The worst car show is better than...

There's no such thing as a bum car show, I believe, and Saturday's Springtime Reunion certainly was a fun event. Planes and Plymouths mixed it up on the grounds of the Castle Air Museum; there were 165 special interest vehicles on display for the sizable crowd strolling the grounds.

While all of the cars and trucks displayed are winners, a few stood out for me. Speaking of Plymouths, my personal "best of show" would have to go to a mostly stock 1955 Plymouth two-door hardtop owned by Don and Elaine Harmon of Modesto. The car was painted a brilliant metallic-pearlescent orange color with cream accents. It had a modern V-8 engine and was just a killer package.

A close runner-up as my favorite would have to be a 1959 Oldsmobile convertible owned by Tom and Charlene Hull of Mariposa. The droptop was adorned in gray and metallic purple, with the factory-stock "spinner" hubcaps adopted on many other vehicles since then. The 1959 Olds just has classic, endearing lines that are hard to beat.

Other faves included a cream-colored 1941 Chevrolet two-door coupe I wish I could have driven home, along with two 1932 Ford fenderless "highboy" models. One of the roadsters painted black was strictly traditional, and the other was teal-colored and more contemporary. Temperatures were in the mid-70s at midday Saturday, and both of those old Fords would have made fun cruising memories.

A 1951 Ford Victoria two-door hardtop in green and white really brought back memories. It's one of the first cars I remember noticing as a 4-year-old cruising down Main Street in San Jose riding with my folks. Way before my time but still pretty fetching were a 1933 Buick four-door sedan looking better than any Caponmobile ever should and a gray 1939 Buick two-door coupe.

While some of the old cars and trucks are familiar local sights (there's nothing wrong with that) the Springtime Reunion offered quite a variety of motoring interests and vehicles I had never seen before. Like I said, the worst car show is better than...