On Sunday, May 1, I had the pleasure of attending Coronado’s annual MotorCars on MainStreet car show, and I must say, the display did not disappoint – the classic old cars, restored and unrestored, were dripping with style. Despite the gloomy, overcast weather, the chrome shined through. The vehicles ranged from old school classics to new school comfort.
You could feel the excitement within the large crowd of spectators as rock ‘n’ roll music was played by Tommy Price and The Stilettos. More than once I saw people movin’ to the groove. At the other end of the event was DJ Paul Palombo spinning oldies but goodies; so wherever you were, the backdrop of music filled your ears.
The evolution of the automobile was evident. Times have changed, materials have changed, features and designs have changed but one thing remains the same, the love for a beautiful and reliable vehicle. A new addition to the show this year was the electric vehicles (EVs) section. There were EV models from Tesla, Ford, BMW, Polestar, and Lucid. I also saw a converted electric Volkswagen Microbus that was awesome! Electric cars promote a cleaner planet because no fuel is needed nor burned, and cost savings because owners don’t have to spend money on gas.
The EV that really caught my eye was the Lucid, it was a beauty! I had the pleasure of speaking to Michael, one of the representatives of Lucid Motors. They are an independent automotive manufacturer based near San Francisco, where the cars are designed. With manufacturing in Casa Grande, Arizona, they’re all American made. The Lucid Air Dream Edition is the longest-range electric vehicle at about 520 miles of range. The Lucid Air Sapphire Edition is the fastest accelerating electric vehicle. The speed in this vehicle is almost double that of a gasoline powered vehicle, within 8 seconds you are over 107 miles per hour. Lucid Air Grande Touring is the fastest charging, able to charge to a 400 mile range in 33 minutes. These cars are fast, elegant, fast charging and Bi-Directional, meaning if this was your vehicle you would be able to plug it into your home and charge it.
Speaking to EV owner Mark about his Polestar 2, he says an EV is the only way to go. One of his reasons for his statement is that it’s all electric – so he doesn’t have to worry about buying gasoline, no oil change, no transmission to worry about. The only thing he says he had to buy was tires and when his car is serviced, the only thing you must do is service the cabin filter and windshield wipers. There are all kinds of apps to let you know where charge stations are and whether the stations are up and running so you can plan when you’re on a trip. The Polestar was Volvo’s performance division and they split off to be their own independent car company. Mark also told me that the first year out, it won luxury car of the year in Germany.
The car market has a stereotype of being male-dominated, but I found quite a few women interested in the inside and outside mechanics of it all. Most of the people at the show knew one another, grew up around cars and learned of them as they learned about themselves.
Lisa and Howard Johnson had two cars entered in the show, a 1968 Dodge Super Bee and Lisa’s 1969 Pontiac Firebird. Howard is a retired police officer that has loved cars since he was a kid. One of the things he looked forward to as a kid was attending stock car shows. After military life, the first car Howard restored was a 1971 Chevrolet Chevelle, with many more to follow.
I spoke with Mark and his wife Joan and learned that they have been attending car shows for about 10 years. His love for cars comes from his dad and grandfather. The 1957 Chevy was his dad’s car and it inspired him to purchase his first car, which was the 1954 model. Now in his 70s, he and Joan still find thrills in traveling to Yuma, Laughlin and Big Bear to different car shows to show off his classic cars.
As I was admiring some of the classic cars parked in Star Park, I came across a gentleman name Cal Demagio from Belmont. He brought his original/restored 1963 Chevy Corvette with split windows. Cal has enjoyed working on cars for many years, it’s become a hobby for him. He loves keeping a car in its original state but when he can’t keep it in its original state, he doesn’t have a problem making a retromod.
To sum up this year’s car show, my friend Daniel Cooper shared that it’s interesting to see the evolution of the automobile. You can see how they worked with what they had, from the technology back then to the technology now is an amazing transformation, and to see the growth with the electric cars to help the environment is a great thing. Daniel did say that the materials used back then versus now is that back in the day they worked with real chrome and today it’s plastic chrome. Daniel loves his chrome and horsepower.
MotorCars on MainStreet is put on by Coronado MainStreet and co-sponsored by Cumming Chevrolet and the City of Coronado. For 2023, there were over 400 vehicles – classic cars, original and restored, retromod, muscle cars and EVs – and it was a true celebration of automotive history and innovation.
