Good Food, Perfect Weather, and Great Cars Highlight Big 4 American Luxury Car Show and Picnic Oct. 2

Our headline pretty much says it all as about 50 attendees converged on Laguna Niguel Park Oct. 2 to enjoy the good fellowship and fun our collector car hobby fosters. This annual event has become a new fall tradition and member favorite for Lincoln, Cadillac, Imperial and Packard owners from throughout our region without the pressure of a judged meet.

LCOC joins with the Southern California Cadillac and LaSalle Club, the Southern California Imperial Owners, Inc and the Earle C. Anthony Packard Motor Car Club to stage the event. Primary sponsorship rotates among the clubs, and this year we thank Andrew Wallace and the Packard club for their organization and leadership. In 2023 LCOC will take the lead, assisted by the other clubs.

Cars began arriving in the early morning and the tire kicking officially got under way at 10 a.m. It was a celebration of primarily mid-20th-century Detroit-built luxury cars with vehicles from the 1950s and ’60s predominating, though some gorgeous 1930s era Packards added to the fun.

LCOC’s own Tony Mondini brought his new Lincoln Corsair plug-in hybrid to the show and astounded us by reporting mileage ratings up to 70 mpg! Yikes! That’s a far cry from our mid-century gas guzzlers and a sign that technology really has leaped forward in the last two generations.

Tony’s Lincoln Corsair makes up to 70 mpg!

However, this was a day mostly to enjoy our collective efforts to preserve and restore the vehicles of a bygone age. See below for sample images.

But the cars were only half the story. Our generous participants brought buffet goodies ranging from water and soft drinks to stuffed mini bell peppers, cheese and sausage, chips and dip, deviled egg appetizers to chicken and spiral ham main dishes, pasta, noodles, salads and desserts including custard, brownies, cookies and even a yummy lemon cake made personally by Bryan Burns. Sooooo good!

If you skipped this picnic you probably staved off some extra pounds but missed out on a really great time. Elder statesman Jim Powers led the LCOC contingent, but many attendees own multiple cars and brands so the social aspect of the picnic was a true mingling of our friends and car lovers of all stripes.

Another highlight and surprise was a visit by the family of legendary Mark II owner the late Ron Reeves. Ron literally wrote the book on Mark II authenticity and veteran LCOC members recall his great contribution to the club. The family has been absent from LCOC for a while, but hopefully will be more active in the future.

With the threat of Covid finally abating we look forward to more group activities going forward. You surely will not want to miss this Big 4 car show and picnic in 2023. See you there.

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