Super Car Saturday at The Glen

  During the spring and summer months, there has begun a tradition of car meets in the Chicagoland area.  There is no shortage of these informal car shows all across the area.  This past Saturday marked another of these meets that is perhaps the standard by which all other meets might be measured.  I am talking about "Super Car Saturday", which is held one Saturday each month from May to September.  The event alternates this summer between the Bolingbrook Promenade in the south suburbs, and up north at The Glen Town Center. These are two great venues for this kind of event, both with a walkable main street vibe to them. This past Saturday was the second meet of the year, taking place at The Glen for the first time this year.  It was a perfectly sunny and beautiful day to see some cars and stroll the length of the mall.  I have to admit, I was taken aback by the sheer scale of the event, I really did not expect the number and variety of cars that would be on display.  As such, I was fairly unprepared for proper photos, my apologies as I have only a few cell phone shots to show for it.

  I mentioned this event could be the standard by which other meets should be measured, but perhaps I am being a bit unfair to put this in the same category as your typical car meet.  A Concours d'Elegance is probably a much more fitting name by definition, minus the competitive judging aspect.  With the caliber of machinery on display; high end exotics the likes of Bugatti, Ferrari, and McClaren, the odd rarities like the Fiat X19, or even more mainstream offerings taken to new extremes like the LS swapped and center lock wheel converted Infiniti. There is no shortage of objects to gawk at.

  Here-in lies the dilemma, it can be a bit overwhelming.  As such, you will likely miss some things, as I did.  That aforementioned Infiniti for instance; I walked right past it without much notice, because it was among a sea of Porsche's, Lamborghini's and BMW's.  I will definitely have to seek it out again next time.  Then there are other moments, when you slow down momentarily, and have brief conversation, like the one I had with the owner of this lovely little Bertone X1/9.  It's always great to hear someones "barn find" stories, and the amount of pride and affection the owner had for his X1/9 is infectious.  He made a long trip just to be part of the event, it puts it all into perspective, it is all for love of cars.

 Being at Super Car Saturday creates sensory overload, you tend to get tunnel vision and start seeing only the obvious attractions, like a white Lamborghini Countach parked next to a key lime pie green Aventador.  Or the signature red Ferrari Tesstarossa, ceaselessly exuding it's 1980's cool aura.

  Anyone that shares my love of cars be warned, you will become a drooling mess, eyes as big and sparkly as an anime chipmunk.  You cannot seem to stand still, walking tirelessly to the next car, then the next one, not really absorbing fully what you are actually looking at, so much as just ravenously taking in the view.  You become Dom Deluise as Caesar in the movie History of the World, voraciously eating everything in reach, looking bored with the extreme decadence around you, shouting "more women, more wine!" every so often.  I defy you not to at least grin a little seeing a rainbow of Lamborghini's parked in a row; sipping their espresso's while shouting through big grins playful italian taunts at the other less capable machines as they pass.

 Or try not to smirk as you pass by a row of Nissan GT-R's basking in the sun like a group of muscle bro's, eyeballing each passerby in anticipation that this one might "wanna go".  Or swing your head around as the lone Bugatti Veyron makes it's exit with such a silent regality, you momentarily feel urged to either take a knee or bow your head solemnly.

 Which bring us to another point, how approachable the event was.  You might view the price tags of what cars are on display, and think it a snooty affair.  You may mistake my characterization of the cars above, as a less than inclusive gathering.  You would be quite mistaken though, as there was no air of arrogance that I detected, just a gathering of many people who genuinely love cars.  A bunch of folks like me, who could think of nothing more enjoyable than spending a Saturday morning grabbing your coffee and strolling in the sun, down streets lined with some of the most fantastic machines of past and present.  I suspect it is why the event is not dubbed a Concours D'elegance even though it has every right to be, because it may give to much of a snobbish or uptight feel.  Your average car meet is not at all pretentious, very laid back and low comittment.  This event was the same, but with a whole different caliber of car on display.

  Maybe that was the most surprising aspect of this gathering, the high end nature of the spectacle is not off putting, at least not for those who love cars.  Instead it is magnetic, it brings about a sense of wonder, puts that glint in your eye, and that "maybe someday" thought in your head.  At least, that's what it does for me, you should come out next month and see what it does for you!