Emerson Dameron

The flier sports black text on a bright yellow piece of paper, a color scheme favored by some advertisers for its kinship with road signs. It advertises a '68 Buick Electra, a land yacht. The car has 99,000 miles on it, but the transmission, fuel tank, lines and carburetor have been rebuilt. It has a "U.S. Army" decal on the left door. "An old man owned it," says a fellow in sunglasses as he withdraws a stack of these fliers. "I'm selling it. That's why I'm here. You want to hear it run? I'll be here all day." He wants $5,900.

It's Sunday morning on Labor Day weekend, and despite some spillover from a street fair on Division, Humboldt Park is not crowded and seems even more huge than usual. The parking lot behind the boathouse hosts a variety of cars, but there's still plenty of room for more. It's a bit like a dog show, except it's for cars instead of dogs, and cars almost definitely don't have souls. At least they all get along.

Made U Look Classics, a "non-profit antique car club," hosts the exhibition. They've been putting these Sunday shows together all summer. During the week, they sometimes venture into the suburbs, where a good car show can dominate an entire town. In Humboldt Park, they're not so obvious.

Near the edge of the lot, several men gawk at a 1923 Ford T-Bucket with a sign reading "touch with your eyes and look with your hands." Closer to the center, fuzzy dice hang from the rearview mirror of a lemon-yellow Chevy Impala. A man steps out of an Oldsmobile and glances around suspiciously. His license plate reads "RARE 88," and he's selling his car, too. Members of the "Hit 'Em Hard Car Club" stand around a grill in matching green t-shirts. A few rambunctious children stray from the lot and head for the lagoon.

As heavy machinery goes, cars are easy to anthropomorphize. Headlights look like eyes. Bumpers look like mouths. Cars have distinct behavior patterns and sonic vocabularies. But the sort of people you find at car shows are more serious than most about bringing their cars in line with their personalities. Many of these hoods are airbrushed, often depicting a nude woman cuddling with a monster, sometimes reading "Beauty and the Beast." One custom job has spinning seats and a mirrored interior--its name is "Twisted Metal."

A DJ spins frantic dance music, heavy on samples and sirens. Soon, more cars will arrive, and massive amplifiers will broadcast thudding hip-hop, drowning him out. An '83 Chevy Malibu on hydraulics, a '52 Deluxe with dolls in the back seat, and many, many Olds Cutlasses will gridlock the lot. As noise from Division increases, attention will turn to the trophies on stage. The man with the Electra will continue to chat up passersby, raising his voice to be heard over the booming systems.

Right now, though, it's still quiet enough to hear a distant car alarm.

(2006-09-12)

Also by Emerson Dameron

Cooking Class
"I guess it's my job to teach you how to cook meth," cracks John Martiyy of the National Jewish Medical Center. He's surrounded by matchbooks, coffee strainers, packets of Sudafed and other domestic commonalities used in do-it-yourself methamphetamine production
(2006-06-06)

Big Wheels
Earlier this year, Fat Tire, an amber ale concocted by the New Belgium Brewing Company in Fort Collins, Colorado, got a ceremonious rollout in Chicago
(2006-05-16)

Circle Jerk
"This entire presentation has been in English," complains a man in the front row. A sparse but ethnically varied crowd sits in Pilsen's Mexican Fine Arts Center, listening to CTA representatives discuss plans for the Circle Line project
(2006-05-09)

Racing in the Streets
Sylvan Goodman, owner of the Piggly Wiggly supermarket chain, introduced the modern shopping cart in 1937. At first, it didn't take off. Men found it emasculating; women found it evocative of a baby carriage. So Goodman hired "greeters" to pitch them to customers. A smart man, to be sure, but he probably didn't anticipate this
(2006-03-14)

Barflies United
(2006-01-24)

King for a Minute
(2006-01-10)

Pour Showing
(2005-11-15)

Arts Attack
(2005-05-17)

The Last Howl
(2005-05-03)

Getting Personal
(2005-04-19)

Soul Vegetarian
(2005-03-15)

Moto
(2005-03-01)

about Newcitychicago | about Newcity magazine | advertising | privacy policy | FAQ | employment