Wednesday, May 28, 2025

Albuquerque Classic Car Show



1957 Chevrolet Bel Air coupe convertible


A couple of weekends ago my friend, Alan, and I went down to Old Town Albuquerque to photograph the 39th Annual Car Show, sponsored by the New Mexico Council of Car Clubs and the Albuquerque Museum.  


There are more than 60 car clubs in New Mexico, and this year's show included over 200 vehicles of all makes and models ranging from the 1920s to the 1990s, some beautifully restored, others works in progress.  Here are a few examples:


1940 Chevrolet













1959 Austin Healey "Bugeye" Sprite



1956 Ford Thunderbird








 



1950 or '51 Chevrolet 3100 Pickup














The highlight of this year's show were the lowriders -- cars with lowered bodies like this one . . .


1947 Pontiac



and this one:


1959 Chevrolet Impala



Lowriders are usually outfitted with hydraulic systems that allow for height-adjustable suspension, like this one . . .


1961 Chevrolet Impala

and this one . . .


1997 Lincoln Town Car


Besides being beautifully restored, many lowriders are decorated with custom interiors . . .
























. . . and exteriors:














































Perhaps the most incredible exterior decorations were the engraved designs on the chrome of this lowrider:





























 




and the graphic on the trunk lid:





Here's Alan chatting with the owner (who bears a certain resemblance to the guy depicted on the trunk lid):




If you'd like to learn more about lowrider culture, click here for a 5-minute video about a lowrider builder.


Because all the cars were parked pretty close together, it was difficult to get a clean photo of just one car.
































So I spent a fair amount of time just photographing exterior details:










2001 BMW 28
















































A few had illustrations on their hoods, ranging from religious icons . . .





. . . to secular ones:





And some of the exhibitors were just having fun:














If you would like to see these images in a larger format, please visit my photography website, Todos Juntos Photography, by clicking here.


Enjoy!