Tag Archives: Car Shows

Our World Tuesday – 2018 Tulsa Auto Show

_DSC0390

Friday afternoon, I hooked up with one of my friends and we made our way to the Tulsa Auto Show at Expo Square.  The show features lots of new cars and has quite a few older cars. This year the hit of the show was the 1939 GM Futurliner that I posted about a couple days ago. Hit the link to go to that post if you wish. I am of two minds about cars. I love the technology, safety features, and durability of new cars but I love the styling of the old cars. Having said that, old cars of any type are a pain in the rear to own without major upgrades.  Changing spark plugs, condenser, and coil the time, checking the timing was a major pain. Flooding out whenever you splashed through water was terrible. I hate older cars. I love the newer cars. Except they all look alike.

_DSC0393

So we looked at all the cars but I took photos mainly of the older cars. Especially the Ford Thunderbirds. I don’t think there are that many more beautiful cars than the mid 1950’s Thunderbirds. They styling, the colors!!

_DSC0394

But like I said before. I don’t want to own one. Hey, you have one and want to loan it to me for a day on a nice sunny day. Sure, I will take you up on it. But I will return it and drive back home in my old Kia Soul. (All is Well, With My Soul, as the hymn goes.)

_DSC0395

Not just the tbirds, most of the cars had nice streamline, swoopy styling and many unique paint jobs.

_DSC0396

And some had chrome everywhere. I love a lot of chrome.

_DSC0397

So I admit, I took photos of almost all the old cars and hardly any of the new cars. The new cars all look like Toyotas anyway.

_DSC0399

I love this two tone paint.

_DSC0400

Here is an oldster.

_DSC0401

Here is an ugly older car. it looks like an upside down bathtub.

_DSC0402

Here is something unique. It looks like a gangster car. You can tell I am not a real car guy. My friend was and knew what all the cars were and he told me but I am an old guy and it was in one ear and out the other. If the cars have window tags I generally take photos of those for later reference. No window tags though. So you are on your own identifying these.

_DSC0403

Now this, this is a Pierce Arrow. Love, love, love this car. I highly recommend that you buy one, and let me borrow it from time to time.

_DSC0404

It has got one of the prettiest hood ornaments ever. The Tulsa Route 66 Marathon passes out replicas for their race models. I am a proud owner of one of them.

_DSC0405

How about one of these. What child of the late 50’s and 60’s didn’t get hauled around in a station wagon.  Nine or ten kids would fit in these, some laying down in the back. It is a wonder we didn’t all die.

20180413-153750-4

Here is a new car I found. The Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat. It has a 707 horsepower engine and brakes to match. Its kind of sad. When it first come out a few years ago and was on display it was mobbed by guys looking at it. Of course, their were young women in short skirts and high heels answering questions. Now, you got guys with clipboards wanting to answer your questions, at least when they look up from their cell phones and happen to notice you. I felt like asking them where the women with high heels were but didn’t want to get all swarmed up in the me too movement.

So that’s a wrap on this years Tulsa Auto Show!!

I am linking with Our World Tuesday

General Motors Futurliner Number 10 at the Tulsa Car Show

_DSC0387

The Futurliner was the hit of the car show. The open door to the left leads up stairs to the driver’s seat. There are two passenger seats behind the driver. The open door to the left leads to the engine compartment.

Something new came to Tulsa the other day. Or more accurately something old came to Tulsa looking like nothing I had ever seen. GM Futurliner Number 10 made a round downtown and then headed to the 2018 Tulsa Car Show where it was the main attraction. I had never heard of them but apparently they were popular in the day. General Motors made twelve Futurliners for the World’s Fair in 1939 and afterwards sent them across the country along with 32 support vehicles putting on a show at each stop called “Parade of Progress” trumpeting modern science and technology. Each vehicle was self contained with stage and lights and had their own segment of the exhibition. Number 10 was originally devoted to “Opportunity for Youth.”

_DSC0417

Another view. Up top you can see the built in floodlights to illuminate the stage.

The show was very popular but was halted during World War II and then started up again after the war and ended in 1955. A victim of a technology called television.

These things are huge, 11’6″ tall and 30 feet long and a wheelbase of 8 feet. They weigh 30,000 pounds. They were powered originally by a four cylinder engine and then later a six cylinder that had only 145 hp. The top speed was 50 mph. Number 10 is owned by the National Auto and Truck Museum in Auburn, Indiana. A representative of the museum said that it can be driven around town but for moves from town to town they load it up on a trailer.

_DSC0381

Here is the stage on the right hand side.

The design of the vehicle is beautiful, streamline art deco with shiny panels and bright red and a white top. I love the tires. Big old fat white walls. The hub cap had an atomic symbol on it. It sure recalls a bygone age of unbridled optimism in the future.  The vehicle is Art Deco on Steroids and is just so beautiful.

_DSC0382

Big fat white walls and the cool hubcap with the atomic symbol on it.

The Futurliners have a Tulsa connection. Oral Roberts, Tulsa’s own prosperity gospel preacher bought one and renamed it the “Cathedral Cruiser” and used it to barnstorm the United States, Mexico and South America.

_DSC0385

Sitting in the driver’s seat. I don’t think it had power steering.

Of the twelve original Futurliners only about eight or nine still exist and of those only a few have been restored like this one.

_DSC0386

What a view from the driver’s seat. I think it would be scary as heck to drive. You would never be wondering what it is happening up ahead.

I had never heard of Futurliners until I saw something posted online about this one parked downtown Thursday afternoon. I could have kicked myself because it was parked right across the street from where I work and I didn’t see it. I got a good look today at the car show and even got to sit in the drivers seat for a minute or so.

2016 Tulsa Leake Car Auction

Friday is my day off, Heather had to teach an exercise class, and Logan is out of school so I dragged him to the Fairgrounds to the Leake Car Auction.

_DSC0874

Lots and lots of cars there. I’m partial to red cars, lIke this Mustang above.

_DSC0873

Or the Porsche being cleaned up. It is hard to be a Porsche for styling.

_DSC0979

I also love the big American cars of the 1950’s like this 1954 Crestline Victoria. I love all the chrome, that beautiful blue color, and the swoopy curves.

_DSC0974

I don’t mean I ever want to own one I just like looking at them.

_DSC0931

I like the more homely but distinctive cars also such Trifun quarter ton truck. The three wheels are a gas.

_DSC0932

And the tilting bed. They said only 300 miles since new but the seats and everything else in the cab was very worn. It was a very hard 300 miles.

_DSC0908

And who doesn’t love a land cruiser. These are classic vehicles. 

_DSC0942

How about an air boat for hunting alligators?

_DSC0943

I love the camo but don’t you know that thing is loud.

_DSC0967

By far my favorite of the show was this heavily modified1967 Land Rover

_DSC0966

It had the best and most puzzling hood ornament.

_DSC0964

It looks like it could be chasing down lions and elephants in Africa.

_DSC0965

I like the “scouting seats” up above. Scouting seats my butt, I bet rich Texans sat up there and shot at critters. If somebody wants to buy it for me I would sit up there and shoot critters also, with my camera.

Tulsa Auto Show 2016 Edition

_DSC0567

Saturday I ventured out to the Tulsa State Fairgrounds to the annual Tulsa Auto Show to see what is going on. I found a Porsche Carrera is one thing.

_DSC0558

And an Audi A8. Earlier in the week my cab driver, Mohammed,  said look at that Audi! I said, is that Audi special? And he said, yes, it is their flagship car and is very expensive. I told my friend Mohammed that I thought the car looked like a Toyota and he just laughed.  So I had to check it out. I didn’t write down what this cost but i think it was over $100,000. It has a twin turbocharged twelve cylinder engine and generates over 700 horsepower.  That is all great and everything but it stil looks like a white Toyota to me._DSC0554

This is the car where all the guys were hanging out. Most cars you can wait until people clear out but they don’t clear out on this one. Women tried to get close to it but they kept slipping on all the testosterone on the floor. It is the Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat. It has a supercharged 6.2L V8 and is regarded as the most powerful family sedan on earth.

_DSC0553

This is what was causing all the gasping and such.

_DSC0556

The nice sales lady in the miniskirt told me that the $70,000 price includes the custom Hellcat badge. I asked her how much for just the badge. I thought it would look good on my Kia Soul. She moved on to somebody else.

_DSC0548

The Mustang GT is nice also. I don’t have the stats. Lots of car guys I know hate the Mustangs. I don’t quite understand why. I have to say though that at first glance the Mustang and the Charger look like Toyotas to me. Not that I have anything against Toyotas.

_DSC0546

I like the older model Ford Thunderbirds. Nobody is going to mistake this for a Toyota.

_DSC0531

And here is something I had never seen before. A Chevrolet Corvair pickup truck. Imagine a rear engine pickup. Imagine a gate on the side of the bed. That is a unique vehicle. For Comparison /Explanation of OEM /OES /Aftermarket /Used truck parts and other parts, people can click here to buy wholesale.

_DSC0526

I always liked how the Corvairs looked but they sure got a bad rep when Ralph Nader’s book Unsafe at any Speed came out. The rear engine cars tended to spin out and cause accidents and the steering column, all one piece would impale the drivers. The car seems to have a loyal following. I don’t want one!!

_DSC0528

The flat six cylinder engine with turbocharger sure is compact. The spare tire went into the engine compartment. Too bad they did not get a chance to address the problems with the car.

_DSC0515

I am seeing fewer and fewer British Sports Cars as time goes by. I think this is an Austin Healy but I am not sure. These and the MG’s and a few others are the true sports cars in my book. The Jaguars and such are glorified Fords in my opinion. Except for the Porsche Carrera. It is still cool.

_DSC0510

Speaking of, here is an older model from the late 50’s When I was a kid the only people who had Porsches were like airline captains, lawyers, and doctors. I had an Uncle who had one. He was an officer in the Navy and single and I think he had a Porsche. Then he got married and had kids. Adios Porsche. I was involved in a federal trial back in the late 80’s in Oklahoma City.  His offices were out of downtown. On trial days I met him at his office and we road his Porsche to the courthouse downtown. He hardly ever got out of second gear. Plus he just parked where he wanted to downtown and nobody ever said a thing.

I’ll have to write a post about the trial. I wasn’t on trial, my employer was. I think I am waiting for the judge to die though before I say anything online. Buy me a beer or two though and I’ll tell you the whole story.

IMG_20160416_105752

Here is the star of the show, in my eyes. It is a 1966 Auburn Cord Duesenberg Auburn 866 Speedster. Only a few hundred were made in the factory at the Tulsa suburb of Broken Arrow. I love it. I don’t think that I have ever seen one before. It is one of the most beautiful cars I have ever seen.

_DSC0574

This is the vehicle I coveted the most though. A Nissan Frontier pickup. I miss my Toyota Tacoma that I traded in for my Kia Soul. The Tacoma has bloated to almost full size. The Frontier is still kind of small. No new cars for the Bates family though until the price of oil comes some more, A LOT more. Plus I’ll get mine used, thank you very much.

So, do you like to go to car shows?

Rat Rods! at the Starbird Car Show

_DSC0089

I went to the Daryl Starbird Car Show here in Tulsa a couple weeks ago and I learned something new. I’ve learned the term “Rat Rod.”

_DSC0067

Rat Rods are like hot rods only with no chrome, rough or nor paint, and just generally look kind of homemade.

_DSC0063

Wikipedia talks about Rat Rods being a reaction to the pretty show hot rod show cars of today that are meant to be shown and not driven.

_DSC0077

Rat Rods are often associated with Rockabilly or Greaser culture. They are supposed to be a throwback to the hot rods of the 1930’s to 1960’s. I love them. They have that Mad Max home built slopped together look about them. The safety people among us are going nuts I’m sure. Exposed exhaust pipes, drive belts, and fans. Whoops there goes your fingers, please don’t bleed on the cars sir.

_DSC0058

Apparently conventional hot rodders loathe the rat rods. I just love controversy like this. Reaction and counter reaction, yin and yang. I’ll be looking into this more.

What about you? Have you ever heard of rat rods before?

2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat

 

Dodge Challenger Hellcat

Heather and I went to the Tulsa Car Show on Friday. I’m just freshly turned 60 and hey guess what, I got in for half price!!  I have to tell you that I have mixed feelings about that. Of course the worse thing was that the lady taking the money didn’t ask for ID or anything. Same thing happened when I turned 21 and went out to bars with my friends. Not a one asked me for my ID except at a strip bar and then the guy didn’t want to let me in anyway. I talked him into letting me in so that I could see the snaggletoothed strippers. And really it is not so much that I wanted to see the strippers as I didn’t want to be outside on my birthday while my friends checked out the snaggletoothed strippers.  Oops, I’m digressing and offending at the same time. Hey folks, that was 39 years ago!!! Get over yourselves. Anyway, back at the car show.

IMG_1553

Anyway there were lots of cars there. Most of them look like Toyotas. Sorry if hurt your feelings but there it is.

IMG_1552

They had one car there though that was special. The Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat. It has a supercharged engine with 707 horsepower.

IMG_1548

For people of a certain age, like those who turned 60 +/- recently and are reluctantly enjoying senior citizen discounts, the Dodge Hemi Challenger has a special place in our hearts exemplified by one of the strangest and wonderful movies of 1971 starring not an actor but a car, the Doge Hemi Challenger, which back then generated a measly 426 horsepower. Of course the naked girl on a motorcycle generated some interest also with me, especially back then.

I can’t tell you how many times I watched that movie. I like cars but I don’t generally covet cars. The cars that I own have tended to be practical and economical. The Hellcat is an exception.  I hope that the people who buy them really enjoy them.

IMG_1550

What about you? Have you ever wanted a muscle car?

2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat – Overview from driveSRT on Vimeo.

 

2015 Darryl Starbird National Rod & Custom Show

Saturday I dropped the kid off at his Improv group and headed over to the Tulsa Fairgrounds in order to check out the Darryl Starbird National Rod & Custom Show.  I’ve been to lots of car shows but I had never been to this. It is a show of custom and hot rod cars. They are labors of love and I don’t see how the owners will ever recover the value of the time and money they have put in their cars.

1965 Cobra

1965 Cobra Mustang. I love the fake snakes on the body of the car and in the trunk. I least I think they are fakes. I told you that I am not much of a car guy. I’m attracted to fancy paint jobs and the lines and appearance of the car.

1940 Ford

1940 Ford. I love the color and white wall tires and the chrome on the wheels, bumper, grill and headlights, and again the swoopy lines. (Swoopy is a word. I wouldn’t try it in WWF though.)

1948 Chevrolet

1948 Chevrolet, gorgeous color, and the wide whitewalls on the tires and I love the chrome bumper and simple lines.

1950 Packard

1950 Packard painted up to look like an Army staff car. Apparently Packards were popular with the generals back then for staff cars. I can see why. I love the hood over the windshield and the way the engine hood opens up.

1950 Ford?

Now, my tagging says 1950 Ford but I am uncertain about that. I just love the two toned color scheme and all the chrome and that huge grill.

1938 Chevrolet Business Coupe

1938 Chevrolet Business Coupe. Look at that tall grill and that paint job. Wonderful. I loved how they displayed this car with the cool lighting that really made it shine.

1940 Plymouth Road King

This is a 1940 Plymouth Road King. The owner is the son of the original buyer and it has been the family since it was brand new, 75 years. It has been a labor of love for him. He did all the work himself and he dedicates the car to his late wife who died of cancer.

Custom Triton

I am not sure but I think this car is a total custom car. A one of a kind. Look at the headlights. The car has a clear acrylic roof that has air conditioning vents in it. And I love the paint job. Notice the shrouds around the rear wheels. This car is wonderful.

1953 Buick Convertible

A 1953 Buick Convertible. Oh my, the red leather seats, the black and white paint job. How long and sleek it is. This is a wonderful car.

So that was just a sampling of what was there. In addition to all the super deluxe show cars there were many cars on display by other people who have nice cars and keep them in good shape and polished and detailed them for the show.

Plus they had some people there demonstrating how custom cars are built. There was non-stop music and I think they had some small races later in the day. I left because I was overwhelmed plus I had to go pick up the kid.

I’ll be back next year!!

Check out Darryl Starbird National Rod & Custom Show

Linking with Our World Tuesday

I like cars but I am not a car guy and I don’t take very good notes. In fact I take no notes and the way I try to keep things straight is by taking photographs of the accompanying posters. Often I don’t do a very good job of it so if I misidentify something please leave a comment and set me straight.