Exotics at Redmond Town Center: Classic and Collector Day
The Greatest Day of My Life
Exotics at Redmond Town Center is a seasonal series of car shows held in Redmond Town Center every year, starting in April and ending in September. The shows are held on Saturday mornings from 9:00 to 11:00, weather permitting. There is no admission fee, and certain cars are not allowed.
E@RTC has a few special events during the season in which the mall and part of a road are reserved for a certain kind of car, in this case classics and collectibles, in addition to the parking lot used for regular shows. Prewar cars almost never show up to regular shows, so this is often the only day of the year when these cars come out.
Anthony Ryan Schmidt
Me (left) and Anthony (right) in a Toyota Land Cruiser
At the show, I had the great pleasure of finally meeting Anthony Ryan Schmidt. I learned about him a month ago when I was given the book "Small Cars, Big Inspiration", which is a collection of astounding photos he has taken of his equally astounding collection of diecast cars. Both Anthony and I are autistic, car-obsessed teenagers, and we both live in King County. It was a dream come true to finally meet another car enthusiast my age in person, as well as meet an autistic person my age. Click here to go to his website.
A third dream come true was to drive a classic car, which was Anthony's 1957 Ford Custom 300, which he named "Betty". She was gifted to him by Greg A. Wilkinson, an autistic adult, and named after his service dog and Anthony's grandmother. The car is all-original, with the exception of the paint and the rebuilt engine.
Where I parked after driving it
I drove it for one lap around the mall, traveling no faster than 15 MPH (24 KPH). Having only driven modern cars prior, driving it felt like another world. Bench seats instead of bolstered buckets, no shoulder belt, no headrests, no power steering, and excellent visibility thanks to thin pillars not found on today's vehicles. The bench seat felt more like a couch, and the rear was just as spacious as the front (I rode in the back while entering the show).
The ride was very cushy, and the steering wasn't as heavy as I was expecting, but it was considerably heavier than that of today's cars. As I pulled out of our parking space, I was confused when Anthony's mom was telling me to start turning, and fast. In a modern car, I would have hit the car next to me, but the heavy steering meant that it took longer to turn. I ended up going way wider than necessary.
The brakes didn't respond until the pedal was pushed all the way down, which required a lot of force. However, the engine was very responsive, and needed very little input from the pedal. I loved being able to look down to the end of the hood in order to place myself where I wanted to be. What took some getting used to was the turn signal stalk. It returned to the center position after the signals were activated, and they didn't cancel automatically--two things I hadn't experienced yet. I accidentally left my signals on a few times.
At the end of the five-minute drive, I felt ecstatic to have finally driven a classic, to have seen so many incredible cars, and to have finally met Anthony, but also very relieved to have not crashed. I had a fantastic time that day, and I am tremendously thankful for everything.
Before the show
During the show
A BMW 700 and a BMW 327 getting pushed into the mall
Pierce-Arrow Model 66
Lancia D24 replica, Bocar XP-5, and Austin-Healey 3000
1956 Chrysler Newport
Pontiac GTO
1968 Shelby GT500KR
All-original 1954 Chrysler New Yorker Deluxe
All-original 1954 Chrysler New Yorker Deluxe
1959 Chevrolet Corvette formerly owned by actor David Carradine
Pierce-Arrow Model 66
Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider
BMW 700
BMW 327
Jaguar Mark 2
Chrysler Town and Country
1947 Bentley Mark VI James Young Coupe
Bentley S1
1941 Cadillac Series 62
1924 Bentley 3 Litre
Packard Twelve
1939 Bentley All Weather (1 of 19)
This was also at The 18th Annual Kirkland Waterfront Car Show.
Packard Twelve
Packard Twelve
Jaguar XK120
1937 Chevrolet
Pierce-Arrow
Dodge Town Wagon and my bike
Lozier Model 84
Ford Model A
Lancia D24 Replica
1959 Bocar XP-5
Click here for information on it.
Austin-Healey 3000
Harrington Junior Cars
Stan and Pam's 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air
Triumph TR250
Renault 5 Turbo 2
Two Ford Model A pickups
Alfa Romeo 2600 Spider
1961 Chrysler Newport
1961 Chrysler Newport coupe
Lincoln Premiere
1933 Plymouth
One-owner Oldsmobile 442
1961 Buick LeSabre
1959 Chevrolet Impala
1966 Sunbeam Tiger signed by celebrities
Morgan Plus Four
Alfa Romeo 8C
Cadillac Series 62
Cadillac Series 62
Chevrolet Chevy II
Imported Toyota Sera
Mercedes-Benz 190SL
Subaru SVX
McLaren 765LT (1 of 765)
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Comments (13)
😮 Heaven
Your pictures are really good. It is always great to see car lovers unite, keep up the awsome work and thanks for sharing your story! Honestly it made my day.
Thank you very much and you're welcome!
Thanks for this, needed a car for a story I’m working on.
You're welcome! Which car?
Guiletta Spider
Great pictures! So glad you got together with Anthony!
Thank you!
Great article and amazing pictures!
Thank you!
You're welcome! Keep up the good work!