show.  Although not entered in the show, a white 2017 Camaro ZL1 belonging to one of the Judges was parked a few cars down from mine.  What are the odds that TWO brand new Camaro ZL1s would show up at the same show?

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