Micro’s and Mini’s Invade Crystal Lake
And, I’m not talking about skirts.
There were teeny and tiny cars.
It was the Micro/Mini Car World Meet 2010 Chicago, USA
August 21-22.
The price is right.
Free.
Although parking is tight. Try the Metra commuter lots that are nearby.
There were rows and rows of little cars on the grounds. Click any image to enlarge it.
Rows and rows of little cars. In the open and under trees.
The only 928 Rute Roadster manufactured. It is owned by Ken Robbins of Missouri.
Lots were old. Some unrestored.
This 2008 Mercedes SMART car sports Wisconsin plates and is owned by Dan McCoy.
Some were new.
There were many vehicles designed to provide mobility to the handicapped.
There were even vehicles produced to provide transportation to those unable to walk. Some descendants can be found in grocery stores.
Now Brock Manufacturing's headquarters, this was Oak Manufatuing's headquarters when it was Crystal Lake's biggest employer.
There were more cars in the old Oak Manufacturing building than I have seen since Oak moved to Southern California. (The building contained my last legislative office.)
But the cars in the front parking lot weren’t just the Hondas that had been stored in the Crystal Lake lot near Friendship House.
With the price being right—FREE—there were numerous spectators.
My father loved old cars. He would be salivating at these black and yellow (give me a color, I thought it was cream before my son said it was yellow) roadsters.
Most were old. Lots were classics.
Are these minis or micros?
All in all, the cars looked like the type that President Barack Obama wants us all to drive.
This little car was driven from the Lane Auto Museum in Nashvillle, Tennessee.
Some were driven. The one above one of the eight cars that drove from Santa Monica Pier to Chicago via Route 66. You can re-live their trip here.
Here's a beautiful red convertible that must have come in a trailer.
Lots came in trailers. This one had to be pushed to its display spot.
A symbol of the origins of the cars in the exhibit. It looks like the logo on top.
This little car made it clear that the rally had cars from all over the world. “The Isetta and the globe were both donated by Bill and Betty Stewart of the Absorber and the Glosser (Clean Tools), who additionally donated 600 glosser for the goody bags!” according to host Lena Press.
Arnie Press, a host of the event is seen riding in a golf cart in front of the camera. He couldn't resist posing. Anyone who can identify the unidentified cars and their owners should tell me in the comments and I'll add the information to the story.
Maybe the globe was meant to imply that the cars had traveled all over the world.
There are stickers on this car from all over the world. The owner obviously has a keen sense of humor. The fake windup key proves that.
I thought this one was a mobile grill.
This stainless steel model won't need repainting.
Wrong. The grill turned out to be a truck with openings to cool the motor.
The tire was a dead giveway that this was not a grill.
There were cars that were more than cars, however.
Didn't James Bond drive one of these into the Carribean?
Look at these combinations of cars and boats.
I don’t want to show all of the cars on display to you. Then, why would you bother to visit them on Sunday?
But, there’s one more with a local connection. Look closely and you will perhaps recognize a Crystal Lake city official next to the car he races on weekends.
That's Cystal Lake's Director of Public Works sitting under a tent with his wife. He's not taking any chances that it might rain or the sun get blazing hot.
Hosts for the event. who worked four years to pull it off, were
- Ken & Sylvia Weger
- Arnie & Lena Press
- Larry & Marybeth Claypool
- Diane Fitzgerald & Burt Richmond
