The smells of barbecue, cotton candy and motor oil were thick as people gathered Friday night for the fourth annual Lindon Collision Center antique car show.
One of the show’s big attractions was a racing dragster vehicle. At 8:30 p.m. the owners started the dragster and revved the engine twice. The deafening sound had almost everyone in the crowd clutching their ears and made a few small children cry.
Alex Strasburg, an American Fork resident who works with the dragster, said the brief display cost the team $1,100.
In addition to the dragster, the center’s show featured many antique vehicles, some almost 80 years old.
Marcia McAffe, a Provo resident, came to support her son, who had a 1956 Chevy Bel Air on display.
“My brother bought this car brand-new in 1956,” McAffe said. “When Marty, my son, turned 16 he restored it, and now he takes it to car shows.”
The Bel Air has won numerous awards at shows around Utah, including the Salt Lake CIty Autorama.
“Going to shows and restoring the car has been a fun family project,” McAffe said.
The center had free food, a bounce house and live music for people to enjoy as they walked around and viewed the cars.
“We like to have (the show) to get good friends, good employees, good customers and beautiful cars all together,” said Eric Read, owner of the center.
Around 350 people attended the first car show four years ago. Since then, the event has grown in popularity as more car owners hear about the center and bring their vehicles to display. Read said more than 4,000 people attended Friday.
Jordan Lee, a recent BYU graduate from New Zealand, went to the center’s car show for the first time in 2011 and has returned every year since.
“Being from New Zealand, we don’t have American cars so by coming here I get to see cars I don’t normally see,” Lee said.
Lee said the luxury cars, diverse crowd and free food make the trip to Lindon something he looks forward to in the spring.
In addition to wanting customers and Utah residents to enjoy the cars, Read said he and his staff host the show to inform consumers that body shops are a reputable and solid choice for their car repair needs.
Read said, “We want people to know that body shops are a good place and not to be scared to come here to have your car fixed.”
