The Classic Car Show

Last weekend, which was Labor (Labour) Day weekend here, we went to a car and bike show – just a small one put on by a local organization and I must say, Americans love their old cars!

The thing is, they don’t love them in the same way British car enthusiasts love ‘em.  It seems to me in Britain a lovely old (classic) car is one that has been taken care of  since new, kept in original condition and given lots of loving care.  Basically, how your granddad treats his car.

In America, the old car needs updating with all new paintwork, chrome, souped up engines and new interiors. Very big and brash.  Definitely not your grandparent’s car!

The photos here were taken last year in England when we went to a small village fete and there was a car show which looked like a bit of an afterthought.  It was as if a few old fellows decided to give their family car a bit of a wash and polish and drive to the village green.  They are small and compact and very “British.” Look at the little mini, for example!! [Bless]  

Bubble Car!!

And then we have the Americans…. Big, bold and very, well, American.

Is this a boat in disguise?

These things are HUGE.  They’re like bloody boats and they’re not the kind of thing you see driving down the freeway every day.  Definitely not family cars.  It was all very American Graffiti. 

They were shiny, colorful and chrome-y (not sure that’s an actual word, but it works).   It didn’t look like many of them had their original color schemes either.  

Bit ugly, to be honest

Then of course, there's a fascination with flames...

Why the duck?

Old cars with very new paint...

Even a Rolls Royce which managed to look like an American boat.  I have never seen an uglier Rolls Royce in my life.  Because, you know, I'm always travelling in style (not)..

I don't like that colour

I could not even begin to imagine how any of these cars could use the roads in England.  They are so massive and I expect the turning ratio would just not work on those narrow country roads.  

They would get stuck on a corner and end up surrounded by sheep, causing a backup of irate motorists politely shaking their fists and grumbling about the queue.  I know, an unlikely scenario but it just sounds so very British, doesn’t it?

It was nice seeing all these cars, but the weather was so hot and the car park was sweltering so the very best part of the day was going into the bar for a beer!  Obviously.

Can I Have An "L" Please?

When I arrived in California, I was told I could only drive with my British license for ten days… yes 10 whole days.  I didn’t even have any hope of getting a car within ten days, let alone the savvy and knowledge to take the driving test.  I wasn’t exactly sure I actually wanted to drive, given the fact everything was backwards and I’m not very good at remembering my right from my left.  But this being California, there was absolutely no way I could possibly survive without a car, so I had to get on with it and take the plunge.  Now, I’m not that brilliant at taking tests and I am ashamed to say I had to take my driving test five times before I passed in England – and that was before the written part was introduced.  I put it down to the fact I had been practicing for so long I had picked up some really, really bad habits that the test examiners just did not appreciate.  *smile* 

Yes, I am a learner!

There is a written test in California, but after reading the test book/handout thingy the test was quite easy because it’s multiple choice!  Just choose the weirdest answer and you’ve got it (apparently).  You don’t have to study the Highway Code for six months here…heck, you don’t even have to know how to drive to take the written portion. 

Then came the actual driving test.  I remembered what it was like in England having had so many opportunities to take that damn test and I must say, I was a little nervous.  So there we were, sitting in the car and the examiner tells me the usual “We will drive and I will ask you to make turns and if I slap my board onto the dashboard you will do an emergency stop..blahdy, blahdy, blah..”  Pretty much the usual, I thought.  So off we went – out of the test centre, up the road, around the corner… emergency stop… U-turn and then…. Nothing!  Oh dear, I thought, I've failed (again).  But no, it was back to the test centre where he told me I passed.  Wait, what?  That was it?  No 3 point turn or reversing around a corner?  No pulling away on a hill?  This has got to have been the easiest driving test in the history of the world.  W.O.W.

Fast forward a few years and it was my daughter's turn. There's not an overabundance of driving schools here, so the teaching bit came down to me. This was all very well and good, but then I realized there are no such thing as "L" plates in the good old US of A. I'd already known how to drive, so the thought hadn't crossed my mind when I was taking my test. But oh no, here there is no way of knowing whether the person driving in front of you is actually behind the wheel for the very first time, or if they are just an idiot.  [and quite frankly, there are quite a few idiots out there]

So this leaves me a little confused.  America seems to mollycoddle their children until they are adults – They don’t leave school until they are (at least) 18 and then on to college where you are still regarded as a child until you are (at least) 24,  they can’t drink, do drugs, sex and rock and roll or vote until they are 21 and yet they are allowed to get behind the wheel of a car at the age of 15.5  They have pretty much no training and there is nothing to warn other drivers that they are a learner and possibly only began driving half an hour ago – and yet they are on the freeway! *shudder*

If there ever was a need for “L” Plates then it’s here – and not just the little red “L” we get in England.  I think there needs to be a huge fluorescent sign on the back of every car saying “Baby Driving” (which can be switched out for the ubiquitous “Baby on Board” sign that everyone believes they need until their 'baby' is 26).