Wow, is that a special edition Mustang??? They make those????

Wow, way to remind me once again that I live basically light-years from high concentrations of Jalops. Looks fun.

Would've been there but I missed the Greyhound from Frinton-On-Sea to the Redford Theater.

Prolly something to do with different time zones.

@Rust-MyEnemy: And that large body of salt water?

I had a lot of fun - meeting the faces behind the screen names was an interesting experience.

For any would be stalkers (or anyone who just happens to be curious) I've identified myself in the comment stream for the last group photo in the first gallery.

@TomAnderson:

There are hills and mountains between us
Always something to get over
If I had my way, then surely you would be closer
I need you closer

Oleta Adams All Rights Reserved.

What, no screen name-tags, or at least captions to tell us who's who?

Not nearly as scruffy a lookin' bunch as I'd have expected, though.

Glad to hear a few brave folks took up my idea and made themselves a Dept. Of Wert ID badge. Since I couldn't make it I watched the movie at home on a double bill with Two Lane Blacktop. Nexy day was the Cup race at Bristol. I was in a V8-induced catatonic state for two days, best high ever.

is the universal bad dress more attributable to michigan or car nerdiness?

@FreeMan: In any relationship, it's better to leave some mystery. Anyway, looks like it was a hoot! I hope somebody smuggled in a few cans of Old Milwaukee.

@camp6ell: I think I may have brought down the collective score. I'm going to have to work more at "blending". I don't get out much...

@Uncle_Bo: "Dept. of Wert" ID badge? Why do I now feel glad I was stuck in New York that weekend?

Pics or it didn't happen.

wow a mustang variant! please standy bye for my attempt at sarcastic AWE....

Even without Bullitt, that would have been worth the trip for the architecture at the Redford alone. Nice restoration/renovation.

@Ray Wert: CardesignMike and I were both carrying Wert pics for ID purposes. I can't recall if anybody else had your mug on hand, but I'll take another look through my pictures from the show.

I don't have any good shots of the Wert photos we were using to help find each other, but I'll email Ray a closeup from one of the group shots where you can almost see the picture of him I'm holding (the friend who was using my camera needs some more practise focusing). Maybe Mike has a picture of the Wert photo on the back of his ID card?

So just who was actually there from Jalopnik?

@camp6ell: It's mostly attributable to the friggin' cold weather. And speaking for myself, throw in color blindness and little sense of style.

@mytdawg: You made up for any wardrobe indesretion with that kickass Geo with the aero hubcaps.

Seeing that in the parking lot, I knew it belonged to a Jalop.

In the jalop lineup, im 3rd from the right. Save those Enzos!

It was such a good time, I'm goin back to see the Blues Brothers next week.

It was a good time and I'm sorry I didn't stay for after movie pictures but I wanted to make it home to Toledo after a long day. I did get caught on camera though, I'm almost mid shot of the crowd in the seats. My hand is over my mouth and I'm next to my son in the green shirt. The woman in the black and red was not with us, she was just a person who did not know the unwritten law of theater seating.

Would love to do it again. Do you think we could persuade the Redford to bring in more car related movies? From talking to the theater people it seemed to be a larger than normal turnout. There was another car related group there as well.

Lastly... how many people snickered at the name of the organist Newton "Maestro" Bates? I'll admit I did. The guy was amazing but Maestro Bates... on the organ?

_

How cool! Brilliant to use a picture of Ray; also brilliant to blow up your avatar to wear.
I think you are a surprisingly respectable looking bunch and I'm sorry I live so far away.

Ben did a terrific job of organizing the gathering and it was great to personally meet Jalopnik brothers and sisters. Bullitt on the big screen was the perfect cure for the automotive winter blahs. Hopefully, the next midwest meet up will be during weather that's conducive to bringing out some of our special cars.

Even seeing some of you identify yourselves is stranger than meeting a radio DJ in person.

@danio3834: The car is pretty much the mechanical equivalent of my wardrobe. But thanks, not everybody has a race Geo. Okay, it's probable that nobody has a race Geo. You'd have to hop up your hamster on crank or something.

I'd like to go see the Blues Brothers as well but I'm not sure I'll be able to go.

@junkman: Your special cars are a lot more special than my special cars

haha

The couple in the 4th picture illustrates that Jalopnik community events make the perfect "Date Night".

somebody should tally up all the special edition mustang variants....i think it must be some kind of record.

@mytdawg: One of my accounting professors has a race prepped Suzuki Swift, which is basically the same thing as a Geo. He bought it used off of the Canadian Suzuki rally team, so there may be a few more out there in the world.

I haven't seen the car in person, but he played some footage of him racing in Quebec at the beginning of a lecture. The car was race prepped from the factory - full seam welded, factory cage, race engine, etc. Pretty impressive ride for a guy in his late 60s, apparently he was a pro or semi-pro driver in the '70s and then retired for about 30 years before deciding to buy another car and get back into racing. His pit crew consists of his daughters and their husbands.

Yeah, Junkman, which of your JFG specials did you drive?

@Schweppes: I've got a old school Ford friend with a racing Pinto. It doesn't sound as nice as your friend's but it's 70's tech all the way. It has a cage and most of the glass is out, interior stripped except for a couple gauges and an old fiberglass racing seat.

Supposedly got a high-falutin head and cam in it but he doesn't have it dialed in yet. It doesn't idle well but it well may be that it's not supposed to. He bought it from another friend that had it in storage all these years.

I'll put up a couple pictures when he gets it out again. I printed off the rules to 24 hours of Lemons and gave it to him so we'll see if that goes anywhere. Not with the Pinto of course but I'm thinking we'll at least come watch the Toledo race. I'd rather see that than Indy.

@mytdawg:

A Lemons race at Toledo??? I think that is a concept who's time has come. Does anyone know anybody at Toledo Speedway that we could talk to about making such a thing come to pass?

Move aside ALMS for ALeMonsS.

_

@Novaload: With a 500 mile round trip on roads glistening with sodium chloride, the only real option was the Audi, unfortunately.

@Crash Chloride: It already is scheduled -
LeMONS DETROIT(ISH)
Date: September 13-14, 2008
Track: Toledo Speedway (Detroit), Toledo OH
Entry Deadline: Ten weeks before the race (5 July '08)

Well Hot diggity damn.

_

That looks like it was a great time. Wish I lived out there so I could have joined in on the fun.

Love that Save the Enzos shirt too, wish I got one of those when there were still some in my size left.