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Great Finds - Oldies and Goodies Classic Car, Truck and Motorcycle Show
Culture for the Real World
September, 2007 - Issue #35
Late summer is the season for absorbing some culture. School's out and the offspring have parked their brains in neutral for a couple months. It's time to jumpstart those idle neurons for the coming school year. Take the kids to a museum or two and expose them to the wide array of humankind's artistic achievement, if you can drag them away from the Xbox for long enough. It's time they learned that the human soul searched for meaning long before virtual avatars inhabited 22-level electronic dungeons or virtual cities where stealing a car and assaulting innocent victims earns a more powerful engine and a resounding cheer from a gallery of thieves.

But forced culture is painful. Stuffy museums crowded with elderly docents in wrinkled uniforms generate less excitement than a school board election debate. You can only stand so many hours wandering through endless halls, hands clasped behind your back, as you ponder the intent behind a large canvass splashed with a single streak of paint. Truly sophisticated culture, so the experts say, takes effort.

Not all artwork springs from the idle minds of tenured professorships or counter-culture warriors. Some of our finest artwork evolved in the hard, three-dimensional world of industry. This isn't art for the effete collegian with a trust fund and a scholarship - it's the product of engineering ingenuity developing tangible goods. It's timeless design crafted for function at triple-digit speeds. It's the culture and art of the automobile.

"It's timeless design crafted for function at triple-digit speeds. It's the CULTURE AND ART OF THE AUTOMOBILE."
Saturday, September 8 marks the date for the 12th annual Oldies and Goodies Classic Car, Truck and Motorcycle Show at Saugus Speedway. According to speedway general manager Terri Burbank, this is the largest car show of its kind in northern Los Angeles county. This festival of painted steel and tinted glass is better than being let loose in a See's Candy factory with a get-out-of-calories-free card. Come and drool over antique cars, hot rods, Corvettes, customs and more. With over 500 vehicles filling 50 categories, there's sure to be something to trigger palpitations in even the most jaded enthusiast's heart. Trophies will be awarded in each class, with three broad classes eligible for cash prizes of up to $1,000.

This is no Podunk show peppered with a lime green 1974 Pinto sporting faux wood siding and a rusty Schwinn Varsity with wheels bent like potato chips and a playing card glued to the spokes for authentic motorcycle sound. Last year the top vehicle was a 1937 Ford Roadster custom that would make Boyd Coddington swoon. A 2006 Arlen Ness custom took top honors in the motorcycle category and a 1963 Chevy pickup won the truck accolades. These vehicles and many more contributed to a high-octane-fueled vibe that was more electric than a lightning storm at a nuclear plant.

Looking at all those awesome machines is going to make you want to buy something. But if purchasing a show car threatens too much marital discord, don't worry. The speedway has you covered with over 100 vendors selling everything from clothing to memorabilia to toys for the kids. You can satisfy your jones for some gear without risking a relationship and bank account meltdown.

But there's more! "There's something for everyone," Burbank says. Live entertainment courtesy of The Corvettes (a doo wop band), dancing, food and drink, and rides for the kids will make this a day to remember.

And not just for the attendees - the show will benefit the Santa Clarita chapter of the Special Olympics. Bringing fun and the joy of competition to kids and adults who face challenges that would reduce most of us to quivering hunks of Jell-o, the Special Olympics is one of the most worthy charities in the region.

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The show runs from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Admission is $10 for adults and $3 for car fanatics under 12 years old. If you want to drag that show car out to share with others, and maybe even win some hardware, it's $25 if you register by August 30, which includes a tee-shirt, goody bag and admission for two (register later and it will cost $30 and you won't get the schwag, so sign up now). Contact the speedway at www.saugusspeedway.com or 661-259-3886 for more information.
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