Carlisle Import Nationals

To be precise, it's actually the Carlisle Import and Kit Nationals, but personally, kit cars (with the exception of Lotus 7s and some tasteful 550 Spyders) don't do much for me. The event consists of two main parts: a show, and a swap-meet. A decade or more ago, the swap-meet portion was enormous and one could literally spend an entire day browsing. Anything from endless British-car sundry items to say, an engine block for a Lancia Aurelia could be found. Unfortunately, it seems that perhaps the internet and the gloomy economy have taken a significant toll. I saw every vendor at the swap in just a couple hours. The car show is still pretty decent though. Interestingly it always seems that there are large groups of certain makes and models while others remain notably absent. Saabs, Opels, Audis, and Citroens are always in ample supply, along with a fair selection of Italian cars. The British Leyland sports cars and Japanese make a fair-sized appearance as well. Porsches are few and far between as well as most more "up-market" brands. (For that, the Pittsburgh Vintage GP offers a lot, actually.) Many of the same cars show up from year-to-year as well. Essentially, it's worth the trip if you're willing to take a drive for a few hours, especially if you've never gone before, but probably not worth coming from across the country for any longer. (Sorry, Ronan)

Anyway, here are a few highlights from the show, but by no means everything notable. For my full album, see: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=3142452&id=9370809&l=8fe6f05953

Tatra 603 light-housing/"grille" - it's been for sale at the same vendor for years. $350 "firm":

Renault R5 Turbo - beats the hell out of a LeCar, eh?:

Lamborghini Islero - only 250 were made between 1968 and 1969:

A few contrasting Citroens - HY and SM:

1924 Citroen Type C 5HP - 856cc engine with, you guessed it, 5 (taxable) horsepower:

A couple of Saab 900s - these are just the convertibles too:

Very nice "bullnose" Saab 93:

It's not often you see this masterpiece of East-German engineering. The iconic Trabant:

One of the greatest ultra-luxury cars of all-time, the Mercedes Benz 600:

Auto Union DKW Junior DeLuxe - in those days, they were part of Daimler-Benz:

Some rare BMWs - Z1 and M1:

And finally, when was the last time you saw a 2002 convertible?

Again, be sure to check out all the photos from the show at the above link or on the RWP Facebook page.