Yesterday I was driving around Clarenville for my long-put-off trip to the Trinity Bay town in the fall of the year to see the leaves turning colour and stuff. Incidentally it was also the weekend of the classic car show at the Clarenville Stadium, which as far as I know, hasn’t yet been renamed to the Clarenville Centre. All a matter of time I guess. Sorry, did I say renamed? I meant ‘re-branded‘.

Anyway, there were some pretty neat cars there. The classics are all very well looked after - flawless, and spotless. I only noticed one or two minor things among the 40 or so cars.

But the thing that scared me the most is how much character these cars have. Is it just me, or do they make today’s cars look bland? I mean, I’m sure there are nice cars being made today, and the ugly cars of years gone by aren’t generally the ones that are being preserved. Still, it gives me an uneasy feeling. It’s like my whole perception of the car world is crumbling down around me. I can even see the beauty in my father’s favourite, the 57 Chev.

At the car show, I had to pick the best car for the people’s choice award. It was a toss-up between an early 70’s Dodge Challenger and an early 70’s Oldsmobile Cutlass. For my girlfriend it was a toss up between an old-school Citroen and a 50’s Mercury pick-up. I don’t even know which one I picked as I forgot which number corresponded to which vehicle. But there were many other more flashy, perhaps more deserving models. This is going to require some soul-searching.