Car Show Saturday draws big crowds

The Soviet Union's Volga's distinctive vertical grille
earned it the sobriquet 'akula', or 'shark'.

Hundreds of cars and trucks were on display Saturday afternoon as part of the 15th annual Gee Gee Brown Basketball Tournament which winds up today with the championship game.

Here is a slideshow of SOME of the cars and trucks on display by several clubs.

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The most unusual car by my lights was the 1962 Volga, a Soviet-made car that was the 'top of the line' automobile available to the Russian public during the Soviet years. The young man who owns it lives in the Brighton Beach section of Brooklyn and told me he drives the car to several shows in the tri-state area each year.

The Volga cost the equivalent of seven years' wages, he said, noting that there were no financing schemes under the Soviets, meaning a buyer had to pay all cash. There are two interesting articles at Wikipedia, one on the Soviet automobile industry (see here) and another on the Volga automobile itself (see here).

One of the other cars that caught my eye was the 1934 Ford two-door runaround, which was the first car my father ever owned (used) and which he always swore was the best car he ever had -- except possibly his 1952 DeSoto.

A 'chopped' version of the 1934 Ford 'two-door runabout', my Dad's first car.

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• Wikipedia: "Soviet Auto Industry"| "Volga"

-- Dan Damon [follow]

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