ALL "DUKES OF HAZZARD" JUMPS
A COMPILATION VIDEO
By: Rick Walker
London Ontario
The Fleetwood Country Cruize-In Car Show kicked off with an invitation only, celebrity packed VIP party at the Steve Plunkett Estate in London Ontario, and the party provided a sneak peek of what the public will get a taste of Saturday and Sunday.
FLEETWOOD SHOW CELEBRATING
50 YEARS OF:
MERCURY COUGARS - PONTIAC FIREBIRDS - CHEVY CAMAROS
Parked outside Steve Plunkett's - Auto Salon, was the #1 Flintstone's Car. Yes folks it's a "George Barris" original, licensed by the movie studio that produced the Flintstone live action movie with John Goodman. Barris, who was known as the King of Kustomizers passed away about a year ago, but his business associate Anthony Perillo is continuing with the movie car business that Barris built, and part of that includes the Flintstones car. Perillo told SST that the car was used as a promotional tool by the studio to market the film and was taken on tour. Now it's part of the Barris movie car collection which Perillo takes care of, and still displays, and this weekend the public will see the car up close.
NEW VIDEO!
12 YEARS OF THE FLEETWOOD COUNTRY CRUIZE IN
CREDIT: Michael Pacitti
During the VIP party there was also a celebration to mark the 90th birthday of custom car building legend Gene Winfield who will be signing autographs at the Fleetwood car show this weekend. Winfield has also designed dozens of movie cars from the 1960's right through to today. He even designed the flying cars for the movie "Bladerunner", and built the original "Galileo" shuttlecraft for the the original "Star Trek" TV series.
CUSTOM CAR LEGEND GENE WINFIELD
CELEBRATING HIS 90TH BIRTHDAY
WITH SST CAR SHOW HOST - RICK WALKER
Dozens of General Lee - Chargers will be on the show field tomorrow and Sunday for the car show. It's all part of a "Dukes of Hazzard" TV show reunion of sorts with some cast members attending. They will be signing autographs too. Along for the ride fans will also get to meet "General Lee Mechanic" Tom Sarmento.
"Dukes" fans are to say the least passionate. Sarmento says "it's the family flavour" of the show that made it popular and has given the show its staying power. "I think its coming back a bit," he told SST.
"GENERAL LEE" MECHANIC
TOM SARMENTO
"It's an incredible show," Sarmento told SST. "Steve has really gone above and beyond this year. I would say there are probably going to something like five thousand cars here".
The Fleetwood Country Cruize-In, is gauged by some to be the largest outdoor car show in Canada. Every June it generates a huge amount of excitement within the classic car community. That excitement is evident on social media pages where people have been flooding facebook pages, twitter, instagram, and messaging systems with comments and questions about the show, the celebrities, and of course the cars which are the big stars at the show.
MUSTANGS CORRALLED AT THE
FLEETWOOD COUNTRY CRUIZE IN CAR SHOW
The Auto Salon will also be open to the public, and those who look inside will find one of the finest Cadillac collections in the world. Steve Plunkett's collection of Cadillac spans the decades.
STREET RODS & CUSTOMS
THOUSANDS OF COLLECTIBLE CARS WILL BE ON DISPLAY
The enthusiasm for the Fleetwood Show extends into genuine loyalty, and many go way above and beyond to make the show a success. A new video posted online highlights the past 12 years of Fleetwood Car shows. The video is generating an abundance of views on Youtube, and shows the crowds, the spectators, and celebrities from past years including George Barris who built the original Batmobile from the 1960s, Adam West ( Batman ), John Schneider and Tom Wopat ( Dukes of Hazzard ), Gene Winfield ( Custom Car Designer & Painter ), Linda Hurst ( Model & Miss Hurst Shifter ), Cindy Williams ( Laverne & Shirley ), Candy Clarke & Bo Hopkins ( American Graffiti ), and many others.
AMPHICARS
SPLASHING IN THE POND
AT THE STEVE PLUNKETT ESTATE
Winfield, and the Dukes cast members will be on hand this weekend of course, and the memory of George Barris ( who became a regular at the show every year ), will be honored again this year with a special custom car award presented in his name.
Fields around the event have been marked off for visitor parking. Vendor tents are now completely set up, and the show is ready to roll.
The show started with a few cases of coke and about twenty cars, but over the years the show has grown and has generated over 1.4-million dollars for charities.
Once again this year's show promises to be an Automotive Extravaganza like no other.
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