Freeloader that I am, over the weekend I got a brief admission-free peek at the La Jolla Classic Car Show, which takes place every spring at La Jolla Cove. Tickets for this event usually cost $40 or so, which seems kind of silly considering that the show is setup in the center of a small park, surrounded by a public walkway that loops around the exhibition area “protected” by a low white picket fence. This means that anyone can stroll by and gaze across the grass at all the vehicles on display, completely free of charge. Of course, you can’t sit in the luxurious interiors or inspect the meticulously spotless engines, but to that I say… feh!
I strategically timed a walk to the beach to coincide with closing time, at which point I, and all the other not-so-classic-car riffraff, was able to cruise through the main entrance without a ticket and enjoy what was left of the show as the tents were coming down cars were carefully wheeled away.
So what did I see?
An honest-to-god blue metallic and chrome Tucker! You remember the 1988 film starring Jeff Bridges, yes? With a production run of only 51 cars, the innovative Tucker was way ahead of its time, but doomed to fail in the face of strong opposition from the rest of the automotive industry. It was pretty cool to see one in person! And here it is!
Pretty cool, yes?
Also on display during my free time in the exhibition was a Delage, which is kind of a French Rolls Royce, though I’m sure by simply typing that I have offended both Brits and French alike. To my eyes, it looked like the kind of car the villain in a James Bond movie would drive.
How about those fancy pipes coming out of the engine canopy?
One thing is for sure about these classic cars… they are monsters! Sure, it would be fun to own something like this for slow cruises up and down the block, but good luck squeezing all that metal into your garage!
