I guess it can be assumed that when you are willing to climb in and ride shotgun in a 1982 Volkswagen Westfalia to see the state of Michigan you are not only a traveler, but a bit of a car enthusiast as well. So when Josh told me that he had over booked the crew and I would have to cover the Frankenmuth Auto Fest without him, being the dedicated Festival Fanatic that I am, I headed to Frankenmuth Saturday afternoon. 
     I have been to the Auto Fest many times in the past, but it was always with my now-ex girlfriend, in fact that is where we went on our first date. So, I was hoping that the scenery wouldn't bring back any of those memories. It didn't. I had a great time.
     With the wide variety of muscle cars and people that saturate the small Bavarian community which hosts the car show and the oldies music playing in the background, I was in gear head heaven. This year, as with Lapeer days, I would be covering the show for the Blue Water Traveler.Com, so it would be a little different in that I would not be indulging in the other aspect of the car show and what Frankenmuth is famous for, "ummm BEER". No, this year I was to be by myself and sober as a judge. I rose to the challenge.
     Earlier in the day the cars where all lined up for viewing at Heritage Park. Since it was early afternoon when  I first arrived, most of the cars were already cruising up and down Main Street. The noise from the motors with full race cams and blowers echoed off the bavarian buildings. The smell of burnt fuel lingered in the air and burned my nostrils just a bit. Love that smell. As the hot rods cruised by, most just idling, you could feel the horses under the hood wanting to be let loose.  In past years I would usually hang out at Tiffany's Restaurant in the middle of downtown. The front porch is a great place to view the hot rods as they roared by and you could also buy a beer or two at the front porch bar. 
     The porch was packed with partiers this year and there was no place for me to stand, so I looked at the establishment next door which still had room on its portico. At least this year, because I didn't drink, I would have a great place to view the cruise and I didn't have to go to the bathroom every five minutes. Here in the story I'd like to create a little sidebar. Tiffany's in days of old was a gentleman's bar. Men used to stand at the bar and drink their beers and if you are ever in there, look at the little trough that is recessed in the floor and runs the length of the bar. Legend has it, this trough was for men to um, well use your imagination. They never had to leave the bar not even to um, well I think you figured it out.
      With Auto Fest now in its twenty-eighth year it has became quite the gathering for cars and car enthusiasts from all over. Detroit has its Woodward Cruise and Flint has its Back to the Bricks Car Cruise. For me, because of the beauty and uniqueness of the village of Frankenmuth, the Frankenmuth Auto Fest is unique in itself. 
     On several corners, little tents are set up and oldies bands can be heard playing Elvis, Neil Diamond, The Beatles and other artists from the 50s and 60s. Across the street from me in the corner of the Bavarian Festival parking lot, I heard another type of music. It was the Wedding March. Yep, someone was actually getting married at the Auto Festival.  Here was the quintessential car enthusiast. The couple actually planned their wedding to take place at the car show.  As Josh always says, it is amazing the things you see on the road and I am sure he would have had a monologue for this one. 
     After watching Pam and Tim Perry (the bride and groom) dance their first dance as a married couple, I decided to wander around a bit and see what else was going on. I meandered over by the Lager Mill and Museum where there were some classic cars parked. I snapped a few pictures and while admiring the beauty and lines of the cars parked there, it made me think. "What will be the classic cars of tomorrow?" Sure you have the Corvette and Mustang still being produced to this day, but what other cars coming out of Detroit would qualify as classics in the future?  Would it be the Aveo, Fusion, Neon, Focus, or some of the SUV-type vehicles made over the last 20 years?  Will they be classics in the purist sense? I don't know.
      I rolled this around in my brain for a while and then concluded that there really weren't any truely classic cars being built any more. That generation of designers have long since retired or died and inevitably time marches on. I mean all cars today pretty much look alike, don't you think? Sure they are functional, but where are the Camaros, the Chargers, the Thunderbirds, the Challengers......oh yeah they're making those again. I guess that Detroit designers couldn't come up with any new designs so they resurrected the old ones.
     As I climbed into my "classic", a 2001 Ford Focus and proceeded to leave the car show behind, I thought to myself that I also am a classic. Born in 1959, I'm very different from the young people of the last few generations...different values, different likes and dislikes. I like old music, old cars, old toys and I relate better now to older people. I'm becoming obsolete, but like those classic car designs,  I'll be resurrected and re-invented some day by my designer. Can't wait.

From the back roads,

Tim