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Speedorama Toronto - "Freak Show"(??)

Canadian Rodder Rebuttal - by Frank Colgoni
The front page of the Driver's Edge II section of the Friday, February 2nd National Post was emblazoned with the title "Freak Show". Behind the title was a half-page-size colour photograph of the front end of a blown, Model A sporting a Deuce grill shell. This certainly got my attention.

Having been at the show, I recognized the car. On pages 6 and 7, of the above mentioned section, was an accompanying article penned by David Menzies. Gee, what a nice surprise (despite the title). I wouldn't have expected to see this covered in the Post. On to the article and I'll get back to "Freak Show" later.

The first paragraph deals with David's description of a 1993 Honda Prelude with a spoiler that made it look like "a cross between and Indy racer and a Cessna". I'm sure the owner would love (hate) that description. Paragraph three proclaims that "Speedorama is truly a freak show on wheels..." and that it is a "unique mixture of hot rods and hot bods." The bods relate to the stereotypical presence of you-know-what. e.g. Hooter girls, etc. I didn't give them a second glance (after the first lengthy glance). Hot Rods? I guess it would depend upon whom you asked. I'd say that I saw some. Therein lies the root of many heated discussions. Is the Prelude a hot rod? Is the late model Mustang or pro-street Cuda a hot rod? You know as well as I that most of the visitors to this site would say `no'. That's probably the topic of another article (in fact, it is).

David goes on to say that "Speedorama exists as the ultimate throwback automotive show, its stock in trade being bulked-up muscle cars..." and is "a combination of a male chauvinist's dream come true, and the embodiment of just about every heavy metal rock video ever produced." (??) Sorry David but I simply don't agree. I believe that if the National Post is going to publish an article about an event like Speedorama, then it should attempt to get at the spirit of it - circa 2001 not what it might have been in the '60's.

Let's start wit the notion of it being a "throwback" auto show. The dictionary defines throwback as "A reversion to a former type or ancestral characteristic". I know what David is getting at here but, in fact, Speedorama is becoming more and more contemporary rather than nostalgic. That is, more and more of the exhibited cars are modified late models. There were only a few "muscle" cars (i.e. Chevelle SS, etc.), a couple of customs, and other than Pat Cortese's nice display of cars that he brought in from Rochester, a handful of rods (as defined by "Us"). Speedorama is what it needs to be in 2001. That is, a venue for the dark side (as some would have it) of the auto enthusiast world - diametrically opposed to the Toronto Auto Show for instance.

Now, about "Freak Show". I'm not going to give you the dictionary definition of it. Suffice to say that it defines it as a term having its roots in the late 1800's and is associated with the seedier side of carnivals or sideshows. What is Speedorama then if not a freak show? I'd probably say that it an "odd assemblage". It's not about speed per se. If we were writing about Performance World (of the same genre), it wouldn't be about performance per se either.

These types of events have evolved into a melange of rods, custom, race cars, muscle cars, bikes, contemporary "street machines" and what have you. I suppose that the common characteristic is about being modified in some way. At one end, the mods are subtle, at the other, they're outrageous. Given that the indoor events are always held in the winter, the promoters are between a rock and you know where in terms of attracting a large amount of any one of the above categories and hence the strange brew. Given the turnouts at local "cruise nights", we know that if the logistics weren't so tricky, expensive and time consuming, that you could fill the same hall with any one of the examples above no problem.

In closing, while these events have a carnival like atmosphere at times, they're not freak shows. And, regarding the "bods", even the haughty Formula 1 "circus" injects a serious amount female pulchritude into pit lane. When was the last time you saw a male model standing on a turntable at an "international" auto show describing the latest car/concept from the big three?

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