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American Classics at the 2019 Goodguys Heartland Nationals

1972 Plymouth Satellite four-door sedan
1972 Plymouth Satellite four-door sedan

Summertime is car-show season, and we always try to take in as many automotive get-togethers as we can. Local cruise nights, marque-specific dealership-lot shows, fancy concours gatherings, or what have you… it’s all good. Our Chicagoland home base has plenty of these kinds of events to offer, and in the upper Midwest, car folks know to take advantage when the weather is warm (or, let’s face it—flat-out hot), because it won’t be long before summer’s over and the cold and snow come again.

There’s fun to be had at outdoor car shows of all sizes, but I am especially fond of the weekend-long “mega-show” rod runs that typically take place at fairground venues across the country every summer. The National Street Rod Association essentially invented this type of event in 1970, and the format has stayed mostly the same since then. Since the mid-1980s, the Goodguys Rod and Custom Association has been producing its own two- and three-day-long rod run extravaganzas, and our closest-to-home favorite is the Heartland Nationals at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines, Iowa. This year’s edition was the 28th annual, and the event regularly draws in more than 4000 registered show vehicles—that’s more than anybody can realistically take in over the course of a weekend.

Though Goodguys caters primarily to hot rod and custom-car enthusiasts, there are plenty of factory-stock (or at least close to factory-stock) vintage vehicles that show up every year. The definition of “vintage” that Goodguys uses is a 1987-model-year or earlier vehicle (the organization pushed up that line in the sand from the previous cutoff date of 1972 for last year’s show season).

Here, in no particular order, are some of the vehicles that caught our eye at this year’s show… have a look!

Unmodified Classics: Fun Finds at the 2018 Goodguys Heartland Nationals

Standout Stockers: Unusual Vehicles at the 2013 Goodguys Heartland Nationals

 

2019 Goodguys Heartland Nationals

 

1934 Chevrolet

1934 Chevrolet Standard coupe

 

1985 Pontiac Parisienne

1985 Pontiac Parisienne four-door sedan

 

1973 Chrysler New Yorker

1973 Chrysler New Yorker four-door sedan

Photo Feature: 1947 Chevrolet Fleetmaster Fleetline Aerosedan

 

1970 Ford Mustang

1970 Ford Mustang Sportsroof

 

1971 Cadillac Sedan De Ville

1971 Cadillac Sedan De Ville

 

1971 Chevrolet C10 pickup


1971 Chevrolet C10 pickup

Performance Madness! 10 Classic Car Ads Featuring Horsepower Numbers

 

1953 Ford Customline

1953 Ford Customline four-door sedan

 

1979 Pontiac Firebird

1979 Pontiac Firebird Esprit Red Bird

 

1967 Chevrolet Caprice

1967 Chevrolet Caprice two-door hardtop

Photo Feature: 1933 Hupmobile K-321 Convertible Coupe

 

1966 Pontiac Bonneville

1966 Pontiac Bonneville convertible

 

1964 Ford F-100

1964 Ford F-100 pickup

 

1972 Chevrolet Monte Carlo

1972 Chevrolet Monte Carlo

Cars of Cuba: A Gallery

 

1977 Buick Regal

1977 Buick Regal

 

1970 Plymouth Road Runner

1970 Plymouth Road Runner

 

1971 Ford Galaxie

1971 Ford Galaxie four-door sedan

Our Favorite Oldsmobiles (Gallery)

 

1970 Pontiac LeMans

1970 Pontiac LeMans convertible

 

1975 Chevrolet pickup

1975 Chevrolet Sport stepside pickup

 

1969 Oldsmobile Cutlass

1969 Oldsmobile Cutlass station wagon

Model-Year Madness! 15 Sporty Car Ads from 1984

 

1970 Chrysler 300

1970 Chrysler 300 convertible

 

1965 Ford Fairlane

1965 Ford Fairlane two-door hardtop

 

1974 Plymouth Fury

1974 Plymouth Fury two-door hardtop

Pony-Car Madness! A Gallery of AMC Javelin Ads

 

1959 Studebaker Hawk

1959 Studebaker Hawk

 

1966 Oldsmobile Delta 88

1966 Oldsmobile Delta 88 Convertible

Review Flashback! 2011 Lincoln Town Car

 

1963 Ford Falcon Sprint

1963 Ford Falcon Sprint two-door hardtop

 

1984 Oldsmobile Delta 88 Royal Brougham

1984 Oldsmobile Delta 88 Royal Brougham coupe

Just Your Average 1948 Chrysler Town and Country Convertible . . . Or Is It? (2012 Goodguys Heartland Nationals)

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2019 Goodguys

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