Bodhi and I took a 50-mile drive last Sunday to attend our biggest local mixed-marque car gathering, Caffeine and Carburetors in New Canaan, CT. Gumby attracted a lot of attention on a field of about 900 other interesting cars. I continuously marvel at the staying power of Bugeye Sprite popularity. With all the millions of dollars of machinery displayed at this event, the little Bugeye seemed to be a serious player and at times drew quite a crowd.
Driving to and from the event, I was also impressed to see three separate passengers film Gumby in motion on the highway. The most entertaining was a teenager who climbed all the way to the back of the family Blazer and filmed us at speed through the open tailgate window. People really do like seeing something different on the roadways and it was fun to share this car with everyone out for their Sunday drive.
In spite of all the cool Porsches and Lambos around the field, below is my favorite car of a the event, a 1960 Valiant Suburban. This machine is full of odd angles and curves and it seems completely remarkable that a designer presented this object to a board room of executives and they agreed to build it! In mass quantities!
1960 is our niche (this was the biggest year of Bugeye production). Check out the TV commercials below for a hearty dose of 1960 culture (station wagon commercials are later in the video).
My favorite accessory on the field was this locking gas cap, Land Rover style.
Favorite front end? This should come as no surprise.
And the favorite dog award goes to none other than Bodhi, resting at speed on the trip home under the hard tonneau, after a hard day at yet another car show.
