Andy's Wheels staged its Car and Craft Auto & Sound Off at Kay Donna Drive-In in Valsayn last Sunday, and it was all about pimping your ride–from the paint job, to the rims, to the music. Car shows have gone beyond mere exotic paint jobs and twenty-two inch rims, and anyone entering had to be on top of their game. The owners of these extreme machines were not playing around when it came to their rides, and auto shops and private owners who entered the various categories of the competition have certainly stepped up their game over the years.
Although a suicide door, also called a rear-hinged or coach door, became popular in the mid 1930's (the gangster era in T&T) these doors have been a regular spectacle at car shows. Last Sunday was no different, but there were added attractions–suicide trunks and hoods–which gave the cars an almost transformer toy appearance. If one did not know better they would think the cars had the ability to fly. Fully customised engines and headlights are the norm at car shows. But some competitors went beyond this attraction by installing DVD screens on their headlights, tail lights, bumper and gas tank cover.
And Ian De Gannes was the proud owner of a VRG Galant wagon that was rocking a mini bar in the back seat. But that is not all. While being fully customised, the car also had a water fountain, 18 inch chrome rims, 75-degree suicide doors, and a lighting system. And if you were thinking that the work on the car cost more than the car itself, you were absolutely right. Decorating these vehicles could easily take the owner into six figures. For those of you who would have preferred to antiques, then the back of the venue would have been the place for you. Here Udan Ramsahai who recently came from Grenada and competed in Drag fest, was sporting his 1973 Caprice. He completed the half mile in 11.9 seconds in Grenada.
