Header__ARTICLEShorter

5th Annual George Barris Cruisin' Back to the 50's Car Show

A Rod and Custom Street Party in Culver City

Text and Photos by Dick DeLoach; additional photos by Nathan Trujillo

Beautiful downtown Culver City, California, was the place to be Saturday May 10, as 100s of hot rods, customs, classics, muscle cars, trucks, motorcycles and lowriders specialty vehicles turned out for the 5th Annual George Barris Cruisin’ Back to the 50’s Car Show. The event, sponsored by the Culver City Exchange Club to benefit local charities, got underway at 6 a.m. for check-in at the Culver City Armory. Then, at 7 a.m., everyone lined up for a Parade of Cars down Culver City Boulevard to the car show area.

In addition to bringing out legends from the ’50s and famous cars from movies and television like the Munster Coach, Dragula, Cobra’s chopped Merc and Herbie the Luv Bug, Barris also had modern customs from the 2000s on display, including a Dodge Magnum, a Mustang Cobra and a Prius Hybrid with Lambo doors. “I want the kids of today to get excited about customizing their new cars just like we did back in the ’50s,” Barris said.

Dick Deloach

George Barris (left) & Dick DeLoach (Right)

In addition to street after street of cool vehicles, numerous food, auto accessory, toy, clothing and lifestyle vendors were also on hand. Major companies such as Meguiar’s, Big Dog Motorcycles, Edelbrock and others even had their 18-wheelers set up. In addition to Barris, other celebrities including Kustomizer “Big Daddy” Vinnie Bergman and actor Chuck Zito from the hit HBO series OZ came out. Live Rock-a-Billy music throughout the day by The Redondos helped create a mood that carried everyone back to their youth. A huge prize raffle was also conducted and everyone got a great goodie bag. For the competition minded entries, there were trophies awarded in 44 classes. Of course all of the local businesses and restaurants in the area, with their Googie* architecture were also open for the event.

“What a wonderful event for Culver City,” Barris proudly remarked. “It was a whole new show this year. This has become a great event for the entire family…it’s one of the best shows we do.”

If you’d like to enter a ride in next year’s show, sign up early. Entries are limited to the first 500 vehicles on a first-come, first-served basis. For information on the 2009 event call (310) 499-4840 or visit www.CulverCityCarShow.com.

 *Googie, also known as populuxe or doo-wop, is a subdivision of futurist architecture, influenced by car culture and the Space Age and Atomic Age, originating from Southern California in the late 1940s and continuing approximately into the mid-1960s. The types of buildings that were most frequently designed in a Googie style were motels, coffee houses and bowling alleys.

Click on images for larger pictures

IMG_0022

IMG_0023

IMG_0024

IMG_0025

IMG_0026

IMG_0027

IMG_0028

IMG_0029

IMG_0030

IMG_0031

IMG_0032

IMG_0033

IMG_0034

IMG_0035

IMG_0036

IMG_0037

IMG_0038

IMG_0039

IMG_0040

IMG_0041

IMG_0042

IMG_0043

IMG_0044

IMG_0045

IMG_0046

IMG_0047

IMG_0048

IMG_0049

IMG_0050

IMG_0051

IMG_0052

IMG_0053

IMG_0054

IMG_0055

IMG_0056

IMG_0057

IMG_0058

IMG_0059

IMG_0060

IMG_0061

IMG_0062

IMG_0063

IMG_0064

IMG_0065

IMG_0066

IMG_0067

IMG_0068

IMG_0069

IMG_0071

IMG_0072

IMG_0073

IMG_0074

IMG_0075

IMG_0076

IMG_0077

IMG_0078

IMG_0079

IMG_0080

IMG_0081

IMG_0082

IMG_0083

IMG_0084

IMG_0085

IMG_0086

IMG_0087

IMG_0088

 

 

 

[2008 Show Coverage] [Barn & Field Cars] [Blast to the Past] [Book Reviews] [Build Articles] [Buyers Guide] [Classifieds] [Club Directory] [Event Listings] [From our Friends] [Garage Shots] [Guest Columnists] [www.hotrodhotline.com/md] [New Products] [Newsletter Archive] [Order a Catalog] [Our Heroes] [Press Releases] [Rodders Forum] [Rodders Row] [Shop Tours] [Vendor Directory] [Young Rodders] [Advertising Information] [Modern Rods]

Copyright 1999 - 2008 Hot Rod Hot Line All Rights Reserved
No Portion May Be Used Without Our Written Permission
Contact Us Toll Free (877) 700-2468 (US) or (208) 562-0470 (Outside US)
230 S. Cole Rd, Boise, ID 83709

mailbox