There wasn’t a banger in sight at the 22nd Annual Russian River Car Show in Monte Rio.
Attendees sat in lawn chairs and waded through the sea of vintage cars from the early 1970s and older, spread across Northwood Commons, popping hoods and tailgates in creamy pastels, persuasive reds and the classic ink black on Saturday, Aug. 21.
“I’m always around cars. I like to work on cars, I grew up with cars, so it’s something I like to do for fun. I raised my daughter to be around cars, as well, so it’s like an ongoing thing every weekend,” said Maria Nuñez.
“Guys always think, ‘Oh, girls don’t get their hands dirty,’ but there’s a lot of girls out there and in the lowrider world, the hot rod world, they love cars and they love to work on their own rides,” she said.Nuñez and others go cruising on Fridays, headed somewhere they can support small businesses, like ice cream for the kids.
What she loves about weekly car shows in the area is meeting new people, learning about their cars and asking questions that can inspire new developments on her own automobiles. Cars can be very personal projects, like the 1982 Buick she’s restoring in memory of her father.
“Well, with me, I like cruising. Sometimes far distances, sometimes not. Hot days, rainy days, usually a lot of people bump oldies, mostly fun, happy, they’re grooving. Just your typical happy day, you know?” said Bruno Marin, who brought his glossy dark teal El Camino.
Lyle sat behind his red Ford and said restoring old cars is “the act of preserving an icon of its time,” heading into a future where he does not believe car shows will continue. Newer generations of cars lack “personality” that people find in vintage cars now, examining “a page of history.”
