RSS
Home
Corvette show begins judging with beautiful specimens on display
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
Corvettes in Paradise in Islamorada showcased nearly 100 sweet rides Saturday, Nov. 7.
Everyone loves a beautiful figure and no automobile comes closer to sleek and sexy than the Corvette. About 85 curvy and coveted Corvettes were entered in this year's Corvettes in Paradise show in Islamorada, the 16th annual event in the Keys and the 15th year held at Holiday Isle Resort and Marina. Of special interest was an orange “resto-rod,” a restored hot rod that took a Corvette shape from the past combined with an engine and technology of the present. Owned by Jim Campbell of Boynton Beach, Fla. and custom built by Kenny Morrison of K-Tech Automotive in Loxahatchee, Fla., the resto-rod was a prime example of the show’s theme, “Celebrating 40 years of power.”
Hosted by the Florida Keys Corvette Club (www.flkeyscorvetteclub.com), with much of the hard work done by volunteers Tony and Marie CuCulino and their three daughters of Big Pine Key, judging began at noon today, Nov. 7, with awards presented at about 4: 30 p.m. (see separate story to follow) in 20 different classes.
Special trophies for club participation, longest distance driven, best of show determined by Dave McLellan, Glenda’s choice (McLellan’s wife); long distance trailered, and best classic Corvette also were bestowed.
Judges had many beautiful cars to admire and consider. Among the judges were Joe Ziomek of Islamorada, a retired Ford engineer; Jorge Costas, vice president of the Florida Keys Corvette Club, and Dave McLellan, Corvette’s second chief engineer from 1975 until his retirement in 1992, and author of “Corvette from the Inside: The Development History.”
Ziomek said the slant of the windshield help decipher the era in which Corvettes were built, and that based on his recent experience at the SEMA show in Las Vegas -- Special Equipment Marketing Association, many exciting developments are occurring in the American auto industry.
