Classic Car Candy Preview: Thousands Eye on Historic Cars and Trucks

Classic Cars Preview: MATO mania, historic cars and trucks collection. Grassy baseball fields at Ray Kroc park were absolutely brimming with cars and trucks from a bygone era. There were 1,011 historic cars altogether.

MATO mania: For Midnight at the Oasis, the grassy baseball fields at Ray Kroc park were absolutely brimming with cars and trucks from a bygone era. There were 1,011 historic cars altogether.

Midnight at the Oasis continues Sunday after another successful run Saturday. Thousands of people turned out on the second day of events to drool over the shiny metal eye candy known as classic cars.

The grassy baseball fields at Ray Kroc park were absolutely brimming with cars and trucks from a bygone era. There were 1,011 historic cars altogether.

“We are at max capacity,” said Jonathan Lines, Caballeros de Yuma’s Captain Midnight. “I’m glad they keep coming and going so that everybody has a place to park. It’s that packed.”

Lines attributed the large number of entries this year to the exposure MATO received after the Speed Channel covered the event in 2009.

“After ‘My Classic Car’ with Dennis Gage, people started calling from all over the country. It was absolutely amazing. Some people actually put their entries up on Craigslist for sale. We called them and told them their entries were nontransferable, but it was pretty interesting.”

Classic Car Candy Preview: Thousands Eye on Historic Cars and Trucks

The weather was good for most of the day, although the wind did pick up in the afternoon with gusts of about 22 mph.

“It is an excellent day, slightly breezy and about 75 degrees,” Lines said.

In addition to the adults who were out playing with their motorized toys, dozens of Cub Scouts gathered to race their handmade cars in the annual pinewood derby.

“We have about 48 people participating today,” said Patti Pace, who was in charge of the derby.

“First we have the Cub Scout races, and when they close out we have the open race for any age. This is a great community showcase event for the Scouting community. We are doing the Cub Scout race today, but it also showcases all the other Boy Scouts we have in the community. It is an exciting time for the Cub Scouts.”

Brett Bybee, district director of the Yuma Scouting program, said the pinewood derby is a longtime Cub Scout tradition.

“Cub Scouting started in 1935, and it wasn’t long after that they started building little cars and racing them. It has been around a long time. It gets really competitive, and it’s a lot of fun. It is good for kids to experience that feeling of winning and at the same time learn how to lose, too.”

Bybee said building little race cars has many benefits for young Scouts.

“It’s not just about building a car and racing it. There is lot of science behind it, like learning engineering and artistic design, so it’s really good for the kids to have fun with this. The best part of it is getting a dad and his boy or a mom and her son together and working on something. That is what Scouting is all about, just family togetherness.”

Cub Scout Eli Summers, 7, did well in the races and won third place. He said he felt “good. Mommy helped me make the car. It took about an hour to make. It was fun.”

Cub Scout Ben Hall, 8, took first place in a separate division.

“Yeah it feels pretty good,” he said. “It took about a week to make the car. I made it with my dad. I like Cub Scouts.”

Meanwhile, out on the fields the huge amount of spectators wandered from car to car, admiring each for their individual beauty.

Bobby Eidem, from Fullerton, Calif., is the owner of a 1951 Chevy convertible and stood near his eye-popping red car talking to people who stopped to take a look. His love affair with cars goes way back.

“It has been a hobby of mine since high school,” he said. “I was raised in the late ’50s and we all had cars like this. I had a 1950 Chevy convertible, and this kind replaces that car. When you drive a car like this, you feel like you are 17 again.”

Dave Bennett and his wife, Anne, came down from Phoenix for the first time this year to participate in the show. He is the proud owner of a 1937 Cadillac V-8 five-passenger sedan. He spent over $60,000 restoring it.

“I bought it in 1997. It had been sitting in a field for 25 years with weeds growing up through it and sand from the river bottom up against the running board. I put a modern engine in it with an automatic transmission and air conditioning.

“We drive it all over the country and went to Yellowstone last year. People would leave Old Faithful to come and talk to me about my car.”

Bennett said the car is a conversation piece.

“You meet a lot nice folks and every once in awhile you meet somebody you have something in common with, and then you can really talk to them. The car is kind of the introduction and then it goes from there. You don’t see too many of them. It gets a lot of compliments.

“I’ve talked to so many people out here today who enjoy seeing it and enjoy the memories. I just enjoy talking to folks as they come up.”

Thousands view ‘car candy’. Lines said Bennett is one of many newcomers this year.

“There was a wider variety of cars. We’ve got about 150 to 200 new entries from out of town.”

Lines, who is Captain Midnight for the second year in a row, was extremely pleased with Saturday’s events. “I am absolutely satisfied today.”

Classic Cars Review: MATO continues Sunday for the final day. but they still do not want anybody or everybody to “fit” no matter what they say,it is not open to everyone. it becomes all very political, no one wants you to move, “YOU would outdo us” was the response, so it is undemocratic and biased. why attempt to “fit”?

Topics: Car Candy,Classic Cars,Historic Cars,New Car Photos Download,New Car Pictures,Trucks for Sale