Many at cruise night are mad for Mopar
The passion for Chrysler vehicles runs very deep. It's all for good reason; the brand builds vehicles that evoke emotion and excitement.
Evidence of Mopar affection was readily found at the Daily Herald's summer cruise night and wrap-up party held this past Wednesday, Sept. 16. The Feeny Auto Group in Elgin hosted the classic car celebration, which included a special display called Mopar Performance: Then & Now.
The gathering of both past and present Chrysler products showcased the company's long-standing heritage and commitment to creating unique muscle and performance machines. One vehicle bearing such street cred was Steve Lauderdale's 1970 Dodge Challenger T/A.
This blue beauty packs an incredible story that involves close ties to local automotive history, so it had no trouble garnering the Matt Avery's Pick award. The coupe was not only given a racing pedigree right from the factory with its special Trans Am packaging, but it was furthered bestowed with go-fast goodness when delivered to Mr. Norm's Grand Spaulding Dodge dealership in Humboldt Park for additional tuning.
It was sold new at Mr. Norm's dealership to a local resident who traded in a 1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1 on the deal. Lauderdale has been a lifelong gearhead and Mopar aficionado. As a teen, he purchased a 1970 Challenger SE from a used car lot in Dundee soon after graduating high school in the early 1970s. He still owns the car today.
That's why when he passed this T/A in 1986 parked for sale in Crystal Lake, he simply "had to have it." The Dodge was drivable and Lauderdale wasted not time in enjoying his new acquisition. Part of that included visiting the Feeny dealership in the early 1990s when Lauderdale's wife purchased new old-stock beauty rings for the wheels as a present one Christmas. Later, he brought the car in for service, troubleshooting a faulty distributor.
In 1995, a pesky rodent prompted what would turn into a decadelong overhaul. "A raccoon sneaked into our garage and knocked over a camping lantern," Lauderdale said. "It fell on the car and creased a fender."
What resulted was a thorough restoration that Lauderdale performed in his home garage. He even built a rotisserie from scratch to access all sides of his muscle machine. In 2005, it emerged complete.
Lauderdale showed it for the first time at the Mopar Nationals. Mr. Norm was present and awarded Steve a Best of Show. He also signed the air cleaner.
"Driving it brings out the kid in me," Lauderdale said.
Other awards presented at the cruise night included Mopar: Best of Then, which was bestowed on Pat McConnell and his 1970 Plymouth Roadrunner Superbird. It took more than two decades for the Bartlett resident to convince his brother-in-law to sell him the winged machine.
Another patient car owner and award winner was Bill Kubovy. The Elgin resident was so eager to get ahold of the 2015 Challenger Hellcat that he raced to the Feeny dealership on the first day they were available for sale. After placing the order, he then waited 10 months for his 707-horsepower monster to arrive. Kubovy won the Mopar: Best of Now Award.
Joe Kirshenbaum was selected by dealership general manager Tim Feeny and Jim Melchert, owner of the Garage Store, as the winner of the garage makeover, courtesy of the Garage Store. Kirshenbaum will receive a new $2,000 garage floor coating, providing the perfect space to store his gorgeous 1967 Plymouth Barracuda.
The cruise night and wrap-up party was sponsored by Feeny Autos, Hagerty Classic Car Insurance, the Garage Store and the Daily Herald.