Carson City gets a jump on Reno

"If you like beautiful cars, this is the place to be," said Judy Fisher, organizer of Carson City's fourth annual Silver Dollar Car Classic. "We're doing really good."

Proud owners began showing up in their shiny prizes on Friday, with about 200 vehicles expected to crowd the Pony Express Pavilion and just about any parking lot with a few empty spaces.

Most of the cars date back to the '50s, when juke boxes and pay phones were a nickel, a dollar's worth of gas usually got you there and home, fuzzy dice dangled from rear view mirrors and the cars had American names unless they looked like beetles.

One, a 1941 Chevrolet delivery vehicle, will be making a two-week trip along Memory Lane.

Ted and Carolyn Millice of Reno started the weekend here with the Friday night cruise followed by the show 'n' shine and other weekend festivities.

They headed for Crystal Bay on Sunday and a pre-Hot August Nights party, then planned to head for Verdi and another kickoff event that highlight Reno's premier tourism draw of the year.

"The cars you see at these events just jump to life," he said. "You can't help but be excited by it all. Everybody likes an old car."

Not to mention the variety of old cars, Ms. Fisher said.

"Every year, we get a different selection of classic cars," she said. This year's show included a two-wheel classic - a World War II-era U.S. Army Harley-Davidson.

Along with best-of-show prizes, there's an ego stroker for works in progress. People whose cars are mostly putty and primer can compete in the "custom ugly contest" to reward what's kindly called the vehicle's "potential."

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