What better place to visit for classic automobile owners than RM Classic Cars?
That was an appreciated stop on the Canadian Coasters’ brief visit to Chatham-Kent July 27 as the group came through our municipality on its 2017 Canadian Coast to Coast Classic Vehicle Tour.
The Coasters, who hail from across the country, are taking part in the group’s 50th tour.
RM shop foreman Ernie Morreau gave the group a tour of the facility, starting with a visit to the Classic Car Exhibit. It’s no longer open to the pubic on a regular basis since the municipality pulled funding last year, but RM staff will open their doors for special visitors.
And the Canadian Coasters certainly qualified. Many jaws slackened as the Coasters walked in out of the heat to gaze upon the sheer variety of vintage vehicles housed at the facility. Where else do you find a pair of Lamborghinis sitting side by side, or two Duesenbergs, or the Flintstones “car” plus dozens of other classic automobiles, ranging from Italian sports cars to elegant classic North American rides from bygone eras?
George Windsor, a Coaster from Prince George, B.C., was in awe.
“I pinch myself that I’m here,” he said.
Fellow Coaster Dave Wilson, also from Prince George, B.C., agreed.
“These are pieces of art,” he said of the vehicles on display at RM.
The two were stunned to learn the Duesenbergs on display were to go up for auction, with one expected to sell for in excess of $2 million, while the other is anticipated to sell for more than $1.1 million.
Another row of classics was lined up end to end, set to be loaded up and shipped out for auction.
From RM, the Coasters travelled to CM Wilson Conservation Area and showcased their vehicles. To qualify, Coaster cars have to be at least 30 years old.
Everyone on the tour is driving a classic, with some pulling trailers. Wilson said most people are camping out, but he and a few others are staying in motels during the trip.
Windsor said the trip to date had been memorable.
“It’s been an awesome trip,” the owner of a 1986 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme said. “We’ve driven around 7,500 kilometres so far, including when we got lost.”
The tour began in Victoria, B.C. in late June and is to wrap up in St. John’s, Nfld. Sept. 1.
