On September 18th, I attended my very first car show in Michigan. I was invited to Grand Rapids by KD- the King of Detroit Car Shows to check out his Battle of the States show. Even though his shows are usually in Detroit, I still had a an opportunity to see what Detr-- I mean Michigan (remember I'm from New York and I just automatically think Detroit equals the entire state of Michigan) has to offer.
So I pulled up to US 131 Motorsports Park in a town called Martin (let's just say that there were more people at the show than the entire population of Martin) and was I surprised...
The only exposure of Michigan car culture is whatever cars showed up to MidwestFest4. But KD kept telling me that Michigan actually has customized cars. Thank goodness I listened to him because I saw a lot of vehicles that I've never seen before. Let's talk about a couple of them...
First up, this Buick Regal that's called "The Buick of All Evil". It's not exactly evil, but let's just keep going. Upgraded engine, sitting on Status Wheels, interesting interior (I couldn't imagine sitting on those seats)
I did run into a familiar face... Stunna Reese's Chevy Impala fastback. Dracula is currently a flatbed queen because he's upgrading her motor.
Wise words was printed on the front of this Chevy Impala Wagon. I noticed that Michigan absolutely loves Chevy Malibu's. I'm going to talk about three...
This first one was the Green Machine, which I've actually seen in Atlanta at Certified Summer Car Show. I didn't get too close because the guys were prepping her for the race.
The second Malibu was an orange one in which every inch of this car has been either restored or upgraded. And might I add, this Malibu is female owned, driven, AND raced.
The third Malibu was a chocolate brown with a gold pearl to it. When I approached it, no one was around but the owner and his friends. Then I asked him if I could see what was under the hood. Once he popped the hood, it felt like everybody ran over to see both on foot and by golf cart.
The owner committed to the theme of this car. Even down to the Jordan jersey he was wearing.
Saw a LOT of A body cars, which was expected.
Saw a lot of G body cars, which was expected.
Saw a lot of F body cars, which wasn't expected. I think the majority of the F Bodies are hanging out in the Midwest.
I did see some donks... and they were gorgeous and flawless.
I really love the color mauve/dusty rose like what's on this bike. It's not a common color, but it looks GREAT on the RIGHT vehicle. Not every vehicle can pull off the color mauve.
While we're on the dusty rose conversation, I really loved this Oldsmobile 442. It's not done, but I saw the vision. It's black with rose gold racing stripes on Forgiato Wheels. I was hoping that the owner would've gotten the door panels in time for Midwest Fest, but he couldn't.
All and all, this show only showed me one thing... that I need to go Detroit. Let me start practicing saying "What Up Doe". But to see the rest of the photos, check out Bernie's 2021 Battle of the States Car Show gallery. Sorry Michigan, but you won me over and now I have to come back.
