Hope S&S don't tear me up for (C) and so ... here's the article for anybody who may not have seen it .. I've taken a picture of p. 1&2 and put it with the rest of the pics from today ... hope I don't have too many typos in here ...
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Pure muscle
Street machine enthusiasts rev up at show in Germany
by Sean E. Cobb
Kaiserslautern bureau
Kaiserslautern, Germany - The 17th Annual "Cars are the Stars" street machine car show got off to a wet start Friday.
But after some washing, waxing and polishing later in the day - and more on Saturday - it was time to shift into full gear.
Friday's rain might have kept people from registering early, but organizers were still hoping for a record number of participants.
"Things are going pretty good," said Raymond Wilson, 415th Base Support Battalion Auto Skills Center chief. "We should have about 300 cars for the weekend."
The car show is being held at the Kaiserslautern Family Park on Pulaski Barracks and runs through Sunday. The cost is $3 for adults. Children 12 and under are free.
"We are expecting more cars than ever because there are no other car shows going on right now," said Vic Crawford, the auto skills shop assistant supervisor. "We like to see new people and the support of familiar faces of some of our annual participants. We have some people who have been to every car show since we started."
The car show, a mix of automobiles, vintage cars, trucks and vans from all makes and models from around the worl, brings people from around Europe.
"We want to represent F-Body Europe," said Army Sgt. Jack Fountain of the 21st Theater Support Command. Fountain drives and shows a 1999 bright red Z28 Camaro with an LS-1 350-horsepower engine.
He is a member of the F-Body Europe Car Club, which has about 40 members across Europe. F-Bodies are the body style used for Camaros and Firebirds since 1969.
"This is also a good opportunity to have a meeting and show off our cars," Fountain said. The club expects six members to show. "The cool thing about F-Bodies is you get the bast bang for your buck powerwise," said Army Spc. Randy Enger, another member of the club. He drives a 1992 blue Z28 Camaro convertible with a modified 350-horsepower engine. "You get the throaty rumble of an American V-8."
The car show is also a way to see old friends, said Bart Crabbe of Brussels, Belgium.
"We come now for five years," he said. "This is a different type of show than we have in Belgium. We like the guys with the cars here, we like talking with them."
Crabbe drives an aquamarine 1957 Chevrolet Bel-Air with its original engine. He is attending the car show with his wife, Mia. They brought their friends Johnny and Monique Banaan, who drive a 1974 Corvette Stingray.
"We like camping," Crabbe said. "We are not here for the trophies and prizes, we are here for the fun."
Some people are here for the 56 trophies and $1,700 in prizes. Competitions will be held in custom, stock, pro-street, street machine and hot rod categories, Wilson said. Trophies also will be passed out for best paint, best engine and best interior. "We even have a hard luck trophy," Wilson said. "That's for someone who had some serious mechanical problems and barely made it to the show."
People who have any interest in cars should come to the show, Crawford said.
"The thing about our car show is we have everything," he said. "We have Opels to old-timers. We are not set up for any particular car club - we like having them all."
