News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
One kid thought this Bentley racer was from “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang!”
Some date back to the early days of the automobile industry. Some are paragons of the golden age of style in the 1930s and '40s. And none of them are museum pieces - they are all roadworthy representatives of a past that continues to live on the American highway.
The past was very much present last Thursday at Black Butte Ranch as dozens of vintage automobiles rolled in for a lunch break at The Lodge. They were all part of the Pebble Beach Motoring Classic, which wends its way each August from Washington to Pebble Beach, California - with a stopover in Sisters.
There were millions of dollars in restored vintage cars parked on the lawn near The Lodge - from a Packard 12 to historic Bentley racers, from a Cadillac that looked like something John Dillinger drove to sleek Jaguars. The Hispano-Suiza luxury cars of the 1930s were well-represented.
Sisters resident Pete Kershaw was one of the many onlookers who studied the glorious vehicles as they glinted in the Central Oregon sunshine. He noted one of the signal aspects of the Pebble Beach Motoring Classic: these extraordinarily valuable vehicles aren't just for show - they're on the road.
"What's astonishing is that they didn't come down here on a truck," he said. "They drove down from Washington."
And later in the day, some of these classics could be seen tooling around Sisters, with some taking a side trip up the McKenzie Pass.
A sizeable crowd gathered around the vehicles as the drivers headed into The Lodge for lunch.
The cars evoked not only automotive history, but some beloved literary icons as well. One onlooker pointed out a Bentley racing car c. 1920.
"My granddaughter looked at this one and said 'Oh! This is from Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang!'" she said.
The owners often purchase the vehicles in rough and rundown condition, then invest thousands of dollars into restoration. Original parts must be scrounged up and they often don't come cheap. The chrome and steel shine, the paint glows rich and deep, and the interiors are magnificent.
Ron Danz drove his Jaguar onto the lawn with his wife in the shotgun seat. He described the luxurious wood-and-leather interior as a classic "English interior." That's what his wife likes.
And, he said, "If you have a wife who likes to do cars with you, you should go with that."
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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