Over 300 American vehicles on display at Kilbeggan show

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The sun shone recently as cars, trucks, big rigs and bikes gathered at the Midland American Auto Club clubhouse and showgrounds in Kilbeggan recently.

The All-American car truck & bike show on April 21 was hosted by the Midland American Auto Club and all manner of American vehicles rolled in through the gates for the show.

By 11am the showfield was packed with American vehicles parking up and visitors enjoying the sight with a coffee and a corn dog or an ice cream. And the air was filled with the sound of American theme appropriate music all day long.

Over 300 American vehicles came to enjoy the gathering from all corners of the island of Ireland. Cars and trucks from Northern Ireland, particularly the later model ones, were there in number and visitors came over from the UK specifically for the show.

There were huge chromed Big Rig Kenworths, Peterbilts, Internationals, Macks and Freightliners in bright blue and red to Ford, Dodge and Chevy pick-up trucks – some new, some old, some custom painted, some looking old and ratty but with fully rebuild engines and customised air ride suspension and some looking like they’ve just come off a farm in Iowa and not been painted in the last 60 or 70 years.

Mustangs were in abundance to celebrate the anniversary of the launch of the vehicle, 60 years and 4 days previous to the show. The Mustang is a perennially popular American car much in demand and always captures the imagination of everyone.

The kids drawing workshop was a major hit this year with over 100 kids sitting down quietly drawing American vehicles; either copying from photographs or drawing freehand.

A huge 45 foot long, 29 ton American fire engine from New York was on display again with its 100 foot ladder and a huge stars and stripes flying from the top created a unique sight in the Westmeath countryside, almost dwarfing the smaller, but still large American fire engine next to it.

Come 3.30 in the afternoon the contestants for the burnout competition started changing their road wheels for the burnout wheels with slick tyres and the competition began – filling the air with tyre smoke. One intrepid lady; Sarah-Jane Mellon from Dublin, fried the tyres of her bright yellow 1973 Mustang fastback very impressively.

The revised traffic management plan worked well avoiding a build up of traffic in Kilbeggan itself. The Midland American Auto Club also expressed its gratitude to Kilbeggan Racecourse and Thomas Fagan for making car parking available in their grounds in addition to the Midland American Auto Club parking. This got cars off the road quickly improving traffic flow to the show.

The Midland American Auto Club (MAAC) is a large group of American car and truck enthusiasts who share a passion for owning, restoring and maintaining American vehicles.

Based opposite the race course in Kilbeggan, the club meets every Thursday from 7.30pm to 10.00pm in the summer and every other week in the winter. All are welcome, members and non-members. More information is available through the website www:midlandamericanautoclub.ie