Every Tuesday evening car and truck enthusiasts from across the region gather at the Discovery North Bay Museum for an informal car show.
On average, 100 vehicles, from vintage including a Model T bucket from the 20’s, to some of the newest models are on display.
President of the North Bay Cruisers car club Terry Daigle, says people seem to enjoy the variety, stopping to take pictures, and talk to the owners.
“It is a car club. A lot of the vehicles are restored vehicles. But going back in history, we started this club because we basically took the policy, if you drive it, you love it, bring it. We don’t put a year on it like it has to be say 20 years old or whatever. So you see brand new Corvettes, brand new Camaros. You see a whole range of vehicles.”
Daigle notes they’re starting to get a lot more pick-up trucks.
“We’re trying to encourage the hobby, so a lot of the younger fellows are buying cheap old trucks and they bring them here. Each year they come back and they’re a little nicer, and a little nicer, which is good to see.”
On any given Tuesday night, club members from across the district, and from areas like Sudbury, Port Loring, Noelville, Chisholm, and Temiscaming Quebec, will show up with their favourite vehicle.
First-time participants can showcase their vehicle at no cost, to see what the club is all about. After that, they pay an annual membership fee of $20.
There is no cost to the public to wander around.
“We have a couple of cars out lately that have attracted a lot of interest. We had a fellow out with a Tesla S which is the high-performance twin-engine Tesla, the electric car. We’ve had a couple Mercedes-AMGs. The AMG is the car they’re showing on tv commercials where it’s sliding through a parking lot sideways. It’s basically a four-door sedan with 800 hp in it, and we’ve got two of them here in the club,” said Daigle.
Steve Vival brought his 1931 Model A roadster pickup.
“I redid it all two years ago. I took it completely apart and redid everything, repainted everything, and freshened everything up. Everything is original. It took one winter and about 1,200 hours to complete,” laughed Vival.
“The only thing is, back in the day it would have had fenders and running boards on it. I do have a roof for it, but I never put it on. It’s kind of like driving a convertible with the roof up. I like meeting up with people here because I don’t really know a lot of people here in North Bay, so this is a nice place to come, and the people are very friendly.”
Micheline and JC Gagnon own a 1931 Ford car with a matching trailer.
“This is my husband’s hobby. He bought it and rebuilt it to make all the parts from Ford because the motor was not a Ford and he’s a Ford fanatic. And because I couldn’t put in any luggage, because there’s no trunk in the car, he decided to have a matching trailer. He ordered a kit and built it and painted it to match the car. Twenty years later, here we are. I never knew he had so much patience. Now he’s looking for a 1955 Ford truck to redo it,” laughed Gagnon.
The Tuesday night car shows tend to attract hundreds of people, including visitors to the region.
Doug Lougheed is from Wheatley Ontario. He was in the area visiting family when he heard about the show and decided to drop by. As a teenager, he bought a pickup before he was even legally old enough to drive.
“They’ve got a lot of nice cars here. I’m into the old stuff like the 30s. A lot of the older guys are still doing the bodywork which is nice to see. It’s a dying trade. I saw a ‘31 Ford pickup here. I bought one when I was 14 or 15. My dad was ready to throw me out of the house because I took all my lawnmower money and everything I had and I bought that. My brother-in-law was into cars, so we brought it home and it sat in the body shop for two years. When I got married I sold it. I never did get it going,” laughed Lougheed.
The Cruisers are out every Tuesday night, weather permitting, until September 19. Its big annual car show is July 7 at Lee Park.
