| EVENT:. | Seattle Roadster Show |
| SPONSOR:. | Dan Cyr Enterprises |
| DATE:. | February 27 - 29, 2004 |
| LOCATION:. | Seattle, Washington |
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By Jim Compton & Steve Eitzen While called a "Roadster Show," this annual event goes well beyond the scope of its name. It might be more truthfully called a hot rod, custom and classic car show, because the event incorporates all of those categories and more. In keeping with a tradition of doing things right, this year's participation by the Cascade Cougar Club made quite an impression on show visitors. To highlight the CCC display, Eric "Doc" Anders manufactured a rotating Ford-Lincoln-Mercury dealer-style sign that had Jim & Elaine Pinkerton's large stuffed cougar sitting atop it. The sign was lit and kept rotating throughout the show. No other club came close to announcing its presence with such style; only one or two other clubs had organized displays at all. You could spot the rotating sign from most parts of the show floor and easily from the balcony. |
| Doc Anders' dealer sign topped off an outstanding display featuring a barrier rope with checkered club logo pennants, a CCC banner and, of course, six outstanding classic Cats. |
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Special thanks are owed to the six members whose cars were displayed and who also set up the exhibit, including Doc Anders, Lonnie Sparhawk, Karl Gehlhaar, Ted Both, Chris Osborne, and Jeff Bingaman. A great deal of effort went into our Roadster Show appearance and the resulting display did the club proud. |
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Lonnie Sparhawk's 1973 XR-7 rag top is right at home under the sign of the cat. |
| The CCC and Mustangs Northwest were also asked to furnish volunteers to help with security for the show. We thank Mike Hackman, Richard Morris, Bill Herbert, Marc Ogren, Jim Pinkerton, Jeff Bingaman, Lonnie Sparhawk, Eric Anders, Karl Gehlhaar, Jim Compton, Tyler Husby, John Ritter, Ted Both, Pat Price, James French, Judy Anders, Jan Johnson, and Jim Hall for volunteering. Extra thanks belong to Karl and Bill for working two of the five-hour shifts. The security tasks weren't always the most interesting ways to spend time, but they were necessary if the show was going to happen. |
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Karl Gelhaar's black 1967 XR-7 is set off nicely by the club's checkered flag logo pennants. |
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As always, there were vendors selling everything imaginable for cars. There were the usual sketches of Cougars and Mustangs, caps, pins, die-cast cars of all sizes, neon clocks, decals, sew-on patches, and T-shirts. Most of the products were car-related. Jim Compton bought the only Mercury neon-ringed clock. About his find, Jim says, "I'd seen Ford, Mustang, Thunderbird, and Lincoln clocks for sale at various places for years, but this is the first Mercury clock I've found. It will look great in my new garage, if I ever get it built." |
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Chris Osborne's pristine 1970 CJ428 XR-7 represented the CCC well, garnering much praise from an appreciative crowd. |
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The show crowd should give all of us in the classic car hobby some encouragement. There were a LOT of people there on Saturday morning and there was still a good line at the ticket booth by mid-afternoon. The Saturday crowd was far larger than the Friday evening crowd. The Friday evening crowd, though, included a very large percentage of younger people. Most of them looked like high school kids on dates and they weren't there for the Import Motion show in the hall next door. It is encouraging to know that there seem to be a lot of young people interested in the classic car hobby. |
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Lucie and Ted Both's subtle '69 XR-7 restomod left many of those who are unfamiliar with classic Cats wondering just what was original and what was modified. |
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Appearing at an event like the Seattle Roadster Show requires a lot of work and strains club resources, but the benefits are many. In addition to giving the CCC some well deserved recognition, our exhibit supports the classic car hobby by, hopefully, inspiring new enthusiasts to take the plunge and get involved. Also, show appearances like this help gain recognition for classic Cougars, which is very much in keeping with our club's stated purpose of supporting the restoration, preservation and enjoyment of classic Mercury Cougar automobiles. Besides all that, it's fun! |
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Judy and Doc Anders' "Top Cat" 1969 restomod convertible was a crowd pleaser with its many innovative mods. |
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Rounding out the CCC Roadster Show display was club Chairman, Jeff Bingaman's, 1968 sunroof XR-7. |
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Photographs by Jim Compton |
