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HomeCar CultureCommentaryWhy should an aquarium have all the fun?

Why should an aquarium have all the fun?

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I hope you read our story today about the car show being hosted Father’s Day weekend by the Maritime Aquarium in Connecticut, and I also hope it inspires you and others in the car community to think about ways you can work with museums in your local area to share your vehicles and help those institutions raise some money.

In Connecticut, the aquarium is hosting a show of cars named for aquatic creatures — Manta Ray, Marlin, Barracuda, Sting Ray, even a couple of whale-tail Porsches. 

Similar shows could be staged at aquariums across the country. Who knows, you might even get General Motors to loan you one of its Mako Shark concept cars, and just for fun you could include not only ‘Cudas and Marlins and Sting Rays (and Stingrays), but everything from a classic Amphicar to a more recent Hyundai Tiburon.

1969 Plymouth Satellite

But think about it, it’s not only cars with fish names that could be the basis of such a show. Maybe your community has an astronomical observatory, or maybe you just want to help raise money for a telescope for your local high school’s science lab. 

How about a car show featuring such vehicles as a Ford Galaxie; any Saturn, but especially the Sky; any car produced by Moon, or by Mercury, and especially the Comet and Meteor, or by Subaru (the entire brand is named for a constellation, the Pleiades); Buick or Volkswagen Apollos; Nissan Sunny; Chevy Vega or Astro or Nova; Plymouth Satellite; Toyota Solara or Celica (which is Latin for celestial); Mitsubishi Eclipse, etc. 

Or maybe you have a local science center. How about a car show featuring a Fusion, Volt, Prism (sic), Tesla, Ion, Laser, Pulsar, Stratus, Cirrus, Sunbeam, even Infiniti.

1965 Sunbeam Tiger

A car show at a zoo has seemingly infinite possibilities — Bronco, Cheetah, Cobra, Cougar, Fox, Impala, Jaguar, Lark, Mustang, Rabbit, Ram, Roadrunner, Sable, Stag, Thunderbird, Viper, Bluebird, Wildcat, Colt, Eagle, Firebird, Maverick, Pinto, Fox, Raptor, Tiger, Pinto, Pony, Golden, Silver, Sky and other Hawks, and any Lamborghini (they’re all named for fighting bulls). 

You could even do an entire insect-themed show with Spiders, Spyders, Hudson Hornets and Wasps, Scorpions, Crickets.

With something of a stretch, you could do a car show at a history museum, featuring Lincolns, the Studebaker President and Dictator, and the Chevrolet Confederate and AMC Rebel.

1954 Hudson Hornet

The point is to be creative and to have fun, and to use cars to help local educational institutions. Who knows, while you’re at it, you might help generate interest in collector cars with a new and younger generation.

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Larry Edsall
Larry Edsall
A former daily newspaper sports editor, Larry Edsall spent a dozen years as an editor at AutoWeek magazine before making the transition to writing for the web and becoming the author of more than 15 automotive books. In addition to being founding editor at ClassicCars.com, Larry has written for The New York Times and The Detroit News and was an adjunct honors professor at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University.

1 COMMENT

  1. Don’t forget about boats! I’m going to call the aquarium tomorrow and ask them if I can bring out 1956 Barracuda boat! Maybe we will see you there!

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