–By Andy Lindberg –
Maybe five or six hundred cars were on display at the August 21 Minneapolis Mile show at the Convention Center. Of these about twenty huddled around the InterMarque banner. Our group, each of whom had received complimentary entry passes from Dan Balto of the Minnesota Car Enthusiasts Club, included a few Mercedes, a couple MGBGTs, a TR6, a TR8, an XKE, a 2CV, a Metropolitan, an Alfa Spider and GTV, two Loti (apparently Colin Chapman couldn’t decide what the plural for Lotus should be), a Volvo, a BMC Mini, a Nissan Figaro, and a Saab.
In addition to our group, there were some other interesting cars scattered about the convention floor. Some highlights from these autos included:
- A half dozen or more cars painted in camouflage green and dark yellow. (These could be valuable for deer hunting or if war breaks out in the Boundary Waters)
- A mildly customized Datsun 510 sitting next to a 280Z (why are Miatas the only Japanese cars to show up at InterMarque events?)
- Then there were a couple Lexi whose tires stuck out at the bottom like life preservers at a 30 degree angle. If this was to make it ride lower, Citroën did it better with the DS in the ‘50s; if it was to lessen the cursed jacking-up problem of swing axle suspensions, I’d be willing to bet that no Lexus ever had a swing axle suspension.
- A Vanderhall trike. This is like a Morgan3 but with a Chevy Cruze turbo engine. It had an old school racing paint scheme, and its owner did the interior woodwork so John Engstrom talked to him about ideas for his Mini.
Did I mention that we won some awards? Larry and Barb Henle’s MGBGT got one. This is the yellow touring car whose stickers/decals announce it has been almost everyplace in North America. So did Aaron Courteau for his stunning 1983 Lotus Esprit. And, Ta-Da, guess who got 1st place Other Euro? Modesty forbids me from answering, but let’s just say it was the only car displayed with a Dala horse and Uff Da hat on its roof.
