Popular car show returns to PNE with even more pizzazz
The car show put on at the PNE proved so popular in 2017 that it’s back again this year, and bigger than ever.
Running along Miller Drive — the historic street that meanders through the grounds of the PNE, past the Pacific Coliseum, Hastings Racecourse and the Agrodome — a couple dozen hot rods, classic and customized cars are being shown by Abbotsford’s 360 Fabrication.
“(The location) pays tribute to the history of the PNE,” fair spokeswoman Laura Ballance said Wednesday. “It’s one of the first streets in East Vancouver ... (and) named after one of the first presidents of the PNE.”
The Lower Mainland has more classic and luxury super cars per capita than anywhere else in North America, Ballance said. The show’s organizer, 360 Fabrication co-owner Rick Francoeur, said all the cars on display are road-ready.
“I could drive that million-dollar Lincoln back to Abbotsford,” he said.
Yes, there is a 1963 Lincoln Continental roadster, with a 1,250-horsepower Shelby Cobra Jet Ford engine, Bentley leather hand-stitched interior, a $13,000 Ferrari steering wheel, and a hand-built Focal sound system worth more than $100,000.
“Anyone with $400K can go buy a Ferrari. Not everybody can have one of these,” Francoeur said of the cars on display. “These cars are highly personalized. They’re built for that owner because it’s their memory, their expression.”
“We have an IndyCar ... some great Mopars, there’s a Sudden Delivery vehicle, which is a total custom vehicle . ... We have a ’51 Merc, that we pulled the cobwebs off of, we built that eight years ago and it looks fantastic. We have an amazing PowerWagon up there.”
Shapes of vehicles draw people, Francoeur said, but he also said the chrome, the smells, the sounds they make pull people in too.
“I think the shape of them is unique. In those (old) days, you could tell the difference between a Chevy and a Dodge based on how the car looked. You can’t do that today,” he said. “You get a big-block Chevy running down the road, it turns heads. Men and women, they can’t look away.”
That ’51 Mercury drew the eyes of PNE visitors Emily and Ted.
“It’s got the really, really low look, it’s gorgeous,” Emily said. “It looks like something Batman would drive.”
They also liked the Lincoln, but Ted laughed when asked if he’d like to drive it.
“I’d turn the wheel a little bit wrong and suddenly I’m in debt for the rest of my life.”
Another couple, Mateo and Emily, liked seeing classic cars up close. They were checking out a classic Camaro.
“You don’t see the restored ones like this much anymore,” Mateo said.