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Tag: auto smarts

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  • 2018 Camaro ZL1 and 1968 Camaro SS
    Owner of Both: Anthony Margello

The last weekend of August has turned out to be the biggest weekend of the season when it comes to the number of events. Lots to choose from all over the Central Ohio area.

NEWS AND NOTES:

38th Arthritis Foundation Classic Auto Show and Cruise-in:

I spent a few hours Friday afternoon as a spectator at the 38th Annual Arthritis Foundation Classic Auto Show and Cruise-In in Dublin, Ohio. Friday's registration was somewhere between 330 and 350 cars. The big exhibit this year was 110 years of Chevrolet.

I managed to take more than 100 photos of some excellent rides.

The top 50 cars on Friday received six-foot trophies. Dave Bratton and Lou Koester received a special award for their financial contributions to the Arthritis Foundation.

I didn't make it to the show on Saturday. If you were at Saturday's show as a participant or spectator, please feel free to post a comment about the day's activities.

To see the photos I took of the one hundred plus cars on Friday, click here.

Westerville Cars & Coffee with Jake from State Farm:

Saturday morning I headed over to Westerville, Ohio for Westerville Cars & Coffee with Jake from State Farm. This is the second year State Farm agent, Jake Breakey, has been hosting a Saturday morning cruise-in in the parking lot behind his agency. Anyone that brought a car could enjoy a cup of coffee, donuts, and a chance to spin the wheel for prizes. It turned out to be a great way to spend a Saturday morning. My only disappointment was Jake wasn't wearing khakis. He was wearing shorts.

Cruisin' with the King:

The Mid Ohio Cruisers Car Club registered 53 cars Saturday evening at their monthly show at the Burger King in Marysville, Ohio. The club presented awards to their favorite 15 vehicles.

To see some of the "Favorite" winners and other cars from the show, click here.

Meet at the Beach 2:

Sunday afternoon the south end of the Alum Creek Beach parking lot was the scene of the second Meet at the Beach car meet this season. The majority of owners of the estimated 100 plus cars that turned out during the afternoon were definitely under the age of 30.

The Japanese car manufacturers were very well represented. For a little while, my Camaro and a Jeep were the only cars from American manufacturers. A Mclaren, Lamborghini, and a few classics cars cruised through the parking lot but none stayed very long.

Looking through a crystal ball this will likely be the next generation of car show enthusiasts 20-30 years from now. They'll be showing off their restored 2015 Subaru or Toyota instead of a '69 Camaro.

If you have a Facebook account, check out Dale Pearce's video from the Millersport car show on Sunday. The show registered 65 cars.

Events are still coming in for September, October, and November. For the most up-to-date list of car events in Central Ohio from now until November, check out the Save the Dates for 2021 page.

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Monday (August 23):

  • No Events Found

Tuesday (August 24):

Wednesday (August 25):

Thursday (August 26):

Friday (August 27):

Saturday (August 28):

Sunday (August 29):

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

Central Ohio Forecast
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Weather forecast Columbus, Ohio ▸

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Published on 4 Comments on Central Ohio Car Events for June 21 – 27, 2021
  • 1929 Ford Model A
    Owner: Devin Brown

BREAKING NEWS: Dan Boots Longenette of Auto Smarts Radio just posted that Colo’s Classic Car Show at the Columbus Zoo has been canceled for this year. No reason was given for the cancellation. If I find out any additional information, I will post it here.

It's one of those rare weeks where you can do a car show or cruise-in every day of the week if you wanted to.

The featured event this week is the London Cobra Show. The show will move between Dublin (host hotel) and London Ohio. I'm told a bunch of Cobras will be making a stop at the Der Dutchman Cruise-In on Thursday. If you're into Cobras, this will be three days of jam-packed fun.

NEWS AND NOTES:

With no rain in the forecast, the Der Dutchman Restaurant in Plain City, Ohio had another big evening of participation. The Cruise-in registered 378 cars on Thursday.

The rain Friday evening and Saturday morning put a damper on a number of events to start the weekend. The good news is the rain cleared out by Saturday afternoon and stayed away on Sunday.

The Mid Ohio Cruisers registered 56 cars Saturday evening at their monthly Cruisin' with the King Show in Marysville, Ohio. The club presented 15 "Club Favorite" awards and a Boyd's Tire & Service Choice Award. The Boyd's Choice Award went to Dustin and Emilee Evans with a 1977 Pontiac Can-Am.

After a three year hiatus, the car show at the bar and grill in Dublin, Ohio formerly known as On the Rocks returned on Sunday. The bar has undergone multiple owners since the last show was held there in the fall of 2018. The bar is now called the Last Call Music Bar and Grill. Mike Mitchell who organized and ran all the On the Rocks shows is still the main force behind the new show.

Despite Sunday being Fathers Day and some very warm temperatures and high humidity, the Last Call Music Bar and Grill Car and Bike Show registered 88 cars, trucks, and motorcycles. Awards were presented to the top 40, a Manager's Choice, and five Best of Show.

Here are the Manager's Choice and "Best of" winners:

Managers Choice
1971 Dodge Challenger RT
Owner: Phil Monroe

Best Mopar
2016 Dodge Challenger RT
Owner: Bob Kirst

Best Ford
1970 Ford Torino GT
Owner: Chris Kraner

Best GM
1971 Buick GSX
Owner: Jeff Fortner

Best Corvette
1969 Chevy Corvette
Owner: Craig Grunkemeyer

Best of Show Runner-up
1948 Chevy Pickup
Owner: Sam Parks

Best of Show
1962 Chevy Bel Air 409
Owner: Pete Lieb

For more photos from Der Dutchman, Cruisin' with the King, and the Last Call Music Bar and Grill Show, Click here.

Dale Pearce and his 1950 Chevy 3100 pickup took Best of Show and People's Choice honors at the Pataskala SDB Church Classic Car Show on Sunday.

Events are filling in for July, August, September, and October. To stay up-to-date with all the future car events in Central Ohio, check out the Save the Dates for 2021 page.

Monday (June 21):

Tuesday (June 22):

Wednesday (June 23):

Thursday (June 24):

Friday (June 25):

Saturday (June 26):

Sunday (June 27):

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

Central Ohio Forecast
64°
Partly Cloudy
6:08am8:49pm EDT
WedThuFriSatSun
81/66°F
81/63°F
73/57°F
73/57°F
82/64°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 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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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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