Rollin’ down the road in some cold blue steel

Denis Finnerty of Finn’s Garage drives down Waukewan Street in a 1965 Ford Mustang convertible.  (Karen Bobotas/for The Laconia Daily Sun)

Car culture blooms in Lakes Region summer sun

By RICK GREEN, LACONIA DAILY SUN

LACONIA — With snowfall possible in the Lakes Region for almost half the year, convertible sports cars aren't the most practical of vehicles, yet they seem ubiquitous over the summer.

Many motorists are happy using these fast, well-handling cars only during warm weather months and garaging them the rest of the time, said Skip King, owner of Kar Kraft in Gilford, which specializes in late-model, low-mileage German vehicles.

“These are the same people who may have a Harley, a personal watercraft, a boat,” he said. “Their convertible is something that they can use a lot, even more than their other toys.”

Those interested in checking out some of these eye-catching automobiles can find them at the Lakes Region Rotary Car Show on Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at Faro Italian Grille in The Weirs.

Categories will include sports cars, muscle cars, trucks, Mustangs, Corvettes, street rods, specialty vehicles, custom cars, original cars and pre-World War II vehicles.

King said those able to garage their vehicles part of the year obviously have the resources to have additional cars or trucks they can use in the snow.

“Just look around, they have three- and four-car garages and a couple of different homes,” he said. “The analogy I use is that a convertible is like a boat. It doesn't matter how big it is. If you are on the water, you are having fun. In a car, if the top comes down, that is also fun.”

Sports cars may also be popular in this part of the country because of the dramatic mountains, lakes and forests that form the backdrop along curvy roads where vehicle handling is at a premium.

This concentration of convertible sports cars is not something one would see in many other parts of the country.

“These concentrations are small in size,” King said. “Go 100 miles in any direction and you won't see it.”

He has taken advantage of this market segment to create a successful business.

“Our situation is unique,” he said. “We couldn't take our situation and put it someplace else.”

Denis Finnerty, owner of Finn's Garage in Meredith, deals in a lot of domestic cars, including some of the big convertible cruisers that are no longer made.

“A lot of people in our area here like antique and classic cars and keep them as a summer or three-season vehicle,” he said. “The big old V8 engine boats have a following, too.”

These “land yachts” are 19 feet long, have engines as big as 455 cubic inches and use as much as a gallon of gas for every 10 miles traveled. But what a nice ride when easing down the highway in an old Cadillac, a big old Buick, Oldsmobile or Lincoln Continental.

“Those have a big following,” Finnerty said. “They are perfect for cruising in the good weather, with the top down on a nice day. And there's plenty of room for passengers.”

There is a nostalgia factor for these cruisers, as there is for fast cars from the 1970s and 1960s, like the “four-speed, dual-quad posi-traction 409” immortalized in the Beach Boys' famous song about a big-engine Chevy.

People maybe couldn’t afford their dream car years ago, but now gravitate to older Mustangs or Camaros, hardtop or softtop. Also attractive to some are vintage American muscle cars like Challengers, Chargers, the Chevelle 396, the Oldsmobile 442 and the Buick Gran Sport.

Then there are those hooked on modern performance and cornering.

Paul Giblin, a past president of the Sports Car Club of New Hampshire, said there are numerous events in the area where people can put high-powered cars through their paces, including road rallies and hill climbs. One goes to the top of Mount Washington.

These events range from club level activities to professional rallies, with souped-up Subarus and other specially prepared vehicles traveling at 100 mph on logging roads.

For people who want to see what their production cars can do in a less risky environment, there is auto-cross, a competition for entry-level drivers in which miniature road courses are set up as defined by traffic cones. The New Hampshire Motor Speedway is one venue.

There are also schools for people who want to learn driving techniques employed in competition.

“The Team O'Neil Rally School in Dalton will teach you how to do it, and you could get qualified to compete,” Giblin said.

The school offers courses in competing in car rallies, winter driving and off-road driving. In Tamworth, the recently-opened Club Motorsports features a high-speed track designed for high-performance driver education.

Skip King, of Kar Kraft in Gilford, specializes in serving the local demand for convertible sports cars. He said there's an unusually strong market for the niche vehicles in the Lakes Region. (Adam Drapcho/Laconia Daily Sun)