Cruisin’ By The Bay Car Show, held Saturday in Polson, had entries lining Main Street from Hwy. 93 almost to the Mission Valley Elks Club, including some side streets.

Men paused to peer inside the open hoods of the cars, as well as a few women, including Debbie Cotton and her daughter, Nichol Lucito.

“We just like cars,” Cotton said, so they come to the car show and then hit the nearby art festival.

Cotton’s husband had a Pantera, which he exhibited at car shows, so checking out the vintage and classic automobiles brings back memories for her. A Pantera is an Italian mid-engine sports car produced by Italian manufacturer De Tomasa from 1971 to 1992.

Daughter Nichol has a day job, but she’s a photographer by night. A pickup fancier, she aspires to photograph people and their cars with a “nice background.”

While two family members enjoying a car show is great, generations of car lovers are even better. Take the Morin family from Arlee, for example. Patriarch Leroy Morin said his grandson is interested in cars. So they collaborated, and Morin brought his grandson’s electric blue Nova equipped with bat-wing doors, to the show.

Asked why bat-wing doors, Morin said, “My grandson wanted them, so we put them in.”

Right next to the Nova was parked the lipstick red 1957 Chevy Bel Air belonging to his daughter, Terry Cable, who caught the vintage car bug from her dad.

“Terry put it (the Bel Air) together one summer, got married that fall, and they took it on their honeymoon,” Morin said.

“I’ve always messed with old cars,” Morin said. When older relatives question him about spending money on vehicles, he tells them, “It’s my beer and cigarette money, although I’ve not tried either one.”

When he was in high school, he had a car painted at a small body shop in Missoula. It was a ’41 Chevy coupe, two-toned, and they took a couple of small dents out.

“It (two-toned) was kind of unheard of then, but I’ve always been ahead of my time,” he said, chuckling. “They charged me $85.”

A man with a blue Chevy Camaro said he had $15,000 in his car’s paint job, and many car owners pay much more, so Morin got a great deal.

Paint prices have skyrocketed, according to many car show exhibitors. Car owners used to be able to buy a gallon of high-quality paint for $200; now it’s $$4,000 to $5,000 a gallon.

But apparently, car enthusiasts pay the price because Main Street was a kaleidoscope of colors from old-time truck black to red, yellow, English racing green, lime green, black cherry, orange, magenta, purple, silver, and grey.

Mission Valley Cruisers hosted the show, and it was a success as usual.

Results for Cruisin’ By The Bay are:

Club Choice: Bill Smith, Kalispell, ’37 Chevy Coupe, black

Best of Show: Robin Ellenwood, Polson, ’34 Ford Pickup, red

The Top 10 finishers:

1. Dave Bretz, Missoula, ’69 Chevy Camaro, red

2. Paul Kruger, Columbia Falls, ’28 Dodge pickup, blue

3. Rob Crisler, Anaconda, ’55 Chevy Sedan, red and black

4. Craig Eaton, Cave Creek, Arizona, ’40 Ford Deluxe Sedan

5. Mike Flynn, ’34 Ford, Model B, green

6. Cole Younger, Arlee, ’52 GMC pickup, red

7. Steve Eastlick, Missoula, ’63 Austin Healy, burgundy

8. Jeremy Zempel, Moiese, ’48 Studebaker, blue

9. Chris Morrison, Missoula ’38 Business Coupe, raspberry

10. Richard Tobel, Ronan, ’41 Lincoln Zephyr, blue

    A sleek silver convertible looks ready to eat up the miles elegantly. (Berl Tiskus/Leader)
  

    Main Street in Polson from Hwy. 93 to halfway to the Mission Valley Elks Club was lined with pickups, cars, and at least one firetruck during Cruisin' by the Bay Car Show on Saturday. (Berl Tiskus/Leader)
  

    Mother and daughter duo Debbie Cotton and Nichol Lucito enjoy car shows and were out scouting the cars at Cruisin' by the Bay on Saturday. (Berl Tiskus/Leader)
  

    Leroy Morin shows Cruisin' by the Bay Car Show visitors the bat wing doors on his grandson's Nova. (Berl Tiskus/Leader)