An Unexpected Beginning to the Car Show Season
Displaying my Chevelle at the Columbus International Auto Show has been one of the highlights of 2023 for me. It was mid-March in Ohio, and I hadn’t seen the sun in months. The Chevelle was hibernating in my garage. Car events were still a few months away, or so I thought. I heard my phone vibrate and looked down to see an unexpected text. My friends at Columbus Cars and Coffee had invited me to be a part of their display at the Columbus Auto Show. What an awesome opportunity!
That afternoon I woke the Chevelle from its winter slumber. Checking it over for any problems or leaks that may have developed during its winter storage. I had to siphon gas out of the fuel tank due to a rule requiring a quarter-tank or less to be on display. This was a questionable task due to the lack of accuracy of the Chevelle’s fuel gauge. I was skeptical as to whether or not they would check our tanks or enforce this rule, but just to be safe I siphoned gas out until the gauge read 1/4 tank.
Ohio Weather Complicated the Load-in
We were scheduled to meet at the Greater Columbus Convention Center in the morning on Tuesday before the show. I awoke that morning to a disappointing surprise. A light snow had fallen overnight. We delayed the load-in until later that afternoon. Thankfully the sun came out, the snow melted, and the roads were dry. I typically don’t drive the Chevelle in the spring until I’m 100% sure rain has washed away any traces of road salt, however, I wasn’t missing out on the opportunity to be a part of the show display. I did my best to dodge the heavily salted areas and kept the car clean on the five-mile trip there.
As we entered the building the show staff did in fact check that our fuel gauges read a 1/4 tank. We then spent about an hour moving cars in and positioning them in the display. It was great to see some friends and cars I hadn’t seen in a few months. We had fun catching up as we parked our cars, unhooked battery cables, and finalized the set-up. After all the cars were parked, Esoteric Detail gave them a final wipe down. All the cars looked amazing!
A Fun Opportunity and a Great Experience
I spent a great deal of time at the show from Thursday through Sunday, taking pictures and hanging out with friends. After the show closed on Sunday afternoon, we all jumped in our cars and headed our separate ways. The first stop I made on the way home was the gas station. It doesn’t take the 454 very long to suck down a quarter tank of gas and the needle was bouncing on the E as I rolled up to the pump.
Being a part of the Columbus International Auto Show was an awesome experience I won’t soon forget. I had a great time from load-in to load-out. It was great to see friends, check out the other displays, and talk cars with people during the show. I have to give a big thanks to Columbus Cars and Coffee for including my Chevelle in the display. It was an honor to represent them at the show and to be included with so many incredible cars!
