It only took 30 plus years of car ownership, but I now officially own a car worthy of presentation at a car show. And wasting no time to exploit this opportunity, I entered my hobby car, a 1987 Honda CRX Si, in the first annual Japanese Classic Car Show this past weekend in Long Beach California. Open to Japanese cars from 1985 and earlier, my 1987 model qualified for entry by being a model that was first offered for sale in 1985 or earlier.
Normally my car and me are the antithesis of the Car Show car and owner. Car shows cars have been buffed and polished, chromed, meticulously detailed, and modified beyond all recognition of its original shape. On one extreme of the car show scale, these cars are gleaming examples of the art of applying plastic body filler, airbrush artwork and velvet upholstery. Or on the other extreme, a car show car is restored beyond mere restoration to the point that they have been prepared for judging to a point that they are in better condition on the show grounds than when they left the factory.
There are two special words to describe the owners of these types of show cars: Obsessive and compulsive. No surface, see or unseen, has escaped the attention on these head-cases. Cleaned, painted, polished and then polished again, these cars fairly glow in the dark from the attention lavished upon them by anal retentive types who would rather lose a kidney than allow the tires of their show cars to touch the common asphalt of public roads. Car show cars are not meant for actual use as "cars" and the owners have morphed beyond the definition of mere "enthusiasts."
I am of the belief that if it runs good, then it looks good. Performance is far more important to me than a slavish devotion to originality or flouncy frills. Form follows function best describes my attitude towards my hobby car. Clean is good, but a blemish or two will not ruin my day. Shaving another thousandth of a second from my lap time or increasing lateral grip is much more important than seeing my reflection in the paint's finish. So it would not seem likely that I would even care that my car would finally qualify for inclusion in a judged car show.
But the truth is that we all want love and by extension we want love for our hobby car. All it would take is one person at the car show to say, "Nice car man." I only ask for a little accreditation, a small amount of approval for what I have wrought in my garage. And where else will you find this kind of acceptance than at a car show for my car and it's contemporaries?
"Classic" may seem like a stretch when applied to old Japanese cars, but the late 1960's marked the emergence of the Datsun Fairlady/240Z, and the 510. Toyota shrugged off the Toyopet to give the world the GT2000 with the engine that would eventually power the Supra, and the Celica premiered in this period. Honda offered the 600 mini-car at motorcycle dealerships, but soon brought the first Civic to market and quickly set the standard for small car engineering. Mitsubishi was a captive import for Dodge carrying the Colt nameplate. And Mazda was making noise with a rotary engine that hummed. Perhaps none of these cars have the cache of a Ferrari or a Rolls, but to a certain segment of the auto enthusiast hobby they represent a nostalgic remembrance of a bygone era. And for the youthful sport compact crowd, a chance to connect with the roots of their sport.
Frankly I had no allusions that my car was going to win any kind of awards, I just wanted to see all the cool old cars and I might as well park my car amongst the show cars. A quick wash and wax was all the preparation I gave my car and off I headed for the grounds.
Just as a classic Japanese car is a relative term when compared to our usual concept of a classic car, the show cars at this event were generally well kept survivors rather than pampered trailer queens. There were a few cars at the show that could compete in the usual car show venues, but for the most part the old cars at this show were well loved hobby cars that are not strangers to the highway or racetrack. A few of the owners troubled to mount mirrors to showcase the chromed undercarriage, but most of the folks just brought a picnic lunch and enjoyed visiting with other owners and their cars. There was a pretence of judging and awarding prizes, but most folks were there to enjoy the day in the park with fellow enthusiasts.
I left the day with a souvenir tee shirt, a window sticker to commemorate my car's participation and an afternoon of good memories. But best of all, my car got its photo taken by a journalist from Japan's "Car Boy" magazine covering the event. Look for the red CRX in the December 2005 issue.