Carlisle Import & Kit Nationals This Weekend

pug one

The Carlisle Import Nationals are almost upon us, and if you haven’t ditched family plans in favor of sneaking off to southeastern Pennsylvania on the weekend of May 16th, now is the time to make up a story. No, let’s not use anything obviously made-up this time, like surgery for that sports injury from back in college that’s been bothering you, cause college was twenty years ago and you already used that excuse to get out of Uncle Irving’s fourth (or was that fifth?) wedding. And c’mon, that wasn’t a sports injury – you slipped on some barf walking out of the dorm at 3am and broke one of your toes. And no, the ol’ wisdom teeth removal excuse won’t work, cause then you’ll have to fake a swollen face for the next two weeks. Let’s just go with “I gotta go to that one important industry conference”.

And let’s face it, the Carlisle Import Nationals are an industry conference. This industry conference will, after all, consist of presentations, tutorials, seminars, speeches, as well as occasional Picard facepalms of varying duration as a result of what that guy did to his car. Impromptu Polka dancing contests have also been known to break out, but those are rare. This, ahem, industry conference and seminar will take place in Carlisle, Pennsylvania from May 17th through May 19th, but as I’ve mentioned before Sunday is not the best day to attend as that is the day that everyone drives back home. Let’s take a look at some highlights from last year’s edition of this totally important industry conference that you just can’t miss.

pug two

The Peugeot 406 was popular hit overseas, but its sharp handling and elegant design had turned off many American buyers, and only one example was sold at deep discount in the US after gathering dust in Peugeot’s Manhattan dealership for two years straight. The rest of them, thousands in all, were shipped back to Europe. Yes, I made that all up. No, you still can’t have one, though our Canadian readers can start bringing these over in just three short years. Start saving now.

gee ess

This was a nice and well kept early GS in a rare color. Citroens at Carlisle always enjoy a solid turnout, though last year’s turnout was not as great as expected. Still, you’re bound to see upwards to 20 Citroens any given year, including rare models like the GS (which was never officially imported) and the XM. Add to that a generous helping of SMs, CXs, and 2CVs, and Carlisle hosts the second largest French car gathering on the east coast after the annual Citroen Rendezvous event in upstate NY, which is coming up as well.

opel wagon

One of several Opels at Carlisle, this was a nice and tidy Kadett wagon. Every few years the Opel club holds its nationals event at Carlisle, and even when it doesn’t, the Opel turnout still easily surpasses 40 cars. Last year was no exception, and showgoers were treated to a nice display of many Opel models, as well as an obligatory late-model Saturn rebadged as an Opel.

reno nevada

The Renault club has been gaining steam recently, and for 2012 they not only had a solid turnout of more than fifteen cars, but they also had an indoor pavilion with AMC-Renault exhibits all to themselves. Last year I felt the Renault club had the best presentation and organization after the Saab contingent, which completely dominated everything for at least the fifth year in a row. The Renault turnout was not as large, but the club’s presentation of their cars’ heritage was outstanding. I only hope their footprint at Carlisle continues to grow at the same pace.

lancia

For some reason Italian cars are not as numerous at this event as one would expect, but I write it off as Alfa Romeo and other Italian marques preferring their own single-marque shows. So for the past few years that I have been attending the event, the number of Alfa Romeos and Fiats has stayed quite level at only a couple dozen cars. There are surprises here and there, like a cross-country traveling Fiat Panda 4×4 on UK plates, a Lancia Beta, or a late-model Fiat Barchetta that had clearly overstayed its welcome, but for the most part the numbers of Italian cars have stayed pretty modest.

deek

One of the cars you probably thought you’d never see at a stateside car show (aside from Chinese limousines of the 1980s) would be DKWs. For the past few years the admittedly small DKW community has had a small turnout but great organization and presentation at their tent. The number of cars has stayed in the single digits, but that has more to do with the vast geographical spread of the club’s members, some of which actually come down from Canada. If you own a DKW and don’t own a trailer for it, you’re probably not going to risk a journey over 200 miles on our nations interstates. Or any nation’s interstates.

metro 4

British cars are another segment of Carlisle’s attending automobiles that are somewhat underrepresented, but what they lack in number they tend to make in sheer rarity of exhibited cars. Take, for instance, this 1986 MG Metro Turbo, or the Ontario-plated Aston Martin Lagonda that appeared at Carlisle the previous year. There are always a couple dozen Triumphs and MGBs, but no classic Land Rovers at all or anything from Daimler, Rover, Bentley or any other mass-market or bespoke English rides. Which is a shame, but I understand completely that classic British car owners prefer to go to single-marque events or even to single-model events.

beemer

Carlisle attracts furrin’ car enthusiasts from all over the country (as well as our neighbor north of The Wall), so it’s not unusual to see cars hat have traveled over a thousand miles to get here. And one of the furthest traveled cars from last year was this BMW 5er Alpina B10. Vancouver, in the northern reaches of Westeros, has become the unlikely home of Alpina-tuned BMWs being brought over from Japan, where they apparently were a thing not too long ago.

barketta

I don’t know what this is, so let’s skip this one.

saab 96

One club that completely dominates Carlisle is Saab (alternatively spelled with angry capslock). Last year the SAAB! contingent featured a tent more than a thousand hundred feet long with lots of exhibits (and more importantly, barbecue) inside, dwarfing not only all other car clubs, but the entire western half of the field. With more than 230 cars present, SAABs made up close a fifth of all automobiles at Carlisle 2012. No small feat, for a marque that is no longer in production. The smell of the food alone made me wish I had driven a SAAB to Carlisle, and one of these years I might have to resort to borrowing a 900 friend’s Subaru and taping some SAAB badges on it. Close enough, right?

four thousand

After the Swedish car contingent (and by that I just mean Saabs and SAABs), German cars enjoy a solid presence (and by that I mean Audis). All other German marques, BMWs included, manage only a token presence with a dozen cars each at the most. Once again, I write off this token appearance as a result of clubs and club members going to their own single-marque gatherings. However, Audis at Carlisle appear to be thriving, and last year they achieved a turnout of approximately a hundred cars, which included this nicely restored 4000 Coupe.

Massive Carlisle Import Nationals 2012 gallery below:

 

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15 responses to “Carlisle Import & Kit Nationals This Weekend”

  1. Devin Avatar
    Devin

    Fiat Barchetta! They're so pretty.

    1. Vavon Avatar
      Vavon

      Yes. And one of the last cars to have cool steel wheels…
      <img src="http://www.varbak.com/franceimages/photos-fiat-barchetta-orange-nb25832.jpg"&gt;

    2. Felis_Concolor Avatar
      Felis_Concolor

      Fiat's Barchetta was my absolute favorite starting car in the seminal Metropolis Street Racer, the Dreamcast street racing simulation which put Bizarre Creations on the map. Dan said passing 15 cars was impossible, so I laid down for 17 and played 1 of my 3 jokers. Clearing that with a half second to spare unlocked 3 full tiers in the game and grudging respect from my friend that yes, in the right hands it could kick ass. Combining that car with the Tokyo streets courses was my favorite time in the game.

  2. Rust-MyEnemy Avatar

    Some lovely things here, I'd forgotten how lovely the 406 coupe is until I saw it in this context. I'd love one but fear it might feel exactly like the 406 Saloon to drive. That is to say perfectly OK.

    1. Rover1 Avatar
      Rover1

      As I wrote in a comment previously, ' Car ' magazine described these "as looking like a Ferrari body draped over the mechanics of the best mid-size car -and actually, what's wrong with that ? " 'Autocar' magazine got theirs signed by Andrea Pininfarina at the factory in Grugliasco.
      I see these as the logical market successor to the Lancia Gamma Coupe, their styling is similarly timeless and simultaneously evocative of it's era, as was of course the 504 Coupe.
      I have now started looking for one to add to my collection,(segues nicely between my aforementioned Lancia and my Peugeot 605 ).

  3. FuzzyPlushroom Avatar
    FuzzyPlushroom

    "After the Swedish car contingent (and by that I just mean Saabs and SAABs)…"
    Oi! The Volvo guys (of all flavours – the nuts from Turbobricks, the wankers from Volvospeed, and a smattering of other groups) show up, too, just not nearly as obsessively as Saab guys seem to.
    Me, I'm hoping to show up next year – in a Saab – and see how hard the Turbobrickers laugh.

    1. Jay_Ramey Avatar
      Jay_Ramey

      You totally should, cause like I said: if bringing a Saab gets you a ticket to the food line in their club tent, then it's worth it.
      I've thought about asking a local Saab dealer to let me drive one of their still unsold 2010MY cars down to Carlisle, ya know, for promotional purposes, but that' like a 1000 mile round trip so they're not gonna be able to write it off because there is no one left to reimburse them. Plus its going to need detailing afterwards after 1000 miles of insect impacts.

      1. mallthus Avatar
        mallthus

        May I suggest…<img src="http://blog.gopenske.com/wp-content/uploads/Penske-car-carrier1.jpg&quot; width=600>

  4. mdharrell Avatar

    "One of the cars you probably thought you’d never see at a stateside car show… would be DKWs."
    In the Pacific Northwest I expect to find them next to the hot-rod Subaru 360s.
    <img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7281/8742773708_1666298287.jpg&quot; width="500">

    1. Rover1 Avatar
      Rover1

      How is it that MD Harrell doesn't own of those? Are they too cute? : )

  5. Garland137 Avatar
    Garland137

    I'll be there on Friday.
    In all likelihood I'll drive there in my 900, though I won't stay long enough to bother putting it on the showfield. Plus I still need to finish reskinning the door panels. Anybody know where to get ulphostery staples?
    BTW, to reiterate: do NOT go on Sunday. I made that mistake one year and the place was pretty much a ghost town.

    1. Jay_Ramey Avatar
      Jay_Ramey

      +1 Learned that the hard way.

  6. mallthus Avatar
    mallthus

    OK. Let me post what I hope is the definitive comment on the Saab/SAAB debate.
    The original company was "Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolag" (Swedish for "Swedish Aeroplane Company Limited")
    Commonly, aktiebolag is shortened to AB, in the same way that, in English, we shorten incorporated to Inc. and limited to Ltd.
    The acronym for Svenska Aeroplan AB is, of course, SAAB….in all caps and without periods, as it's an acronym and not an abbreviation.
    That's all well and good until 1965, when SAAB renames itself from Svenska Aeroplan AB to Saab AB. Note that the name of the company is now Saab, rather than it being an acronym for something else.
    So, if you want to be factually accurate in your usage of one over the other, do this:
    1964 and earlier models are SAABs.
    1965 and later models are Saabs.

  7. Warren Avatar
    Warren

    Hey Jay, I'm here with Exomotive in building F. Come check us out! We're right across from Factory Five with a couple of Exocets, including our first US-built prototype frame. If you come late in the day, we might even be able to sneak you out in a car to putt around in the empty camping area next to the building. Warren@Exomotive.com

  8. dwbf11 Avatar
    dwbf11

    I spoke with the owner of that 406 at Carlisle last year…it definitely did not come from a Manhattan Peugeot dealership. Not sure where you got that from.