By Khalida Sarwari
One day in 1974, Saratoga Realtor Tiger Teerlink and his date, Cindy, found themselves in a parking lot at Brigham Young University after a school dance, and he asked her to pick out her favorite car. She pointed to a bright red Pontiac Firebird Trans Am and the rest, as they say, is history.
Forty years later, he and Cindy are married, and that Pontiac? That’s still around, too.
Restored to its original 1973 condition, the Pontiac will be one of 200 new and classic cars and trucks from around the world that will be exhibited at the fifth annual Saratoga Classic Car Show along Big Basin Way in Saratoga on July 20. Sponsored by the Saratoga Chamber of Commerce in partnership with the Cool Car Club of Saratoga, Los Gatos and Campbell, the purpose of the event is to boost business for Saratoga merchants and to provide a fun event for car enthusiasts.
Teerlink, a Realtor and vice president of the Saratoga Chamber of Commerce by day and founder and president of the Cool Car Club by night, said he patterned this year’s show after Capitola’s car show, where wireless speakers are placed throughout the city to get everybody in town tapping their feet along to music by the likes of Elvis Presley and the Beach Boys. Music and cars, Teerlink noted, are a common thread between past and present generations.
“It’s a great place where generations meet with common interests,” he said.
Teerlink said that someday he’d like to make the car show a weeklong festival just like Capitola’s. For now, the Saratoga Classic Car Show is a two-day event that offers car collectors and enthusiasts a place to meet and check out a display of American and foreign cars of all years, makes and models ranging from the 1920s to the classics of the ’50s and ’60s, as well as modern exotics. Members of the public will even have an opportunity to vote for their favorite cars. Vintage and electric motorcycles will also be on display.
Joe Prang, owner of Artisan Wine Depot in Los Gatos, has been participating in the car show for a number of years. This year, he plans to bring his 1959 Chevrolet Corvette which has been completely restored with some modern touches. Prang, who lives in Los Gatos, said he enjoys the Saratoga car show because it’s unlike any other in the Bay Area.
“It’s a great show because it has that local feel to it,” he said. “I’m surprised for a smaller show the range of cars they have, both international and domestic. I’ve seen cars that are above $1 million, and I’ve seen cars that are above $1,000.”
While he’s attended the show in the past, this will be the first time Godfrey Sullivan, CEO of software company Splunk, will be exhibiting his cars. He plans to show three: a 1960 Chevrolet Corvette, 2005 Ford GT and 2014 Ferrari 458. The longtime Saratoga resident and avid horse and car racer said he hopes the car show becomes a tradition in Saratoga similar to the Wine Stroll and other events that “create an energy in the community.”
“I think everybody enjoys coming out to see the cars, especially the older ones or rare ones, and it’s a great community event for Saratoga,” Sullivan said. “It’s something fun for everybody to do.”
Close to 100 flags from 30 different car manufacturers will line both sides of Big Basin Way at an event where cars are the centerpiece but certainly not the only feature of the program. Attendees will also have a chance to visit craft vendors, win raffle prizes, listen to live radio broadcasts, sample from food trucks and a beer garden, and do a little wine tasting. Along with beer and wine, an assortment of food will be available for purchase from various restaurants. Bands Nigel and Clive and the British Invasion and Chubby’s All Stars will provide the music.
The Campbell Auto Restoration and High Performance Center, a key sponsor of the event, will host a demonstration on how to restore cars.
Event co-chair Pat Martel said organizers have pulled out all the stops for this year’s event.
“Thousands of people attend this popular event not only to see the many vehicles but also to meet the owners,” she said. “There’s something for everyone here, so it’s a terrific day.”
The event is open to the public, and admission is free. Organizers are anticipating anywhere from 6,000 to 7,000 attendees, similar to last year.
Attendees will have the chance to win any one of about 150 raffle prizes which range from gift cards to popular restaurants and car wash coupons to larger, more expensive items.
A day prior to the event, the Chamber will offer a tri-city “Cool Car” cruise between Saratoga, Campbell and Los Gatos to get the cities geared up, Teerlink said.
“We’re going to meet in Saratoga and we just get as many cars and we cruise all tree towns,” he said. “The intent is to draw attention to all these nice cars.”
The car show takes place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Participants are asked to register their cars at CoolCarClub.com or SaratogaChamber.org. Registration is $55 and comes with two free lunches at participating merchants in downtown Saratoga.
“There’s no restriction on the age, make or model of the cars that can be registered at the car show,” Teerlink said. “It just has to be cool. And that’s what makes this show different: it’s a small town car show.”
For more information, call Teerlink at 408.828.9614 or the Saratoga Chamber of Commerce at 408.867.0753.
