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Had a great week building up to the Easter holiday driving the 55 Clipper! Put new tires on it on Friday and was out cruising around when I remembered that every Friday evening beginning in the spring there is a car cruise at the local shopping center. It is the usual Ford, Chevy, MOPAR 60's and 70's muscle car lineup. But, these are iconic cars that have been shown the proper amount of love and upkeep and I think they are great as I am a child of the 60's and 70's but I was kind of disappointed in the reaction to the Clipper. The reaction was no reaction!? I pulled up to see what was going on and it was early so not a lot of cars had appeared yet but there was a group of about 8 or 10 guys standing around that did not even wave to acknowledge my presence. There is a place to get coffee adjacent to the show area so I parked and got out to get a coffee. I went into the store and was looking out the window to see if anyone would stroll over to look at the Clipper but it didn't happen. I left the store got back into the car and contemplated making an attempt to start a conversation but again, no one even acknowledged my presence so I left.

In my travels people love to wave and give me the thumbs up and I'm always being engaged by someone who wants to know more about the car. So, I get around a group of car guys and all I heard was crickets! I'll stop whining now but I just wanted to pass this along to get some feed-back. I've also developed an animas now for the so called "Kruze Events" and the folks that participate, at least locally.

I had this reaction occur one time when I pulled up to a local "car meet" which turned out to be a "coffee clache" social club. I happened to be driving my 1963 Tempest hot rod instead of my 55 Pat, but the reaction was the same. I just figured they were a bunch of stuck up snobs.

Don't worry about it. Every other time I have driven my Packard somewhere, the response has been overwhelming.

Craig

That's really odd. I took the '50 to the first local cruise event of the year yesterday. Yes... it's your typical cruise venue. We had very iffy weather all morning so the turnout was less than usual but there were still over 100 cars. There was exactly one completely stock pre-1960 vehicle there and it was mine.

I stayed for three hours and answered questions non-stop. Lots of positive comments on the car. Lots of thank-you for bringing it comments. Here's a shot I took shortly after I arrived.

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Shake it off! Packards rule and your situation was unfortunate. As Craig suggests......I think you interrupted a 'private party'........your day and joy awaits.

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Even Clippers rule . Whenever I am refueling my Clipper at a gas station, it usually takes at least 10 minutes to answer all the questions about the car from others filling gas.
Nearly everybody I meet when having the car out, has a question or a positive comment.

Tom

When at the local cruise nights the 60's muscle car and street rod types largely ignore my car but the public who come to look at cars were very much interested in the Packard.

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Classic "Stage Fright"!...they knew your car would take center stage and the only way they could compete was to run you off before your Packard stunned the audience and stole the show forget about it...there are clics and snobs everywhere you go but it was their loss...you still drove off in the only true classic of the bunch...attribute it to the full moon Friday night and leave it at that.

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" So, I get around a group of car guys and all I heard was crickets!"

What made u think they were "car guys"???? Resurrection of the local 'Cruise In' has become more of a regimented social networking club than a random happening as they were in the 1948 to early 1980's time frame. Something more akin to a pic-nic club. Many of those 'car guys" are not car guys at all but rather just Hot-Rod Magazine or Motor Trend subscribers. There is lot i could say about this but won't bore anoney with it for now. TO put it another way, much of todays cruise-in car interst was a fish'in boat 5 years ago and 3 years from now will be radio control air planes or back to soccer dad status or something.


Look at your special interst car (regardless of what it is, modern, clasic, racing etc) as an ADVENTURE, NOT a social networking medium. Just strike out with the car on a tour to no particlular place. Do it often on just the spur of a momment. JUST GO FOR A DRIVE!!! 40 miles, 100 miles, 300 miles or even more it doesn't matter. Don't go looking for anything with a plan or an agenda in mind. Don't be hesitant to stop to look at ANYTHING that mite strike your curisoity, even just a yard sale. Try that approach, u'll be most surprised and find great enjoyment in it as well a alot of attention to your car.

A car is NOT a guided tour ticket, it's an ADVENTUREr, a Pioneer, Cadillac, Chirstopher Columbus, a DeSoto, ..... . USe the car to find your own New World.

I've found that hanging out with the younger 20-something set even with their 4 cylider puddle jumper drifter cars are good events. They are more of a sporatic gathering much like the local parking lot hang outs of the 50's thru late 1970's.

Don;t try to plan it and above all don't let ANYONE else plan it for u. Just go looking for adventure, U'll find it.

Any local cruise-in is bound have plenty of "locals" who are just part of some "coffee klatsch", but don't let that keep you from enjoying the evening with your Clipper. Personally, I don't go to a cruise looking to have my ego massaged; nor do I go there to massage anyone else's ego.

IMHO, you shouldn't have left so early, but stuck around and ignored those who ignored you. Sooner or later, someone who appreciates your car and wants to learn more about it will stop by, and that's the best part of showing your car in public. Sometimes, there's even a nice twist of fate.

For example, about ten years ago, I was attending a national gathering of Cosworth Vega owners, and several of the guys, looking for something to do in the evening off-hours, decided to "crash" a local cruise-in. So, all these "Vegas" wheel into the parking lot, and pop their hoods to show what they've got. The "tuners" ignored us, but a bunch of Chevy guys came over to check out the cars, with compliments coming from even Corvette owners. A few minutes later, the "tuners" all drove-off in a huff, with spark blocks catching on every speed bump.

If they don't have good manners, it's their problem, not yours.

+1 to everything above.....