Low rumbles and the smell of engine fuel invaded Parque de Vida in Cortez Saturday afternoon as car enthusiasts brought out their finest creations to the city’s celebration of the 250th anniversary of the United States.
Hundreds of spectators gawked at what Mancos resident and muscle car owner Abe Archuleta dubbed “raw American power and class.” He and his wife displayed shiny customized cars, hers a white 2023 Chevy Corvette Stingray and his a red 2024 Chevy Corvette.
“Cars in American culture goes back as far as the first Ford ever produced,” Richard Terrill, who runs the show every Fourth of July, said.
Terrill, who also goes by Bumz Arodn, estimated that more than 70 cars registered for his show this year, including his own old school red truck.
“If us older folks don't show these younger people what we got, then we'll lose the car culture,” Terrill said. “That's why I include oldies, whether they shine or rust like mine.”
The wide variety of vehicles on display included Rafe O’Brien’s dwarf truck modeled after a 1936 Ford pick up. The squat little car, wrapped in stars and stripes, is outfitted with a motorcycle motor and built to race 70 to 80 miles per hour on dirt tracks.
“We'll run about 10 to 12 of us together in a race,” O’Brien said. “It’s super tight for a bunch of laps.”
His sister, Aislynn, will race the car at the Cortez Fairgrounds Speedway on July 25. The siblings come from a long line of car enthusiasts, although many of their ancestors had other motives when modifying cars.
“Technically, my family was bootleggers here in Mancos and Durango back in the day,” O’Brien said with a laugh. “The reason my great, great, great grandpa wanted to do that was because they needed to run from the cops faster.”
Randy Linscott displayed a particularly American car, a sleek 1955 Chevy complete with 1950s diner memorabilia scattered inside the trunk and a miniature version of the red and black car peeking out of the hood.
“We used to cruise Bob’s Big Boy back in the day,” Linscott recalled with a chuckle.
Amid the glamour of 1970s Los Angeles, Linscott was the president of a Chevelle Club, which restored old Chevrolet Chevelles.
Now living in Hesperus, he restored this Chevy by hand. When he originally bought it, he said it was infested with wasps and black widows, with tires ready to blow out any second. He enjoys displaying what now appears to be a shiny new ride.
Many other cars displayed were also brought back from the dead. James Parks, owner of Cozy Inn in Cortez, showed off his 1968 Mercury Cougar which he said sat around for 25 years in a garage before he restored it.
“We finally got back to it to build it into a really nice car,” Parks said, adding that he and his wife enjoy cruising it around town.
As a nice touch, the couple embroidered cats into the upholstery, matching the cats on the silver hub caps.
The fine details also didn’t pass by David Kennedy who displayed his father’s 1996 Mustang Cobra, which he said he saved from the “crusher” after his father proposed getting rid of the car. A small silver cobra statue arched its back from the grill of the burgundy vehicle.
Kennedy loves events like these, which he says gather good crowds and celebrate a classic part of American heritage.
“Hot rods have always been a part of American culture,” Kennedy said, adding of car shows, “It brings a variety of people, and gives them a peaceful place to show their own personal expression, as well as bring the community together.”
avanderveen@the-journal.com
