The car enthusiast has, for the most part, come under attack in recent years. Whether it be the trend of crackdowns on vehicle modification across the country or the ever-increasing media coverage of the ugly sides of the hobby, it hasn't been a proud moment in the history of this community.
For what our opinion is worth...L’oe Show took a big step in putting all of that to rest Labor Day weekend. Entering its third year it comes as no surprise that the hype was big. Store displays were teased from the beginning of the week. Cars began rolling into town as early as Wednesday. By Friday the Euro enthusiast had a clear presence up and down High Street. It’s always cool to see a town full of enthusiasts and their cars, but it hits different when its your town.
The FCP Euro meet kicked off the weekend on Friday evening with good vibes, cool cars and a unique location complete with an antique carousel on full display. Urotuning followed that up with the official Cars and Coffee on Saturday morning which brought out a huge number of cars and really set the tone for the weekend. From our vantage point, Saturday evening was where it really turned special.
Red Horse Motoring Club, a local auto lounge here in town, hosted the Pottstown Nights Car Show on Saturday evening. Street parking began to fill in around 3pm…and the entire stretch of roadway was jam packed well before the scheduled 5pm closure with a beautiful mix of Euro cars and American muscle. And the vibes man, the vibes were so right. It’s like the old heads in the crowd showed everyone else how an event is supposed to go down. And everyone took notice like it was a graduate class. We heard of zero nonsense. No issues with police. No issues with those that call this place home. Just two groups of enthusiasts from different sides of the garage that came together to appreciate automotive culture. We parked, we walked the street, we gawked at fully restored 69 Camaros beside show quality VWs and Audis. An opportunity rarely offered in this age of niche shows and carefully manicured meets.
Speaking of meets…Saturday evening brought about an event with results that much exceeded expectations – our Golden Hour meet at the Route 100 overpass. As is the case with any good hosted event, you never think anyone is going to show up. Frank was sure to put that fear to rest quickly with his update of nearly 25 cars at the spot before the meet even began. And it only grew from there. We lost count around 60 cars, far beyond the number we anticipated. But it went off without a hitch. We tapped a few guys to grab their cameras; Phocus, Orihon, Xero and our own Frank W. Saylor, and a few more came up big to contribute their services unsolicited. Click here to see the full collection.
We started with a spot with thought embodied what Pottstown was all about – a little rough, a little forgotten, but a ton of potential when used the right way. We ended up with a meet that embodied what this community is at its core – an appreciation of our cars, the passion that fuels them and the people that share that passion with us. It was a beautiful thing to see. And a thing we hope to recreate, bigger and better, next year.
Sunday. Show day. If you want to talk about embodying Pottstown, look no further than this show. Vendor load in was 6am, show start was 10am, we rolled in around 7am to get to work. By 8:30 people were in the streets. By the time we pulled in with our booth car at 9:45, fifteen minutes before the official start time, it looked like the show had been going for hours. The streets were buzzing with a mix of enthusiasts and locals who hit the town to see what the hype was all about. And boy did it live up to it. All the notable industry vendors teamed with the 500+ registered cars to pack High and Hanover Streets and deliver a day rich with all the things that are right about this hobby. It was a proud moment for everyone involved.
It goes without saying, but we’ll say it anyway -- L’oe Show is a must attend show, and really a must attend weekend.
It had the vibes of the good times at a show we lost. In our opinion a show, and a weekend, we all need. L’oe weekend offered a glimpse back to that. What a feeling.