Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet were a few of Sunday’s inaugural Rainbow Car Show categories from the Great Autos car club held in Long Beach at a parking lot in the Marina Pacifica shopping center.
The event had 62 cars competing for the prize of judges’ choice and people’s choice awards of best in color. Rather than traditional car shows that often separate vehicles based on decade or maker this show used different colors as an homage to the rainbow pride flag.
The club was previously known as the Great Autos of Yesteryear, or GAY car club, but changed its name last year to be more inclusive to allies of the LGBT community and include newer models.
“As you can see, [in the competition] we have everything from 1952 to 2021, the complete gamut,” said Dave Weisbart, chairman of the Rainbow Car Show for the Great Autos car club. “We’re looking for people who love cars and [they] didn’t even have to own a car to join great autos; they just need to love cars.”
In addition to the cars in the competition, other car enthusiasts came by to show their rides.
Tony Natale, who owns a custom Volkswagen Thing, came by to check out the cars as he and a group of Thing drivers happened to be passing by on Pacific Coast Highway.
Alex Perez brought his 1983 DeLorean DMC 12. He knew he would eventually own one after seeing his high school art teacher pull up in one at school shortly after the Delorean Motor Company went bankrupt in 1982.
“Needless to say, I walked her to her car and carried her books every day just to see that car. I just spent ten years looking for one until I found the perfect one,” Perez said.
Another is the story of a 1966 clearwater aqua-colored Mustang Coupe, owned now by Michael T. Jackson.
His car was initially purchased by his aunt Louise Boutte whom Jackson called “Dear.” Dear then painted the car pink, her favorite color, and she and Jackson cherished the car together for many years. When Jackson was a teenager, his aunt promised the car to him if she died or became too old to drive. Jackson got the car in 1998 and decided to do a complete restoration on the vehicle and added a personalized license plate reading “TKS DEAR” in memory of his aunt.
In his childhood dream car, Trevor Delic drove from Phelan, California, a 1989 Mercedes 560SL (nicknamed Blanche, @blanche.the.benz on Instagram) to see some of the vehicles. However, he didn’t make it in time to register for the competition; he did sign up to join the club.
The car club does events across much of Southern California to accommodate its nearly 1,000 members with over 2,600 cars between them.
The events are aimed at increasing membership and building an inclusive community for LGBT car enthusiasts.
“This is sort of an outreach for us,” Weisbart said. “You know, in the past, with a gay car club, we kind of backed off a little bit, and we kept a low profile. But times are changing.”
In Photos:
