“The Submerged Cathedral (La cathédrale engloutie)” was written for piano by Claude Debussy in 1910. It is based on an ancient myth of a cathedral that is submerged off the coast of an island. In the morning it rises up from the water, accompanied by the sounds of chanting priests, chiming bells and organ music, which can be heard from across the sea.
I thought of this as we headed across Portland’s Hawthorne Bridge this past Saturday, and heard the sounds of unmuffled engines getting louder as we walked.
For 28 years, the Portland Transmission Spring Classic car show has emerged from the mist of a Saturday morning, attracting hundreds of registered cars plus even more spectators, and disappearing by 11:00 a.m.
It’s one of the traditional beginnings of the car show season here, and my son Bradley and I like going every year. It’s exact opposite of those highly organized shows with rows of over-the-top restored cars and judges in blue sports coats and straw hats wandering around with clipboards.
We spent a delightful two hours ogling the American classics and imports, each restored or customized to the owner’s whims.
This year there were AA/Fuel Dragsters parked next to Pinzgauers and Alfa Romeo Montreals. A replica Cobra cruised by a slammed custom Buick Riviera.
Bradley had never seen an S2 Saab Sonett before. I explained to him that the S1s had a flat hood over their 3-cylinder, two-stroke engines, while the taller V4s in the S2s required a hood bulge. He’s about to take his AP English test, so perhaps this information will come in handy.
This is one of my favorite events, due to its transparent lack of organization. Around 5 a.m. cars begin to filter onto the empty streets. By 8 a.m. all the parking spaces are gone and the streets in the area are closed due to the number of cars. At 10 am you have seen all there is to see, and an hour later everyone is headed home.
Shouldn’t all car shows be this simple?
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Keith,
Thanks for sharing the pictures from the show – I love that Alfal Romeo Montreal – not the most common site. Keith, I just want to share my appreciation for your magazine. Sports Car Market has to be the very best American car magazine out there, and it is my favorite. I have to import my second favorite from England, Classic Cars. There are no more high quality car magazines left here in America anymore except yours. I know that the magazine business has changed drastically over the last few years, but it also seems that automotive journalism is a lost art at this point. Thanks for being their for your subscribers!
Glenn in Brooklyn, NY.
I am choosing the smaller ‘cruise in and car show’ events, just more relaxed , hang out with cool car people and an array of cars and trucks , they are very local and i am home early..
This weekend in Sandpoint, ID is the 38th “Lost in the ‘50’s” car show, it’s kind of our spring opener. Usually about 600 cars, from the sublime to the ridiculous. A lot of really good owner-built rods and customs, and a few over-the-top checkbook projects too. Something for everyone, as it should be.
For all concerned, Cars & Coffee events are much simpler and often more enjoyable.
We’re much more comfortable in the laid-back local car shows and cruise-ins. Last weekend we took our newly acquired 1981 DeLorean to the Sequim (WA) Irrigation Festival Classic Car Show. It a nice local car show with about 200 cars annually – including some really nice ones. I thought we’d be the only DeLorean there, but I was wrong. A guy had showed up with another DeLorean a little ahead of us. The parking guy asked if we’d like to park beside the other DeLorean, and I thought sure. When we got to it, it turned out to be a nicely done Time-Machine replica, and together the two cars made an interesting display pair. And we ended up leaving Sequim with the Best in Class Award for 1980-2000 Stock.