Father's Day Car Show 2025

This marks the fourth year we have participated in the Father's Day Car Show at Oakbrook Mall. This year was the biggest yet, with 4 cars on display, including my Nissan 240SX and Jim's collection of Kei sports cars. The show is run by the Greater Illinois chapter of the Classic Car Club of America. As always, thanks to Russ for organizing a great show!

The stars of our display were our complete collection of Kei Sports Cars from the 1990s. Although most Kei cars in Japan were either economy hatchbacks or tiny pickups and vans, in the early 90s the car manufacturers decided to see if they could create sports cars under the Kei regulations. The most stringent regulation was the 660cc engine displacement rule, with a limit of 64hp. The end result was three Kei sports cars with true RWD formats. THe first was the Honda Beat in 1991, followed about 8 months later by the Suzuki Cappuccino. The Autozam AZ-1 was the last, and also the rarest and most interesting with a turbo 3-cylinder engine, mid engine layout, and gullwing doors. This show was the first time we had all three of them displayed together, and also the first time I ever saw all three of the A-B-C spprts cars displayed together! It was a cool moment to share with family and friends.

The other car I brought was my 1992 Nissan 240SX. The Father's Day car show is open to the public, and it is always interesting to hear the comments of the spectators as they evaluate the cars. A lot of folks reminisced about owning one in the past, or about how it is one of their favorite modern cars. After 7 long years restoring this car, it feels good to hear so many positive comments about the condition of my car. I think it is as fun to look at as it is to drive! Every part was hand-selected by my, and I an extremely please with how it all came together. It is a real display of the car restoration talents of our family.

I am extremely grateful for all the family and friends that stop by the day of the show. It's a great venue to hang out and catch up. Many thanks to Bob Kenney and Lynda for making the trek out from Indiana for this show!

Russ, the organizer of the show, had his 1937 Cord 810 on display. It is truly a magnificent car in exceptional condition in a great color scheme. A great example of Art Deco design and a forward-thinking shape with an eye toward modernism and the future.

My favorite car of the show was this incredible 1966 Mustang GT350 in Sapphire Blue. The car was cosmetically perfect and presented itself extremely well. While white with blue stripes is the iconic color for the GT350, it also looks very nice in the inverse of blue with white stripes. Shelby really got the formula correct with these cars. They sit perfect, and there really is no need to mess with success!

I also admired the beautiful sweeping lines of this 1954 Corvette. It was fitted with the optional hard top, which complements the lines of the car and gives the car a unique look that you don't see very often.

I was also excited to see this Ferrari 308 GT4. For me, the dramatic Bertone wedge styling of these cars reminds me of the Maseratis I used to see my Dad and Uncle working on at my Grandmothers house. One day I would like to drive one of these to see if the performance matches the looks!

This pair of Rolls Royces was amazing to see, with tons of chrome and elegance to go around! The license plates read "Poupon" which is an absolute necessity for one of these if you have ever seen the commercial!

Another car that made a big splash at this show was this custom known as the Voodoo Sahara. It had similar looks to the Golden Sahara show car from George Barris that was restored and painted by Greg, who painted my 240!

In addition to the gull wing door tops, the inside of the car featured swivel seats, an aviation-style yoke steering wheel, and a period correct TV and phone - retro futurism at its finest!

The rear of the car fully captures the futuristic, rocket-theme with beautiful flowing lines, tail fins and rocket tail lights. A very well put together car!

Another interesting custom car at the show was this Victress S4 Roadster. These fiberglass bodied kit cars from the early days of fiberglass represented a more economical way to get the dramatic European style of a Ferrari for pennies on the dollar. This car had a lot of custom touches, including shortening the wheelbase and other panel fitment touches that came together very well. Definitely one-of-a-kind!

When the show was over, it was time to caravan our little herd of Japanese cars back home. Stan had a great time driving the Beat. The engine really does make incredible sounds! I have no idea how we are going to top this lineup at the show next year, but it will be an interesting challenge!